I'm not sure if this is a "Hunts & Finds"-relevant story, but since I found it in my hands this Christmas season, I'm calling it as such.

Through the generosity and kindness of a couple of very special loved ones and friends, I was lucky enough to be able to not only be well-fed, clothed, housed and cared for this Christmas, but something more: I was able to add a few unexpectedly nice pieces to the collection.

The first piece (and the only one I've so far managed to snap any photos of) is this odd little Brookfield "salesman sample". This piece was given to me by a friend of mine. We had spotted it a couple years back in the collection of an old-timer he had introduced me to. This fellow had gathered up artefacts, primarily railway-related ones, for over 40 years here in Ontario. His father before him had been a collector as well, and he certainly had a breath-taking pile of, often priceless, artefacts to show for it. He also had quite a lot of junk, and while touring one of the "storage sheds" on his property, I spotted this piece sitting all by its lonesome on a wooden plank shelf in a dusty back room. I couldn't believe my eyes, as I was well aware that just about any "salesman sample" insulator is a tough piece to find. This ancient-looking Brookfield product must be something special.

Unfortunately for me, the fellow who had it is not an easy one to obtain anything from. I had expressed interest in the piece at the time, and while the owner seemed disenchanted with the piece, he also wasn't in any hurry to rid himself of it. He declined my offer, and this one went into the "Man, I sure would love to own that one..." category.

Two years later (that brings us to just a few days ago), I nervously unwrapped a small jewelry box with concerned ideas of being given a charm bracelet by this friend of mine. My concerns about emasculation melted away when I saw this piece wrapped up on a tidy silk pad. He somehow managed to coax the piece out of the collector's hoard!

Without a doubt this is one of the coolest pieces I've added to my own hoard in some time. Having seemingly Canadian provenance, I'm stoked to be able to bring it home. It's a good green colour, with some obvious milky swirls throughout the dome. It seems to be overpoured on the base, and glass has pushed up between the "skirts" making it a little more solid than the average example of this style and giving it a "ridged" base, so to speak. Lots of dome glass on this one. The embossing is very strong for such a tiny piece (it stands only about 1 1/4" tall) and simply reads "BROOKFIELD" on the front skirt with no trace of any description of the WESTERN ELEC STANDARD embossing anywhere on the crown or rear skirt. The piece is in good condition overall, save for a bit of roughness around the base edge, and a single small chip on the front, upper "wire ridge".

My question is this: since this piece seems to be currently unlisted in the guide in this embossing, are there others of this embossing known? Has anyone out there seen an example without the "WESTERN ELEC STANDARD" embossing?

Happy Holidays to all on ICON! I hope you were all able to add something unique to your collections over the holidays. More importantly, I hope you were all warm, well-fed and well-loved by those around you. Best wishes from the Nicpons!