The Virtual Corkscrew Museum's Daily Newspaper


Monday, August 4, 2003

News Index


Our Man Flint

London, England, August 4, 1925 - Alfred William Flint has received word from the United States Patent that he has been granted Patent No. 1,548,519 for his "Device for Removing Closures from Bottles." Flint applied for the American patent in October of last year. He already had obtained British Patent No. 227,628 in January, 1924.

The Oxford Street resident makes claim to both a crowned cap remover and a corkscrew in his application. He cites two different "peg and worm" styles with variations in the cap lifter head - one has the rear projection engaging the front of the crown and lifting the handle and the other is an over-the-top style which engages the far end of the crown and the handle is pushed down to removed it.

It is interesting to note that although Flint's American patent shows the over-the-top crown remover design in conjunction with a knife and folding worm, there is no mention of this drawing (his Fig. 4 reference) in the description

Wirtz, Virginia, August 4, 2003 - The Flint corkscrews could be a hot contender for the most copy in the smallest space. The example on the left has "Patent Applied For, Reg'd No. 708279 / Otis, Made in Sheffield, England" (1924 Registration). The example on the right has "A. W. Flint & Co., Made in Sheffield, Eng., British Patent No. 227628, Patent also France, Germany, U. S. A." The French patent number is 587,022 and the German patent number is 888,298.

A third example is marked "Prov. Pat."

The Flint knife design appears to be quite a rarity with only one having been reported to The Daily Screw.



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©2003 Don Bull, Editor

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