Corkscrews
Corkscrews were made from the late 17th century onwards, and the number of improvements and patents for ingenious designs is breathtaking. The first corkscrew patent was taken out in September 1795 by Samuel Henshall, and thereafter the number of patents in all civilised countries was enormous. Mechanical corkscrews had been made in the 18th century but the most successful patent was taken out by Edward (later Sir Edward) Thomason in 1802. Some of his designs were made in the famous Soho factory in Birmingham owned by Matthew Boulton, but many others - Heeley, Dowler and others - used the general idea to make what are now called Thomason-type' corkscrews. Thousands of inventions and designs have been registered in many countries, but particularly in Germany, France and the USA. Corkscrews have been the subject of avid collection, and collectors' clubs and societies specifically devoted to them are numerous. The doyen is ICCA - the Inter-national Correspondence of Corkscrew Addicts, but the biggest society is the CCCC - the Canadian Corkscrew Collectors' Club, and the British club is the ABCDE - the Association of British Corkscrew Devotees and Enthu-siasts! With so many enthusiasts, it is not surprising that there are many books on the subject.

Horsehoe-shaped drinking tables were probably never common. This, with its curtain rail and decanter slide, is unusually complete. Such tables were placed around a fire to take heat from the remaining embers after dinner, when the ladies had withdrawn and the gentlemen gathered to drink - usually to excess. The port, sherry or madeira would circulate between them in decanters hidden from the heat of the fire by the shield back of the double coaster. A curtain would protect the gentlemen from the heat of the fire but could be drawn if it became cold.

Wineglasses
While glass drinking vessels were made across the Roman Empire, the Venetians pioneered the making of glass during the Renaissance a millennium or so later. Despite draconian attempts to keep their 'mystery' within their circle, the secret leaked, and glasshouses sprang up in the Low Countries, Bohemia and in London. All glass at this time was soda glass, that is, the flux for the glass was potash of soda. In the late 17th century, experiments were conducted in several glass-houses to find alternative forms of making glass. In England, George Ravenscroft had partial success in creating 'flint' glass, and later used lead oxide as a flux, creating lead glass. This made a much more solid glass capable of being formed into plastic shapes, and proved to be the perfect medium in which to make wineglasses - robust, clear and able to be made in elegant shapes.
The earliest wineglasses (apart from early experimental glasses) to be seen today outside museums date from the end of the 17th century. They are known as heavy baluster glasses from the shape of their stems, and date from circa 1690 to circa 1720. With time, the stems became more complex and lighter both in style and feel; these are the light balusters and balustroid glasses. Sometimes these glasses contained bubbles or tears of air deliberately introduced into the stem. By the 1740s facet cutting was being used to decorate the stems of some glasses.
During the mid-18th century, numerous wineglasses and goblets (large wineglasses) were made with stems incorporating a spiral of air or opaque white glass called 'air' and 'opaque' twists respectively. These are highly collectable. Collectors vie for different shapes of bowl, twist patterns and other quirks which make an individual glass more or less unusual or rare. Most opaque twist glasses have two spirals, one within the other and are called double series twists, while air twist glasses, which tend to be slightly earlier in date, usually have one. Double series air twists are rare as are single series opaques - and that makes such examples more collectable and thus more valuable. By the 1770s, twists fell from fashion, and were replaced with facet-cut stems. After this, the design of English wineglasses deteriorated and the glasses are not much sought by collectors; however, they can be excellent for those who wish to use them!
It has to be said that while drinking from a glass which is 250 or 280 years old does add a certain something to one's enjoyment, antique wineglasses really do not do justice to a fine wine. Most have flared bowls which do little to help the bouquet of even a half-serious wine. However, antique glasses can be enjoyed for a glass of sherry, madeira or port, particularly if one is sharing the enjoyment with a friend who also appreciates old glass. Also, there are many who use 19th century tavern glasses or rummers for their daily tipple; these have sufficient capacity and are robust and cheap enough to be used frequently.
Most 18th century wineglasses are very small to accord with the drinking habits of the time. Social eti-quette dictated that glasses were not put on a table in front of diners to be used as the diner wanted; they were brought already charged with wine to each diner by a footman. Wine was drunk when a toast was given, and the glass handed back to the footman to be re-charged for the next toast. It is for this reason that most glasses are only large enough to hold a single draught. After dinner, when the ladies had retired to their feminine pursuits, and servants had been dismissed for the evening, the gentlemen would drink around the fire or dining table. This is when goblets were used.