When Hobbies Collide...

Sad pieces of smashed history


If you find a red Bullers one this way, or some other hard to finn piece, go ahead and make what the hobby has sometimes called a "kitsulator" out of it with some porcelain glue.

I have to admit I am past the stage of adding a lot of insulators to my collection anymore b/c the history, research and writing aspect has become so much fun for me. I have a bunch of more common pieces that are hiding historical info about their manufacture, companies, machines invented/used to make them and this takes up my hobby time concerning insulators.

Enter the new major collision of the two hobbies:

Some background:
The hidden info I mentioned on insulators comes in the way of different marks (number or letter) on the insulator indicating one of the following:
1. Date Code: a cryptic company code indicating the date a piece was made.

2. Mold Number (MN): a small number/letter telling the number of the mold the insulator was made in for aiding broken mold repairs.

3. Shop Number (SN): A shop (group of workers) had their own SN engraved into their molds so each insulators made by that shop would be traceable to which shop made it. The large, prominently placed SNs (dome top or sides) made for easy tallying/payment to each shop for each insulator they made.

Recently a new interest in these marks has grown since people want to know/collect a "complete set" of their favorite style of insulator by these markings. But there is no list to tell them what is out there for their specialty area.

Here is the collision:

All of the above markings are collectively known "Mold Marks (MM)." Currently I am heading a project for the National Insulator Association designed to solicit online insulator collectors to contribute/build a database of all known MMs in all categories.

In my write-up explaining the project to the insulator hobby I mentioned insulator collectors would now have a guide enabling the collecting of insulators in a way coin collectors have always enjoyed to make a set: Getting a complete set of MMs (Mint Marks or Mold Marks depending on the hobby) for each item collected.

So what better name for the project than "Project Red Book?"

So now the insulator hobby's "Project Red Book," is in the design/coding stage!

Excellent!

When Oregon marked its centennial in 1959, a number of cities participated in a "Good For" token program - Klamath Falls was one.

You can complete an Oregon "Collision" if you add one of the tokens to your collection!

Canadian ice hockey is a bit like that !

Wow Numis...very nice find! A CD 154 McLaughlin. Since I have always been east coast and am now midwest, I have an absolute zero chance of finding a Mclaughlin in the wild.

That also is a nicer color. Many of these that I do see at shows and swap meets are straw or pale greenish colors. A blue gray lists 20-30, blue at 30-40, and Delft blue at 50-75. Cannot tell which this one is in the pic. Not bad for the first one you ever got in the wild!
Admittedly the picture reminds me of a delft blue one.




As to damage, the insulator hobby is a bit more forgiving than coins and bottles. These were utilitarian glass and so an actual mint specimen is not usual. A wooden pin's base (which the insulator would be screwed onto) sometimes was secured with a nail being pounded into it through the side of the crossarm. Sometimes the linemen actually used the dome of the insulator to do this!

The insulator price guide actually specifies the listed prices are for near mint specimens.

Very interesting!