When Jack Tod asked me to take over writing Porcelain Insulator News in 1984, it seemed that my greatest concern was, "What will I write about?", due to the shortage of new reports, and my general lack of knowledge on the subject. Now, eight years later, it seems that my greatest concern is "What will I write about?", but now I have so much information to choose from, that was sent in by "you". Don't get me wrong, I am not asking everyone to stop writing with news of their unusual finds, but rather I am apologizing for not running many of your interesting finds in a timely manner. Multipart collecting has mushroomed to the point that uniparts, go-withs, and other odd types have gotten short-changed in the available PIN space to report them. Some of you may have noticed that PIN is now about 2- 3 times as long as it was eight years ago, but still we are getting behind. So, please forgive me if your news item does not make it to PIN in a reasonable time period.

In August, 1991, we described two unusual "salesmen's give-aways". Most of these types of items are ashtrays, and this month we will show you four different ones. An ashtray made a nice advertising gift during the 1920's-1950's. Since most men smoked during that time, an ashtray was a practical gift, and it usually found daily service. They were kept on the customer's desk, where he could be reminded every day of the generosity of the manufacturer or salesman. Today, it seems that calendars and coffee cups fill that need. Ashtrays were usually marked with the company name, and many had miniature insulators fixed to them. The white ashtray shown below is one such example. The embossed marking "THOMAS QUALITY" is shown twice around the upper flat surface of the rim, and again on opposite sides of the insulator. This is a very attractive go-with for a porcelain collector. This ashtray probably dates back to the late 1920's. There are at least a half dozen or more of these in collections.

The next two ashtrays were not made to be typical salesmen's give-aways, but rather to commemorate a special onetime event. This fact contributes to their rarity.

The ashtray pictured (below) was found by Bob Stahr at the local Salvation Army store in Chicago. Needless to say, Bob did not give big bucks for this one. The ashtray is chocolate brown with two rings on the side like a post-type insulator. In the center, there is an image of a suspension insulator string, with attachment equipment to support two conductor cables. Along with the markings "LAPP" and "EHV TEST" (extra high voltage) is the signature of "William Shafer". This Lapp ashtray is surely one-of-a-kind.

The next ashtray (pictured on the following page) is very unusual and attractive, with cutouts in the sides. It has a very pretty, shiny mahogany glaze. The marking on the side-reads:

The Fred M. Locke 
CERAMIC RESEARCH LABORATORY 
Dedicated 
Sept. 30, 1947 at Baltimore, Md.

There must have been several of these given out to the dignitaries present for the dedication, but this particular one was presented to James L. Locke, the fourth son of Fred M. Locke.

The ashtray (below) is the only one in existence! It is not known why the ashtray was made. Only four were made in 1953 at the Victor Insulators factory in Victor, N.Y. All four ashtrays were made by Harry Dunham, an employee at the insulator plant. The owner of the ashtray told me that he knew Mr. Dunham well, and that three of the four ashtrays had met an untimely fate, and were thrown away. The glaze is a very pretty, light tan with blonde edges. It measures 8-1/2" square and is 1-3/4" tall.

If any of you have an insulator related ashtray or salesman's give-away, please send me a photograph and description. As we collect the photos, I will try to run them in PIN. Then, if there is enough collector interest, and if we get enough good photographs, I would like to publish a small booklet showing all of the ones that you have shared. To take a picture of your item that is suitable for publishing, you will need a 35mm camera that will take a fairly close picture, to show detail and keep it in focus. Use a neutral background, such as a sheet or tablecloth, with outside natural lighting.

In the January, 1992 issue of CJ, we reported a new Etheridge patent style, U-376C, which was found by Bill Rosato and Claude Wambold in an old steel mill in McKeesport, PA. David Adams sent in that report. Now, Bill Sutliff reports finding several insulators in another old steel mill in Pennsylvania that are similar to the U-376C Etheridge cable-top design; however, these specimens are of a different design and manufacturer. This new design has been assigned, U-376D. The U-376C specimens are all unmarked, but we are reasonably sure that they were made by Thomas. The glaze color on my U-376C specimen (mottled orange-tan) exactly matches the specimens that I have of U-376A and U-376B. All three styles were cataloged by Thomas in 1907.

