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.