A BLOG DEDICATED TO
CORKSCREWS
by Peter Borrett
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something that could be of interest to others.
Peter@corkscrewsonline.com
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11th February 2015
Copyright Infringement

At the end of last year Joe Paradi emailed asking me to remove some Screwbase images from my website that I
had posted without permission - breaching his copyright. It caused a bit of a stir as Joe copied the email to pretty
much all the corkscrew websites out there. Not quite sure why he felt that was necessary as it created a bit of
nastiness. Anyhow, the images in question have been removed.

I've never previously been asked by anyone to remove images before & I've never asked anyone to remove my
images, despite seeing many hundreds used on various sites over the years. I thought I'd look into the subject.

Right now various people have posted over 400 of my pictures on a site called Pinterest. It appears that if I had
an issue with any of these posts there is a procedure to get them taken down. I could use an online form, via
Pinterest to have the images removed. However, as each image posted has a direct link to my website - that can
only be good in terms of promoting corkscrew collecting. With Facebook I am automatically waving my right to
copyright should I post a picture myself, allowing others to share. However, a form is again available, via
Facebook if someone else posts one of my pictures directly without permission.

Be wary of grabbing random images from Google, I often do that. You are likely breaching someones copyright.

More info on copyright & exceptions at
this site

This guy has used many of my images without permission & modified them. He is selling prints & cards under the
title of corkscrew art. Maybe he is taking the piss but in my opinion it looks good & shows others how weird &
wonderful corkscrews can be. I will not be asking him to remove any.

So, a heads up. Be aware of copyright. Ask for permission to avoid problems.
11th February 2015
Trading with Karl-Heinz

Late last year I picked up a tri colour ladies
legs corkscrew. Blog reader, Karl Heinz got
in touch asking if there was a possibility of a
trade. After a number of trade options were
sent over, we agreed a straight swap for a
brown mermaid.

It arrived the other day & is a great piece. It
completes the set!

If you see something on my site & fancy a
trade,
drop me a line, maybe we can work
something,
11th February 2015
Snappylicious

I recently worked a deal with Josef L'Africain for a couple
of Alligator lever corkscrews. One being a standard
celluloid version (not shown), the other a really very rare
all metal variant, shown at the top of the picture. It's
marked "GESGESCHUTZI GERMANY".

Surprisingly Josef offered up this piece a number of times
on ebay & the ICCA site without any takers. Maybe he was
being a little optimistic on the value, but even so, I thought
someone would of snapped it up. After all, it's rare, rare,
rare!
This great Alligator corkscrew will sit very nicely in my collection next to the two near mint celluloid examples, both
marked "W. H. Morley & Sons".
It's official!

I'm off to Romania!

Flight booked - check
Dues paid - check
Special requirements submitted - Penthouse, Heinz baked beans for breakfast, a
pressed copy of the Sun each morning & directions to the nearest KFC restaurant
- check
Membership to the CCCC - working on that one

Thanks Ruthie for giving up your holiday so I can afford the £600 to cover the trip

See you in August!
19th February 2015
Odd One Out
I recently uploaded a couple of pictures of some of my silver pocket corkscrews to the
Corkscrews Online Facebook page. I've been fortunate to find some great silver pieces over
the years. Some bargains, some lucky finds, some trades & some, where I had to pay all the
money for them.

The picture above shows a nice selection but includes a brand new piece. Can you spot it? It's
second left & in the style of a Dutch example. The reality is that it's cheaply made & poor
quality. I bought my example for £20 a few years back. Be aware that some unscrupulous
sellers are artificially ageing these corkscrews & even adding a period worm to deceive. See
my
Corkscrew Beware page where one sold for £300!
22nd February 2015
Corkscrew Beware - Fakes a plenty

Just looking through completed ebay listings UK to see what
has sold well latey. Saldy as per normal, many of the
corkscrews that have sold well are clear fakes or marriages.
Made to deceive - made to make some easy money.

