Power Pole Glass Insulators

[Sam Talley]

                                                            ANTIQUE INSULATORS

When out fishing one day, we hiked way back into the forest. We found some very old power poles that had been stripped of their wire. Some were rotted away and several were still standing. On some were glass insulators. In reading about them I learned that the use of insulators began when the telegraph came out. The glass things were non-conducting of electricity and aided in moving the current. The initial ones were made in the 1860-1880s. The telephone insulators which were many colors, came out in the 1880s. When power lines started going underground in the 1960s,  glass ones were no longer needed, and soon people started seriously collecting them. There are volumes written about glass insulators. Some can be worth thousands of dollars. I still have about a dozen of them from the early 1900s.

On that fishing trip we came home with more insulators than fish.

 

[Stan H]

Looks like you got some treasure there, Sam,,, congrats.

 

I can't help but remember all the ones I shot as a kid. They were some of my favorite targets when I got my 22 rifle,,, a real juvenile deliquent,, lol

[patrick mark pazen]

those are some nice looking insulators, being a retired electical lineman have seen many an insulator go by way of the trash can and wish now i had them  back.

[Sam Talley]

Mine are the light green and purple ones. These are examples of what was made, and are still out there in the back country, if you're lucky enough to find what was once a common sight, as Stan and Patrick mentioned.

[anthony martin]

 Sam,

    At one time I used to own about 300 different ones and had about 25-30 first generation insulators that were friction fit before they molded in the internal threads,really a continuation of old telegraph insulators.In the collection were slag,milk,carnival and at least 20 different colors.I donated most to a museum along about the time I also got uninterested in collecting old barbed wire!Now I focus on early trade catalogues and other ephemera,telephones,guns,early photographica and outside horn phonographs.That's more than enough!

[Dave McGowan]

My wife has a couple of dozen some of them quite old.

Yes, I shot a few of them myself ... should have had my ass kicked.

[patrick mark pazen]

I have seen some very attractive insulator displays, with back lighting and lighting from different angles puts the insulators on a very nice visual.

[anthony martin]

  I used to make up lamp bases with a small low wattage utility bulb and drop a nice colored insulator on top to give to friends as nightlight or accent lamps,easy to do and they are quite pretty.