before the show

I was sipping coffee this morning getting ready for the Boston Antiques show, when I noticed a corkscrew listed on eBay. I had a good laugh at this one. The description reads, "8 sided pull 8 sided tapering base. Fine patina all over. Full extended length= 9 ¼”. Archemidian worm length= 2”. ALMOST MINT (2 very small dings) SEE MY OTHER WINE ITEMS. Shipping includes insurance." And, the opening bid is 400$!!!!!!!! Of course, it is possible that someone may actually pay that much…but, even the 12 bucks he wants for shipping is more than the corkscrew should sell for…

the medicine cup arrives

I have been looking for one of these for some time, have been beaten out on ebay, and when the opportunity to get this one came up, I jumped on it immediately. And, I am beyond pleased. It is marked for Gorham and Sterling. The helix is sharp, and it is just fantastic!!!

The pictures are below, and upon seeing it (true to form) the lovely said, "that’s mine."

Boston Antique Show

The Boston Antique Show is this weekend, and the lovely and I will be there on Saturday (she flies to London on Sunday). So, we will be scouring the booths for corkscrews and other hidden treasures… Hopefully one or two will be found.

The corkscrew-guest room now has crown moulding (I always wanted a nail gun), and the corkscrew case will be put in place later this afternoon. We have yet to figure out where the syroco collection will go…I am seeking guidance from those who may be visiting. Would you sleep well with the syrocos staring at you, or would you find it un-nerving? The lovely is convinced that if we put them in there, the guests would hear little syroco footsteps in the middle of the night…

when bad packaging happens to good corkscrews…

Apparently fedex doesn’t hold corkscrews in the same regard as those of us who…well…um…er…hold corkscrews in high regard. And, so a syroco monk that arrived on Saturday suffered a broken collar bone, broken shoulder, and broken spirit. The seller has made a claim against fedex–who must have decided that instead of delivering a syroco monk, they would rather run him over–repeatedly!

a refund is enroute, and a monk in need of a sawdust-and-resin-makeover will find his way to the syroco infirmary…

tom scatcherd ?

I had a snipe bid placed on an archemedian wormed henshall the other day, and as luck would have I snagged the piece for a very fair price. the description explained that there were no maker’s marks on the item, and the was some cracking to the handle. when it arrived, there was indeed some cracking to the handle, however, on the top of the henshall button, it reads, "TOM SCATCHERD" Who is Tom…? And, does he want his corkscrew back. A really neat piece! Pictures to be posted soon….

headsets and snackssssssssssssssssss

I hopped a flight to California yesterday…a weekend with the lovely (who had flown in earlier). So, I am sitting in my little seat towards the back of the plane, and the announcement comes on that there will be snacks available for purchase. Clearly I am not flying first class, but in a cost cutting–or profit making–effort, this un-named airline has their flight attendants cruise the aisles selling Lay’s potato chips, or alternatively "snickerdoodles" for 3 dollars. 3 DOLLARS!!!!! ~~~~~~~~~ Now, I am unsure of what a snickerdoodle is, and I really didn’t want any chips, so I just sat there and listened as each passenger said no. Of course, you could also "buy" a headset for 2 dollars so you could access the inflight entertainment. It was about this time, that another flight attendant came strolling down the opposite aisle saying, "headsets and snackssssssssssssss;" sounding more like a snake than anything else. As she said it for the second time, I looked to see if she was part snake and had a forked tongue, but couldn’t really tell. ~~~~~~~~~~~ There was another option, you could buy a personal sized water for 2 dollars as well. I passed, but when they came back around, and the girl sitting next to me asked for water when offered a beverage, the flight attendant responded "this is all the bottled water we have left"(holding up a half filled plastic cup)"if you want water, it will be ‘plane water’". I don’t know what plane water is, but it didn’t sound good. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ On a corkscrew note, Robert found a lovely bow on eBay. Quite the steal, and with a case to match (pictures below). I am hitting the Long Beach, CA flea market this weekend, and hopefully a corkscrew or two will be there for me. Then back to Chicago, then Boston, then Spring Break!!!!

wireless in the classroom

So, I was in class last night and we were having a discussion of qualitative research software programs, and as I am doing quantitative research, I perused ebay for a moment (I am such a bad student). And, there it was before me a sterling medicine corkscrew in what looks to be fabulous shape. I emailed the seller to ask about the markings, and went back to listening to the lecture.

5 minutes later, we were on a break, and I had to reboot my computer as the wireless in that section of DePaul pretty much sucks. It keeps shutting you out! I hopped back on ebay, as we had 20 minutes to kill, and the same silver corkscrew was there, but this time with a buy it now. I love it when that happens!!!

Now, the price seemed a little steep, but I couldn’t help myself–it is pictured below…

corkscrew snuff bottle

I managed to pick this up today. I had seen a similar bottle at an antique show in Boston several months ago, but it didn’t have the same corkscrew top. So, when this came available, I simply had to have it… although, I don’t doubt there will be a couple of trade offers coming through for it…

syroco enroute

after lengthy negotiations, another police dog / shepherd is headed for the syroco collection…and, if all goes well, another monk as well. we are working on that one currently.

monkey brush

A couple of years ago at a flea market outside Chicago, I saw a carved figure that looked similar to the syroco old codger. He was about 10 inches tall (the codger is 8 inches) and instead of a corkscrew, one would lift his head and reveal a brush. I considered buying it, but given the price, and the fact that it clearly wan’t syroco, I refrained.

I didn’t think it was an Anri piece, but wondered who would have thought to do this. Then, just recently, I saw a similar styled brush, but instead of being modeled after the syroco codger, it is modeled after the syroco monk. I did manage to pick this one up. Anyone that knows of the carvings origins?–feel free to drop a line! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ the first picture is of Friar Fabulous–a syroco monk, the second is of the monk brush…