Posted 11 years ago
jonima
(113 items)
My sister bought three of these little insulators at a flea market but can't find any info about them. The seller didn't know anything about them either. The glass has a bluish tint and as you can see, it's connected to iron hardware that would screw in. Can anyone tell me how these ones were used and how old they might be? Thanks!
![CD 162 [240] Hemingray Patent May 2 1893 cobalt blue glass insulator, sharp drip](https://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/g/n48AAOSw7OFmGRrU/s-l225.jpg)
I assume there is a hole running through it?
Yes, there is a hole.
It's possible that it is a lightning rod insulator.
Ask chevy59 at this link to have a look at yours;
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/68390-lightning-rod-balls-and-weathervane-coll
Thanks! Will do.
I have one that is similar, where it screws into wood, but instead of glass its ceramic. I'm not 100 percent sure, but I believe these would have been for some type of ground wire. The glass insulators are earlier than the ceramic ones, civil war to the great depression, that's when a lot of the lightning rod balls were created, those same companies produced these as well.
Awesome, thanks for the info! At least that gives me a timeframe.
Can you post another picture with the hole visible & what dia. is the hole?
I'll try to get her to send me more pics of it tonight.
Just had a friend email me. This is a lightening rod insulator. There's one like this in the 7th row, far right on this website:
http://www.nia.org/general/g_lri.htm
I just realized that the link that I thought I posted isn't there.
image in upper right corner
http://glassian.org/insulator.html
Thanks! You've been a big help today.
Most welcome, glad to help!