Very, very sad. :(

The cage type corkscrew in the bottom picture is very crude.
You can see the sharp edges clearly. The worm is another
give away. Also, the strange patina, clearly a product of
patination fluid. Unfortunately, despite this being flagged up on
the Corkscrew Beware Facebook forum, it sold for a gob
smacking £1600! The seller, based in Southall, West London
also sold a Codd type folding bow a couple of weeks earlier for
£1200. Right now, these two pieces are in the top five, highest
priced corkscrews sold on ebay UK. It makes my blood boil!!!!!

Check out the very nice Autumnal fruits Thomason in the top
picture. It looks a great piece. It sold for just £333. The point
being, that some good corkscrews are being sold for well
below past market prices while these scoundrels that fake
corkscrews are making bundles of cash.

As I've said before, we should all be active discussing
fakes/marriages & new being sold as old. We should be
shouting it from the roof tops. If by discussing the issue we can
stop just a few pieces selling then it has been worth it. Too
many people feel, it's not their problem. It's all our problem!
The more we can inform each other, especially new, less
experienced collectors, the better our market place will be. Of
course we will never, ever stamp out all fakes but surely we
can give it our best.

Alas, when I previously attempted to get some websites to link
the
Corkscrew Beware site, replies were few & far between,
even from guys that I thought would embrace it. Unfortunately
not everyone seems that concerned.

One experienced collector who did not want to support Corkscrew Beware by linking his website, said this "Any
serious collector of anything antique knows that fakers abound.  By virtue of creating a niche market, collectors
are wittingly or unwittingly, creating an inflated market price structure which others will do their best to exploit -
which often means faking; that is the nature of all antique collecting. If you did not realise that or you cannot cope
with it, then leave the market to others who do and can. You are not endearing yourself to other collectors by
griping about the shortcomings of an established market."

What does that mean? Well, clearly this particular chap didn't feel he wanted to share his knowledge & expertise
with others because we should all just be able to deal with it by ourselves or just get out. Big boys don't cry eh?
His final sentence is quite revealing "You are not endearing yourself to other collectors by griping about the
shortcomings of an established market" My oh my! What a nice chap. Lets not discuss fakes, etc, as it's just
griping about an established market. Oh deary me :(

Anyway, you know my views. Please join the
Facebook group. Please also bookmark Corkscrew Beware & please
also, contribute anything about fakes that you think might be helpful to other collectors.

Thanks! :)
Check out my band Sound Mined's version of the Queen classic "Crazy little thing called
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18th April 2015
BUY IT NOW SHENANIGANS

I've always been a big fan of buying ebay buy it nows, after all bargains are
possible & everyone loves a bargain - don't they? Anyway, ebay is an all
encompassing market place, it seems nothing is quietly sold & sometimes that can
be a problem.

Over the last couple of months I've been pretty busy with family & my other
hobbies, primarily music, where I'm now committed to playing in two bands.
However, I've looked in on ebay pretty regularly & have been fortunate to pick up a
few buy it now deals. This is the tale of three of the deals.

Firstly I picked up a decorative Coney picnic corkscrew for a £25 buy it now. It had
been listed on ebay for six hours before I came along & snapped it up. The picture
wasn't the best, maybe that's why nobody else took it, likely not realising what it
was. Unfortunately this piece never arrived & after waiting three weeks I requested
a refund which was send immediately. Seeing as I pretty always get everything I
buy from ebay, made me ponder whether the seller was nobbled by another buyer
or possibly the seller saw my email address, peter@corkscrewsonline.com & then
noticed the same piece on my website for £150 & therefore decided to renege.
What do you think?

The second BIN I picked up was an Eclipse bar screw. I saw this one soon after it
was listed for a £80 BIN. I did consider for a few seconds, as currently I have 3 just
sitting here. However, at £80 it was too good a deal not to snap up. About an hour
after I had bought & paid for it I received an email from the seller saying that they
mistakingly listed the Eclipse as a buy it now, they meant to list it with a start price
of £80 in the auction format. Of course this seller was very apologetic &
immediately refunded my money. Hhhmmm, not sure about this, how can you
accidentally list something with a buy now button. Me thinks they sold it quickly &
then wondered if they had made a mistake. Your thoughts?

