A splendid (and giftable) visual guide to the beautifully
convoluted world of corkscrews. Ever since the standardised wine
bottle came into use in the 18th century, thirsty people have
sought a convenient means of removing its cork stopper. At first
they employed whatever was at hand - including the helical gun
screws used to clean out firearms - but the patent corkscrew
emerged by 1795 and soon multiplied into more permutations than the
proverbial better mousetrap. In Uncorked, Marilynn Gelfman Karp
uses her own collection of corkscrews - carefully chosen both for
their inventiveness and for their decorative qualities - to trace
the history and evolution of this curious tool. She establishes a
taxonomy of the corkscrew, based on the fundamental characteristics
of handle, shaft, and screw, and then presents more than 650
individual specimens by category. They range from the simplest
'basic T' models to the most whimsical flights of fancy (a folding
pair of legs, a seahorse) and the most elaborate mechanical
contrivances. Each example is illustrated with superb colour
photography and fully described. Uncorked is at once a serious
contribution to the history of material culture, and a delight to
page through. It will be an essential reference for helixophiles
(as collectors of these gadgets are called) and an agreeable gift
for any corkscrew-wielding wine lover.
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