Crocodile-shaped iron cork press, Portugal, 1801-1900

Made:
1801-1900 in Portugal
Iron cork presser shaped like a stylised crocodile, Portugese

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Iron cork presser shaped like a stylised crocodile, Portugese
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Iron cork presser shaped like a stylised crocodile, Portugese

Until the 1930s, corks were used to seal bottles of medical preparations so they could be taken home by the customer. Corks needed to be pressed and moulded in order to fit the bottle top. This crocodile-shaped cork presser has four different sized holes for pressing corks and is worked by lifting the tail up and down. Each foot of the crocodile has a hole for a screw so it can be attached to a bench. The cork press would have been made by a manufacturing chemist or pharmacist.

Details

Category:
Pharmacy-ware
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A640410
Materials:
complete and iron
Measurements:
overall: 104 mm x 275 mm x 110 mm, 2.318 kg
depth: 100mm
height: 102mm
weight: 2.32kg
weight: 5.11475lbs
width: 292mm
type:
cork press