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We are so far in Northeaster Mass that our pharmacy is in New Hampshire, less than 5 miles away. I've been collecting insulators, both porcelain and glass for over 25 years, with a break of about 10 years , and just got back into the hobby sometime at the end of 2021. Over the years we have come across many interesting bottles, and saved them for their looks.ing

I see that many people are looking for digging partners; is there anyone looking for insulator hunting partners?
 

John Mount

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welcome. i don't normally collect insulators but i just picked up two Hemingray 19 insulators, really dark green or teal. i guess they're pretty common but they both have wood inserts with long metal bolts stuck in them, so they looked interesting to me. does the bolt/insert combo make them any more interesting or valuable to a collector? just curious. well welcome and have fun!
 
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Hi John,

I think the inserts (the technical term is a cob - just like corn!) make the insulators more interesting - especially with bolts in them. But not really more valuable to a collector. Glad you found these - did you get them along a railroad track? There are some collectors that like to mount their insulators on them for display. If you want to sell them, you can always try craigslist.

Around here there are miles of track that have been removed, with the ties taken up as well, and the right of way converted a to a rail trail. And while others have discovered old pole cross-arms with insulators on them, I have found only a broken fragment once in a great while.

Enjoy the colors; dark green is far preferable to the usual coke bottle aqua.
 

John Mount

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Hi John,

I think the inserts (the technical term is a cob - just like corn!) make the insulators more interesting - especially with bolts in them. But not really more valuable to a collector. Glad you found these - did you get them along a railroad track? There are some collectors that like to mount their insulators on them for display. If you want to sell them, you can always try craigslist.

Around here there are miles of track that have been removed, with the ties taken up as well, and the right of way converted a to a rail trail. And while others have discovered old pole cross-arms with insulators on them, I have found only a broken fragment once in a great while.

Enjoy the colors; dark green is far preferable to the usual coke bottle aqua.
Thanks for the information! I got them at the local flea market. I'm not going to sell them. I'll put them on display someway at some point.
Hi John,

I think the inserts (the technical term is a cob - just like corn!) make the insulators more interesting - especially with bolts in them. But not really more valuable to a collector. Glad you found these - did you get them along a railroad track? There are some collectors that like to mount their insulators on them for display. If you want to sell them, you can always try craigslist.

Around here there are miles of track that have been removed, with the ties taken up as well, and the right of way converted a to a rail trail. And while others have discovered old pole cross-arms with insulators on them, I have found only a broken fragment once in a great while.

Enjoy the colors; dark green is far preferable to the usual coke bottle aqua.
 

FreeRangeAsparagus

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Welcome! Nice to have someone in the neighborhood so to speak, I am in Eastern Mass as well. I don’t target insulators but my mom collects them. I found a new spot in the Charles River that has spat out two so far, both broken but one is purple!
 
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Welcome! Nice to have someone in the neighborhood so to speak, I am in Eastern Mass as well. I don’t target insulators but my mom collects them. I found a new spot in the Charles River that has spat out two so far, both broken but one is purple!
Congrats to your mom! I know of one spot around Beverly where I'm told insulators can be found along a river, if you don't mind getting muddy and won't worry about loosing a shoe or boot in the mud. You'r lucky to have the purple one - what's the embossing? I didn't think there were any glass manufacturers in this area that used purple glass.

If you're interested - or your mom is - the Yankee Polecat Insulator Club is having their fall show on October 1 in Connecticut. There's usually some tables showing bottles, too. Is she an NIA member or belong to ICON (Insulator Collectors on the Network). The NIA has a great website to help you identify insulators, and ICON has a digest that gets emailed every day.

How many bottles do you have? Have you found any rare or unusual ones.

Collect what you love and love what you collect.
 

FreeRangeAsparagus

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Congrats to your mom! I know of one spot around Beverly where I'm told insulators can be found along a river, if you don't mind getting muddy and won't worry about loosing a shoe or boot in the mud. You'r lucky to have the purple one - what's the embossing? I didn't think there were any glass manufacturers in this area that used purple glass.

If you're interested - or your mom is - the Yankee Polecat Insulator Club is having their fall show on October 1 in Connecticut. There's usually some tables showing bottles, too. Is she an NIA member or belong to ICON (Insulator Collectors on the Network). The NIA has a great website to help you identify insulators, and ICON has a digest that gets emailed every day.

How many bottles do you have? Have you found any rare or unusual ones.

Collect what you love and love what you collect.
So sorry to get back to you so late.

I will have to go visit to read the embossing on the purple insulator. It is heavily cracked and missing some pieces so there may not be any surviving embossing, unfortunately.

I have a lot of bottles, more than I know what to do with. I have found a lot of unusual ones, not sure about rarity. I pick up bottles mainly as trash cleanup for the Charles by snorkeling but I keep most everything that isn't last week's Budweiser. This summer I collected 1,598. I am still sorting but plan on making a very long post of the highlights by the end of the year.

Thank you for the spot suggestion, I am very used to being mud-covered in this hobby, haha. Glad to hear from another Massachusetts collector. Have a good one!
 

outerspaceexplorer

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Congrats to your mom! I know of one spot around Beverly where I'm told insulators can be found along a river, if you don't mind getting muddy and won't worry about loosing a shoe or boot in the mud. You'r lucky to have the purple one - what's the embossing? I didn't think there were any glass manufacturers in this area that used purple glass.

If you're interested - or your mom is - the Yankee Polecat Insulator Club is having their fall show on October 1 in Connecticut. There's usually some tables showing bottles, too. Is she an NIA member or belong to ICON (Insulator Collectors on the Network). The NIA has a great website to help you identify insulators, and ICON has a digest that gets emailed every day.

How many bottles do you have? Have you found any rare or unusual ones.

Collect what you love and love what you collect.
Ooh, I'd love to know where in Beverly! I'm in Marblehead.
 

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