We had several winners for our February What Is It? Michele Pontious of Belleair, Illinois guessed the item is a vintage antique apothecary cork press. She is correct! So are Jerome McLaren of Conifer, Colorado and Charles Kirkpatrick of Denver, Colorado! Vicky Kellan of Castle Pines, Colorado thought it might be a nut cracker. That is a possibility so we say, she too is correct.
It is actually a japanned-iron cork press from the mid-19th Century, embossed with a fruit-and-foliage design. Collectors usually prefer those with an animal motif. A cork press was one of the pharmacist’s tools. From colonial times the big spenders at American drugstores were doctors, who would stock up on medications, instruments and equipment to take back to their rural areas.
Congratulations to our winners. You have all won a year’s subscription to the Mountain States Collector.
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