19th C French Antique Lathe-turned Maple/oak Winery Glass Bottle Cork Press

SCARCE MID to LATE 19TH CENTURY FR EN CH ANTIQUE LATHE-TURNED MAPLE BODY & OAK FINIAL WINERY GLASS BOTTLE  CORK PRESS HAND TOOL, with   INTERIOR BRASS SLEEVE & EXTERIOR SUPPORTING BRASS HOOPS [Intact & complete, with naturally hand rubbed, oiled wood surfaces] (Circa 1865-1885) Mid to late 19th century Fr en ch antique winery glass bottle cork press, wooden hand tools & other wine bottling accessories DIMENSIONS: 11 ½" overall Height (cork press rod down) 17" extended Height (fully outstretched cork press rod) 2  ½" Diameter Weight: 12.6 oz. DESCRIPTION: A remarkable and quite scarce, mid to late 19th century Fr en ch antique lathe-turned, maple hardwood body, with brass sleeve and oak rod pull finial, winery glass bottle cork press hand tool, in exceptionally well-preserved antique condition. It's complete, in working order and without any missing parts. This particular tool would've been principally used at wineries and at the point of wine production, where before complete automation which came later, corks were manually inserted into glass wine bottles individually and by hand, often with the assistance of this rather ingenious wooden tool. It's comprised of an oval shaped body, fashioned from maple hardwood. The bottom and top of the form are drilled out and with brass sleeves inserted into the resulting hollow tubes. A wooden rod plunger with a lead tipped end and screwed into the end of the plunger rod to push the corks down into glass bottles, where the corks would then naturally expand and form a tight seal, were pushed down by a dowel and a lathe-turned oak handled finial. An early wine making and wine bottling artifact, that's as beautiful as it's ingenious, for the simplicity of its design. Just terrific.   CONDITION: Good to Very Good overall antique condition.

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