From an 1867 issue of Scientific American
Whew! how many revolutions ?–one–my cork extractor is making all over the country ! Sent for 60 cents, postpaid. State rights for sale. Address W. G. Waterman, Middletown, Conn.
This would be W.G. Waterman’s patent of 1967 for his Improved Cork Extractor:
His patent description explains:
Letter A, handle ; B, corkscrew ; C, groove in handle for corkscrew ; D, catch; E, spring ; F, pins ; G, thumb-piece ; H, groove for spring; I, ferrule; J, cork ; K, bottle. The handle I construct of wood, into which, at or near the centre, of one side, I attach the corkscrew B, so connected that it can be turned down into the groove C, made in the handle to receive it. D is a catch, fastened to the handle, to hold open the cork-screw when used. E is a spring, one oend of which is fastened to the handle by pins F F F, the other end being attached to the submb-puiece G. H is a groove, made the whole length of the handle A, which is wider at the bottom than at the top, that the end of the spring E may slide in it. I is a ferrule on the end of the handle, under which the spring is made to slide, by taking hold of the thumb-piece G, which is rivetd into the end of the spring E in the groove. J is a cork, represented as being extracted from the bottle K.
The patent description then continues to describe the piece in use:
The operation of the instrument is as follows: Whenever a cork is to be extracted, the end of the handle I inserted into the bottle, then, by taking hold of the thumb-piece G, the spring E can be pushed into the bottle, the spring expands, and when the bottle is inserted, the cork goes between the inner sides of the spring E, and when drawn by the handle, the spring closes around the cork, and is drawn out.
If Waterman’s patent was being offered for sale at 60 cents, I am guessing there may have been a few customers that were interested. Yet, I don’t know if a Waterman patent has yet to have been found in our collective corkscrew collecting world.
If you happen to have an example, I would love to see pictures of it.