It's been a little over two weeks since the auction hammer, but she has finally arrived to the island!  A brown mermaid!  I've had a couple of these girls in the past, but none have had the foil cutter blade before.  She should be fun company for the next few weeks, but with the ICCA Auction fast approaching, I'm not sure how long she will be hanging around....



P.S.
Anyone else notice the FONT change on Ebay?  It's really got me buggin!  And the Buy It Now buttons are hardly noticeable.  ERRRRR!

Just wanted to issue a little BUYER BEWARE!!  In the last 24 hours, numerous brass figural corkscrews have been listed for sale on our "favorite auction site".  The seller is pretty aggressive in his pricing and they may not be authentic pieces.  They may be from Austria, AND be brass, AND resemble published catalog pictures, AND bear a makers mark, AND you might not care!  Just throwing "caution to the wind"...

Check out this AUTHENTIC WEB SITE on Austrian Figural Corkscrews:  www.hagenauerfakes.com

The information and research this site offers was compiled by Wayne Medows, a reputable Corkscrew Collector, who has a passion for Austrian Figural Corkscrews.  I personally FULLY TRUST this information to be accurate. 

Thanks Wayne for all your hard work and sharing this information with your fellow Corkscrew Collectors!  Cheers Tommy

To be honest the corkscrews aren't flooding in (at the moment) like they used to.  But seeing as I'm on an Island, I'd like to stay floating! 

Waiting....

To keep the "corkscrew economy" going, I had listed a few nice pieces.  The corkscrew gods clearly noticed my Paypal Account in the RED, so they found me a very aggressive bidder (I like these bidders).  Needless to say, "Mr. X" won all three of his desired auctions.  I have no doubt Mr. X is good for the funds, but having them transferred into my Paypal account is taking longer than expected.  :-[   It's just courtesy to pay for your auctions in a timely fashion.  I've got lots to bid on!

And waiting....

I did break the piggy bank 8/13 to score a Brown Mermaid Corkscrew!  She appeared to be beautiful in the pictures, so a respectable bid was placed.  I know NY is on the opposite end of the country, but suspicions are growing 10 days later.  I wonder if Josef has hijacked the package or maybe had it rerouted to his Island on the EC.  Pics to be posted if it ever arrives!

and waiting....

Well, not really.  Thanks Don!  In an effort to make room for MORE CORKSCREWS, Don Bull had a fire sale on some of his publications.  Included in the lot were:

Corkscrew Stories vol. 1  by DB
Corkscrew Stories vol. 2  by DB
Cork Ejectors by DB
Corkscrew Patents of Japan by DB
William Rockwell Clough by Ron Maclean and Bob Nugent


I'm not sure if he has any left, but you can check out his "book store" by CLICKING HERE

Sigh....  While the boys are tearing through the fields of Brimfield, Mass. I'm kicking myself for not moving EAST!!  I can practically hear the cries of triumph from Josef all the way on the WC!  I am happy for them though.  Keep it up guys!  (note to self for 2010 goals... MOVE EAST!)

Check out Josef's blog for the "day by day" reports: 

http://vintagecorkscrews.spaces.live.com/

All is quiet here on the WC.  Summer is clearly over as it's rained a bit each of the last 5 days....  Good thing it doesn't stop the mail lady!  A Lead handle Williamson Double Helix has arrived on the Island.  I'm happy to have gotten it for a fair price, but it will probably end up on the black market.  Need one?  Want one?  I'm accepting bids!  syrocokid@gmail.com

I must admit that I'm still glowing from the last post!  I've only got a few more missing pieces to acquire for a complete Syroco Collection.  If anyone has a Country Gentleman or Painted Laughing man, please drop me a line at syrocokid@gmail.com  I'm sure we can work a trade!  Although I have a golden knight, unfortunately it's the head only, so I do still need a full bodied Golden Knight  I hope the corkscrew gods to fill that spot soon!  :-)

As for new arrivals, a bakelite ship has landed on the Island.  Thought to be German, these have been known to do well on ebay.  We shall see this weekend!  Also, another Syroco Brush as arrived.   It's a painted bulldog.  A fine "go-with" to add to the Syroco Collection. 

A Syroco Tramp Corkscrew has found his way to the Island!  It's taken a long 4 months for this to come to fruition!  Lots of emails and phone calls, with no reply, to a collector that must have thought I was crazy.  To his surprise (over months of persistence), it didn't appear that I was just going to "go away" or leave him alone.  I was finally able to catch him on the phone and open the door for negotiations.  Well, a few weeks later, I have acquired another missing piece of the Syroco Corkscrew Collection!  He will definitely be in the Best 6 for 2009!