Edward Zinn . . .

For corkscrew collectors there are two books by Fred O’Leary; the corkscrews pictured in the front of the book, and the corkscrews that aren’t pictured, but instead are represented by patent drawings in the back of his book. And, when a new discovery is made, collectors will reference, "the back of O’Leary…"

At the CCCC this year, during the show and tell portion of the program, Ian Hunter showed an interesting tool kit that was an undiscovered patent. And, this one, didn’t appear in O’Leary at all. It is the patent for Edward Zinn. Ed’s 1909 patent however, was not for a corkscrew, but for a tool-handle. And, Ian was lucky enough to find one in Quechee, Vermont–a fair distance from his home, given Ian lives in Australia.

Well, as luck would have it, Ian is no longer the only collector to have the American rarity. I had remembered Ian’s presentation when I ran across a similar piece. And, while I jumped on it before I could get confirmation, Ian has subsequently emailed to describe the very piece. So, below are pictures of both the Ed Zinn patented tool kit (with corkscrew) and an image of the patent drawing. A nice addition to the collection for sure!!!

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