The third BIN was for a very rare folding Hicks & Reynold type corkscrew. This appeared late night (UK time) on
ebay US. It was listed by a collector who had been picking up corkscrews for 30 years & had never seen another.
Fortunately for me, he thought his BIN price of $175 reflected the rareness & desirability, the reality is - it is surely
worth four figures & not three. The good news is this BIN stuck & the piece has arrived at Tommy's in the US who
is good enough to take in a few pieces for me. So a happy ending.

I guess the moral of this story is - if at first you don't succeed try, try, try again.
23rd April 2015
Ardingly Antique Fair

On Tuesday I visited the Ardingly antique fair. My first antique fair visit of the
year - yes, I know, a pretty poor effort.

I met up with Webby just off the M3 at junction 7 in a state of - I can't believe
I'm up so early shock @ 5:45. By 7 am we had arrived & were amongst the
stalls.

I soon stumbled across a very cool champagne tap with a fish handle. An 1892
British and French Patent of Charles Soulier. Pretty scarce & offered at a
stonkingly good price. So a fabulous start.

The weather was set fair & I have to admit it was great to be back at a fair with
that uncertainty as to what might turn up.

I went on to find a pretty cheap long serpent French tap, An Eastern European
double head direct pull & a Witch figural, all for resale.

Later I picked up a nice flesh set of ladies legs & an unmarked Hagenauer
jockey corkscrew, the latter that Webby had decided to pass on.

Right at the very end of the hunt - literally the last stall - I noticed a very nice
enamelled perfume corkscrew which was super cheap & in superb shape. Just
shows that you should keep on persevering.

Throughout the day a few selfie opportunities presented themselves with some
weird & wonderful beasts that were at the fair. Fabulous what you can find at
these big shows!

Last stop - The Pekish Café. Egg, double bacon, sausage, chips & beans,
Slice of bread & butter & a cup of Rosie Lea.
23rd April 2015
:( Sad face to a happy face :)

Yesterday I was pretty gutted when a piece that I was looking to buy & was clearly highlighted for me with an
additional picture on a facebook forum was grabbed by another collector. I was out all day, so couldn't reply but
it was transparent that I wanted it. It made me feel pretty sad if I'm honest.

Today, maybe I got my reward for not getting too bitter & twisted about missing out. An email hit my inbox from
someone that had a Dordet lever corkscrew in their loft. Wowzer! Three emails later a deal was done. Paypal
funds were sent & the parcel was pretty much immediately mailed by special delivery. It will arrive tomorrow.
Bring on that happy face!

When all is said & done, life is too short to be bitter & twisted over a corkscrew! :)

If you have an old corkscrew in your loft & you would like to exchange it for some cash, please drop me a line.
Peter@corkscrewsonline.com
28th April 2015
ICCAuctions First weekend

Last weekend saw several hundred antique corkscrews up for grabs on the
ICCAuctions site. As always there was a fantastic selection of antique &
vintage corkscrews of all types for eager buyers to bid on.

I decided not to sell this time around but was pretty active bidding on a
number of pieces & I was lucky to pick up some fabulous corkscrews for the
collection & some for resale too.

I bought quite a few from Barbara Ellis by making an offer after the auction
had ended. I'm particularly pleased with my first example of Holroyde's cork
splitter. The rarer of the two variants with the Signit handle. It's in pretty good
shape & will sit very nicely in the collection. I was also delighted to get a
Salutaris Henshall type corkscrew, the smaller variant, which now completes
my set of three. I also bought from Barbara a very nice original & pretty rare
silver Brummell corkscrew, a Hampton lever & a scarce Heeley A1 corkscrew
covered in advertising, the latter being another keeper.

