This is the what I was told by the seller off eBay when I asked about the history of this Otis: It came from Dayton Ohio found at a yard sale. The man selling it assured him it was an antique ice pick. It was listed on eBay as an ice pick. Then a hardcore ice pick collector (that's even worse than an insulator collector : ) notified him, it was a rare one. He did some research on the patent date and found out it was a lightning rod insulator they were both surprised to learn the truth. It was then relisted as a 150 year old Antique Lightning Rod Insulator. And that's the whole story.