9
Foreword
About 25 years ago I started collecting corkscrews.
Needless to say, much has changed since. The one
thing in the late 1970s 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.
Joe Paradi
