200

Hand me that Penguin

The next time you reach for a bottle of wine, grab one of

Kurt Rettich

‘

s penguins. On February 21, 1933 Rettich

was issued U. S. Design Patent 89,308 for his

―

Design for

a Combined Corkscrew and Guard.

‖

Rettich was living

in Toledo, Ohio at the time.

The corkscrew consists of a two finger pull Penguin and

a Bakelite sleeve to protect the worm. It was

manufactured by Reynolds Spring Company, Jackson,

Michigan. Reynolds was a manufacturer of springs and

seats for the automotive industry. Their Bakelite Division

produced plastic knobs used on dashboards, steering

wheels and other plastic wares.

Rettich also patented a bottle cap remover.

His design patent 87,644 was issued

August 23, 1932 for the elephant figural.

Rettich wrote

―

The dominant feature of

my design consists in the representation of

an animated creature forming the bottle

cap engaging member.

‖

This patent was

assigned to the Dura Company of Toledo.

Dura was a manufacturer of chrome auto

parts and in the 1920s began producing

decorative items.

Rettich also obtained design patents for a

measuring spoon (No. 91,251; December

26, 1933), a label holder (No. 94,516;

February 5, 1935), a drawer pull (No. 99,046; March 24, 1936), an inkwell (No.

103,341; Feb. 23, 1937), and a stove handle (No. 119,283; March 5, 1940). These

patents were assigned to various companies in Michigan and Wisconsin.