U-376D VICTOR (left) and U-376C (right)

U-376D VICTOR (left) and U-376C (right)

The U-376D's that Bill found have the incuse marking, VICTOR, on the side of the skirt. The glaze colors are dark mahogany to almost black. Most of Bill's specimens also have, S409, scratched on the bottom edge of the insulator, which is the firing rest (see photo on following page). The pinhole design is exactly like that of U-376C, however, the outside shape is somewhat different. This is to be expected from another manufacturer. It is not unusual for companies to use more than one supplier to keep from being dependent on one manufacturer, and to increase competitive pricing.

U-376D with "S409" marking

Bill did recover several of the very rusty cast iron pins. Unfortunately, the spring-metal clips. which fit in the pinhole groove to secure the insulator, rusted and fell out many years ago. The pin does have a slot cut out down from the top on either side of the pin, where the clip would have protruded out into the pinhole groove. The insulator rested on top of the split tubular pin. but none of the insulators were damaged at the top of the pinhole, since they did not move around much in that service.

The 1902 C. S. Knowles catalog has, by far, the best illustration that I have ever seen of the standard Etheridge patent insulator. It clearly shows how the flat, spring-metal clip was used to secure both the insulator on the pin. and the pin in the crossarm. This full page illustration is shown below. I hope that you will note with interest. that the implied manufacturer was Imperial Porcelain Works. Their familiar crown logo is shown, but they apparently quit using it on their insulators sometime around 1901. Catalog No. 1090 is U-376B and No. 1091 is U-376A. To date, no Etheridge patent specimens can be attributed to Imperial. The known specimens ofU-376A and U-376B have glazes that are very non-typical of Imperial. Such glaze colors are similar to those used by Thomas, circa 1902-1905. Imperial brown glazes from that era are thick, shiny, and the color of German Chocolate.

Albeit hat U-376Cand U-376D both used a similar flat, spring-metal clip; however, the pinhole groove is not at the top of the pinhole, but rather near the bottom where the insulator body is the thickest. 

Bill Sutliff recently pointed out something that I had not noticed; namely, that Harry Etheridge, while a citizen of England, resided in McKeesport, Pennsylvania -- the town where the first cable-top units were found, and near where Bill found the U-376D's. The only known specimen of U-376B was found in a railroad shack in Pennsylvania. Etheridge was an electrical engineer and his published comments and articles appear in the AlEE Journals. It is entirely possible that he may have been employed by one of the steel mills in McKeesport, and that they found his invention very useful in their large mill construction projects. However, I doubt that the design was initially intended for heavy cable service, since the patent stated uses for the new design as follows:

"...[for] commercial telegraph, telephone, electric light, and power lines, wherein great strength is required, particularly at curves and grades or dips; and the object of my invention is to provide a form of insulator and pin that will not only be self-locking, strong, durable, and quickly applied, but will also permit the insulator to freely rotate on the pin, so as to yield to the great strain placed thereon at all angles and positions of the line-wire."

Another interesting point about the patent is that it was filed on May 9,1901 and granted with phenomenal speed on June 25, 1901.

Medium Image (112 Kb)
Large Image (250 Kb)
From the 1902 C.S. Knowles catalog ...

John Webster sent photographs and descriptions of two odd white porcelain items. They do not appear to be "insulators" in the common sense. They look to me like they were used as caps to possibly cover an unused terminal. Do any of you have a clue as to what these seemingly old objects were used for? Could they have been special items used in a power plant or substation? Help! ! 

Both are white glazed porcelain without a tie-wire. The pinholes have circular grooves around the inside, probably used to hold them in place better when cemented. The smaller one is 2- 3/16" in diameter at the bottom, and the larger one is 3". Both measure 2" from the bottom to where the side protrudes out to make the mushroom top. One is 3-7/16" tall and the other one is 3-13/16" tall. The only marking is a crude "4" at the base of the smaller one, and an "8" on the larger one. If you know anything about these, please contact me. John is anxiously awaiting an identification of this odd "what-is-it".