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Book Report on: "Compendium of Bar Corkscrews" by |
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This hard cover book also contains a detailed appendix about the manufacturers and their trademarks, also the trade name advertising found, organized by country and time period. - Wayne E. Meadows
These wonderful machines are also known as barscrews, wine or beer openers, uncorking machines or cork pullers, these tools were commonly used in a hotel saloon, pub, tavern or wine cellar. Some of the famous American manufacturers included Arcade, Walker Tool Co., Erie Specialty, Manning & Bowman and Meriden Malleable. Important European manufacturers included Gaskell & Chambers in England and G. Frings in Germany. These corkpullers sold under hundreds of different names including, Alexanderwerk, Acme, Anheuser Busch, Don, Daisy, Quick & Easy, Pullmee, Merritt, Rapid, Champion, Hektor, Yankee, Unique and Phoenix. It is notable that the identification numbers in the book map exactly to their equivalents in the CDROM known as SCReW, the only corkscrew classification catalogue in existence that contains thousands of corkscrews. So you can find a record on the CDROM and then you can immediately turn to the right entry in the book - or, vice versa. Contact the author by e-mail to download sample pages, or purchase the book. Now some comments from readers of the book: I just got the book a couple of hours ago. I started to go through it and it is fantastic. Beautifully done, great stuff! Even though I had the opportunity to read the manuscript before, the final product is simply excellent! Congratulations, an outstanding study of barscrews. It is a must for the avid corkscrew collector. - Joe Paradi When I arrived at the Burnt Chimney (Wirtz) Post Office today, I found a package from you awaiting me. What a surprise! I thought I would be waiting until a week from Friday to receive my copy of your book in Atlanta. I clutched the package under my arm and dashed back to my car where I sat and ripped the package open with the eagerness of a child on Christmas morning. And - ah the reward! I sat there for the next twenty minutes leafing through the book ooohing and aahhing over the pictures. While I was driving home, I planned the rest of my day so there would be plenty of time to devote to reading the book. I got home and there were a couple of honeydos to take care of and then I sat down for an hour of random leafing and reading. There is so much to look at and learn that I just couldn't settle in one spot. After lunch, I avoided the usually CNN and CNBC remote flipping, turned off the TV, and tuned into Barscrews. Before I knew it a couple of hours had passed - I was thoroughly immersed in it. Wayne - it IS a great reference! Your long and devoted research has certainly paid off. It's a winner! Bravo! - Don Bull A wonderful, innovative book on a long overdue subject, the Bar Corkscrew. There are so many out there, I still can't believe the number and the variation. The way you stayed on the trail of even the most obscure screws, hurrah, hurrah. I like the order, the methodology and the quality. It really is a great piece of work. You can quote me on that!!! - Larry Gralla Congratulations on one great book! For those of us already hooked on bar screws, the Compendium will be a Bible--the ultimate bar corkscrew reference work. For those who have yet to be lured by the intrigues of these mechanical marvels--they should beware. In fact, I think it would have been appropriate to have displayed the following warning on the cover, "Beware! Bar corkscrews are addictive. Contact with this Compendium may be habit forming." Seriously, knowing something of the years of work you’ve put into this Compendium Of Bar Corkscrews, you can be justly proud of the results. Your efforts have created an outstanding, much needed and long overdue addition to the growing library of fine corkscrew reference books. - Jack Bandy You did a superb job. Your book on barscrews is an absolute monumental work. It is "must reading" for all those who appreciate these mechanical wonders. You have my sincere gratitude for making the effort and taking the time to compile all the information that is found between its covers. - Joe Young At last, a reference works that has dared to take on this complex and elusive subject. COMPENDIUM OF BAR CORKSCREWS is a definitive work, clearly reflecting the heart and soul of someone who loves his subject and knows what he is talking about. It as a must companion for any corkscrew collector and would be appropriate for the library of all historians of the inventive spirit. - Fred O’Leary Compendium of Bar Corkscrews is a treasure of information and images - must reading for collectors and dealers. - Fred Kincaid Clearly the best book ever written about barscrews. - Michael Gordon I had not realized the complexity of the book you were writing. It is a tremendous job and so well done. - Chris Barge A well-researched, detailed, and comprehensive discussion, the definitive book on bar corkscrews. - Bert Giulian |
The
COMPENDIUM OF BAR CORKSCREWS is comprised of two main sections.
You’ll find out what they look like, when they were patented and
who manufactured them in the Identification section, featuring
over 350 photographs or advertising illustrations, and how they
work and what the patent was all about in the Mechanisms section, containing over 109 patent drawings and/or photographs
of internal mechanisms, with operational descriptions. The book includes
16 pages of full color illustrations. This is the first time, that the
photographs, patent information and manufacturing history on these
wonderful old automatic cork-pulling machines has been published in a
single volume.
The COMPENDIUM OF BAR CORKSCREWS was designed
to allow collectors to positively identify the model, version and
variant of almost any bar corkscrew. Organized by trade name, there are
more than 340 photographs or advertising illustrations of the different
models and their versions found by the author in the last nine years. As
a communication aid to collectors, this book has assigned specific
identification numbers, to more than 370 different bar corkscrews,
including all of the variants that the author is aware of. Advertising
copy or photographs of a large percentage of these corkscrews in this
book are largely unknown to most collectors.
About
Barscrews: