CD 164 H.G. Co. Petticoat Peacock Blue SB

By Joe Maurath, Jr.; posted March 7, 2003

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This is *one* simply beautiful example of the colored glass from the Hemingray Glass Company! This piece, along with others that you will be seeing posted by me, is owned by a retired utility company employee in the Midwest. The company he worked for was small and up until 1967, when their street series circuits were replaced by multiple operation street lights, used specially colored insulators on their former 6.6A series circuits. The oldest ones were glass...mostly blue with some amber ones mixed in. In later years, as replacements, yellow and blue porcelain pintypes were filled in.

This individual, who requests to remain anonymous, only saved what was different and/or unusual through the years. He became a lineman not too long after World War II and swapped out unusually looking insulators on his system. He did not realize there were other insulator collectors out there until the late 1960s. Unfortunately he did not save a lot of glass, but what he did preserve is spectacular. He made some swaps in the early 1970s which added a peacock blue CD 145 HG Co. "K" mold beehive to his collection (see [id=51666896; this associated photo)] and a honey amber CD 145 H.G. Co. Petticoat... very similar to the color of a Hemingray No.8. These priceless pieces were very kindly lent for me for photographing and inspection.

The owner found out about me by reading my street lighting website on geocities and was enchanted by the fact that I am a long-time insulator collector (my "Five Decades of Insulator Collecting" link also appears on the above home page). Please note: NONE of these insulators are for sale and I have no idea if and when they will ever be. He has had them for over 35 years and has NO intention of selling. They are presented here for everybody's enjoyment.

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