Awards N.I.A. First Place General N.I.A. Milholland Educational Award (tie) Capital District Insulator Club Award for best exhibit using Eastern insulators This display, in my opinion, would put the Smithsonian Institution on notice as to the perfect display to illustrate the development and the evolution of the earliest examples of both telegraph and lightning rod insulators. Shown were the first seven telegraph insulators and insulating materials for which patents were issued including a U.S. Patent Office Model and the original tagging label from 1858. Three of the first five patents issued for lightning rod insulators were displayed. Many of the early unpatented telegraph styles, both non-pin and pintypes, comprised the balance of the display. I apologize for the poor quality of the photograph. It doesn't do the display justice. For more information, you can look at the section on Early and Unusual Telegraph Insulators.