Before I mention other pieces that I bought I would like to say "Thank you" to
Barbara for her very detailed descriptions on each & every piece. Here is her
description of the Holroyde. I can be 100% certain what I will be receiving:
"Very good, plating has been lost and there is pitting on the steel, especially
on the signet ring, the wooden handle is intact with light scratches.  There is
some movement between the shaft and the handle.  The worm is intact."

I think we can all learn from Barbara & should use her honest appraisals of
description as a minimum benchmark. There are some other sellers who are
equally detailed, but in my opinion, the vast majority of sellers on the
ICCAuction site & especially ebay could do a lot better - ie USED or GOOD,
um yes, not good enough.

So back to my purchases.

A nice cased champagne wire cutter with corkscrew from Tommy.

Another champagne wire cutter, this time cased from Mike Gordon.

A super nice Georgian silver pocket from Jack Bandy.

A Brang.

A Willet's carriage key & a quite rare English registered design finger pull from
1922 by Thomas Charles Carter.

My first Arnoff from Josef.


There were two major highlights over the weekend.

Highlight number one - Fotodeal didn't bid on the Sunderland patent.
However, it did get a single bid of $18000 from a US bidder.

Number two - To most people's (that I have spoken to) amazement, a Frary
Bar corkscrew sold for a quite incredible $13000. Fotodeal was outbid on this
occasion.

Have you any observations of the recent ICCA auction corkscrew sale?
Drop me a line if you do & I'll share it on this Blog.
Peter@corkscrewsonline.com
7th May 2015
Collection Alert!

I recently negotiated to purchase a couple of collections.

The first from a gent who had been collecting since 1971.
He & his wife, both in their early 80's weren't able to send
me any images online so I took a trip over to take a look.
Around 700 pieces to view including some I've never seen
before :p! They had the corkscrews mounted on green
felt lined boards surrounding all the walls of their dining
room & also they had covered the kitchen table with the
extras that were not displayed for me check out. After
some lengthy negotiations we came to an agreement on
price & then followed the job of taking all the boards down
& packing the car. When i got home Ruthie & I sorted
stuff to hang on to & then remounted the boards with the
rest of the pieces & took them down to the local auction
house. Up for grabs at auction soon.

Today a courier arrived with 5 large parcels. The
contents a smaller collection that I agreed to buy a couple
of days back. Mostly stuff to move on with a very nice
brass Plume corkscrew being the only real keeper. One
bonus was a Henshall which I didn't realise was marked is
marked Rodgers. This seller was all about quality
packaging. The four big boxes each contained three
smaller boxes & within these boxes each & every piece
was wrapped in bubble wrap.

If you have a collection for sale - I'm your man!
Peter@corkscrewsonline.com
12th June 2015
A Passion for
Thomason Corkscrews

If I could only collect one type of antique corkscrew I
think I would choose corkscrews that derive from
Edward Thomason's British patent from 1802. The
diversity is fabulous.

The two pictures pretty much represent my current
Thomason collection, although I have a few narrow
barrel examples that are not shown & a very nice &
early 3 pillar example too.

There are plenty out there that I'd like to acquire, so the
hunt is definitely still on. If you have a Thomason type
corkscrew for sale, please drop me a line. I'm happy to
buy or trade for the right piece.
Peter@corkscrewsonline.com

In terms of my favourite pieces - I'd probably pick out
my Serpent & probably the four pillar too. However, they
all are fabulous pieces that still operate perfectly.

If you are looking to buy a Thomason corkscrew, please
check out my corkscrews for sale where there is always
some superb examples for sale.

Antique Corkscrews for sale
Thomason corkscrews in closed barrel form.
Thomason corkscrews with barrel cut aways or pillared
frames.
22nd June 2015
A stunning Edwin Cotterill Corkscrew

I was super lucky to pick up this beautiful example of Edwin Cotterill's self
adjusting perpetual corkscrew last week. It belonged to a gent in Essex &
originally was his Grandfather's.

