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News Article
Corkscrew market pops as buying habits change
By Don Johnson

The top lot during a recent sale by ICCAuctions says a fair bit about the corkscrew market.

The May online auction was led by a Shrapnel corkscrew patented in the United Kingdom in 1839. It realized $11,000. While the five-figure price is impressive, it pales compared to other examples offered in recent years. One brought $25,200 by ICCAuctions in November 2012, while a nickel-plated version was sold at Christie’s in May 2003 for $28,425.

The most valuable corkscrew in the world is likely a Shrapnel patent in silver-gilt, presented to Prince Albert and now owned by Queen Elizabeth II. The patentee was Henry Needham Scrope Shrapnel, and inventing was something that ran in the family. His father, Maj. Gen. Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842), was an English artillery officer who developed a projectile fused to blow apart near the enemy, resulting in a potentially lethal spray of metal – what is now known as shrapnel.

By comparison, Henry’s corkscrew invention, granted a British patent on Sept. 26, 1839, was rather benign, but nonetheless desirable. The example from the May auction had a few dings on the barrel, but more than just condition determined the price. Despite being one of the rarest and most sought-after corkscrews in the world, the Shrapnel patent went onto the market at a time when prices have weakened.

Posted on the Collector Corkscrews website, a summary of the auction noted, “The sale results reflect a softer market, which was good for buyers. In recent years, the market has been buoyed by strong buying from several winery and museum collectors, in particular Ion Chirescu’s Bucharest museum … which will open next year. In the May sale, though he was still very active, it was clear that he now has most of the classic collectible pieces.”

Of the 949 lots offered during the auction, about 47 percent sold. The results were “slightly below that achieved in recent years, and prices generally were lower,” according to the online report.

Top lots included a number of Dutch silver figural sheath corkscrews from the 18th to early 20th century. The sheath allowed the corkscrew to be covered, so it could be safely carried. When slipped into a pocket, there was no danger the helix would impale a person’s leg. Designers often turned the handle into a three-dimensional works of art, while the sheath was also usually ornamented.

The oldest example offered was from 1767 and had a crouching lion on the handle. Made by Hendrik Smook (working 1749-1784) and with an Amsterdam hallmark, it sold for $6,099. Unlike some other lots, the price of this corkscrew increased slightly, a similar example having sold for about $500 less in November 2012.

A Dutch figural sheath from the 19th century depicted a farmer leading a cow, the curved platform supported by fish and snakes. Marked for Samuel Boyce Landeck, a London importer of silver, it sold for $4,486. One of a man holding a whip before a rearing horse, the platform supported by caryatids, realized $4,400, while one of a man between two rearing horses was $4,161.

An 18th century French silver sheath corkscrew, the single-finger loop handle relatively plain but the sheath embossed with vining grapes, sold for $5,578. Also from the 18th century, one with a figural devil’s-head handle and a relatively plain sheath with a spiral design, in brass, sold for $4,244.

Other leading lots included a direct-pressure corkscrew by Peter Lymburner Robertson of Canada, the narrow brass barrel having a fixed solid-brass, T-shaped handle with a round wooden handle atop the shaft. It sold for $7,640, the second-highest price of the sale. Robertson was granted Canadian and U.S. patents for the model in 1905. A Thomason corkscrew with a distinctive Robert Jones badge and barrel decoration realized $4,753.

German corkscrews included an Ernst Demmler patent from Zella-Melis in Thuringen, the T-shaped handle over a special double-action mechanism. It sold for $4,184. A British fancy version of a Magic Twist corkscrew patented by R.W. Bradnock in 1883, the T-shaped wooden handle over a bulbous silver shaft and double worms, made $4,000. American devices included a combination tools corkscrew, a Nathan Jenkins 1930 patent with 15 tools that ranged from a ruler to a saw. It sold for $1,212.

Pricing trends remain a function of who is bidding and the quality of the corkscrew being sold, according to Paul P. Luchsinger of ICCAuctions.

“Some collectors want museum quality, and when such an item appears, pricing will soar,” he noted. “Overall, the pricing trend for this collectible category has shown a steady increase since the auctions were started in 2008.”

Results of all 15 sales conducted by ICCAuctions are available on the Collector Corkscrews website (www.CollectorCorkscrews.com). Click on the “Past Sales” tab at the top of the page. New postings of items in Auction 16 will begin Oct. 24.

8/8/2014
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