SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED

In the February, 1984, issue of CROWN JEWELS magazine I showed a picture of a glass insulator with Russian letters embossed on the skirt. The marking was not very clear, but I challenged Don Fiene (Knoxville, Tennessee), who teaches the Russian language, to make an educated guess as to its meaning. He rose to that challenge, and here is his reply:

Dear Marilyn, 

The third letter in your transcription of the Russian embossing is wrong. The second A should be  (equivalent to L). This is not a word and has no particular meaning, but is almost certainly the name of a small town. (I could not find it in the index to a fairly complete atlas, so it must be small. It may not even exist anymore.)

The first half of the name appears to be derived from the Russian word for calcium. The town might have been a place where some calcium-based mineral was mined.

I'm going to the USSR in June -- all the way to Irkvtsk (and Lake Baikal) on Trans-Siberian R.R. I'll look for insulators, of course.
Best, 
Don Fiene 
Knoxville, TN 

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The Russian letters I spoke of are shown here.   M.A.

Dear Marilyn,

I received my NIA patch and it looks pretty neat. Also in the letter you were asking about the C.D. 799 BORGO "T-Bar" that I sketched in my letter. Sorry, I do not have that insulator in my collection. I draw a picture on most of my letters, and I knew that you collected foreign insulators. I drew a picture of the C.D. 799 in the letter.

I was thinking, all foreign insulators are getting new C.D. numbers, but the C.D. 121 AGEE didn't get one with the others (as far as I know). I think it should get a new C.D.

Thanks and good collecting, 
Scott Janz
Rudolf, WI

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Dear Scott,

Thank you for your letter! I can understand why you would have a question about C.D. 121 AGEE from Australia not being assigned a new C.D. number along with almost all the other foreign glass insulators, but this is not the only one. The same thing is true in some other cases where foreign countries have made insulators substantially identical to North American styles. Examples are C.D.'s 106, 113, 122, 128, 129, 154, 202 and 203. These numbers were maintained, even though the markings were foreign, to avoid confusion! A C.D. 121 will always be a C.D. 121, etc.

However, all other foreign styles are quite different from ours in North America, so these were given their own new C.D. numbers.

I hope this will answer your question. I really do like your sketches -- they're neat! 

Sincerely,
Marilyn

Dear Marilyn,

My brother just called me from Australia, and he has sent me about 4 purple and 1 or 2 green insulators. I assume they are AGEE but will see once I get them.

David received his degree in Geology and was so fascinated with Australian Geology and reefs that he took off for the "land down under". David met a man who collects insulators and old bottles in Northern Queensland and sent me his address. He may want to trade or sell some insulators, so I thought I would check with you to see if there are any super rare ones that I might be able to trade for. The only manufacturers that I am aware of are AGEE, C.C.G., A.G.M. Do you feel that the 1982 Price Guide still holds true for these? 

Oh yes, David said he saw some insulators that were only half purple. He climbed up several poles on some major highways.

I have been here at 1st City Bank Dallas a little over one year now and am about to get out of the training program and into lending. Sorry to have missed the Austin show. 

Your Friend, 
Frank Shiels
Dallas, TX 

P.S. David will return in July. He will go to New Zealand, Fiji, then Hawaii and home.

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Dear Frank,

It was really good to hear from you! What a wonderful opportunity to acquire some Australian insulators, with your brother David spending time over there and being willing to carry back any that he can find for you.

I've checked over the list of the glass insulators we know to have either been manufactured in Australia or used there, and did come up with a few that you would be wise to tell David about. Except for a few accidental omissions from the 1982 Price Guide, the values are essentially the same today. The following are C.D. numbers and/or colors in those C.D.'s that I consider to be rare:

There are also a few French designs that are rather large, double and triple skirters of various sizes in green glass. These are desirable to the collector, but rather hard to either ship safely or hand carry back to the States. Embossings on these are usually EIV or L' ELECTRO VERRE. Also to be found are shackle and spool type insulators marked A.G.M., and these are made of a straw colored glass. The smaller sizes, 2-1/2" high, seem to be the hardest to come by and should be worth about 35.00 to 50.00.

The insulators David told you he saw that were only half purple would be a great addition to any collection! Hope he can manage to detach one of these for you one way or another. I suggest a good place to start looking would be at an insulator dumping ground rather than to climb a pole! Or speak to the linemen who work these lines. According to Laura Van Der Endt of Sidney, these fellows are glad to give you the insulators if you happen to be there when they are being taken down.

It will be interesting to hear what David found in New Zealand, Fiji and Hawaii. Please keep in tough, and good luck!

Sincerely,
Marilyn

Mrs. Albers,

I am enclosing some sketches of a white glazed porcelain insulator received from Germany last summer when my son-in-law's parents returned to Germany to visit their relatives. This insulator was on a bracket on the side of the relative's house in Sulzheim, Germany.

I wasn't able to find this company listed in your book. I think the middle word is SELB but the first letter was blurred, so I can't be sure.

The insulator had been in use for over 50 years on a power line. Hope the sketches are good enough for you to make out.

Thanks for the bother,
Gerald Miller
Jacksonville, MO

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Dear Gerald,

I know how proud you are of your insulator from Germany, and I don't doubt a bit that it is quite old. This particular style is quite common in Europe, especially in Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Denmark. Though your insulator is 1/4" shorter and 1/8" wider at the base, it is still classified as U-1692, as found in the book WORLDWIDE PORCELAIN INSULATORS (by Albers/Tod).

I'm sorry to say that I am not familiar with the marking; but if the insulator is 50 years old, and you can make out the word SELB, perhaps the marking belonged to some smaller company that was taken over by Rosenthal, a large corporation, which is presently headquartered in Selb, Bavaria, and manufactures not only insulators, but all types of fine dinner ware and crystal. Since Rosenthal's insulator production is so large, I would be surprised if any other company in Selb is still producing insulators side by side, but of course anything is possible! I promise to let you know if any information comes to light about the marking you sketched in your letter. I'm sorry your snapshots will not be clear enough to reproduce in CROWN JEWELS, but it was a big help to have your life size shadow drawing of the insulator, with all its measurements! That identified the style immediately as U-1692. Thank you for writing so all of the readers out there could know about your find! 

Sincerely,
Marilyn