The Virtual Corkscrew Museum's Weekly Newspaper

Thomason Reproductions

Not all reproductions are bad or are meant to deceive the unsuspecting corkscrew enthusiast. The corkscrews in this issue are Thomason reproductions. They are well engineered pieces and they are very collectible. At the times of their offerings, they were/ are not misrepresented as old, rather they were / are sold as fine quality modern productions.

The Vulcan

In 1978 W. H. Miller Gear Specialties Ltd. in England manufactured 500 numbered pieces of the "Vulcan". This reproduction of the 1802 Thomason patent corkscrew was made for Westol Wine Consultants. In 1980 a seller in England offered the corkscrew for £179 and in 1982 it was being sold in Canada for $549.50.

Referring to a Thomason corkscrew in the Wine Museum of John Harvey in Bristol, John Barrett of Westol wrote "It seemed sad to me that no such quality instrument was available today. The ingenuity and sheer engineering quality shown by 19th Century manufacturers puts our modern 'bent ware' to shame." Barrett commissioned the limited production of the Vulcan and it is indeed a truly high quality corkscrew.

Vulcan number 116 is pictured above with a vintage Thomason corkscrew. The documentation supplied with the Vulcan is pictured below.

Spring Barrel

Thomason corkscrews were not produced with a barrel of this design in the 19th Century. This design of the Thomason concept is available from the French firm l'esprit & le vin.

Note: The English firm Wineware Racks & Accessories currently offers this corkscrew as the "Spring" at £119.95. Finely Corked sells it for US$149.00.

Fruit & Vines

A modern example (left) was from l'esprit & le vin of France. Early Thomason pictured at right.

Note: The English firm Wineware Racks & Accessories currently offers this corkscrew as the "Grand Crus" at £119.95. Finely Corked sells it for US$159.00.

Monopol

This corkscrew was purchased at the Seagram Museum in Canada in 1985. It was made by Monopolwerk, Usbeck & Söhne, Marburg, Germany.

Note: The Monopol corkscrew is shown on the Corkscrew International website with a price of $205.00. There is, however, this note: "All Monopol corkscrews are permanently out-of-stock. Sadly, after about 150 years in business, the venerable Monopol has gone out of business."

News Index