No Golf Today!

So, my weekly golf game was canceled today.  Thanks a lot Noah!

After retreiving my golf clubs from my car, I thought, "well, I am not teaching today, why not go hunt down some corkscrews?"  I hopped in and took a drive to a rather large antique mall in the suburbs.  Lo and behold there were actually corkscrews there…but few worth buying.  There is some solace in knowing that dealers recognize that someone will actually buy these things.

Suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I saw a helix.   I dove into the booth and made out with a syroco waiter, a codd corkscrew with a spout, and a cool little anri man corkscrew.  The pictures say it all; what was there, what was left there, and what will probably never sell, given the prices being asked.

 

 

 

eBay Pirates at it again

Well, clearly one can never be too sure what item is going to dissappear next.  This time, there was a 1940’s Korkmaster Corkscrew online with an opening bid of 9.99.  There was a bid on it, and this morning, it is no longer for sale.  Nabbed by a corkscrew pirate, I am sure. 

Where will it end?  Is no one safe?  Are these rascals and scoundrels out to collect every corkscrew out there regardless of method?

Arrrrgh!

 

900$ for a champagne tap

the chicago antique market was a lovely thing to behold, especially since security let me in early–a hour and a half before the actual buyers.  I meandered around, saw a couple of nice things, and then ran into my arch nemesis–this guy has been collecting corkscrews since before I was born, and he was set up to sell, as well hunt for some treasures as well.

I quickly, skipped past and looked from booth to booth.  Then I saw a lovely champagne tap.  Upon picking it up, I was told 40$.  Not bad, and I was contemplating the purchase when I noticed another one.  These were out in the open, adjacent to some of those horrible grapevine corkscrews.  I picked it up, looked closely.  And, said, "how much for this one?"  900$ was his response.  I didn’t flinch.  I didn’t gasp.  I didn’t balk.  But, I didn’t reach for my money clip either.

It’s in the book, he explained.  "great, he has THE book," I thought to myself.  So, I wandered on.  I looked around some more, and actually bumped in to a couple also looking for corkscrews.  Given their enthusiasm, I am contemplating getting a space at the same fair next month. 

So… no corkscrews for me this morning.  Perhaps eBay will prove an interesting hunt later.

 

chicago antique market

Tomorrow is the opening of the Chicago Antique Market.  200 dealers located a mere hop, skip, and a jump from where I live.  I will be there as early as possible to see what treasures are there.  Last year, I ran across an awesome Thomason corkscrew with a brilliant badge.  I passed based on the price, but saw some lovely other things that I did pick up.  Last year, the market was much smaller, and this opening session should prove to be quite the happening.

The next entry will either tell the story of great triumph   or great dissappointment.

 

corkscrews suddenly dissappearing off of eBay

 Every once in a while there is a rare antique corkscrew that will come up for bidding on eBay.  A few bids are placed.  A few days go by.  And, suddenly it’s gone.  Not won by anyone, but for some reason the seller has decided to take it off of the auction site.

Now it may be the case that the person has changed their mind and decided to keep it.  It may be that the seller felt the bids weren’t high enough to that point.  I however, have another theory.  There are  eBay pirates!  Someone offered the seller an amount of money to get them to end the listing early.  And, given the fact that collectors are always looking for a good deal, it is probably significantly less than it would have sold for if the auction had ended in appropriate auction fashion.

Irritating? Yes!!!!!!!!

So what is the regular ebayer to do?  Do we hoist our own jolly roger and join in the fray?  Or, do we seek out the pirates and find another way of beating them to the booty?

 

zig zag corkscrews

Recently I acquired 30 variations of lazytong corkscrews.  These came in a larger collection of corkscrews that I received.  Of the 30 lazy tongs, there are 10 Perfects, 8 Ideals, and 4 zig zags, as well as many other different types.  I appreciate that they work well and all, but why would someone want to collect 10 of the exact same item?  After you have one, why would you need 9 more just like it? 

It suffices to say, that these will be put up for sale on my website or via eBay.

I left with 12 balls, I returned with 2

Okay, whose big idea was it to put water hazards on a golf course?!?!?!

 

go withs (?)

In the back of the Don Bull book, The Ultimate Corkscrew Book (yes, that is the title), there is a section entitled "go withs."  Apparently that is the term for items in the collecting world that may not be the exact item, but for some reason they seem like an appropriate accompaniment to the item being collected.  For instance, one may collect antique corkscrews, so a "go with" may be a postcard that features an antique corkscrew within its illustration.

My question of course, is how far does the "go with" extend?  Is it like 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon where through a series of relationships one can link any actor/actress to the esteemed footloose star? Paul Reiser was in Mad About You with Helen Hunt, Helen Hunt was in As Good as it Gets with Jack Nicholson, Jack Nicholson was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon… you get the idea.   So, because one company made corkscrews, even though the item is not corkscrew like whatsoever, it will then be deemed a corkscrew "go with."

At this moment on eBay, there is a listing for a corkscrew go with.  A pair of bookends made by the syracuse ornamental company.  Now, the bookends have no corkscrews attached to them.  They are bookends afterall.  However, the company did make corkscrews, and a similarly shaped character is used as one of their corkscrews.  But, is a bookend a corkscrew go with?

Surely this is difficult to follow, as I have gotten lost just writing it.  But, the question remains, how many degrees of separation are allowed in considering a "go with" in relation to its collectible second-cousin?

 

dragon corkscrew

I was contacted today about an awesome corkscrew.  A very old carved dragon corkscrew with glass eyes.  It is breathtakingly cool.  However, the price might be a little prohibitive.  What ever happened to those days when corkscrews were 5-10 bucks, and not well into the 100’s.  Or, at least, people didn’t ask 100’s upon 100’s for them.

It is truly beautiful, and really unique.  What to do, what to do, What to do?

I also went to another flea market this morning.  Many tube socks, a few rolls of duct tape, and lots and lots of fishing stuff.  Three corkscrews, two modern, and one with a broken helix.  Why have the corkscrew gods forsaken me??????????

 

 

32 again

Happy B Day to me, Happy B Day to me, Happy B Day to meeeeeee, Happy B Day to me.