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

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "geoff carver" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 8:00 AM
Subject: Re: Glass Insulators - Myth or Truth?


> there is a good collection of the australian ones at the pitt-rivers 
> museum in oxford; i don't remember any red ones, though, just transparent 
> green & white, and translucent white; how common is red glass anyway, 
> especially red glass insulators???
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "JAMES MURPHY" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 2:53 PM
> Subject: Re: Glass Insulators - Myth or Truth?
>
>
>> I've heard the story in re: Australian aborigines.
>