Insulator Post -- The CD Numbering System

The out of doors is still blanketed in snow so when the skies are clear and the sun comes out bright natural light pours in through the windows.  These are optimum lighting conditions for displaying glass insulators on window sills.  This photograph shows my California collection and a few baby signals from the last insulator post.

I have long debated whether I should bore to death what few readers I have with more obscure technical details of my various interests.  Because I use the medium of photography and this blog itself to document the physical details of my insulator collection I think that I cannot any longer neglect to mention the incredibly useful Consolidated Design system created by Mr. N.R. Woodward to categorize the style and general usage of the glass insulator.  This system is used by collectors and historians to identify the hundreds of different kinds of insulators in existence. 

Every four years a new edition of John and Carol McDougald's "Insulators A History and Guide to North American Glass Pintype Insulators" is published with the data arranged by CD number.  This book is a great resource that provides mechanical drawings showing shapes and dimensions as well as embossing details and fair market values.  I picked up a copy of this book shortly after becoming interested in glass insulators and I am looking forward to the new edition which is due out soon.

From right to left:

CD 162 CALIFORNIA

CD 161 CALIFORNIA

CD 161 CALIFORNIA

CD 102 C.G.I.Co.

CD 112 CALIFORNIA

CD 133 CALIFORNIA

CD 152 CALIFORNIA

CD 152 CALIFORNIA

CD 160 B  No 32 (Brookfield)

CD 160 CALIFORNIA

CD160 BROOKFIELD  NEW YORK

CD 160 HEMINGRAY - 14

CD 160 HEMINGRAY -14