We met half way at South Mimms service station on the A1 junction of the
M25. An exciting rendezvous indeed.

Apart from being somewhat over cleaned it is hard to fault this piece. It works
perfectly & has no dings, dents or damage.

I do have a great example in my collection, so it is a double. If you are
interested, drop me a line, maybe we can work a trade for something that I
want?

Peter@corkscrewsonline.com
29th June 2015
ABCDE Meeting at
Peter & Jean Davidson's

Yesterday the British corkscrew collecting club, known as the ABCDE, met at
Peter & Jean Davidson's delightful home in Chipping Norton, a very picturesque
town in the west of Oxfordshire.

There was a good turn out, around 20 including partners.

Corkscrews galore!!! I can't recall seeing so many at an ABCDE meet before &
the quality was pretty damn amazing.

Peter's collection was on display & many of us had an envious eye on his very
decorative Pardoe double folder. Peter has a good eye & is pretty selective. He
has some very nice silver pieces, including a fabulous early silver folding bow.
We checked out his recent purchase - a £57 J B & Sons Single lever - yes -
£57!!!! He kept the source under his hat.  

Many brought corkscrews to show & quite a few brought along corkscrews to sell
too. Some really good stuff was up for grabs. Deals were done. I picked up a
double folder from Webby & I also picked up a good two pillar with horse shoe
shaped handle. The negotiations for this piece were drawn out & tense. So much
so, I unfortunately have to report that a glass of red wine ended up on the
Davidson's carpet. Not good! However, a working team of 4, including me, soon
had the carpet looking back to normal. Deal of the day was a Murray & Stalker
sold at a cracking price to a happy, but would prefer to anonymous collector.

With so many great pieces being showed off I tried my best to work a couple of
trades but unfortunately it wasn't to be - this time.

Jean served up a super lunch of cold meats, tasty pasta, various salads, Salmon
& more. Followed by a super selection of puds & cheese & biscuits - all washed
down with some very nice wine. Thank you Jean - we all appreciated the fayre
very much!

As always it was great to catch up with the Brit pack & find out about recent finds,
buys, etc & just generally chat about the market. Spirits were high & everyone
seemed as enthusiastic as ever about their collecting.

Romania was a hot topic & the vast majority at the meeting will be going along.
We discussed the goody bag some more - Ion - don't let us down. The goody
bag needs to be super special.

As per normal Richard read out the apologies for non attendance. Two were
noted. Jim was hosting a champagne & cocktails party on his yacht in Cannes &
Gav was at a St Trinian's fancy dress party.

If you want to be kept in the loop about the British corkscrew collecting club
meetings - drop
Richard Stevenson an email. We get together once or twice a
year, it's informal & a good laugh. Lots of great guys, many that have been
collecting corkscrews for a number of years & are very happy to share
knowledge.

So another good ABCDE meeting. Thank you Peter & Jean for your fabulous
hospitality.

More pictures of the corkscrews that were on show at the meeting can be found
on the
Corkscrews Online Facebook page.
Apparently several "important" members of the CCCC noticed some people that
registered for the Romanian meeting (shown in the latest quarterly worm mag) that
don't qualify.

They informed Ion Chirescu to GET IT SORTED - Poor bloke.

The deal is unless you are a member of the CCCC, ICCA, French, German, Italian,
Swiss, Scandinavian, Austrian clubs or a go-with - you will not be able to participate in
the CCCC meeting.

Sounds like the heavies will kick you out! As bold print was used for the following
statement:
"You will not be able to participate in the CCCC meeting if you are
not verified as eligible to do so."

Oh to be a Brit which appears to be the only club the CCCC don't like. Maybe
because it's free to join, encouraging & helpful to new collectors & a good laugh it
doesn't fit the bill? Discrimination?

So, I need to stump up something like an extra $45 if I want to go. As I'm already into
£500 I guess these important CCCC guys have got me by the short & curlies.

Anyway, for corkscrew collecting Brits that feel left out & ignored by this awful snub
sing loud & proud.

