Bill Creasey with one of his 100-plus bottle openers. (ERnest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        Who: Bill Creasey, 51, chief naturalist/safari coordinator at Cincinnati Nature Center and collector of bottle openers.

        On display: More than 100 figural bottle openers in a wide variety of shapes.

        Where: In the family room of his Loveland home.

        What's this? Mr. Creasey's collection began about 10 years ago when he attended an antiques show at Moeller High School with his mother and brother.

        “I found what looked like a small metal parrot on a stand,” he says. “It was only $7 so my mom bought it for me, her birdwatcher son, as a gift. We thought that it was just a metal paperweight or knickknack until someone said, "You know that's a bottle opener.'

        “Sure enough,” he chuckles, “The beak is open and set at just the right angle to pry off a bottle cap.”

        After that, Mr. Creasey was hooked.

        Merry menagerie: “At first,” he says, “I tried to focus on just birds. So over the years, I acquired bottle openers in the shape of parrots, a rooster, hen, seagull, pelican, mallard, hornbill and flamingo. I'm interested in natural history, so I also collected other animals like elephants, crabs, alligators, donkeys, goats, skunks, squirrels, lobsters, dolphins, horses, whales and even a turtle.

        Fancy churchkey: “While I was traveling in Colorado a few years ago,” he recalls, “My brother talked me into visiting a strip of antique shops in Denver. I found a figural metal cowboy playing a guitar by some prickly pear cacti. One of the cactus pads has a missing piece, as if an animal has taken a bite out of it. But it is the perfect notch to pry open a bottle cap.”

        That purchase prompted Mr. Creasey to expand his collection to include openers in the shape of humans. In addition to the cowboy, he now owns a sailor, a man hanging from a lamppost, a housewife brandishing a rolling pin, a man holding onto a palm tree and an unfortunate fellow being chased by a crocodile.

        History lesson: “Most of the old figural bottle openers were made during the 1940s and '50s at four foundries in Pennsylvania,” Mr. Creasey explains. “They were sold for favors at college fraternity and sorority parties as well as souvenirs for travel destinations.”

        Lucky find: Mr. Creasey finds most of his openers at antique shops, shows and on eBay. His most valuable is an elephant that he bought for $1 at the Burlington Antique Show. Its true value is between $250-$467.

        “That's not a bad return on a dollar!” he says.

        For more information on figural bottle openers, check out www.fbocclub.com.

        Share your prize possessions with Marsie Hall Newbold by mail: c/o The Cincinnati Enquirer, e-mail marsolete@aol.com.
       

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