Napier Hollweg arrives…

The 8 dollar buy it now lot arrived yesterday, and I was quite pleased that the Napier Hollweg had a nice sharp helix.  The images from the auction didn’t show the tip, and at such a smokin’ deal, I didn’t take the time to inquire about the condition of the piece.

Marked PAT APPLIED FOR on the end hanging ring, and NAPIER STERLING on one of the hinges, it is pretty darn cool.

And, with a little silver polish, is suddenly got pretty shiny!

A handsome corkscrew, that is a nice addition to the collection.

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Folding Corkscrew

From a 1917 issue of The Spatula:

An inexpensive folding corkscrew has been invented which, if desired, can be placed on a bottle at the same time that it is sealed in the bottling works, so that the purchasers may have no inconvenience in opening the container whenever he wishes.  The upper end of the screw consists of a broad eyelet which serves as a pintle to hinge to each other the two halves of which the handle is composed.  These two halves are bent at right angles and fold down against the neck of the bottle.  If desired a sealing wire can be fun through the wholes and the handle tied down.  To use the corkscrew it is only necessary to remove this wire and turn the two parts of the handle up until they form a horizontal bar which can be grasped by the hand.

The Traveller’s Companion

About a week ago, I was doing a little somewhat random search on eBay, and an interesting folding bow turned up.  A ten tool bow in pretty nice shape, it clearly had a corkscrew amongst the tools, but the word corkscrew (or cork screw) was nowhere to be found in the listing.

With a starting bid of £ .99, I placed bid, and over the week would revisit eBay and check on the item.  Yesterday came a second bid, and we were now up to £ 1.04.

Over the course of the day, there was another bid, and then another.  Still, with about 15 minutes to go, it was hovering at about £10.  I placed a bid of £15, and thought…would this hold up?

Of course it won’t…

As we passed the 5 minutes remaining mark, I was outbid, and the piece sat at £16…

With a few minutes left to go, I went a bit higher…

And, I ended up winning the piece for £21.

Apparently, it went largely unnoticed by the usual suspects.

These days, with the exchange rate that is about 25.54 in US dollars.  And, at 2.55 per tool, it is a pretty smoking deal.

Now this particular bow is also marked, Arnold, 61,A, Piccadilly.

And, with a bit of searching around, I found this advertisement in an issue of The Connoisseur: A magazine for collectors from 1901.

A nice Traveller’s Companion to add to the corkscrew collection!

Do you have a folding bow corkscrew with multiple tools?  I will happily pay 2.55 per tool.  Maybe a little more.