Collecting Glass Beehive Insulators

Glass beehive insulators are a type of electrical insulator used at the top of telephone and telegraph poles in the early twentieth century. Prior to that time, glass insulators were made in other shapes but were not very practical as they did not remain attached to the top of the poles well. With the design of the beehive shape, these insulators became a popular design in use and practically every insulator company made some variation of this design.(1) When they finally fell into disuse when the old telephone and telegraph poles and wires were taken down, they became a unique collectible for glass collectors. A number of these insulators can be seen here. Sometimes the insulators would be left laying on the ground by the old poles, while others made their way into flea markets and local garage sales by those who believed they would be of some value. They became a popular collectible during the 1960's and because of their shape, the beehive insulators did not need any special display equipment, for the base was always flat.(2)

Each beehive insulator had these same parts: the dome, or the very top; the crown, the wire ridge, which kept the wires in place; the wire groove, where the wires were wrapped around; the skirt at the base which also held the wires in place; and the inner skirt, which usually contained the manufacturer's name.(3) Companies like Hemingray, Electrical Supply Company, Derflingher, Birmingham and Armstrong made insulators.(4) A few insulators remain unsigned, like the Frye insulators, as very few were made.(5) The insulators were usually clear or aqua glass in color but over time due to the constant exposure to the sunlight, the glass changed color, from clear to pale purple, or green. These color changes were due to the presence of manganese or another metallic salt in the glass. Once the glass changed color, they could not be turned back to the original color.(6) Collectors did not seem to mind the unusual coloring as it provided variation in appearance even though in reality, the natural discoloration devalued the original glass as it used to appear.