I believe, but need to research it further, that the insulators were really very dark brown and that is why you see them either black or reddish brown from the manufacturers.
I collect insulators as well and high power insulators such as the ones on the GG1 are typically ceramic and fired with a dark brown glaze. The several in my collection range in color as quality control of color was of course secondary to performance. Some are lighter than others, even in the same type or style of insulator.
However, once in service for even a short period even the glass lineside insulators used for telegraph systems built up a residue of black from exhaust, soot and other miscellaneous dirt and grime. My experience is that it takes a lot of work to get that build-up off some insulators even with a thorough scrubbing and few times through the dish washer. The GG1's did not get this level of cleaning in the best of times, so black would be the safer bet on color.
As an aside, glass was and is still found in high-voltage installations, but the glass insulators typically are larger and can't take the heat of a ceramic one. Ceramic is also less vulnerable to damage from kicked rocks or debris. Discussing insulators in detail is a topic for another thread that could be very interesting for modelers.
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