This is an arc-emb'd Evolution Type 1 dated Hemingray No.9

The color is a crystal clear with bright lavender swirls and a wandering string of yellow yarn thrown in for good measure. The purple swirls are mostly concentrated in the upper body, but a few come sothward into the skirt. It shows best against white paper with diffused lighting.

This is one of a pair of similar colored Evo-1's taken from a single ten pin arm phone line along the Colville River by my brother. He went up the pole for a purple C.G.I.Co. and says he thought these two No.9's were Maydwells until getting up to the crossarm. The other No.9 does not have the amber, but the clear-to-purple contrast is a little better. Both these pieces are look far better in hand.

While any pre-stamp dated No.9 is kinda scarce, the Evo's and Scripts can be fairly tough to find, even in aqua. A color like this, while underwhelming to most collectors, is a fantastic find for the specialist. This insulator was probably made right about 1895, and for 113 years has probably never been more than a few inches from its similarly colored brother.