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Corkscrew collectors pour into Chattanooga

By: Kathy Gilbert
(Contact)

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For years, John and Martha Morris of Big Spring, Tenn., have uncorked antique corkscrew adventures all over the globe.

Next weekend, the Morrises will pop into their most daring escapade yet — hosting the annual meeting of the largest corkscrew collectors club in the world at The Chattanoogan.

About 60 of the club’s more than 300 members will travel with their friends or spouses from as far away as Norway, Germany and France to attend the meeting.

Last year the Canadian Corkscrew Collectors Club met in Copenhagen, Denmark. Before that Sydney, Australia.

“Chattanooga’s going to really have to step up to the plate,” Mr. Morris said.

The couple aim to meet expectations with a display of nearly every notable U.S. corkscrew design ever made.

“This is the largest (meeting) we’ve had, so we’re trying to have as many of the U.S. patents as possible for the first time all in one place,” Mr. Morris said.

The Morrises — now retired mechanical engineers from IBM — got into corkscrew collecting on a lark. They bought an antique corkscrew at a garage sale. Mr. Morris’ sister gave him a 1930s Italian coffee-grinder corkscrew for Christmas.

A few finds later, the hobby turned — almost — into an obsession.

“We started going to antiques shows, and it just blossomed — or exploded I guess is a better word,” Mrs. Morris said.

Much of their collection focuses on American-invented corkscrews.

A golden age of corkscrew invention reigned here from the 1880s to 1920s, Mr. Morris said. Corks stopped bottles of nearly everything, until bottle caps were invented around the turn of the century, Mr. Morris said.

Women carried tiny corkscrews to open their perfume bottles. The earliest “childproof caps” for drugs were corkscrews with bells on top — a tinkling warning for caretakers that little fingers wished to uncap the pharmacist’s concoctions.

According to Fred O’Leary’s “Corkscrews: 1,000 Patented Ways to Open a Bottle,” (2000, $80, Schiffer), about 1,000 corkscrew designs have been patented in the United States. Only about 300 examples of these inventions have been found, Mr. Morris said.

Among the highlights of Sunday’s show will be the first U.S. patented corkscrew, by Eli Whitney’s nephew, Philos Blake. Registered in 1860, the first example found in modern times was discovered as late as 1865. Only 10 exist in the world, Mr. Morris said. His was purchased at a Christie’s Auction, he said.

Other exhibits include novelties such as the “fastest corkscrew,” patented by Edward Becker in 1887. Hold the ends of a slender metal tube, push a button and the screw or “worm” pops out from the center, Mr. Morris explained.

An original Harry A. Chippendale combination cigar cutter/corkscrew/bottle opener, patented in 1910, also will be displayed.

The Morrisses declined to discuss prices for their collection. But a similar Chippendale sold on eBay recently for $1,000, Mr. Morris said. Rare corkscrews can sell for as much as $30,000, Mrs. Morris said.

Corkscrews made after 1930 typically only sell for $20-$45. Big money goes to corkscrews made of silver or gold, presented to the royalty or commemorating an unusual event. Premiums often go for corkscrews that, counterintuitively, fail to work, Mr. Morris added.

“Some corkscrews which did not work properly are the most rare and are highly sought after by collectors,” he said.

Like most dedicated collectors, the Morrises scored bargains and losses. A corkscrew they bought at a reputable auction turned out to be a fake. It was created by slapping two unrelated metal pieces together, Mrs. Morris said.

Yet a gift from a neighbor bought at a flea marked for a 25 cents turned out to be worth $2,000.

With the rise in popularity of wine, rare corkscrews have recently become more difficult to find and pricey to buy. As the ranks of corkscrew collectors also swell, meetings become even more fun.

“Sometimes the Europeans get very formal. We keep reminding people — it’s just corkscrews,” Mr. Morris said.

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