What a rotten time for a sniper "Error"!!!

Here it is!  My BEST 6 for 2008!  well kinda......  Having some technical difficulties....

This is the text part.  Pictures soon! i hope.....

1. 1876 Williamson ‘Power Cone” Corkscrew.  Unmarked.  See O’Leary p. 40.

2. Sterling Silver Walker Corkscrew.  Marked “Sterling” and “F&B” in a flag, the trademark of Foster & Bailey of Providence, Rhode Island.  See O’Leary p. 108.

3. Mother of Pearl Silver cut away Corkscrew.  1886 Theiry & Croselmire Patent,  Unmarked. See Bull p.  142.

4. Syroco Stained Old Codger Corkscrew w/advertising.  The advertising plated reads ”SOCONY-VACUUM.”  See www.vintagecorkscrews.com/syrocoadvertisingcorkscrew.htm

5. “The Vulcan” Corkscrew. 1978 W.H. Miller Gear Specialties Lt. All original, in box.  See Bull p. 160.

6. Syroco Painted Clown with sticker reading, “King, New York.”  See Bull p. 250.

It's been a LONG YEAR!  Well corkscrewing that is.  I've been focused on the ICCA Auctions, scrambling for a last minute trade, and have finally come to a conclusion as to which 6 corkscrews will FOREVER remain in my collection as the BEST 6 OF 2008.  Thank goodness for JL'A and his Photoshop skills!  I hope to have a finished piece of art to post in the am!

The Bull Dog!  He is a staple piece in any Syroco Corkscrew collection, because, well, he's a corkscrew of course!  Now some of us corkscrew collectors, that fancy Syroco, really enjoy the "Go-With" Syroco items.  Meaning additional pieces made by Syroco of the same figural as the corkscrew.  Clothing Brushes are populare examples of "Go-With" items as well as Bottle openers.  This past summer, I found a small wooden bull dog face on Ebay, and it sparked some curiosity as a "go-with", but no clear idea of what it was it was attached to....  Then at Brimfield the same bulldog face turned up mounted on a wooden plaque.  Well, yesterday at the antique show, I found the bull dog CLEARLY featured on a piece of Syroco decor.  It appears to be a tie rack and the bull dog mounted at the top.  What Syroco Go-With's do you have?  Feel free to send pics to SYROCOKID@GMAIL.COM

Though I started out late this morning for my 3 1/2 hour drive to Portland, I was too excited to care!  1350 booths of antiques and collectibles awaited me in Oregon!  As I scoured my first isle, I came across a booth featuring 2 cases FULL of corkscrews!  Bone Carvings, Ivory pieces, Silver accents, and some plain Williamson types.  Then upon closer inspection, it became apparent that these were all fake corkscrews!  Most of the Sterling caps were not marked.  The carvings were less than stellar workmanship.  Modern worms poorly attached with glue drippings.  I couldn't believe my eyes!  This Rat had them all priced well above $300!!  Not only are there many fakes turning up on Ebay, but also in the Antique Shows.  Buyer Beware!

None the less, there were plenty of REAL corkscrews to be picked over, 2 Lady Legs, 6 tool bow, a Perpetual, Sterling Stag Pieces, Zig Zags to name a few.  Unfortunately, only a few good bargains got to come home.  Check it out!

Can you tell the difference between these two? 

They are both classic Clough style wire corkscrews.
They are both based on the Clough Patent.
They are both made of a SINGLE WIRE. (very cool!)

Well, actually one is an original American Clough Patent while the other is actually a British Registered piece BASED on the Clough Patent.  If you look very closely to the first picture, the HELIX end of the wire becomes the SHANK, and has the END wire wrapped around the SHANK.  This is the British Registered piece.  The second picture is the Clough Patent, where you can see the END wire and the SHANK/HELIX wire are intertwined (like a double helix where they are twisted together) to form a twisted style shank. 

I just got the British one in the mail (THANKS DON!), and the other is twisted up in a trade agreement, but in PENDING STATUS.  Keep your fingers twisted for me!

Current Syroco Sales have been strong over the past few months.  LOTS of insider trading and sales taking place too.  As perfect timing would have it, a Syroco Golden Knight surfaced for a mere $19.99!  Though deals do appear here and there, it was never as good as it was straight out of the Syracuse Ornamental Catalog itself!  $12.00 per dozen Clowns.  $6 per dozen Painted Laughing Man's.  Oh how I wish I lived in the 1950's!!!  Check out Josef's scan's of the catalog pics on his website by clicking here.  Though several Syroco Catalogs have been recovered over the years, no one has found one with the Golden Knight "for sale" in it.  At least to the best of my knowledge.....  

It's been a LONG WEEK!  Lot's of school, homework, regular work, but still a little time for corkscrewing.  If you're looking to get into web design, you should probably start taking classes in Kindergarden, as it will take that long to fully understand HTML, CSS, JAVASCRIPT, PSP, FLASH, MYSQUL, ect......OMG WTF!!  LOL!  :-)

N E WAYS (anyways)

Several items have arrived on the island this week!  Most notably the 1909 Kummer (koom-mer) Patent Variant and the Sterling Golf Bag!  The Kummer is a cool mechanical type that is similar to the Thomason mechinism (internal shaft, internal barrel).  The Sterling Golf Bag is just classic, but a double....  Both are good candidates for the ICCA Auction that is currently accepting listings.  We shall see.....

