We have a number of corkscrews at Market Lavington Museum. One of them has a large handle which appears to be made of a root. We had thought it might be a briar.

A corkscrew at Market Lavington Museum

The metal part of the tool has a maker’s name on it.

The corkscrew maker was Laurent Siret of Rochefort sur Loire, France

There is a brass plaque on the handle, which may be the name of a particular wine.

A brass plaque on the corkscrew handle

When the item was given to the museum, there was no internet to find out about things. There is now, so we are able to learn more about our corkscrew.

First of all, we now know that the handle, appropriately enough is made from the wood of a vine and that the manufacturer was one of the largest corkscrew makers in France.

Our information comes from a corkscrew on line magazine at http://www.bullworks.net/daily/20080608.htm  where we found this image and information.

An advert showing this type of corkscrew

The corkscrews are often marked on the shank with the name and location of one of the largest producers of such corkscrews Laurent Siret, Rochefort-sur-Loire, France.

The handles of these corkscrews come in an unlimited number of shapes and sizes as they are cut from the vine. One can imagine all sorts of animal figures in the shapes. The example at left was offered by a seller as a seahorse.

Also they can be found with small brass plates attached advertising wines and vineyards.

So now we know much more about our corkscrew