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 The Virtual Corkscrew Museum's Weekly Newspaper |
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The Virtual Corkscrew Museum's Weekly Newspaper |
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Sunday, July 9, 2006 |
A Death in the Family
Deckerville, Michigan - The staff of The Weekly Screw had to leave for a funeral.
Reproduced from the August 23, 2003 issue:
Born 1919, Died ?
Stratford, Connecticut, August 23, 1932 - Horace M. Bridgewater has a bit of a morbid attitude in his bar tool creation. He has taken the Prohibition figure cartooned by Rollin Kirby in Vanity Fair magazine and made him into a "Combination Bottle Opener and Dispensing Apparatus." The fellow is packaged in a 6 1/2" long casket and includes a corkscrew hat, a jigger midsection and a cap lifter leg/foot with bottle corker.
Bridgewater has received United States Design Patent Number 87,618 and assigned it to the Artistic Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Inside the casket, we find this poem:
Poor Mr. Prohibition's licked -
We've got him on his back!
He's trying hard to make amends
Before he's in "the sack".Let's look him over just for fun
He may be used at that!
There's nothing in that head of his -
He's "screwy" in the hat!His stomach now is changed a bit -
It measures out the rye
A "Jigger-ful" each time it's used!
Say! He's a useful guy!He kicks off caps with utmost ease
We've got his cork in spirit!
And when he passes on, dear friend -
We Know that we can "Beer-it"!
Reproduced from the May 6, 2003 issue:
The Grim Reaper
Reproduced from the March 15, 2004 issue:
Conworth Follow-ups
We ran this story March 1, 2003:
England, March 1, 1855, Job Conworth, a Lieutenant in the 3rd Nottinghamshire Militia passed away today at the age of 73.
A corkscrew with butterfly handle and centering button in frame has been engraved with "Job Conworth, Obit. March 1st, 1855, 73 Years" on the sides of the frame. This is called an "obituary corkscrew."
We published this follow-up July 11, 2003:
England - In the March 1 issue of The Daily Screw, we ran a story on the Job Conworth obituary corkscrew. Keith Pearce recently bought a book in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England from the library of Job Conworth and inscribed by him on January 18th, 1799. Note the similarity in the book signature and the corkscrew signature.
On February 6, 2004 we learned from Elizabeth Pugh, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada:
While searching for information about the name CONWORTH on the Internet I came across your website re the Conworth corkscrew. I may be able to help you with who Job CONWORTH was as it appears he was a distant relation of mine.
Job CONWORTH (1) and his wife Elizabeth (BEART) CONWORTH of Peterborough had a son Job (2) who was baptized 11 Jan 1758 at St. John the Baptist, Peterborough. Job then had a son, Job (3) who died in 1855 in East Retford, Nottingham. He was married to a Catherine PRESLEY and had a son named Job (4) in 1827.
Job(1) and Elizabeth were my 4x great grandparents. Genealogy is my hobby but I have only recently begun research into this family.
I do have a copy of Job (3)'s will that I downloaded from the PRO Wills on line site. He calls himself a gentleman and names William NEWTON of Newark and George RIDER(?) (difficult to read) of Cheltenham (both "gentlemen") and appoints his son Job as his executor. He signed with rather a shaky "X" which could indicate he was ill at the time of the will being drawn up. It was dated 20 Feb 1855. Job had family connections in Bedfordshire. His brother John married in Wymington, Beds.
On April 14, 2004 Alwynne Conworth Mackiewe wrote:
Further work with my cousin Elizabeth Pugh from Whitehorse, Yukon, now tells us that Job of Corkscrew fame was baptized Thomas Job Conworth at Rushden, Northamptonshire on 23 March 1782, the son of John Conworth and Ann Fletcher.
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The Occasional Screw appreciates the follow-ups to our stories from the many dedicated reader-researchers. Thank you Elizabeth and Alwynne.
Corkscrew Canyon, Funeral Mountains, Death Valley
Projects
Readers of The Weekly Screw are currently working on two corkscrew cataloging projects.
The Williamson "Flash" souvenir corkscrew project began with the May 23, 2006 issue. The project has a list in PDF format (http://www.bullworks.net/daily/flashlist.pdf) and a pictorial catalog (http://www.bullworks.net/daily/flashpix.pdf).
The "Nifty" project began with the June 25, 2006 issue. For these corkscrews there is only a list (http://www.bullworks.net/daily/niftylist.pdf).
The pages of both projects will be updated from time to time and notice will appear at the bottom of each issue of The Weekly Screw. Readers are encouraged to review the list and submit their additions to Don Bull, Editor.
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©2006 Don Bull, Editor |
