On May 29, 1997, Bonnie and I left for New Hampshire to deliver her pictorial history of Stamford to her publisher. We antiqued in New Hampshire and Maine.
In the several shops we visited in New Hampshire, I saw only a couple of overpriced K-Mart style corkscrews. When we reached Maine, I passed up a Zig Zag at $95 in the first shop. Several more shops turned up nothing and then the first stop in Freeport rewarded me with this Murphy (so marked) corkscrew for a mere $6.50. | |
The Freeport stop grew my marked Murphy collection to five. Robert Murphy of Harvard, Massachusetts was a prolific manufacturer of corkscrews in the latter half of the 19th century. Murphy's corkscrews were advertised as being of "Best Crucible Steel" with "Solid Pinned Handle." His "Challenge" (second from right) and "Victor" corkscrews are simple very functional designs. | |
When we were heading South, we ventured on Route 1 near Scarborough, Maine. The first shop had a Syroco Waiter in poor condition at $75. I passed it. A very large mall south of Scarborough took considerable time to scour for corkscrews yielding nothing. The only good fortune was this ANRI figure (7 1/2" tall). Behind the figure is a small box with wall mounting hook. A nice place to store a couple of long corkscrews. | |
We had time for one more stop. We quickly went through a mall
and at the last booth - a reward for my ANRI collecting friend
Philly Rains.
There staring at me was this great dog with everlasting calendar. He will find
a happy home in the Ozarks. It was time to go home...we passed about a dozen more big shops / malls on Route 1...they were probably filled with corkscrews waiting for another day! |
....a four day trip...and only ONE corkscrew!
email: corkscrew@bullworks.net
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©1997 Donald A. Bull