Bibliography of Frantisek Danek
Frantisek Danek was grown up in a small village Dvoriste, two kilometres east of Obrratan, near the road Tabor
- Pelhrimov. His parents ran a mill. The energy for the mill and a small water power station delivered a creek
and a pond. During the outraged collectivization of the agriculture the communistic regime confiscated the mill.
Franrisek firstaly took notice of insulators when he found a few in the creek and took them home. After a road accident when a pole has been
broken his finds increased. He was fascinated by the insulator's rounded shapes and shining white surface. And that not all of them were of the
same size and type. In thistime had nearlyten years. He built in the garden a 50 metres long line. In Obratan where he attended the grammar school
there was an electrical work shop and the local electrician threw away different old material including insulators and hardware. It was no prolem
to get those. When Frantisek was late comming home his parents knew what he is wandering under lines looking for insulators. He kept his findings
in a shack at the waterside of the creek.
His interest in electricity has been proven by taking apprentice of electrotechnics followed at a high school study. In this time he had already tens
of different insulators.
When he entered in 1977 his first job as a line man his collection counted approx. 400 pieces. In 1979 then 520 specimen and 1500 surge arrestors.
His shack was not enough large and the insulators had to be placed in open air.
In 1982 he established contacts with export-inport company and received addresses of foreign insulator factories. His collection enlarged all the time
and included also numerous catalogues, stabdards, drawings and technical literature. He contacted research institutes and testing laboraories. As an
employee of power company he had access to information on equipment to be wound up and saved it.
In 1986 he purchased from the Uniform Agricultural Cooperation the original family mill and begun to rebuild it to a museum.
He is a member of the Czech Collecto's Club of Curiosities. His collection has been alrady published in different magazines, in a tourist guide and in a few
TV shots.
Since 1989 after opening the frontiers he realizes journeyes abroad visiting manufacturers, users and insulator collectors in different countries.
Since 2001 his collection is enrolled at the Ministry of Culture as a preserved technical collection. It reached old in 2003 5000 insulators, 660 surge
arrestors, and several old electrical equipment.
14 November 2003. M. Immer