Vintage Pewter(?) Cork Screw/Bottle Opener?

Yesterday there was a corkscrew slipping thru eBay with only one bid. It had the title, "Vintage Pewter(?) Cork Screw/Bottle Opener" and no gallery picture. I hadn’t seen it myself earlier, so I clicked the link, and found it a little more than interesting.

I copied and pasted the listing number into auction sniper, placed a fairly high bid (high for me anyway) and went off for the days activities–discussing kitchen design with yet another designer. In fact, I had pretty much forgotten that placed the snipe, when an email came thru saying, that i had won on ebay…

I clicked the link and there it was. $ 11.61 was the winning bid! for a lovely "Vintage Pewter(?) Cork Screw/Bottle Opener." My snipe went thru, and I was one of only three who had bid…quite the deal at $ 11.61, especially when Bull’s book puts the piece at 200-300!

Below you will see the "Vintage Pewter(?) Cork Screw/Bottle Opener." Given it is a second one for me, feel free to make an offer for trade!

King’s Screw…

I was asked for an appraisal of a King’s Screw yesterday, and the pictures are below. At one time, this would have been quite the handsome piece, however it looks to have fallen into a bit of disrepair. I advised on price, and the person is looking to sell. If anyone has an extra handle to attach to a King’s Screw, feel free to make an offer.

interesting folding corkscrew

hmmmm… what do you guys think… check the pic below

an interesting corkscrew

Not that other corkscrews aren’t interesting, but I noticed this one (pictured below) ending on eBay yesterday. I placed a snipe and went off to make dinner. This morning, I checked email and lo and behold, I won…

The handle is what makes the piece, and I will have to research the markings to see who made it. That said, it is definitely interesting!

The lovely and I are off this morning on a jaunt to look at new kitchens… Maybe we can hit an antique store or two while we are out; given that we are heading to a new area that we haven’t visited before…

MARS!

I was checking out CNN, and I couldn’t help but see the photos of the human looking figure taken on Mars… So, given that I have a friend at NASA, I asked for a copy of the photograph that I could look at. The image does look human like, but after a brief discussion, and a little wine, we decided to digitally enhance the photo until we could see more clearly what the image was. Was it a statue, a person, a rock?

Well, it seems that a picture is worth a thousand words…. check it out below.

funny listing on eBay

Someone with a sense of humor, and an inability to type listed a corkscrew yesterday. The title of the listing is "OLD CORKSCREW , UGG , CAVEMAN ERROR." And, the picture of the corkscrew is listed below.

The description within the listing reads "OLD SCREW, UGG."

I am pretty sure the caveseller meant "era." But then again, those early cro-magnon wine drinker’s did have their own language…

1/4 of a kitchen…

Looks like it will be tomorrow when the kitchen will be completely gutted. However, part of the third floor guest room, is almost ready for new electrical and wallboard as well… So, we are moving along. For those of you worried about your May 13-18, 2008 Brimfield accommodations, not to worry, we will have a new kitchen and all guest rooms completed by then.

No major corkscrew news of the day, except Mark won that folding Hicks & Reynolds thingy, there is a Hootch Owl listed, and I listed the folding celluloid lady corkscrew…

Also, I was contacted by a former CCCC-er who wants to sell off his collection. I wonder if those of you reading this would like to go in with me on a large purchase???

half a kitchen…

Well, we have finally started demolition on our kitchen… And, half of it is gone! The other half will be taken down tomorrow, and we will be cabinetless and counterless for the next 6 weeks. Fortunately, we did manage to keep the wine, wineglasses, and corkscrews readily accessible.

Speaking of corkscrews, I was sipping coffee this morning before the impending destruction of the kitchen, and saw this little guy online. It was an inexpensive Buy it Now, so I snapped it up.

stag handle

For the first day or so this item was listed, there was no picture. The listing didn’t have a gallery picture, so it seemed to go unnoticed. Eventually a picture was attached, and the title of "STAG HANDLED CORKSCREW," didn’t seem to garner much interest.

I placed a bid, and just watched it slip thru. Then yesterday morning with 12 hours to go, a second bidder came on the scene. I quickly placed a snipe bid, and headed off to the antique show.

With a couple of hours to go, it was still two bids. And, I was pretty sure my bid was high enough to hold. Then, as it so often does, the bids came flying in. I wasn’t there to see it happen, as I was having dinner with the lovely, but bids came thru from Tommy, Peter, and others. Still, I got the Stag Handle Corkscrew, which isn’t just a Stag Handle Corkscrew. It is a 1886 Theiry and Crosselmire patent silver overlay direct pull corkscrew signed STERLING.

A corkscrew at the Wilmington Show

I found several things at the antique show; 20 corkscrews, a member of the CCCC, and some popcorn; albeit stale popcorn.

I passed on most of the corkscrews that I saw, and only bought one. But, it is a dandy. It is a sterling roundlet marked "TIFFANY & CO, 3772 MAKERS 14988, STERLING, M" And, it is also engraved with the name "FLOYD CHARLES FURLOW JR." across the case. A great item, for not a ton of money.

I did eat some of the popcorn, and had a couple of brief conversations with the fellow CCCC’er.

Then, I scooted out of the show, and headed back to the house. The pictures below are today’s find, and yesterdays arrivals via the mail!