See you in Romania important CCCC members!

4th July 2015
SCAMMED!

Just a head up that there is a low life out
there looking to scam you.

I was offered these corkscrews a few weeks
back. I made a fair offer of £120 which was
accepted. I paid by Paypal. I have not
received the corkscrews & have had no
replies to my emails.

Unfortunately another collector has also
been scammed for these pieces too.

I have made a claim with Paypal. I will wait &
see if their buyer protection works.

Keep your eyes open & avoid.

Update!! 7th August. Paypal issued a full
refund. :)
7th August 2015
Slim pickings

No great finds to report over the last month or so. I guess it would help if I was a bit more active. Not a single
antique fair or shop visited, with pretty much my only activity being checking ebay listings.

For a couple of months I sold pretty much nothing via the website. One order for £25 in 60 days! It shows how
non productive selling on the web can be. However, subsequently, over a two week period, I was lucky enough to
sell to three separate new customers in the Far East, one in South Korea, the other two in China. There has been
talk about new markets opening up & maybe these orders are the first signs. Lets hope so.

I've now signed up & paid my dues to the CCCC. In fact, my first issue of the Quarterly Worm arrived the other
day. I am now legally entitled to be part of the Romanian extravaganza. Happy days!

So the countdown is on to Romania. I'm pretty excited. I'll look forward to seeing you there if you're going.
Canadian Corkscrew Collectors Club meeting at Bucharest Report
15th October 2015

Nothing Doing

Sorry for the lack of corkscrew related news but the reality is things have been very quiet.

I was however delighted to finally receive confirmation from the Guinness World records for the
largest collection of vine root corkscrews.  Brought a tear to my eye.
The ICCAuctions sale will be upon us soon. I have a few pieces up for grabs including a Twigg
lifting jack, an excellent Cotterill, rare variant of a Burgess & Fenton & more...
4th November 2015
It's ICCAuction
time

What a great picture of Tommy Campnell!

It was taken when Tommy visited Don Bull
some time ago. This pretty incredible
giant direct pull corkscrew, one of a small
collection of oversize cork pullers is up for
grabs in the current ICCAution sale, which
is live right now on the web.

You can find Don Bull's giant corkscrews
here

This auction didn't fill up quite so quickly,
in fact I believe it's a little short of listings,
compared to past auctions.

19 pages showcase 918 listings, which
include some fabulous pieces including: a
Rushworth, Serpent & two superb
Cotterill's, to name just a few.

I have around 55 listings, priced to sell.
Please take a look
loxwoodfc ICCAuctions listings
Peter Borrett
BEST SIX for 2015
~ Six fantastic hand carved American corkscrews ~

I have been lucky to find some fabulous hand carved American antique Stag & Tusk corkscrews. I have
around 25 now. Here are six of my favourites which make up my best six for 2015.
1. Horse
This appeared one night on ebay for a
$100 buy it now. I was lucky to see it first.
It is beautifully carved & is probably my
favourite corkscrew in my whole
collection.
2.Dog
I picked this great piece up in
the ICCA auction corkscrew sale
a couple of years back from
Jose Barella. Just love it!
3. Birds
Love trading with friends. I picked this
beauty up via a trade of a few
corkscrews with Robert Leopardi. He
got what he wanted, I did too.
Everyone's a winner!
4. Horse
This cracking piece was offered to me by
Tommy Campnell. Over the years we have
both done each other several favours,.
selling at cost, etc. Tommy let me have this
piece for a great price. Thank you Tommy!.
5. Indian
I bought this piece from Josef
L'Africain. He kind of egged me on
to buy it. I liked it, so I did. It's
interesting to note this particular
shank & worm, which turns up on
many bespoke hand carved
pieces. .
6. Alligator eating negro
This piece is so cool. It has
quite the back story. I sent it to
a friend in NYC who then split
up with his girlfriend. i thought it
was lost forever. Three years
later, she got in contact with me
to get my address.A happy
ending.