185

Thomason Reproductions

Not all reproductions are bad or are

meant to deceive the unsuspecting

corkscrew enthusiast. The

corkscrews reproductions shown

here are well engineered pieces and

they are very collectible. At the

times of their offerings, they were/

are not misrepresented as old, rather

they were / are sold as fine quality

modern productions.

In 1978 W. H. Miller Gear Specialties

Ltd. in England manufactured 500

numbered pieces of the

―

Vulcan

‖

.

This reproduction of the 1802

Thomason patent corkscrew was made for Westol Wine Consultants. In 1980 a seller in

England offered the corkscrew for £179 and in 1982 it was being sold in Canada for

$549.50.

Referring to a Thomason corkscrew in the Wine Museum of John Harvey in Bristol,

John Barrett of Westol wrote

―

It seemed sad to me that no such quality instrument was

available today. The ingenuity and sheer engineering quality shown by 19th Century

manufacturers puts our modern 'bent ware' to shame.

‖

Barrett commissioned the

limited production of the Vulcan and it is indeed a truly high quality corkscrew.

Vulcan number 116 is pictured above with a vintage Thomason corkscrew. The

documentation supplied with the Vulcan is pictured below.