Popping the Cork

More of this Feature • Part 1: The History of the Corkscrew   Related Resources • Kitchen Appliances • Hardware Tools • Can Openers • History of Beer, Wine, Champagne  From Other Guides • History of Wine: Egypt and Mesopotamia • History of Wine: Greece  Elsewhere on the Web • Antique Corkscrew Gallery • Three Corkscrews from the 1800s • The Virtual Corkscrew Museum • Corkscrews of the Eighteenth Century • Corkscrew Q & A

German Carl Wienke invented a single lever waiter's type corkscrew called the 'Butler's Friend'. Wienke was granted a German patent (Lever Corkscrew Patent DRP 20815) on May 26, 1882. He was granted a British patent (Improvement in Lever Corkscrews No. 2,022) on April 20, 1883 and a French patent (No. 155314) on May 7, 1883.

The patent drawing on the right illustrates Wienke's American patent (No. 283,731) granted on August 21, 1883. Wienke's corkscrew design is still in common use today. The corkscrew was nicknamed the 'Waiter's Friend' or 'Butler's Friend' because it could easily remove and easily replace a cork.

Double Winged Lever Corkscrews

The double winged lever design is another common corkscrew design found in households today. The first double lever can be traced to H.S. Heeley, who was granted a British patent (No. 6,006) on April 23, 1888. Heeley's corkscrew was called the A1 Heeley Double Lever; it used pivoting links to "gain an improvement in mechanical advantage to pull a cork".

The first double winged lever patented in North America was created by the Italian designer, Dominick Rosati (see illustration below). Rosati was granted a U.S. patent (No. 1,753,026) on April 1, 1930 and a Canadian patent (No. 306,030) on November 25, 1930.

The Walker Bell

The Walker Bell corkscrew was patented in 1893 by Edwin Walker, an American designer. A simple self-pulling corkscrew that incorporated a bell shape, the Walker Bell was often used for promotional messages. The bell shape rested on the bottle top and as the corkscrew was turned the cork was pulled inside the bell. Edwin Walker's first bells were manufactured by E.S.M. Co. of Erie, Pennsylvania in the early 1890's. Walker also patented a method for making corkscrews in 1912.

The patent drawings to the left and below illustrates a Walker design for a combination corkscrew/bottle opener. (U.S. Pat No. 647775 - granted on April 17, 1900)

Beginning page > The History of the Corkscrew > Page 1, 2 

Patent drawings and abstracts provided by United States Patent Office