Carl,
Thanks for the excellent webpage reference. I was aware of the exceedingly
rare "reddish" Hemingrays, but always thought these were produced about WWI
or afterward. They were apparently available as early as 1909, but I think
the article makes it clear just how improbable it was that many were sold.
They not only cost $8 per thousand extra to produce, but they had a specific
purpose which was to distinguish one company's lines from others
(color-coding) on poles where a profusion of electrical lines may have
existed alongside the railroads (for example, in large cities like San
Francisco, New York and London). I hardly think such conditions ever existed
in the Australian outback or the wilds of Arizona where the Apache resided
post-1900.
~ Bob Skiles
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Steen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 8:31 AM
Subject: Re: Glass Insulators - Myth or Truth?
In a message dated 8/8/2007 9:25:31 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
I've seen 10s-of-thousands of glass telegraph insulators in dozens of US
collections, and yet to see a red one. I suspect this is a techno-myth. To
produce red glass (in the era when telegraph wires were being strung)
required the use of prohibitively expensive gold compounds. This would be
highly impractical for such utilitarian objects. Barring some compelling
reason to produce them (perhaps as trap-bait for aborigines and Apaches?),
it would be quite a bizarre economic aberration. As anyone knows who's ever
worked with the restoration of stained glass work, the genuine antique red
glass is ... by far ... the most expensive color to aquire.
~Bob Skiles
Several are illustrated here...
_http://cjow.com/archive/article.php?month=2&a=02Seeing%20Red.htm&year=2004_
(http://cjow.com/archive/article.php?month=2&a=02Seeing%20Red.htm&year=2004)
Seeing Red
Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", February 2004, page 16
For Valentine's, Crown Jewels presents "red" insulators found in the hobby.
The idea of a red glass insulator has captured the thoughts of collectors
since the hobby began. When I was collecting in the 1960's, collectors
wondered
if a red insulator would ever be found. Even today, if you talk to
non-collectors at flea markets and antique shops, they'll relate stories of
red glass
insulators being found... usually... at some remote, far away place.
Were genuine insulators ever made in red glass? In a 1909 catalog,
Hemingray
advertised "special colored glass insulators". The ad reads, "Where several
lines of different companies are on the same cross arm, the lineman can
distinguish his line by the color of the insulator. Different currents can
also be
designated by different colored insulators. We are prepared to furnish all
styles of insulators in RED, blue, and amber glass..." (emphasis added).
The
advertisement went on to say that there was an extra charge of $8.00 per
thousand for insulators made in colored glass.¹
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