159

Father of the Waiter

’

s Friend

On May 26 1882, Carl Friedrich Albert Wienke of Rostock, Mecklenberg,

Germany obtained German Patent Number 20,815 for his single lever corkscrew.

Wienke

‘

s corkscrew design became so popular that since the invention, it has

been copied and re-engineered many times over. Because it could be easily

collapsed and stored in a pocket for

convenient retrieval, it gained instant

fame with waiters worldwide. Wienke

was undoubtedly the

―

Father of the

Waiter

‘

s Friend.

‖

Through the efforts of Rudolph

Dolberg, the following April, Wienke

got a British Patent (No. 2,022), in May

a French Patent (No. 155,314), and in

August an American Patent (No.

283,781).

Wienke

‘

s priority claim was

―

A

corkscrew composed of a handle provided with a spring, an arm pivoted at one

end thereof, constructed to be seated upon the upper edge of the neck of a bottle,

and serving as a fulcrum for said handle, and a corkscrew pivoted to the handle

in rear of the fulcrum-arm, both the latter and the corkscrew being adapted to be

closed upon said handle.

‖

Three different markings from Wienke corkscrews. The first two are on the

handle and the third on the neckstand.