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I was scrolling through some online auction lots one day and decided to take a closer look at one unassuming lot of corkscrews and bottle openers. There's nothing too interesting in this group, but one item did catch my eye; the unusual looking cast can opener in the bottom right marked COMBI. The unusual cone shaped small helix is very unusual and not something that I can remember seeing before. I tried to find out more information before bidding, but couldn't find a trace of information on this corkscrew, so I took a chance and entered a modest bid. I ended up winning the lot with no other bidders. Upon its arrival, I asked one of my collector friends if he had any information on the item and I was surprised to learn that it's Japanese made. I thought by the look of it that it would be some rare early American made piece. If any collectors interested in rare Japanese corkscrews need this in their collection then drop me a line.  
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Just a few recent Ebay finds including a beautifully carved stag cow head corkscrew with Sterling silver and two Sterling silver pocket corkscrews.    A couple of lots that I won from a NY based auction house just arrived and almost every piece is rare. Rarities include a rare folding bell corkscrew, French midsize handle folding corkscrew, German Kummer patent with gripping teeth, celluloid folding lady, ladies legs, folding kissing couple among others. More interesting corkscrews on the way!    It's been a good start to the year. The majority of these were purchased from auction houses while the carved alligator was an Ebay find. All of the rarities are in the bottom left corner of the first picture and include a stag horn with carved alligator and Sterling silver crown, rare gasoline pump corkscrew, 2 Swedish direct pressure corkscrews (these came from two separate auction houses, I just happened to end up winning both of them within a week of each other), and a French single lever corkscrew. Certainly some Best Six contenders, and there's some more on the way to the collection. Stay tuned for more corkscrews.      It's been a great year for corkscrew collecting and I have been lucky enough to have acquired some truly amazing pieces. Nearly all of the corkscrews below are in perfect condition.
 I was lucky enough to add several unique corkscrews to my collection in 2024, so much so that coming up with my Best Six for the year proved to be somewhat difficult. I pulled 14 corkscrews which I felt would be worthy examples for my Best Six. Some of these were no brainers to make my Best Six, but deciding which pieces would take the last spots took some time. Stay tuned; the final result is coming soon.     I always wonder why some collectors start posting their Best Six for the year in December when there's still more time in the year for corkscrew collecting. It happened last year and this year as well where the last corkscrew that I acquired in the year managed to make it into my Best Six for the year. I purchased this very rare figural single lever corkscrew with unusual lower brush from a Belgium auction house and it is definitely going to make my 2024 Best Six. It came with this fancy box which I don't believe has anything to do with the corkscrew. If anyone has any information on the box then let me know. All that I have been able to find on Star-Apic is that it is a Belgium based software company. The box does seem somewhat old and has intricate inlaid woods and mother of pearl.      I ended up purchasing this lot of interesting antique items. Although there are a few T handle corkscrews in the lot, the real winner is the Copley bow in the center. Unfortunately it is in worse condition than I realized. It appears to have been buried and dug up. Not a bad metal detector find though.    As the corkscrews continue to pile up, I decided it was time to move some of the smaller items to a pen display case. An idea I got from a fellow collector who mainly collects Sterling silver roundlets. So, here we go; a somewhat elegant pen/corkscrew display case which was immediately filled to the brim with roundlets, perfume corkscrews, and peg and worm corkscrews. More rare corkscrews are on their way to the collection, so come back soon.     During my Florida trip, I was continuously checking my bids on several lots that were coming up at auction on the day that I was traveling. While I was outbid on all but one of the lots that I was interested in, the lot that I did win ended up having a phenomenal corkscrew jewel. All of the corkscrews in the lot are keepers and many are somewhat rare and the more common ones all seem to have markings, but the crown jewel of the lot is the Charles Hull Le Presto patent located in the center of the first picture. This is the second Le Presto that I have owned and this version is nearly immaculate. For those who have never handled one of these, in order to use it, you start by pulling the pin on the side of the handle which releases the screw. Once extended you would push the handle down toward the cork which would cause the screw to spin into the cork. Once fully inserted, the pin locks the screw in place so that the cork can be extracted. It's a highly unusual mechanism which I'm sure did not work well which is why examples like this are so rare and highly sought after.       |
James ZalaznikI'm constantly adding new corkscrews to my collection. Any new finds as well as articles which may be of interest to corkscrew collectors will be posted here. Archives
March 2025
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