1. Anton Trunk’s 1886 U.S. design patent for a corkscrew (# D-16,799).  This example is striking as it maintains its original plating/finish (O’Leary, 1996 p. 75).

2. Turned walrus ivory direct pull with round shank and blade, marked “B. NATHAN.”  As mentioned in last’s year’s best six with a different B. Nathan corkscrew, Bernhard Nathan & Co. was a retailer in San Francisco.  

According to Bernard Levine’s book Knifemakers of Old San Francisco:

Of those cutlers who advertised that they made cutlery to order, most actually had their new work done by others. Several, such as B. Nathan & Co., George C. Shreve & Co., and Haynes & Lawton, had some of their special cutlery made by Will & Finck.”

Speaking of Will & Finck…

3. Ivory Handle Will & Finck direct pull corkscrew marked on the shank, WILL & FINCK.

4. Ivory Handle Will & Finck direct pull corkscrew with blade and brush; marked on the faceted shank, WILL & FINCK and on the blade WILL & FINCK, S.F. CAL.

Of course, what is fascinating, as pointed out by Levine in Knifemakers of Old San Francisco, is that Will & Finck made wares for other San Francisco retailers.  

And, if you were doing some food and wine shopping in San Francisco, it was likely that your gourmet grocer and wine retailer was Goldberg, Bowen, & Co. (they also happened to sell corkscrews).

In San Francisco: A Food Biography by Erica J. Peters, the author explains:

In the late nineteenth century, many well-to-do in San Francisco satisfied their gourmet desires at Goldberg, Bowen & Co.  The upscale grocery delivered imported goods and fine wines across the city…they gained a reputation as San Francisco’s preeminent grocery establishment, both wholesale and retail.

5. Wooden handle direct pull with blade, marked GOLDBERG, BOWEN, & CO.

5. Walter W. Wilkinson patent (458,087) awarded August 18, 1891 for his “Corkscrew,” marked with a maker’s mark for Gorham Sterling on the inside of the folding arms, and on the reverse an additional mark denoting the year of production: 1900. (See O’Leary, 1996, p. TK)

Finally, just prior to the May Antique Show at Brimfield, Sue and I were walking through an antique mall, and spotted what looked to be a common Clough direct pull sitting in a case.   The handle looked unusual, and as soon as it was in my hands, I knew that I had to have it. 

6. Turned ivory handle Clough wire corkscrew; the first known example of a Clough corkscrew with an ivory handle of which I am aware.