hunting for tradebait

A friend from the JFO and I are currently working a trade. He had a nice celluloid alligator corkscrew, and I have…

well…

I am still digging through boxes to uncover something that will be appropriate. His list reads as follows–please keep in mind this is in JFO-speak

Beer and/or Soda from all of USA:

P-7′s
P-9′s
P-19′s
P-54′s
P-85′s
B-2′s

Soda from all of USA, especially:

A-1′s
A-4′s
A-5′s
A-9′s
A-13′s
A-15′s
A-16′s
A-17′s

Oddly enough, as I was going through a box containing openers that could possibly be appropriate tradebait, I ran across an Edward Zinn patent tool kit with corkscrew, a half sized Thomason corkscrew with lovely badge, an extra Steak Joint patent Korker, and a few other corkscrews that I had forgotten about.

Negotiations are ongoing, and the hunt continues, but the lovely little alligator definitely will be welcomed on the island.

updates

To be perfectly honest, there isn’t much to update in the way of corkscrew collecting.

We have had a fabulous trip to NY, and are still here.

Of course the big news is that pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training over the next couple of days, which means baseball season is upon us. And…well…hope springs eternal.

Go Giants!!!!

And, with catchers and pitchers reporting, the antiquing season also begins. Soon we will be heading to Montsweag, Las Vegas for the JFO, Brimfield in May and July, and a few antiquing adventures in between…

The lovely and I head back to Maine tomorrow…if anything turns up between now and then, I will post it here!

Off to NYC

The lovely bride and I head to NYC this morning for a week or so. Don’t know if any corkscrews will be found along the way, but I will be sure to update the blog if one (or a bunch) turns up.

So far the plans involve the Diego Rivera Exhibition at MoMA, an afternoon at the Westminster Dog Show, and going to see Warhorse–oh, and a bunch of walking around and wining and dining!

Updates and news as it happens. Stay Tuned!

The plot thickens…

Amongst other important work, I am continuing my quest in researching the Frary & Son Cutlery Company with hopes of finding a means of linking Frary to the corkscrews attributed to him by Kenneth Cope.

And… the plot just thickened.

After some research and a couple of emails, an 1878 catalog of the Frary Cutlery Co has been scanned and arrived in my email box just hours ago. I have already poured over the pages, and no corkscrews are mentioned. That said, it would make sense that Frary’s corkscrews were not being produced until the 1880′s to 1890′s, as the hercules mechanism he used wasn’t patented until 1893 and the Reissman patent wasn’t introduced until the mid 1890′s

So, maybe the plot didn’t thicken…

But, it does at least add to the story.

That said, I will keep hunting for information on Frary…

More from the newly discovered catalog soon!!!!

from 68 to 565 in 4 minutes

For the last week, I have been watching an eBay listing. Not that I was really watching it for 7 days, but I was definitely aware of it.

And, yesterday the auction ended.

All week, the corkscrew languished with a pretty low price, and then for most of yesterday it sat there at 68 dollars.

I had placed a rather significant snipe bid, and noticing that there was only 4 minutes to go–the last time I checked it–I figured that it was definitely going to be mine.

Of course, I also figured fotodeal would be going after it, but I placed a bid higher than one would think.

So, this morning, I grabbed a cup of coffee and checked my email. No ebay notifications that I was the winning bidder.

Seriously?

And, the winning bidder was NOT fotodeal!

Seriously?

Apparently after a flurry of sniping and bidding that surely has the seller shocked and pleased, the Davis Improved corkscrew–with atypical blade attachment went from 68 dollars to 565!

Fotodeal did go after it, but was the underbidder, and I was the bid under his… And, then there were a bunch of others that had noticed the unusual Davis.

That said, it did go to someone that we all know well, and I am sure good photograph of it will ultimately go into the article I am working on. Congrats BT…it is a great corkscrew!

Cork!

The lovely and I have been traipsing around Vermont for the last day or so, and yesterday we happened to turn a corner, and see a sign for an antique store. The lovely convivially announced, “We are stopping here…”

And, so we did.

She parked the car, and it would seem the corkscrew gods would be smiling upon us, there was even a sign from above…

Yes, we had actually parked in front of a Wine Bar! Imagine that… (more on the wine bar in a moment).

We crossed the street, and ventured into a delightful antique store, and headed left. Which is unusual, as generally I head right–your shopping habits may differ, but I digress…

As we entered a small room, I looked about, and didn’t see any corkscrews, but then…

Under a table…

In a box, filled with a couple of kitchen utensils…

was…

at first what I thought was Browne patent can opener with corkscrew. But, after flipping it over, I knew that it was something a bit more desirable.

I looked at the lovely bride, with an apparent giddiness, and as we were out of earshot of the shop owner, I proceeded to tell her, that this is definitely a good thing. And, how I have only ever seen two of these. One on eBay that sold for a ton of money, and one at the Boston CCCC AGM that also went for a significant amount–the actual amount eludes me.

