Corkscrew Blog

2018 Best Six

3/25/2019

I know what you're thinking....isn't this a little late? If you were a member of the CCCC then you would have seen this well in advance, but if you aren't a member then you're in luck. Membership is only $25 and affords you access to the largest corkscrew collecting club with information only available to members as well as access to members only events and auctions. https://corkscrewclub.org/ But fortunately for you, I'm happy to share this content with non-members, so enjoy.

Walker corkscrew with carved ivory handle inlaid with Sterling silver grape leaves and clusters as well as a Sterling collar above the shank. The majority of the ivory has been "inked" which is very unusual unless it is done as a monogram or family crest.
Massive display corkscrew believed to have been made for The Great Exhibition which was held in London in 1851. Measuring an impressive 13 inches tall, this corkscrew would have been crafted by a master cutler to showcase his skills. The handle is made of ebony, the shank has multiple facets, and the button measures 3.25 inches wide. The helix is an archimedean worm with 30 full turns.
Hull patent direct pressure corkscrew. Pulling the pin away from the handle releases the helix from the shank. Applying direct pressure spins the helix into the cork. Re-inserting the pin into the handle locks in the helix and allows the user to remove the cork.
Ivory handled utensil set with knife, spoon, and fork with corkscrew. The scales of this utensil set are decorated with sailing ships and the personalization “Capt. A. W. Jenkins.” The knife blade is marked RODRIGUES 42 PICCADILLY (London). Henry Rodrigues was a retailer in Picadilly, London. The spoon and fork have the Brookes & Crookes, Sheffield maker’s mark. c.1865.
Very rare gun with corkscrew trigger. These small guns would have been screwed into a nightstand and been used to scare away intruders. This is an early black powder version with a small handle which only allows for the user's thumb. Complete with original case, attached ramrod & another tool.
Another early black powder gun with corkscrew trigger. This version features beautiful scrolled Sterling silver scales. The handle can be unscrewed while the gun is being screwed into the nightstand then reattached once the gun is affixed to the nightstand.

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Lots of updates.

3/24/2019

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It's been 3 months since my last blog post. There are a couple of reasons for my hiatus. First, it's tax season and I've been working 7 days a week. Second, my new house has entered it's 4th month of renovations and has kept me pretty busy. Finally, until March, I hadn't acquired any corkscrews worth mentioning. And I mean nothing. Sure, I had fallen behind on my searches and my fellow collectors probably got some great deals because of it, but I hadn't come across anything that exciting in the past few months. Until now... Finally, I was able to acquire this cream colored version of a Ross pig below. I didn't have any Ross pigs in my collection at the time and when I saw this on a non-Ebay site at a reasonable price, I quickly purchased it. This corkscrew is an American design patented by Howard Ross in 1949. It's heftier than it looks in pictures, is made of celluloid, and can occasionally be found with their original boxes, but good luck. The snouts are often broken...poor design I suppose, but that's ok, it only makes good examples of these harder to find. The only other example I have owned was the black version and the majority of its nose was broken off. These are actually quite rare, yet sell for a fairly reasonable price considering how rarely they turn up ($100-$300). They can be found in 5 colors (red, black, yellow, green, cream), AND THE FABLED BLUE VERSION!!! The blue version is just that, fabled. There are no confirmed examples...as of yet.

My second purchase of 2019.....was a second Ross pig....and a cream colored one!!! What kind of sick joke had the corkscrew gods played on me? But, oh well, this one turned out to be an even better deal than the first and with the 27th corkscrew auction at https://auction.collectorcorkscrews.com/ starting in a few weeks, the duplicate is sure to find a new home.

Anyway, as of the past 2 days, I have some interesting new corkscrews purchased and in route, but until then, a lot has happened with the house. The iron door for the wine cellar was bought, the fireplace has been gutted, the granite is in, windows are all in....except for one that's backordered. Wood floors have been installed, sanded, hand scraped, stained, sealed, and cleaned repeatedly to no avail and well...pictures tell a thousand words.

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2018 Best Six

Lots of updates.

James Zalaznik

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