Books about Porcelain Insulators

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All books are available and the prices are current.
 
Books may be purchased by sending a personal check or money order to the following address:
Elton Gish
5415 Lexington Circle
Lumberton, TX 77657

 

Also accept payment with PayPal.:

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All Books shown below are still in print and Available NOW

As of MARCH 20, 2024

 

 

Below are books about porcelain insulators to help the collector.  The first two books are needed to get you started in the hobby.  They will help you identify styles (with U-numbers), manufacturers, markings, and values.  Click on the links to learn more about the book.  All books are AVAILABLE now and may be ordered directly from Elton Gish by sending payment to 5415 Lexington Circle, Lumberton, TX 77657.  You may send a personal check, money order, or use PayPal.  For inquiries, write .

 

 

New  2nd Edition Collector's Porcelain Guide Book for Porcelain Insulators  

This 2019 SECOND EDITION book is the newest Porcelain Guide Book for unipart (one-part) pin-type porcelain insulators.  It is like no other book about porcelain insulators.  This is the culmination of more than 45 years of research and nearly 5 years of work to write and photograph all known unipart styles.  21 new U-number styles have been added.  The 1028 pin-type styles in the U-Chart are shown in COLOR using reference photographs of actual insulators.  The Unipart Chart has been reduced by 20% by removing most of the trimmer variants and styles assigned from catalogs that did not match actual insulators.  All the new U-numbers assigned since the first edition was published in 2015 are included in the 2019 second edition. It has a very detailed history of each manufacturer with nearly 500 historic and other photographs many of which are in color.  Every aspect of unipart pin-type porcelain insulators is discussed as well as examples of 286 types of markings that have been reported.  Mike Spadafora wrote an Appendix section summarizing his decades of  hunting and researching Fred Locke insulators and digging in the Victor plant dump.  He tells how you can determine the approximate year of manufacture by glaze and manufacturing characteristics. 

The book is 278 page book is spiral bound so it will lay flat when opened.  The size is 8-1/2 x 11.   The book is available NOW.

Price is $45 plus $8 U.S. shipping.  (Canadian orders please contact me for shipping cost If paying with credit card or Paypal, shipping will be added automatically.

Canadian orders for the Guide Book and Value Book combined, please contact me for shipping cost).

        You may send a personal check, money order, or use PayPal.  $45

 

 

 

Guide Book

 

 

2016 Value Guide for Unipart and Multipart Porcelain Insulators

 (must have Guide Book, too, for U-Chart and U-numbers)

[Value Guide can NOT be used by itself -- alone -- without the Porcelain Guide Book]

Value Guide (3rd edition) for Unipart and Multipart Porcelain Insulator

THE VALUE GUIDE IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE. THE NEW 2024 4th EDITION WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY

 

 

Value Guide

 

Multipart Porcelain Insulators 2nd edition book: 

    

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

This 379-page book provides drawings and photographs of 568 different styles of multipart porcelain insulators identified with M-numbers.  In addition, it contains a wealth of information on old power lines, historic photographs of insulators in service, the history of electrical power, company histories, markings found on multipart insulators, patents, value guide, and much, much more.  The soft cover book ($25 plus $5 shipping, plastic spiral bound so it will open flat) has a beautiful color photograph on the cover showing old insulators in a beautiful mountain scene.  The limited edition hardbound book ($35 plus $5 shipping) will be available while supply lasts.  The author is Elton Gish.  To order, send payment to Elton Gish, 5415 Lexington Circle, Lumberton, TX 77657.  You may send a personal check, money order, or use PayPal to send payment.  

 

$25 for spiral bound

or $35 for hardbound.  

 

 

 

 

Multipart Book bindings (select one)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fred M. Locke: A Biography

This 343-page book gives a detailed history of Fred Locke, the father of porcelain insulators.  There are many historical photographs as well as photographs and scale drawings that show all of the porcelain and glass insulators he produced.  You will be fascinated by his involvement with Pyrex glass, Corning Glass Works, Fry glass insulators, and many of his other glass patents.  The author is Elton Gish ($25 plus $5 shipping).  You may send a personal check, money order, or use PayPal.  $25 plus $5 shipping.

Fred Locke Book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog Reprints

Three one-of-a-kind catalogs of porcelain insulator companies were reproduced as close to the original as possible:

Catalog Reprints

 

Reprint of the 1912 Brookfield Catalog  (Sold Out)

 

H. Morgan Brookfield reprinted the original catalog his uncle, William Brookfield, owns.  It is an embossed hard cover book that is stitched together and has approximately 167 pages printed on slick magazine quality paper.  He added a 24 page dedication to the Brookfield Glass Company Founding Fathers and 3 different cross references in the back.  The dedication section includes several Brookfield patents, family photos, factory photos, company stock certificate and seal, and family history.  This is the only book available with detailed mechanical drawings of almost every Brookfield Insulator. If you are a serious glass insulator collector or just a casual Brookfield insulator collector, you will want one of these books for your reference library!  It is beautifully published to last several lifetimes.   

 

 
 

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