Best Of The West Live Auction (November 13, 2026 5:30 PM PT)

Circa 1877–1880s, CD 130.1, 4 1/2". California Electrical Works was organized in 1877 as the successor to the Electrical Construction & Maintenance Company (EC&M), one of the pioneering telegraph supply firms on the West Coast. Operating from San Francisco, the company played an important role in the expansion of telegraph and electrical infrastructure throughout California and the Pacific Coast. The CD 130.1 is believed to have been used on one of California's earliest long distance telephone lines. Constructed in the late 1870s by the Ridge Telephone Company, the line connected French Corral and French Lake in the Sierra Nevada and provided telephone service for the region's hydraulic mining operations. Widely regarded as the most desirable insulator produced by California Electrical Works and one of the premier insulators of any type, it is highly prized by collectors throughout the country. This represents an important opportunity to acquire one of the hobby’s most celebrated insulators.

Description & Condition: A rich, deep cobalt blue. The skirt is in excellent condition. Two of the four fluted wire groove sections are relatively clean, with only a few small chips measuring approximately 1/8". Each of the other two sections has a chip measuring roughly 3/8". Overall, a very good example of this notoriously damage prone form.

Min. Bid $3,000 - Est. $6,000–$12,000