Irish corkscrew for Horners Norfolk auction
Published October 9th, 2006
In utilitarian steel and showing the wear of more than two centuries, it is nevertheless the star item up for auction at Horner’s of Acle, and expected to sell for as much as £6,000.
Auctioneer Henry Horner-Glister said: “Before it ended up at the car boot fair it had apparently been languishing at the back of a garden shed.
“The couple who spotted it realised it was collectable but it was only when they got it home and cleaned it up they realised how important it was.”
Under the rust, the name Lamprey identified it as an extremely rare late 18th century Irish corkscrew.
Mr Horner-Glister said corkscrews had soared in popularity among collectors, but it was still an area where amateurs stood a serious chance of unearthing a bargain in a junk shop or at a jumble sale.
More than 100 corkscrews will be going under the hammer at a special auction on Saturday, October 21, the astonishing range showing the ingenuity with which people have tackled the problem of getting that elusive cork out of the bottle over the centuries.
