Glass insulator info needed

[bottlerocket]

I found a couple of these insulators today.
They both have the same embossing.
On one side it is embossed W Brookfield New York
On the other side is embossed
Pat Nov 13th 1883
Feb 12th 1884

Does anyone know when these were manufactured?
Thanks

 

[botlguy]

From those dates for another 10 years or so.

 

[bottlerocket]

Wow, thanks Jim

 

[BillinMo]

Jim's info is a good rule of thumb, but there are a bunch of folks who avidly collect the crown embossed Brookfields, with more detailed info (I'm not one of those collectors, but I find their research rather interesting). Most of the earlier Brookfield beehives are similar to yours, but embossed with the 45 Cliff St address (1884-1890). The office moved to 83 Fulton St in 1890, so the address changed in the embossing around that time.

The office moved again in 1893, to 81 Fulton St., but no Brookfield products can be found with that address, so the general consensus seems to be that beehives embossed with only W. BROOKFIELD / NEW YORK (no street address) on the crown date from around 1893-1900 or so. Brookfield's embossing migrated from the crown to the skirt around 1900.

 

[bottlerocket]

Great info, thanks.
I also found a couple of postal insulators.
Were these beehives used for RR or telegraph?

 

[cowseatmaize]

Were these beehives used for RR or telegraph?

Short answer is yes. They were kind if the same thing.
The RR used the telegraph and later telephone to help with timekeeping. The telegraph and phone tended to follow RR lines because they tended to make the easiest and shortest distance between the two points.

 

[BillinMo]

The beehive style is intended for telegraph use. The February 12, 1884 date embossed on the Brookfield beehives references the design patent date, issued to Samuel Oakman. Western Union adopted the beehive as their standard style right around 1884 and quite a few glass companies produced them over the years. WU modified the design a bit sometime around 1900, with a higher wire groove, but they're all considered CD 145. In 1911, Western Union changed the standard to what we call the CD 152.

The POSTAL beehives came a bit later, I think in the early 1900s, and the design is a bit smaller and more compact than the WU beehive - but it's still CD 145.

Many small phone companies purchased used/salvaged equipment, so I wouldn't be surprised if someone found a few beehives on a rural telephone line cobbled together from bits and pieces, but originally the beehive was a telegraph insulator.

Hemingray produced some late beehives, made in the 1940s, and since WU didn't want them, we usually assume a few railroad people wanted them for their railway signal lines.