any ideals what this is

[Trying not to break it]

hi everyone , dug this today. it is 1 3/8" tall, 1" across, there is a 1/4" hole thru center. can't make out the writeing on it. any ideals? it came out of a 20's dig area.

 

[whiskeyman]

Ceramic insulator...for electrical wire. Used in homes and on fence posts.

 

[Trying not to break it]

hi whiskeyman, thanks for the info. must be an older thing, i don't remenber seeing them in any of the houses i lived in. thanks rhona

 

[BRIAN S.]

I agree with whiskeyman !
Looks like an insulator that they nail to wooden fence posts around here for electric livestock fences.
Brian

 

[whiskeyman]

I've seen them nailed to the tops of floor joists in the attics in older farm houses...and also used to run wiring from the main box to a barn or shed/outbuilding....they date from the 20's to the 40's.
There's another type they also used in houses...they drilled holes in rafters/wall studs and inserted thin cylindrical ceramic tubes in the drilled hole....wire was then ran thru the tubes...the tubes were bulged on one end...other end straight....they date from the early 1900's.

 

[Trying not to break it]

hi brian & whiskeyman, thanks for the information. i figured it was older then me. do people collect these? it's kinda neat looking. thanks rhona

 

[whiskeyman]

RHONA...
I know of no collectors, but would venture to guess that anyone who collects insulators probably has one or two examples. I have a couple stashed back....ditto for the tube thingies.
I hate to throw anything away. Common bottles I dig , I take and donate to a local rescue mission indoor flea market...They sell them for pennies to the public...I often see them later, on regular flea market dealer's tables.