With its price tag of a whopping 8 dollars, I carried it with me around the shop as we looked through many other nooks and crannies. Interestingly, in front of the dealer is a case that actually had 4 other corkscrews. Those would definitely be noticed by someone walking in the door (and heading to the right apparently).

I was definitely quite pleased that this was tucked away in the can opener department, as opposed to the more visible corkscrew department.

While looking like a humble can opener, marked PAT APL’D FOR, this one actually is decidedly hard to find (unless you are across from a wine bar in Vermont) and this might actually make the best 6 of the year.

After paying for our treasures (we bought other stuff too), we headed North and did a little more hunting. No more corkscrews; any that we wanted to buy anyway. And, after a nice lunch we headed back down. As it was several hours later, we found ourselves parked in front of Cork once more; this time to sample a bit of wine.

Cork is a lovely little wine bar and wine shop, and we spent a fair amount of time with the owner and manager. As it happened, they are looking for antique and vintage corkscrews to showcase in their shop. Business cards were exchanged.

A nice French Malbec and Sonoma Cab by the glass(es) were consumed, and then we purchased a few bottles including a bottle of Orwin Swift “Prisoner” which we shared at Salt–an excellent (small 5 table) restaurant in Montpelier if you are ever up this way.

This morning we head towards home, and who knows…perhaps a wine bar with an antique store across the street will be found along the way.

Off to Vermont

The lovely bride and I are working down at the wine bar this evening, and then take the first boat tomorrow morning to the mainland.

Only a couple of errands to run, and then we head off to Vermont for a couple of days.

And, I have no doubt there will be some antiquing along the way. If any finds are found, I will report back here.

Of course… if something newsworthy happens before we leave…

The Murph Arrives

Yesterday, the ivory handled R. Murphy Boston corkscrew arrived, and it is in much better shape than described. I have been long after an ivory handled Murphy, and this will surely make the best 6 for this year.

It has also been added to the Murphy Corkscrews page…

Speaking of corkscrews, another Bennit Patent was recently spotted on Main Street in Vinalhaven.

I do tend to get a bit obsessed…

Over the years of collecting corkscrews, every so often I get temporarily obsessed with one type or another, or one manufacturer or another, and set about trying to acquire more types, examples, variations, etc.

And, this seemed to have started with Syroco corkscrews.

Then it moved on to Murphy

And, of course it was the corkscrews of James D. Frary that followed.

Sometimes this is really based on my desire to build a collection, and sometimes one of these temporary obsessions finds its origins in the mere fact that I was lucky enough to find one or two.

And well…if I have one or two, I might as well have a dozen (or 40 in the case of Syroco).

This is really what happened with the latest Davis/Puddefoot/Detroit obsession. I had a couple, but then was lucky enough to find a rare variation of the Puddefoot with a blade. And, then the Detroit Improved Mermaid fell into my lap for a steal of a price. And, since I had a 3 or 4…well…

I am definitely on the hunt for more Detroit/Davis/Puddefoot corkscrews. And, knowing this a friend from Rochester made this unusual corkscrew available to me, and I couldn’t say no (I am obsessed after all).

This is a Davis, but the neckstand instead of being two pieces put together is instead a solid piece of metal like the Improved Davis or Puddefoot. Now, it is entirely possible that this is a put together piece, or…could The Davis Cork Screw Co. have been experimenting with a different style of neckstand?

Whether it is a made up piece or not, I am anxious for it to arrive and be added to the growing Detroit collection–I am thinking a Detroit Corkscrew Co. webpage might be in the works…

Mmmmmmmmurphy!!!!

As many of you know, one of the corkscrews with which I am rather fond is the Robert Murphy corkscrews. For those that don’t know the Murphy story, you can link to Bob Nugent’s 1990 article on my website here

I have been fortunate to add many Murphy corkscrews to the collection over the years, some picked up at antique shows, a few in trade, and one or two on eBay. However, one in particular has eluded me; the ivory handled one.

In fact, I have never even seen one. The only reason I knew about it is that within Nugent’s text he writes, “The earliest examples I have seen of Murphy corkscrews are very attractive with turned shafts and very nice turned acorn end handles…or tapered shafts with assorted handles. The top part of the shaft are squared and tapered to fit in matching holes though the handles. Most are secured by peening the end over a copper or brass washer but an ivory handled one I have has an imbedded round nut on a threaded shaft.”

I have conversations with other collectors, and they too have found the ivory handled Murphy elusive. That said, as Nugent’s text explains, he had one in his collection. And, of course someone ended up with the ivory Murphy that Nugent references. Still there has to be another, and so the hunt continues

Until today.

As it happened, a dealer that I have done business with in the past managed to unearth one recently. And, today a deal was struck that will have an ivory handled signed Murphy corkscrew heading into the collection.

Better photos after it arrives, but this will make a fantastic addition to the Murphy Corkscrew Collection.

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