Blog
Welcome to Corkscrew Appraisals blog page, thank you for taking time to visit this new corkscrew related website. This blog will be regularly updated with corkscrew facts, finds and news. Visitors are also welcome to contribute information to the blog, if you are interested then please get in touch.
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Jack Bandy's Story... - 07/21/2013 Jack D. Bandy's Corkscrew Journey Someone once said that as much as we try to plan our lives, ultimately they are controlled by accidents. Well, I was involved in one such mishap on a lovely day in April, 1967. It happened in Lone Pine, California, a small town in the Owen's Valley north of Los Angeles. I had taken my wife with me on a short business trip, and on our return home to Los Angeles we took the opportunity to do some antiquing. It was while browsing through a small antique shop in Lone Pine that I happened to see a weird looking machine laying on the floor under a table among some old kitchen utensils. Examining it a few moments... Read More |
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Brian May's Corkscrew Story... - 07/21/2013 Why I collect: Brian May My story is not very exciting. On 10 September 2006 I saw an unusual corkscrew at an antique store in High Street, Strathalbyn, a very English type town, south of Adelaide. It was marked “Victorian Armstrong Corkscrew (folding)” with a note that the corkscrew appeared in “Millers Collectibles page 185, 2001”. It was in an appalling state with an appalling price tag. It was unusual to see an old English corkscrew and I was particularly impressed that such a corkscrew should be listed somewhere, and as well it folded. I bought it. This was my first corkscrew. Then a short time later Nick Hunt appeared on... Read More |
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Fred Kincaid's Corkscrew Story... - 07/21/2013 Hi Steven, At the time we were living in Switzerland – in a small suburb near Zurich. Jackie had just returned from the “brokenhaus” a charity resale shop with two corkscrews. They weren’t too impressive and I can’t remember which ones they were. Unfortunately, I never followed up – and did not see them again until we returned to the states two years later. This time she put them near our bar sink and told me there was an antique shop nearby where she had seen more antique corkscrews. I bought a few more and told one of my business friends who collected horse brass about my new interest.... Read More |
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Corkscrew Collectors Stories. - 07/21/2013 "How we started collecting corkscrews" Finally, most of the contributions promised for a series of blog articles for this website have arrived. Many thanks to each and everyone who sent their stories, describing how they first started collecting corkscrews. I hope all readers find these stories from their fellow collectors fun to read as well as interesting. In the main part, these stories are as written by each collector, with the exception of a few changes as requested by the writers. Over the next few weeks I will add stories, one or two at a time so keep your eyes on the website and enjoy a good read. &n... Read More |
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Print of "The Rent Day",for sale. - 06/23/2013 A recently found copy of an old print taken from the ectching "The Rent Day" by Sir David Wilkie is offered for sale by myself. This picutre is freatured in the book "Corkscrews for Collectors" by "Watney & Babbidge" The picture is well known to corkscrew collectors as there is a IV pillar Thomason on the table, in the foreground. Wilkie and his paintings freatured in a previous blog on this website. I now have two prints of this famous ecthing both of which are very old, I intend to sell one example. Anyone interested please let me know. ... Read More |
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Latest Antiques Fair News. - 06/18/2013 Up early on a sunny summers day hunting for the illusive corkscrew. I met up with Peter Borrett at our secret meeting place, dropped off the car and we headed off together. We arrived at Ardingly antiques fair after 7am I started to walk towards the main gates hoping to hitch a lift into the fair before the crowds arrived. Today I was unlucky, time passed quickly and no ride came along, I started to feel desperate. Should I climb the perimeter fence?? What would you do? It's not... Read More |
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ICCA April 2013. - 03/28/2013 Well folks the next ICCA auction is nearly upon us!! I can't wait to see what is on offer, maybe a couple of great English pieces will come my way fingers crossed!! I have several good pieces I am hoping to list among which is a rare possibly unique 3.5 window Thomason varient!! I have a different strategy for this sale, as I have been advised by an ICCA member to try listing with no reserves. I will list all my offerings like this so they will all appear in "Green", fingers crossed. You never know someone may get a bargin. See a few of the corkscrews I hope to list below. ... Read More |
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Corkscrew Found. - 03/21/2013 Finally today produced a corkscrew find. I finished work early to pick our son Jack up from school, a cold rainy day and a short walk to the village school proved to be rewarding. When I arrived in the playground I got chatting to another parent, believe it or not his surname, like mine is Webb, maybe a distant relative !! "I thought of you the other day" he said, "oh why?" I replied, "I saw a corkscrew in a local charity shop, it was £46 and quite interesting as it was mechanical". I then got a brief description of the corkscrew, "Cheers" I said "I will go and have a look sometime". I quickly found Jack and we walked home. On... Read More |
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A visit to Oxford and some great finds. - 03/11/2013 I have just come back from a Oxford, where I visited the Museum of the History of Science. In the museum there is a great display of Patented devices from the collection of Fletcher Wallis. There are many interesting pieces on show along with some corkscrews, if you have time be sure to make a visit, it really is worth the effort. On my way back to Somerset, I passed through Marlborough and Hungerford, where there are many antique centres and shops, obviously I was on the hunt for corkscrews. I had a great day meeting some new contacts but alas no corkscrews. I took a diversion to a town called Fleet in Hampshire, here&... Read More |
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Fire-Gilding. - 03/11/2013 Some but few Antique corkscrews were treated by a process known as Fire- Gilding, whereby the surface of the corkscrew was covered in a fine Gold finish, these pieces were indeed beautiful but the process was very dangerous to health as it involved heating up Mercury!! We are in the middle of writing an indepth article that features Thomason type corkscrews with decorated barrels, one example has been Fire-Gilded. Keep checking this website, the article will be live in the next week or so. Below is an image of the barrel of the Fire-Gilded Thomason ... Read More |
