Lynchburg Glass Insulators

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Dennis Bratcher, NIA #3193

CD 281 The Lynchburg Glass Corporation in Lynchburg, Virginia produced glass insulators between November, 1923, and May, 1925. During that brief time, over four million insulators were made at the plant and distributed all over the world. Most are marked Lynchburg with a characteristic logo of an "L" within an oval. The goal of this site is to provide information for the beginning as well as advanced collector of Lynchburg glass insulators.

Insulators marked "Lynchburg" were made in fourteen different styles (identified by Consolidated Design or CD numbers;* see Lynchburg Insulator Styles), with variations of most of these styles. In addition there likely was at least one style made at Lynchburg that did not carry the Lynchburg name. They can be found in a variety of colors: aqua in various hues of blue and green; different shades of blue including ice, teal, and sage blue; various shades of green including apple, 7-up green, yellow green, lime, sage, and olive; and crystal clear, along with various tints including green, sage, olive, light amber or yellow, gray smoke, and pink.

There are a few two-toned aqua and green pieces. They also occur swirled with white milk, black carbon, amber, and with tiny bubbles throughout (see Anomalies). A few pieces have been found embedded with larger patches of white material, large bubbles, or with pieces of fire brick from the glass furnace.

Several styles went through various retoolings to correct embossing errors, to reinforce worn lettering, or to strengthen weak features of the design. Some molds were totally reworked to create a new style (CD number). These provide additional varieties for the collector. Also, most of the molds used by Lynchburg Glass bore mold numbers and shop markings. Since much of the mold work and especially the engraving for the lettering was done by hand, no two molds are exactly alike. This provides additional varieties for the specialist collector.

These combinations of styles, embossing variations, colors, and retoolings, as well as various anomalies from the manufacturing process, provide the collector with the opportunity to search for several hundred different Lynchburg insulators. This site hopes to provide information for all of these variations.

Assistance

Since I still find new variations after 50+ years of collecting Lynchburgs, I would be interested in hearing about new examples, unlisted lettering, colors, or mold numbers, and unique pieces (bubbles, inclusions, milk, carbon swirls, etc.). Contact information is at the bottom of each page.

*N. R. "Woody" Woodward developed the Consolidated Design numbers in the early 1950s as a way to classify the hundreds of glass insulator styles. His system has become the standard for categorizing glass insulators. Some number designations were changed and/or reassigned in 2018.

Menu of Lynchburg CD Styles

History of Lynchburg Glass Works

Go directly to the CD Numbers:
CD 106
CD 112.1*
CD 121
CD 122
CD 145
CD 153
CD 154
CD 160
CD 162
CD 164
CD 205
CD 251
CD 252
CD 281
CD 306

*The CD designation for this style of Lynchburg insulator was changed from CD 112 to CD 112.1 in 2018.

Is It a Lynchburg?
Identifying Lynchburg Maker's Marks

For basic information about insulators and collecting, visit
The National Insulator Association.