For Lefty Too

Erie, Pennsylvania - On this date in 1898 Edwin Walker was granted United States Patent Number 611,046 for his peg and worm corkscrew. Walker describes it as "...a corkscrew with a removable handle which operates as a handle, one end of which is adapted to remove the wire from a cork, and also, when removed from the corkscrew-head, as a covering point of the screw.

Although the Walker patent drawing shows a corkscrew for a right-handed person, the corkscrews were produced for both lefthanders and righthanders. Those in our pictures are for lefties.

The head of one version of Walker's peg had space for advertising.

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Quintuplet

Plainfield, New Jersey - Maxmillian C. Frins was issued United States Patent Number 2,718,055 on this date in 1955 for his "Can Opener" invention.

The patent was assigned to Joseph A. Cahill, dba Cahill Manufacturing Company of New York for production. The can opener was marketed as "The Quintuplet Kitchen Utility" and included a tin can cutter, a cap lifter, a jar lid lifter, a screw driver or pryer for lids, and a folding corkscrew.

Quintuplets are found with Frins' 1936 design patent number for the head marked on the handle.

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Wanderlust

Monterey, California - Australian corkscrew collector Nick Hunt reports that he has hopped up to Monterey for the Canadian Corkscrew Collectors Club meeting.

Nick hopes to keep us filled with news of his corkscrew finds as he heads across the country but warns "I have been keeping a journal of my movements so far. The problem is in some small towns I have only been able to receive e-mails and not send any. It might be just my incompetence with computers causing this."

Nick's journey began on September 4 and so far he has travelled over 3,000 miles.

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