New London Calling.....Telegraph Line Insulators
We have 14 of these objects, which are popular with
collectors these days because of the intriguing colours and shapes. The
insulator is designed to hold a bare telegraph or telephone wire on top of a pole
without it being electrically grounded. It consists of a domed top and skirt
which help rainwater (a conductor) to flow away, and a ridge and groove(s) in
the middle to stop the wire slipping. The base of the skirt can have several different
moldings to help water drip off. They were made by remelting recycled glass
with some new glass and other additives and pouring it into molds. Because it
wasn’t particularly important, any colour of recycled glass was used, which
means there is a wide variety of shades (though most are clear or have an aqua
tint). Almost all modern insulators are made of white ceramics or plastics as
these are now cheaper, and the telephone lines are usually insulated.
The largest company in the world was Hemingray, based in Indiana, and we have a Hemingray 42 – the most common type, made from 1921 until 1961. Ours dates from the beginning of the period, 1924-1930, indicated by the round drip points on the base and the blue colour. It replaced the model 40 we also possess (1911-1921) which had conical (pointed) drip points.
We have a Lynchburg #36, a stout green insulator with conical drip points made by a company that was only in existence for 2 years around 1924, in which time they made 4 million insulators. It appears the local ‘ruling families’ insisted on the glassworks employing their relations, who were desperately inefficient and so caused the glassworks to fail, as had happened with the previous glassworks on the same site before it.
Many of the other companies making insulators were in the New York / New Jersey areas, presumably for easy access to recycled glass supplies.
In some cases the insulator was stamped with the name of the company it was made for, rather than by, as with our C.P.R. insulator which came from the railway.
Our two Canadian insulators are an attractive straw/ peach shade, probably made from mostly recycled clear with a little brown glass, and came from the Diamond company in Montreal, QC, and the Diamond Dominion glass company (the Diamond and Dominion merged in 1913) Wallaceburg, ON, factory.
The largest company in the world was Hemingray, based in Indiana, and we have a Hemingray 42 – the most common type, made from 1921 until 1961. Ours dates from the beginning of the period, 1924-1930, indicated by the round drip points on the base and the blue colour. It replaced the model 40 we also possess (1911-1921) which had conical (pointed) drip points.
We have a Lynchburg #36, a stout green insulator with conical drip points made by a company that was only in existence for 2 years around 1924, in which time they made 4 million insulators. It appears the local ‘ruling families’ insisted on the glassworks employing their relations, who were desperately inefficient and so caused the glassworks to fail, as had happened with the previous glassworks on the same site before it.
Many of the other companies making insulators were in the New York / New Jersey areas, presumably for easy access to recycled glass supplies.
In some cases the insulator was stamped with the name of the company it was made for, rather than by, as with our C.P.R. insulator which came from the railway.
Our two Canadian insulators are an attractive straw/ peach shade, probably made from mostly recycled clear with a little brown glass, and came from the Diamond company in Montreal, QC, and the Diamond Dominion glass company (the Diamond and Dominion merged in 1913) Wallaceburg, ON, factory.
