Age of insulator

[Mintberrycrunch]

I found this last summer. I was hoping someone could tell me who made it and when. It's actually really cool looking and in perfect shape. Thanks

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

I don't think that is real old maybe the 70's the older ones were glass not ceramic but I like how it looks with the glaze worn like that.We still have a railroad wire line with the old glass ones still attached to all the poles that haven't fallen over yet.

 

[Mintberrycrunch]

They can be kinda old not sure about this one though.

 

[Normsel]

They can be in the early 30's or earlier. Can be worth from $5 to $50

 

[Mintberrycrunch]

I don't think that is real old maybe the 70's the older ones were glass not ceramic but I like how it looks with the glaze worn like that.We still have a railroad wire line with the old glass ones still attached to all the poles that haven't fallen over yet.

It's not worn it just has a lot of white all the way through it. It's glazed too to bottom

 

[tamrock]

I've noticed asking prices on old insulators are going up in the flea markets and antique malls. If you look online you'll see many cool looking repurposed insulators being used in lamp and candlestick kindof art. I'm seeing prices of around $8.00 for average glass ones. As I travel down the highway I'm still seeing hundreds of them left out there on old abandoned telephone poles, but I guess that would be stealing if I started gathering up all the ones I see out there.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

I can tell you it's called a "saddle top" and I would guess 1940's or newer, but there's no way to date it really that I know of. You could get an idea of the earliest it would have been made if you know when the line it came from was first strung. And if the line is gone, and you can figure out when it was taken down, that would give you the latest date it could be from

I used to collect the glass insulators back in the 1980's when the old rail lines were being ripped out around where I grew up and I still have a lot of them at my moms house I think, but I never really picked up the ceramics unless they were makers marked or had a nice look to them, yours is one I definitely would have picked up, I like the look of it.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

They can be in the early 30's or earlier. Can be worth from $5 to $50

Damn! We used to find those by the dozens when I was a kid, most became targets for my .22

 

[Mintberrycrunch]

Damn! We used to find those by the dozens when I was a kid, most became targets for my .22

Right everyone wanted the colored glass ones. The porcelain ones were target practice. Making them harder to find and now they're becoming more collectible win win