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Silver antique serpent variant corkscrew, on dark red cover, Uncorked A CORKSCREW COLLECTION in white font to centre left and right.

Uncorked

A Corkscrew Collection

By (author) Marilynn Gelfman Karp

£20.00

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  • Perhaps the finest book about corkscrews ever published: rigorously researched, beautifully photographed, impeccably organised
  • Yet also rich with anecdote and humour, and great fun just to browse through
  • A must for helixophiles (corkscrew collectors), and a unique gift for wine lovers
  • This book's square format, cover effects, and accessible price point add to its giftability
  • All of the 650+ featured corkscrews are from the exceptional personal collection of author Marilynn Gelfman Karp, the noted historian of material culture
Full Description

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.

About the Author

Marilynn Gelfman Karp is professor emerita at New York University and a collector and historian of extraordinary objects. Her other publications include In Flagrante Collecto: Caught in the Act of Collecting.

Jeremy Franklin Brooke is professor of filmmaking at the New School, as well as the creator of the information management systems used in the preparation of Uncorked.

Specifications
Publisher
Abbeville Press
ISBN
9780789213778
Published
4th Nov 2020
Binding
Hardback
Territory
World excluding USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Australia
Size
210 mm x 210 mm
Pages
224 Pages
Illustrations
562 color
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