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  1. B

    NEW ENGLAND POWER CO. early tower sign

    I agree... that's a good sign, with interesting artwork.
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    New Lexington or Locke? Or??

    I'm not a porcelain expert, and even then, just going by glaze alone is not always possible. That color's typical of early Locke, New Lexington, maybe Trenton, maybe Pittsburg. But there are manufacturing qualities to look at, too... what's the pinhole like? Is this dry process or wet...
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    Lawrence, KS - September 16, 2023

    Saturday, September 16 - The Border States Bottle & Insulator Show. Held at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St. Bldg 21, Lawrence, KS 66046. 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The show includes antique Insulators, bottles, jars, postcards, telephones, advertising, porcelain signs, lightning rod...
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    Wild Colored Porcelain Insulators

    There are odd factory glazes that turn up sometimes but they sure don't look like these. Everything in the photo appears to be colors applied afterward. The intent is not always to dupe someone into paying a lot of money. Some people just like using common insulators for craft projects to make...
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    Help with insulator

    Not rare, but far better than the ordinary common piece. One in good shape is about 20-30 dollars. The one piece transposition patent covered this type of insulator that was capable of holding two wires. On a telephone line, parallel wires resulted in "cross-talk." The solution required...
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    Insulator finds

    Nice find! I don't see anything worth lots of money but that's a nice variety of styles, colors and ages. They'll look very nice cleaned up and on your shelf.
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    Found this insulator, I need help with identification.

    These were made by Brookfield for Thompson-Houston Electrical, formed in Lynn, Mass. in 1883. The company lasted until it merged with General Electric in 1892, so your insulator is probably from the late 1880s or early 1890s.
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    Kind of a strange ceramic insulator

    It's probably a substation or dead end insulator. The sanded areas are meant to be cemented to metal hardware. What does the underside look like?
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    RESOURCE INFO FOR INSULATOR COLLECTORS

    There is also insulators.info which has a ton of information. The Picture Poster section is the most active. From the insulators.info site you can sign up for Insulator Collectors on the Net, also known as ICON. It's a listserv where many insulator collectors stay in touch. The daily digest...
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    New to collection

    Yup, the glass Brookfield pony is a CD 102. I'm not going to hazard a guess on U-numbers without actually seeing the insulator in person, because there are a lot of subtle variations. But generally, unmarked signals or cable tops in ordinary colors like white or brown are not going to be...
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    Got a stumper.......

    Yup, Eric's description is spot on. These used to appear on power poles next to a transformer. Old-time linemen used to call them "widowmakers." In this photo, the fuse cutouts are white, so they contrast with the rest of the rest of the insulators. You can see them mounted on the middle...
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    Insulators in use on the island of Aruba

    Cool. The ones on the left with the black crowns (for those unfamiliar, it's a coating to prevent the power lines from causing radio static) look like typical American production. The plain white ones on the right... hard to say, but they're similar to some German ones I've owned.
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    Is This A Fake/Altered Insulator?

    I hate to say this, but WFG tolls are not known in an authentic dark purple like that shade. I strongly suspect this one has been irradiated. Sadly, a lot of altered purples have been turning up on eBay over the past 10-15 years. Best way to protect yourself is education! There are lots of...
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    Has Anyone Seen "Fins" on an Insulator

    That's a CD 121 toll. What you call fins are usually called "ribs" by collectors and they're a characteristic of Duquesne Glass Co. which produced insulators I think the 1890s or so in the Pittsburgh area. They're unusual, but not rare.
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    Does anyone know what this Insulator is?

    It's a CD 162. GE sold insulators marked with the star. Probably made in Elmer, NJ. They turn up in a variety of green shades along with plain aqua. Usually aqua is a few dollars, and a green would sell for around 10-20, perhaps a bit more if it's a really vivid green color or an unusual shade...
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