 Corkscrew Stories, Volume 1 features:
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 Corkscrew Stories, Volume 2 features:
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by Donald A. Bull
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Corkscrew Stories, Volume 1 features:
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Corkscrew Stories, Volume 2 features:
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Every corkscrew has a story behind it. In these book you'll find 254 of those stories. Some tell about those "ingenious modifications" in the words of the inventors and in others we learn the background behind the advertising on corkscrews. There are a lot of corkscrews that relate to specific events or dates and these have been melded together. There are collections of types of corkscrews - golfing related, elephants, and more.
Then there are those fun personal stories about corkscrew finds (and losses) such as Kenn Cameron's huge Walker corkscrew, Albert Beliard's first screw, and Reinhold Berndt's found and loss prong puller.
Some of the stories originally appeared on the Internet in The Daily Screw and in The Virtual Corkscrew Museum. A reader asked me "I know the website will not last forever, so why not preserve these stories in book form? How about something I can pick up and just leaf to an interesting story anywhere, anytime?" I thought "Aha, a Corkscrew Bathroom Reader!"
So I set out to expand some of the stories with additional information I had gathered since their original publication. Some of the stories I deep-sixed while others were expanded. I approached the project with great enthusiasm and, as I looked at corkscrews and the piles of information surrounding my desk, I came up with even more stories. After several months, I ended up with about 500 pages of stories. My reader would now have plenty to choose from. They may not all be his cup of tea but, hey, they were ready to be preserved in print form.
Here's what Joe Paradi has to say about Corkscrew Stories in the foreword to the book:
About 25 years ago I started collecting corkscrews. Needless to say, much has changed since. The one thing in the late 1970's that held back collectors was the lack of written material - books, articles and stories. Avid collectors pursued their twisted hobby more or less in a vacuum of information. The first book appeared by Watney & Babbidge, a well written textbook like effort. As time passed, we were treated to patent collections, general information books, price guides, coffee table books and pocket versions just to name a few. But these all really addressed the technical or historical aspect of corkscrew collecting, very few stories were regaled about who made things, who found them, who used them and for what purpose.
And then came the Internet and with it corkscrew websites where presenting stories were easy and everyone could "publish" his favourite corkscrew tale. Among the earliest, and by far the largest, website on corkscrews is authored by Don Bull. Don is a prolific book publisher also with about a half dozen to his credit. However, the really monumental effort from Don was The Daily Screw, an Internet newspaper published every day for over a year. Collectors were glued to their browsers to see what new story Don has come up with each morning. Unquestionably, collecting, writing and publishing these articles was a significant effort truly appreciated by his many readers.
This book is the result of the work Don had done on The Daily Screw. Many of the stories he published on the web see print here. As I read through this pre-publication copy he gave me when I recently visited him, it became clear to me that this project is really different from all the other publishing efforts. This book will appeal to all readers, not just "corkscrew experts" because the material is presented in short stories that people enjoy without the need for being experts. Don has polished the on-line articles and added many more. It is truly a delight to read this collection of short corkscrew stories, if you do, you will be entertained while learning much.
So curl up with this book and enjoy the "tales" about the corkscrew that most people see strictly as a kitchen tool. For those of us who love these twisted objects, this book adds much to our enjoyment.
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