Glass Insulators were first commercially produced in the 1850s for use with batteries, telegraph lines and lightning rod systems. As telegraph, telephone, fire alarm, railroad signal, high voltage transmission and radio antenna system technologies developed, the need for insulators grew very quickly and reached its peak sometime in the second decade of the 20th Century. Yesterday's technology moved electricity over open steel and copper wire. Today's technology moves electronic signals and electric power from point to point in many different ways. Advanced composite materials, ceramic compounds, plastic conduit, glass fiber, and microwave broadcast have all conspired to render the glass insulator of yore obsolete. Although pioneering collectors tell stories of finding and swapping old insulators as early as the end of WWII, insulator collecting as a formal, organized hobby really didn't begin to emerge on the antiques and collectibles scene until the mid-1960s. In the USA today, the National Insulator Association has thousands of members. This category is about collecting insulators. These sites contain information about the acquisition, display, identification, and history of these collections. This category is dedicated to the dreams and pursuits of insulator collectors around the world.
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