Adolphus Busch 125 year old calling card - Anheuser-Busch Silver Stanhope Corkscrew Knife ca. 1899-05

Anheuser-Busch Silver Stanhope Corkscrew Knife ca. 1899-05

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Your Price: $650.00

Anheuser-Busch Silver Stanhope Corkscrew Knife ca. 1899-05

Part Number: ANT-PK-01

Availability: Sorry Recently Sold!

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This is an example of one of the earliest Anheuser Busch advertising corkscrew knives ever produced. It is literally one of the first patterns to be made for the brewery at all. This German silver model was made from circa 1890-1903 & is the forerunner to later versions. I like to refer to this pattern as the "Pithicanthropus man of AB knives" as it marks the introduction of the stanhope lens to the Anheuser-Busch beer opener knife. There were about 47 different variations produced for the brewery before prohibition and most of these knives were given out personally by Budweiser King Adolphus Busch himself and quickly became his 'calling card'. It is becoming extremely difficult to find these 19th century St. Louis collectables in any condition, and if you are lucky enough to turn one up,.....more often than not, the stanhope lens is missing or no longer in tact. Fortunately, the stanhope peep viewer is present and beautiful. The image is very crisp and clear as it is a replacement restoration lens. The image contained within is a portrait of young Adolphus himself and is untitled. The two carbon steel spear blades are marked 'George Wostenholm Sheffield England'& have been sharpened a great deal & they are rather short. Though most AB "picture knives" were made in Germany by cutlers like Kastor & Bros., a few orders were apparently given to Wostenholm. It was my belief until recently that these were replacement blades but now I am of the opinion that they are original. This is the only Wostenholm AB knife that I have ever owned and because the blades have been poorly repinned (so they don't sit or retract all the way but they do snap quite well) I assumed that they were also replaced. BUT........During a recent visit to an east coast collector & author, I saw & learned that there were other Wostenholm knives....but not many! They are all early versions and I believe now that they are original. The scales or sides are in nice condition and show some wear and patina. They are German silver and on one side & depict 2 A&Eagle logos together with 'Anheuser-Busch St. Louis'. The back scale shows the tall A&Eagle logo and a Victorian era design. The backsprings are tight inspight of the repinning of the blade end. The corkscrew is of the double helix type and is complete and unbroken.

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Anheuser-Busch Silver Stanhope Corkscrew Knife ca. 1899-05

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