How was this Locke insulator used? Recently discovered in a Scriba, NY Auction House, a little over 100 miles from both Victor, NY and Corning, NY, is this never before seen Fred Locke borosilicate glass sleeve insulator. It is clear glass with a milky swoosh near the top opening. There are no bubbles in the glass and it has a single skirt. Front embossing reads: PAT'D BY F.M. LOCKE VICTOR, N.Y. Rear embossing reads: MAR 31, 1914. FEB 2, & OCT 12, 1915. (ampersand is reversed; no upside down lettering). Top outside diameter is 3 and 5/8"; height is 4"; outside bottom diameter 7". If there were two of them, the top of one of them would comfortably rest into the recessed bottom well of the other sleeve. There are no wear marks or residual bonding material to indicate how it might have been used.

To save you some time, you won't find any mention of it in Elton Gish's biography on Fred M. Locke nor on Elton's Fred Locke website. You also won't see it among the discoveries in Fred Locke's attic. There is also no mention of the sleeve in the Insulator Gazette, Insulator Geography, Insulator Patent Library nor any reference in the CD photo galleries of ICON, nia.org or allinsulators.com.

What we do know is that the three patent dates reference 5 different patents issued to Fred Locke for adding boron compounds to glass and porcelain mixtures that greatly reduced material expansion when subject to high heat. Insulators made from these new glass formulae were made by Corning Glass Works for Fred Locke. These insulators were likely experimental or marketed in very limited quantities as very few have been found by the hobby. They include the CD 178.5 (2 patent dates); CD 241 (3 patent dates); CD 247.3 (3 patent dates) and some glass suspension insulators. I personally believe that at least 12 different styles and variations of glass insulators were created by Corning for Fred using his borosilicate glass formulae, leaving many unaccounted for in the hobby. [id=676735223]