The Lawrence Tap

New York, New York - The Lawrence Tap is an October 17, 1876 American patent by William and Richard Bentley. To use it: "Force Tap straight through the cork without turning it, tip bottle to the glass, turn the button towards you, let flow the quantity required; quickly turn button from you and the remainder will retain all its effervescent quality. Don't let the gas escape." The button is marked THE LAWRENCE TAP and the top is marked BENTLEY'S PAT. OCT. 17. 1876.

Inside the Lawrence Tap box is a flyer advertising Ricksecker's Skin Soap, Tar Soap, Face Powder, Tooth Powder, Draft, and Dog and Animal Soap. None of these would have an apparent need for a Lawrence Tap. Why mix wine taps and medication? Here's what A New Idea said about Ricksecker in 1880: "We look upon Mr. Ricksecker as one of the most enterprising men in the drug sundry trade. He has a host of neat and reasonably priced articles in this line, of his own introduction."

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Zimmer's Can Opener

Chicago, Illinois - On this date in 1939 Myron J. Zimmer's United States Design Patent 117,210 was issued. The "Design for a Can Opener" was assigned to the Edward Katzinger Company of Chicago.

In 1888 Edward Katzinger founded a commercial baking pan company in Chicago which became the Ekco Housewares Co., the country's largest non-electric housewares manufacturer, by the 1960s.

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Corkscrew Auction

Wirtz, Virginia - We are pleased to announce that in late October we will be auctioning online a collector's collection of approximately 700 corkscrews. If you would like to be notified when the auction begins, please send your name and email address via email.

When the auction is ready, an announcement will appear in The Daily Screw.

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