Insulators

These are some of the glass cap-and-pin isolateurs (insulators) that hung from the electrical poles that served our hamlet. They're still out there on the ground and I'm still debating with myself about whether to go get one or two. I'd only need a pair of pliers to remove them from the downed pole as they seem to be held on with simple goupilles (cotter pins).

Insulators attached to the pole on the ground out behind our house.

It turns out that there's a group of insulator collectors based in the United States and, surprise, they have a web site. You can click here to see it if you're so inclined. My maternal grandfather used to work for a telephone company in upstate New York and he kept numerous blue glass insulators around his house. He also had an old wooden telephone wire spool or two in the back yard, up-ended and used as a picnic table.