And just when you swore you didn't need one more collection...Did you ever think about collecting vintage glass insulators from the early- to mid-20th century?
My father was an electrical engineer, so I grew up with insulators of every shape and color used as paper weights and door stops. He would see one he thought was especially pretty and bring it home to my mother, and she would find a place for it.
When reader Bill of the blog
Fountain Pens & Typewriters mentioned that
Festivo candleholders look like insulators, I did a little searching and learned that the old colored glass ones like my dad brought home are now quite collectible. You may be asking yourself, "How pretty could an insulator be?" Well, take a look at these. You may be surprised.
 |
Glass insulators in use on a pole
tempereddesign.com |
 |
| insulatorstore.com |
 |
| decophobia.com |
 |
| easthampton.htnp.com |
 |
| oldinsulators.com |
 |
| insulators.info |
There's even a collectors guide,
The Definitive Guide to Colorful Insulators, by Mike Bruner.
 |
| schifferbooks.com |
And, probably of most interest to readers of this blog, people are repurposing these beautiful old insulators and making some gorgeous pendant lights from them. Who knew?
 |
| antiques.com |
*********************************************
Bloggers
Kylie and
Pippa are raising money for cancer research. Please visit their blogs and help them if you can.
If I remember correctly, I found out about glass insulators from one Bill's posts. Surprising indeed. They've never been on my radar.
ReplyDeleteEven though I grew up surrounded by insulators, I truly had forgotten about them till Bill mentioned them the other day. I had no idea they were collectible...and that there's an organization of collectors that has meetings and a show.
DeleteMy dad had a few of them. See them all the time at antique stores in Richmond Va.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm going to have to buy one, for old time's sake.
DeleteMy mom's been collecting them for years! They line the stairway of my parents' house and are so pretty. My favourite, though are the two (a set actually) of ceramic ones. They're not a pretty colour...just that dark brown glaze that so many ceramics used to have, but they're an interesting shape. An older lady I know was wanting to clean out her basement last year and I volunteered to help her. We found a massive box full of them that she said her husband had collected in the '60s. She then proceeded to go to the cabinet in the next room and bring out two little lamps that she'd made from them. She said they were all the rage here in the '60s and that all the ladies made them and sold them as church fund raisers. They were such pretty little lamps for a dresser or night stand or shelf! I like the idea of the pendant style in your post too! Great idea!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember them being popular with the crafters in my area back then, but I really do like the pendants. Those would be great over a kitchen bar.
DeleteMy mother has been collecting these things for years. I usually think of them as more of an "antiquey" thing, but I guess they could go just as well in a MCM home.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely had them in our house in the 50s and 60s, so I know they'd be period-correct.
DeleteRichie and I collected them for a while... but never found any as beautiful as the ones you have featured here. Love them as light pendants. So creative!!!
ReplyDeleteMy dad brought home some nice ones, but these are amazing! I love those pendants too. Such a cool idea!
DeleteThanks for introducing me to the amazing world of insulators! I guess.... I really don't need another obsession, and these are ever so pretty:-)
ReplyDeleteI have to confess that I'd like to find a really beautiful, rare one...just to have in my dad's memory.
DeleteOh, you must, Dana!!!
DeleteAnthony's cousin worked as a linesman for Telstra (telephone co) back in the day when no-one really cared about stuff like this (here in Aus anyway). He worked in some pretty remote parts of Australia and has a massive collection of beautiful insulators (among other interesting things). I hope you find a really lovely one in honour of your Dad x
ReplyDeleteIt would be a fitting reminder of him, since the family joke was that we spent half of our vacations looking at beautiful scenery and the other half looking at electric substations. :)
DeleteI think in the UK the ones of a 'domestic' scale are generally brown porcelain, though we do have massive glass insulators on high tension primary distribution pylons - all green glass though, no fancy colours. They are really beautiful ones you show above and barely industrial looking at all.
ReplyDeleteI think brown and white porcelain are pretty standard here too, where above-ground lines still exist. In most new neighborhoods, lines are buried. I live in an old neighborhood, so we still have poles.
DeleteI have one that my grandfather gave me. He would find them on his farm. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for insulators. The pendant idea is pretty swell!
ReplyDeleteI think it's so cool that so many people still have them in their homes. When I wrote this post, I figured most people had forgotten all about them, like I had.
DeleteWhat a timely post Dana!! I just purchased 3 lovely Amethyst coloured ones which I use as doorstops. They are very keenly sought here, and they are still reasonably plentiful even though they haven't been used for years....especially collectable are the coloured ones which can go for very high prices at auctions.
ReplyDeleteThe amethyst ones are so pretty. Maybe you'll show us a photo of yours someday.
DeleteJust to let you all know, some insulators sell for over USD $20,000.00. They are quite beautiful, my father, brother and I started collecting back in the early 70's and we had quite the collection. My father has since passed, my brother started selling some of them, about 400 different one's before he passed.
ReplyDeleteI have the remaining thousand or so. I have set aside those that I have memories about with Dad and Brother. There are shows all over the US, regional shows, as well as a national show. The one book that you have shown above is not the only book out there. This would probably be the most followed guide: Insulators - North American Glass Insulator Price Guide by Donald R. Briel. Happy hunting and collecting!
Thanks for adding so much pertinent information to the discussion. Very interesting!
DeleteI just stumbled across this blog and glad to see insulators as the topic of conversation. Glass insulators actually date back to the beginning of the telegraph era to 1844 when Ezra Cornell is credited as having invented the first ones that are nicknamed "the bureau knob" as they had the appearance of a glass dresser drawer knob. A couple of these are actually in captivity and are priceless today. After an era of threadless insulators that lasted through about 1865, Louis Cauvet patented a threading process that we see on most modern insulators today that held insulators on their wooden pins more securely. This is a fascinating hobby, one that I've been a part of since 1964. As you can see, both glass and porcelain insulators come in nearly every color of the rainbow. While most are monetarily worth only a dollar or two, there are rare examples that have sold for nearly $50,000. Many people choose to specialize in one category of insulators and build the most comprehensive collections within those specialties possible. I recommend that everyone who is interested get the Guide to North American Glass Insulators that contains both precise drawings of each design as well as photographs of some of the more spectacular pieces in existence. There are insulator shows across the nation all year long and a large national convention held each summer. Go to Insulators.Info for more information. A wonderful hobby with many wonderful people participating in it, you just might get hooked, too, as this is a piece of Americana that you can hold in your hands!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the additional information. Fascinating!
DeleteYou should be able to click on this link: www.insulators.info Join ICON too!
ReplyDelete