CD 196 [10] B, sharp drip points
There is only one embossing variation for the CD 196 transposition embossed with a B. It is interesting that the embossing is not centered between the mold lines, making me wonder if the engraver intended to inscribe the full name of the company, BROOKFIELD, into the mold but did not for some reason. There can be several speculations as to why this was the case. It may have been that the company was attempting to save time on the part of the engraver by only putting a minimal engraving on the mold. There are numerous other styles engraved this way including the CDs 102, 103, 112, 116.5, 145, 152, 160, 162.5, 164, 185, 188, 190/191, 207, 226.3, 1087, 1090, and 1104 so it was not just this style. The uncentered embossing on this piece may be because it was the first piece that the engraver was working on when the order was made to limit the engraving or there may have just been a memory lapse when working on the mold for this insulator.
I purchased this Olive Green example from John & Carol McDougald who were downsizing some of the last of their colletion. I was actually second-in-line on this piece as one of the early responder to a posting on ICON they made indicating the availability of several insulators from their collection. Luckily, the first person decided against buying the piece. I picked the piece up at the 2014 Farmington, New Mexico national where I gathered some additional information about the piece. John remembered that the piece came from a collection in Beardstown, Illinois and that another collector had been there first and had pointed out the rarity of the insulator. John thought the other collector was Bernie Warren but I cornered Bernie Warren at the show and he firmly denied he had ever been there nor had he ever seen the insulator. After talking with Carol and with some more thought, Win Trueblood was identified as the previous visitor and, as luck would have it, Win was at the show and confirmed the visit.
The person who had the insulator was named Orwig, according to John. When I got home from the national, I Googled "Orwig, Beardstown, Illinois" and learned more of the likely original owner. On Ancestry.com I found information on John Calvin Orwig who lived July 28, 1918 to August 9, 2007 and worked for Illinois Bell in Beardstown as a central office technician, retiring in 1981. The occupation and age of John C. Orwig fits the profile of the kind of person who would have this kind of insulator and who would be at a stage of life where they would sell it.
References
Schuyler County, Illinois - 201407120. Family tree of the descendants of Walter Croxton and Margaret Griffin. John Calvin Orwig. Retrieved from http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=gregcroxton&id=I109583