The Virtual Corkscrew Museum's Weekly Newspaper

Camille's Golden Wedding

From reader Camille Danziger: "I enjoyed The Wedding Planner issue of February 24. I am sending photographs of a bride and groom from my collection. My corkscrew addicted husband Herb had corkscrews advertising Golden Wedding. This bride and groom is made of papier-mâché maybe with a plaster coating. It is a Golden Wedding Rye Whiskey store display from the 1940's. It is marked 'Golden Wedding, Joseph Finch Co., Alladin, Pa' on the side of the base and on the bottom: 'Display Masters, Inc. 114 Worth St., New York'. I also have a copy of a 1945 Golden Wedding Ad, which shows a slightly different background. Luc Madore of Schenley Distilleries wrote me: 'The Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada distillery is in operation since 1945. The company operating the plant is Schenley Distilleries Inc. a division of Barton Brands of Chicago. In 1947, one of the first products distilled and bottled in Valleyfield was the Golden Wedding Canadian Whisky. Back in the 40's, the brand did sell in the USA, but as a Rye Whisky, distilled and bottled in Schenley, Pennsylvania. The Joseph Finch Company of Alladin, Pa was probably a sales division of Schenley Industries Ltd.' It came with a 9 3/4 inch high glass dome. Displayed in front oft he background on the red flocked paper doily is a French made waiter's tool corkscrew and knife that advertises Golden Wedding Pure Rye. This background will be on loan to Herb's corkscrew collection."

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Gebbie's Golden Wedding

The Golden Wedding. Copyright 1893 by Gebbie & Co. Photogravure by Gebbie & Husson Co., Ltd. By the stairs at back left, a fellow is pulling a cork out of a bottle.

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Shiny Shoes

From the collection of Josef L'Africain

When it comes time to shine up the shoes for the wedding, here's an easy way to do it. Simply grab a bottle of Brown's French Dressing, uncork it with the corkscrew that comes with it, dip the applicator in the dressing an apply.

From the label we learn "French Dressing for Ladies and childrens shoes & boots, trunks, harness, carriage tops etc. B. F. Brown Boston Mass." Brown was founded in 1855. Brown won a medal for his shoe dressing at the 1878 Paris Exposition.

Another early maker of shoe dressing was Chieftain Manufacturing company of Charleston, West Virginia. In William Rockwell Clough: Inventor and Manufacturer of over a Billion Corkscrews, Ron MacLean writes "An unusual wire helix in the 1883 catalogue, possibly initiated by Clough, was a Shoe Dressing Wire with a wire helix to hold a bottle cork from the underside. Shown here with four unused dressing wires from Williamson stock and a printing block used in the catalogue. - The BLAK-OIL Friction Polish was made by the Chieftain Manufacturing Company, Charleston, West Virginia."

From the collection of Ron MacLean

Chieftain claimed their French Shoe Dressing "Improves - Renews all black leathers giving a lasting brilliant luster. Easy shoe economy - 5 minutes a day." In addition to the French shoe dressing, the firm offered "Cake or liquid white shoe dressing, black, tan or oxblood paste shoe polish, blak-oil liquid shoe polish, and stove polish paste."

From the collection of Don Bull

On an advertising trade card from Brown is "Brown's French Dressing is a brilliant, lasting and reliable Polish which does not hurt the shoe or soil the skirts in wet weather. It has polished Shoes, Trunks, Bags, and Harness for forty years, and is know everywhere ... BE SURE You Get BROWN'S!"

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