Insulators
Richard-Ginori
The Manifattura Ginori was the first Italian factory to produce porcelain for electrotechnical use. In the 1850s, it supplied insulators to the Telegraph Administration of the Stato Pontificio, and after the Unification of Italy (1861), it began producing those intended for the kingdom’s telegraph lines.
Following the merger between the Manifattura Ginori and the Società Ceramica Richard (1896), production continued at the Colonnata factory. Later, the plants in Florence-Rifredi (since 1906), La Spezia (since 1927), Livorno (since 1939), and Verbano (since 1965) were added.
Electrotechnical porcelain, which represented an important part of the factory’s production, was intended for both civil and industrial installations and was used for telegraph, telephone, and railway lines, for radio antennas, and generally for electrical systems at low, high, and very high voltage.
At the Doccia headquarters, a testing room was specifically installed, visible in some period photographs preserved in the photographic archive of the Museo Ginori. Richard-Ginori insulator production was not only aimed at the domestic market but also abroad, incorporating classic forms from other European countries.
The image shows some types of insulators produced by Richard-Ginori. The first internal pass-through insulator in white porcelain with a flared shape, used for medium and high voltage power line cables, shows the production date, 1935, on the mark. The other, also in white porcelain, dated 1928, is a rigid pin insulator with three bells intended for medium voltage electrical installations. The last one with grooves, glazed in brown, is an outdoor pass-through insulator for medium and high voltage and is dated 1978. From a certain point onward, Richard-Ginori began indicating, with a letter impressed on the mark, which plant produced the items. On the brown insulator, the “L” visible above the company mark identified the Livorno location.
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The Manifattura Ginori was the first Italian factory to produce porcelain for electrotechnical use. In the 1850s, it supplied insulators to the Telegraph Administration of the Stato Pontificio, and after the Unification of Italy (1861), it began producing those intended for the kingdom’s telegraph lines.
Following the merger between the Manifattura Ginori and the Società Ceramica Richard (1896), production continued at the Colonnata factory. Later, the plants in Florence-Rifredi (since 1906), La Spezia (since 1927), Livorno (since 1939), and Verbano (since 1965) were added.
Electrotechnical porcelain, which represented an important part of the factory’s production, was intended for both civil and industrial installations and was used for telegraph, telephone, and railway lines, for radio antennas, and generally for electrical systems at low, high, and very high voltage.
At the Doccia headquarters, a testing room was specifically installed, visible in some period photographs preserved in the photographic archive of the Museo Ginori. Richard-Ginori insulator production was not only aimed at the domestic market but also abroad, incorporating classic forms from other European countries.
The image shows some types of insulators produced by Richard-Ginori. The first internal pass-through insulator in white porcelain with a flared shape, used for medium and high voltage power line cables, shows the production date, 1935, on the mark. The other, also in white porcelain, dated 1928, is a rigid pin insulator with three bells intended for medium voltage electrical installations. The last one with grooves, glazed in brown, is an outdoor pass-through insulator for medium and high voltage and is dated 1978. From a certain point onward, Richard-Ginori began indicating, with a letter impressed on the mark, which plant produced the items. On the brown insulator, the “L” visible above the company mark identified the Livorno location.
