Nut cracker or...
When we picked up this brass item, we were told that it was a nutcracker. Which got us thinking - that’s nuts! There’s no way it’s for cracking nuts, why would it have different sizes? So…we began our journey into researching this curiosity. What we discovered was a huge collection of “Apothecary Cork Presses”…we found ones shaped like animals, some with mounting screw holes, cast iron, brass…a variety of designs ranging from plain to extremely ornate. Most seem to be from the 1800s. The druggist/pharmacist would place a damp cork in the press, then squeeze (or press in this case) down to compress the cork to fit the bottle head. As the cork dries, it expands, sealing the bottle.
Ours is a lovely, Victorian-period hinged cast cork press with a leaf motif. Features three different sized moulds and is in good condition.
Apothecary Cork Press
…or a really fancy nutcracker.