Kind of an exciting afternoon....  A corkscrew collection was advertised for sale today!  I knew other collectors would be hot to trot on this ad, so I quickly got on the phone to speak with the seller to find out what treasures were to be discovered.  Syroco's, Anri, Gemelli Patents, were just the tip of the iceberg, until a ringing of the door bell.  "I'm sorry Tommy, but I have to let you go, as another collector has arrived to see the collection in person." were the next words out of here mouth. "Click".  RATS!  I knew then there could only be one collector in that part of town....RL!  A quick email and then a quick reply from a "Verizon Wireless BlackBerry" confirmed my presumption.  Well, what you gonna do.... Good Luck RL! 

As mentioned earlier this week, I was offered a common but curious piece.  A Syroco Waiter Figural, but instead of the normal corkscrew attachment, this one had a bottle opener.  A few of us were skeptical from the start, but when the price is right, who cares?  So, it arrived on the island yesterday.  It's not exactly museum quality, but none the less, a Syroco Waiter Figural with the tear drop cap lifter.  Mis-matches have been discovered in the past, and who's to say that it was not the product of a disgruntled employee who wanted to do things his way for a change.  Well, I'm happy with the piece, but it might be better off with someone that actually drinks beer!

Buyer Beware!  Some folks in Buenos Aires, Argentina are up to their tricks again.  Listed yesterday, as "Vintage Iron Corkscrew Cigar Cutter & Bottle Opener 3 1/4", was a modern creation similar to that of the 1910 Chippendale Patent.  You can clearly see the differneces if you reference Bull's book on pg 118 or in O'leary's book pg 127.  Don't be the one to pay $199.00 for this FAKE!!

There were 3 packages delivered today!  A box, an evelope and a bag.  Interesting how they were each different, yet all 3 the same?  Williamson Company produced these 3 pocket roundlet corkscrews.  2 in the shape of bullets and 1 as a bottle.  Take note of the 2 different retracting mechenisms on the bullets.  On one the corkscrew retracts into the shell and the other into the bullet.  From the late 1800's to early 1900's many companies had these pocket corkscrews made with their advertising on them.  Here we have examples of "John Dewar & Sons Old Highland Whiskey" , "Drink Lemp St. Louis", and "Brown Forman Old Forester Whiskey".  

I received an offer to buy a "Butler Beer Opener" the other day.  As you can see, it's a Syroco Waiter without the usual corkscrew, but a bottle opener.  I was intrigued, so I decided to seal the deal.  I don't believe that Syroco intended it to be sold this way, but it's not to say that one day they simply ran out of their stock of corkscrews and decided to put on a bottle opener.  Who knows?  OR maybe it was meant to be an April Fools joke on some poor excuse of a corkscrew collector addicted to Syroco some 50 years later...... I really hope it's the first theory.

Behold "The Troll"!  I've been waiting for this guy!  He usually is auctioned off about 2-3 times a year, and I usually end up in 2nd place A.K.A. the 1st looser.  But this past week I got the email confirming that I was the lucky winner!  He is made of Pewter, made in Norway.  He will not be using his corkscrew for wine bottles, but rather for attacking anyone who dares to seek corkscrews on this Island! 

p.s.
why does he have a tail?

It's officially the "rainy" season here in the Pacific North West.  At least, that's what everyone is saying...  I guess I'll be forced to pillage Ebay that much more as I really hate getting wet!  Good thing the rain does not stop the post from arriving on time, as this little baby was a lone traveler to the Island.  It's a Walker Fancy Shank with a rare Sterling Silver Ornate handle.  Fully marked "Sterling" and has a Flag with "F&B" for Foster & Baily of Providence, Rhode Island.  A very welcome addition to the collection and a candidate for the Best 6 of 2008!

Way back in 1933, Chicago hosted the World's Fair.  The theme was "A Century Of Progress".  It seems that every company that existed tried to attend the fair, and feature their latest and greatest items.  Also, TONS of souvenir items were created for the event.  As a lover of Corkscrews, and being from Chicago, I fancy these unique items.  The latest addition is a man with a corkscrew/bottle opener and a jigger in his top hat.  He really needs a makeover, but you can see the advertising plate for the fair on his top hat.  How cool!  I also have a slide opener, a slide opener w/corkscrew and a very unique Syroco Scotty dog with the "1934 A Century Of Progress Chicago" sticker.  This is the exact dog Syroco used to make the corkscrew version!  Any one got some they want to sell?  Hit me up!  syrocokid@gmail.com

Well, he's done it again!  Kudos to JL'A.  I may be the syrocokid, but you are truly the SYROCO BIG DADDY.  This would be number 4 for him in the last, I believe, 6 years?  Unbelievable!  And this one cost only $19.99! 

Nothing I have to report can top this News Flash......