Some Green and Blue Glass

[fldwlkr]

Nice day in Ohio so I took the bicycle out for a spin. Road out to a field but the corn remnants covered all the dirt. Stumbled across a new junk pile and scored a blue mason jar and a cool dark blue John Wyeth and Bro. bottle. It was in four pieces but too neat to leave behind. On the way back to the truck I noticed some insulators that found their way into my jacket pockets. A good day for the glass hound.

fldwlkr

[Havenhunter]

Love, love, love the cobalt bottle! Glad to find someone else who lines glass insulators. Thanks for sharing!
-- Deb

[Sugaree]

Wow great day fldwlkr you know I'm loving those insulaters! Even broken the bottle is a cool find.

[Tam]

Love that cobalt bottle .. so nice .
This prompted me to look these up . Late 1800’s till the last plant closed in 1966 on one site I was reading . Now I will be on the look out for these rare finds . I want to make light fixtures or many of the projects without destroying them .

[fldwlkr]

Thanks all for the replies. I was just glad to be out on a sunny day... the glass is a plus. The cobalt bottle is probably from the 1920's or 1930's. and is now one of the 350 or so bottles I have brought home. I need to cut the herd some time as I am out of display space. Insulators are another problem. I think the count is around 80 at the moment. I leave the clear ones out there and am trying to figure out what to do with the colored ones.
I will probably be out kicking around again today,
fldwlkr

[2ndoldman]

Blue and green glass is a real bonus find anytime you can find it Tim.
I have likely shared these pictures with you before but just in case I have not, back lighting is a fantastic way to show off insulators.

[Tam]

Tim google insulators and all these ideas come up do do with them . I like the lightening idea ..
ill take one 🤭

[fldwlkr]

I like the lights too. Need to pick up a few tools before I try that. Bruce, you did post the lighted shelves and I added rope lighting behind mine as a result. I have insulators on window sills, on shelves, and in cabinets... wife is getting tired of all the stuff I drag home.


fldwlkr

[2ndoldman]

That is a fantastic display Tim.

[SDhunter]

These are some nice displays of colored glass. Very beautiful!

[11KBP]

Love, love, love the cobalt bottle! Glad to find someone else who lines glass insulators. Thanks for sharing!
-- Deb

I too was not aware there were insulator collectors on this forum. I'm a big fan of the old and very beautiful colored insulators.

A few of my favorites.

[Havenhunter]

Are these coastal finds. They are designed to deal with salt spray. Just curious...

[11KBP]

No, these were used in many locations in the U.S., however some insulators of certain colors are sometimes found in only specific locations. The center blue Hemingray insulator (these are often called Mickey Mouse insulators) is a color called electric blue and they were only found in Kansas City, MO.

[2ndoldman]

WOW. Those Mickey Mouse ones are fantastic.

[fldwlkr]

11KBP, You have some outstanding examples there. I have one purple one that was a gift. Most of mine are the common ones that I pick up here in Ohio. Clear, Coke Bottle Green, Aqua, Dark Green, and Blue. I do find the smaller ones that were used to run power to houses and they add variety. Guess I'm a sucker for anything shiny when I'm out wandering.

[11KBP]

Thanks fldwlkr. Although I have found a fair number of insulators those in my picture are ones I have purchased over the years. My grandad, my dad and myself all worked for a telephone company so we’ve been around insulators for many years and where my interest originated.
A forewarning to anyone thinking about getting into the insulator collecting hobby, do not buy pretty colored insulators off of ebay or at flea markets until you learn what to watch out for.
.

[2ndoldman]

11KBP can you let us in on the secret as to what to watch out for?

[11KBP]

[URL="https://forums.arrowheads.com/member/2415-11kbp"]11KBP can you let us in on the secret as to what to watch out for?

ARTIFICIALLY INDUCED COLORS.

http://www.nia.org/altered/

Like in many collectible hobbies there are also shysters defrauding those in the insulator collector hobby and it’s oftentimes the newbies that are targeted.
Artificially induced colors are one of the bigger problems and these insulators are often seen on fleabay and at flea markets. Insulator shows are an excellent source of learning about the various types of insulators and what colors specific insulator styles were manufactured in.

Just about everything you might want to know can be found on this link:

https://www.insulators.info/

The shows listed on the above link will not tolerate any dealers who try and sell altered or questionable insulators.

Like collecting Indian artifacts the best way to learn a great deal is to find a mentor, one who has been collecting many years can teach you the most in the shortest amount of time. Outright reproduced fakes in the insulator hobby exist but in very low numbers unlike the Indian artifact hobby where there are now many thousands of repros out there.

One other source of help for newbies can be found on some of the insulator collecting groups on facebook.

[2ndoldman]

Thank you. The link will be very useful to reference every now and then.