November 20, 2008
Insulators were originally made to keep telegraph and telephone wires electrically insulated from wooden telephone poles (especially important in the rain). With the additional needs of rural electrification, there was a big insulator boom in the early 20th century, peaking from the 1920s through the 1940s, with production in the millions per year.
Made from glass or porcelain, in a dazzling array of shapes and colors (e.g. amber, cobalt blue, green, purple), they’re prized for color, beauty, and rarity. Collectors identify insulators by manufacturer (e.g. Hemingray) and by CD numbers, which are based on shape.
Some insulators were embossed with the manufacturer’s name and style number, and perhaps the year or mold number. The molds were engraved so the letters were dug in. There are a lot of unembossed insulators out there, but at the turn of the century there were a lot of engravers and glass makers and cast iron was very big so people were making a lot of molds, and embossing was very big. As the years went on, there were fewer engravers available and the embossing started getting simpler and simpler.
I got interested in insulators when I lived in El Cajon and my neighbor worked for San Diego Gas and Electric… [more]
For an explosion of color and a quick education on the many beautiful varieties of insulators, blown glass bricks, … [more]
Bill Meier's reference site by and for insulator collectors includes event listings, reference information, photo g… [more]
Christian Willis' well-organized database of Hemingray insulators. Browse over 300 photos by CD number, style, or s… [more]
Shaun Kotlarsky's tribute to the Hemingray Glass Company. While known for its insulators, this site also showcases … [more]
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Cd 145 Yellow Amber H.g.co. Glass Insulator$510.00 Ends in 16 hours 12 bids
Killer Carnival Glass Cd 162 Hemingray Signal Insulator$129.77 Ends Tuesday 3 bids
Rare Threadless Insulator Brilliant Forest Green 19th C$129.16 Ends Wednesday 3 bids
*mint* Westinghouse No 3 Aqua Pony Insulator$127.51 Ends Sunday 3 bids
Marigold Carnival Glass Insulator Vvnm Mickey Mouse A+ $113.61 Ends in 3 hours 22 bids
Very Tough Dk Green Aqua Baby Columbia Cd 262 Insulator$78.00 Ends Tuesday 6 bids
Superb Cd 135 Be Chicago Insulator Diamond Groove $53.03 Ends in 2 hours 10 bids
Cd134 No Embossing (oakman)insulator Yel Oliv Gr Cgc781$53.00 Ends Saturday 4 bids
Dark Brookes Blue Cd 125 Pat App For W.u. 5 Insulator$53.00 Ends in 1 hour 8 bids
Bright Burgundy Cd 121 A007 California Toll Insulator$51.00 Ends in 2 hours 7 bids
Rare Cobalt Blue Embossed Hemingray 19 Insulator N/r$50.00 Ends Friday 8 bids
Cd162 Hgco Insulator Whiskey Amber Cgc1030$49.00 Ends in 2 hours 5 bids
*crisp* "the M & E Co. Bright Aqua Cable Insulator$42.01 Ends in 42 mins 6 bids
Pair Of Corning Pyrex Carnival Glass Insulators 662 $41.00 Ends Sunday 2 bids
Nice- Cd 285 "edison" Triple Petticoat Insulator$40.99 Ends in 1 hour 7 bids
Cd162 Hgco Insulator Golden Honey Amber Cgc1029$38.70 Ends in 2 hours 6 bids
Cd 158.9 - Boston Screw Top Vaseline Glass Insulator $38.37 Ends in 3 hours 5 bids
Purple & Amber Swirled Cd 143 Can Pac Ry Co Insulator$38.00 Ends in 1 hour 7 bids
Forest Green Cd 252 Knowles Patented No 2 Insulator$36.00 Ends in 2 hours 5 bids
Russian Glass Insulator Unique Color Green Vvnm Mint$36.00 Ends in 3 hours 10 bids
Cd 106 - Aqua Insulator With Milky And Amber Swirls$34.33 Ends Saturday 3 bids
Zillion Bubble Gray Cd 112 Pennycuick Keg Insulator$33.00 Ends in 2 hours 9 bids
Great Transposition Insulator Miva Incroci From Italy$32.99 Ends Tuesday 3 bids
Cd260 California Insulator Sage Green Cgc1031$31.00 Ends Friday 6 bids
Purple 112.4 Glass Insulator Not Staind Or Painted$29.99 Ends in 3 hours 1 bid
Dark Cobalt Blue 112.4 Glass Insulator Not Stained Vnm $29.99 Ends Saturday 1 bid
Rare Bulldog Figure/ Insulator Ill Electric Porcecelain$29.99 Ends Monday 1 bid
Insulator Glass Miva M 312 Color Light Green$29.00 Ends Sunday 1 bid
Delft Blue Cd 145 Grand Canyon Beehive Insulator$29.00 Ends in 2 hours 4 bids
*superb* Lime Green Cd 126.4 Wu We Mfg 1871 Insulator$28.00 Ends in 1 hour 3 bids
Marigold Carnival Glass Hemingray Insulator Nmint Cd168$27.00 Ends in 18 hours 11 bids
Rare Aqua Cd 185 Jeffrey Mfg. Co. Mine Insulator$26.79 Ends Tuesday 4 bids
Antique Columbia #2 Lsv Elect Insulator White Mouse Ear$25.25 Ends Saturday 6 bids
Old Italian Glass Insulator Fidenza Type 6118 Purple$25.00 Ends Monday 1 bid
**tough** Cd 126.3 Iii No Name Am Ins Co Insulator$24.00 Ends in 1 hour 4 bids
Emerald Green Insulator Hemmingray # 43$22.50 Ends in 22 hours 9 bids
Floy V Shaped Notched Base Cd 284 Power Insulator$22.50 Ends in 1 hour 3 bids
Brilliant Blue Cd 161 California Signal Insulator$22.06 Ends in 1 hour 8 bids
Light Steel Blue Violet Glass Insulator A+ Bubble $21.51 Ends in 2 hours 11 bids
Killer Amber Swirled Star Cd 162 Signal Insulator$20.50 Ends in 2 hours 6 bids
Cd 294 N.e.g.m.co. Triple Petticoat Power Insulator$20.50 Ends in 1 hour 3 bids
Nice- Hemingray-50 Cd 190/191 Two Piece Tramp Insulator$20.49 Ends Saturday 8 bids
Insulator Glass Miva Bt2m Color Light Green$19.00 Ends Sunday 1 bid
Purple Glass Insulator L, S, Brach Newark Nj $18.00 Ends in 1 hour 2 bids
Hemingray 60 Mickey Mouse Green Glass Insulator Cd257$16.49 Ends in 22 hours 6 bids
Full On Foamy Cd 145 W Brookfield Ny Creb Insulator$16.16 Ends Monday 5 bids
Light Purple Cd 191 Diamond Transposition Top Insulator$15.51 Ends Saturday 5 bids
Deep Purple Whitall Tatum Co No 1 Insulator$15.50 Ends in 1 hour 5 bids
Antique Blue-green Glass Telephone Insulator W/ Star$15.50 Ends Sunday 2 bids
Australian Bottle Style Glass Insulator Vvnm Ice Green$15.50 Ends in 3 hours 3 bids
Insulator Glass No Name Transposition No2 Bubbles Cd200$15.25 Ends Friday 11 bids
Screaming Lime Green Cd 145 Star Beehive Insulator$15.13 Ends Saturday 5 bids
Ice Sage Green Cd 145 Grand Canyon Beehive Insulator$15.00 Ends Monday 3 bids
