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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.    
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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.       Last month I won several lots from an auction house in Canada. Soon after those arrived, I noticed that the same auction house had a couple more corkscrew lots coming up. So I placed some bids and ended up winning several more lots which were waiting for me once I returned home from Florida. A pretty good haul with several Thomason's, Heeley double levers, Lund levers, etc. There's more goodies on the way, so check back soon.    We recently returned home from an eight day vacation in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Like usual, we ate lots of good food, visited the sights and museums as well as looking for corkscrews. There weren't many antique stores in the Miami area and the only antique store that we visited in Fort Lauderdale was a small showroom with a small selection of restored antique items ranging in price from $2k to $35k. So we went to a neighboring town where rents were cheaper; and where are rents the cheapest? Directly next to the dump. Notice the dump truck in the second picture. Anyway, out of three antique malls we were able to find some corkscrews and even some worth purchasing. We bought a bottle shaped roundlet with rare advertising for "Jacob J. Pfeffer Tippe Canoe Double Fire Copper Whiskey" as well as a Chip Chop also with rare advertising for "Ben Danbaum, Inc.         It was only a few months ago that I acquired a large oversized art piece of a can opener with corkscrew and now I've just outdone myself with an even larger piece. This one is a heavy cast piece resembling a common French Perille corkscrew; pictured with a real one for scale. If anyone has any information on this piece then please let me know as I've never seen one like it. I would imagine that this is a somewhat never creation, I.E. 2000+, possibly made in India? It doesn't seem like it would have been made as a home decor item as its a little too large and heavy. Could it have been an item produced for wine & liquor store displays?; that also seems a little improbable. Was this a custom one off piece?; it's possible, but a good amount of work went into creating this, so I would imagine that there would have at least been several produced. Anyway, this is now officially the largest "corkscrew" in the collection.   My good friend and fellow corkscrew collector Josef L'Africain happened to be in Dallas last month and was able to squeeze some time out of his schedule to stop by and see the collection; or well most of it anyway. He sent me a few pictures once he returned home of some new corkscrews that he had just acquired and we quickly made a deal for this rare ivory tusk corkscrew with a floral carving and very rare 14K gold end caps. If any other collectors find their way to the Dallas area then send me a message; I'm always happy to give a tour of the growing collection.     Earlier this month there was an auction in Canada with several great lots which each featured several groups of rare corkscrews. I was fortunate enough to win all but one of the lots that I was interested in. As you can see there are lots of great pieces including several ladies legs including rare variants like the wavy legs and metal scaled legs, lots of peg & worm corkscrews, a few old pocket corkscrews, a 4-pillar mechanical with an obscure marking, and more! One of the more interesting pieces I discovered a few days later; a small advertising finger pull marked Kepler malt extract voice tabloids made with cocaine.         The title says it all. I saw this on eBay, made a fair offer and a week later it was here as a great addition to the collection. Will it make my Best 6 for the year? It's certainly a strong contender, but hopefully there will be some even better pieces before the year is over.  Earlier this month ICCA members gathered for the Annual General Meeting which was located in London this year. I was unfortunately unable to attend this year, but it looks like everyone had a great time and acquired some new corkscrews. To my surprise, soon after I was told that I had won the Frank MacDonald award for the most outstanding Best Six. Pictures of the Best Six in question are below. Hopefully I'll be able to top this Best Six in the future. So far, it's looking like 2024 will be a pretty good one.  Best 6 - 2023
A very interesting corkscrew turned up a few weeks ago at an auction house in the UK. A one of a kind Dutch silver double seal corkscrew. I don't recall ever seeing anything like it. But with any valuable corkscrew, its always a good idea to get a picture of the helix before bidding. I asked a week prior to the auction for a picture and got a response that they had added a picture to the catalog. A day before the auction, I ask again for a picture and they send me one showing that there is virtually nothing left of the helix, a very unfortunate revelation. With this in mind, I opted not to bid, but was somewhat surprised to see that it sold for so much. Hopefully, the buyer was aware of the condition. Nonetheless, it's still a very interesting corkscrew and would at least display well.   |
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
December 2024
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