Club Français du Tire-Bouchon

The CFTB was conceived in April 1996 by M. Gérard Bidault, backed up by Philippe Songy and Guy Olive, two collectors Gérard had met at flea markets in the area (Anjou and Bretagne) . The idea had germinated in his head following a CCCC meeting which he attended. He then went about searching for some corkscrew related material which he thought would be appropriate for the Newsletter of the proposed club and be called: L’EXTRACTEUR. Having announced the formation of the Club through the appropriate press and other means, the membership stood at 27 by the end of the first year.

After a year in existence, despite the difficulties in attracting members’ participation in the publishing of the L’Extracteur, things developed very well. The first Annual General Meeting organised by the late M. Philippe Songy in Saumur was a great success and the members decided to incorporate the Club under the 1901 laws of France applicable to such organisations. Today, the Club boasts of 71 members from 10 Countries.

The 2^nd AGM took place in Champagne in 1997, the 3^rd in Burgundy in 1998. Both were very successful and built up strong bonds between members. Lots of corkscrews are exchanged at the AGM, and some are presented that have never been seen before. The Annual General Meeting for 1999, the fourth such event, was held in Narbonne on March 27 and 28. The fifth Annual Meeting was held in Paris on April 2, 2000.  The "Bon Vivant" atmosphere is always "de rigueur".  The list of all AGMs of the past took place in:

1996     Saumur
1997     Reims
1998     Chassagne-Montrachet
1999     Narbonne
2000     Paris
2001     Bruxelles
2002     Gigondas
2003     Angers
2004     Saint-Malo
2005     Nancy
2006 will be held in Paulliac in March 2006

At the present time, there are no criteria that a prospective member must meet before s/he can become a member of the CFTB. But, at the 1998 AGM, the suggestion that the number of members be limited to 70 was made, in order to ensure that only members who are truly interested in corkscrews be allowed in. The proposal was rejected. Membership fees are 60 Euros for 2005.

The newsletter, L’Extracteur, is published every three months all in a four-colour format. The L'Extracteur is arguably the best and most informative of all the corkscrews related newsletters produced today.

Here are some excerpts from the Club’s Constitution:

Objectives: The Club was formed to provide corkscrew collectors an organisation where knowledge can be disseminated, research conducted on patent history and different ways to manufacture the pieces, different models can be studied and a listing of French corkscrews can be completed. Thus, the newsletter, the meetings, the corkscrew displays and the buying and selling are major parts of this organisation.

Member Responsibilities: No member of the Club is personally responsible for the engagements and contracts the Club makes. Only the entire Club will respond to any such issues.

Officers: The Club is administered by a Board of Directors consisting of 5 members of the Club, elected for a one year term by the membership at large at the Annual Meeting. The past members are eligible for re-election each year.

Websites in French
Do see the Club's website at: http://tire-bouchon-cftb.com/index.htm
There are a number of other French language based websites on the Net:
A Belgian website: http://www.corkweb.be.tf/
A French Collector produced one: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/collec-tirebouchons/collec_tirebouchons/
A site for Zig-Zags / Concertinas produced by Hans Turler: http://www.corkscrewlexi.com/extensibles.html
And a 4 language (English, French, German and Italian terminology list for corkscrews and their parts produced by Hajo Turler: http://www.corkscrewlexi.com/dokumente/terminologie.pdf

2005 - 2006 Officers

President:
Maurice DANCER

Past President:
Marc PONCELET

Treasurer:
Hajo TURLER

Secretary:
Alain GRONDEAU

Editor:
Gérard BIDAULT

Webmaster:
Hajo TURLER