223

Hotel Operator

’

s Delight

On February 12, 1929 Raymond Brown was awarded American patent No.

1,702,149 for a combination bottle opener and corkscrew. He applied for the

patent in October, 1926.

Brown said,

―

Hotel operators have experienced considerable damage to furniture

caused by patrons attempting to remove metal caps from bottles by squeezing

said caps between edges of drawers or between drawers or between door and

door frames, also by placing such caps on the edges of furniture; also by placing

corks in similar position.

‖

His patent claim is:

―

A cork remover having a base designed to be secured to a

flat surface and provided with a hollow forwardly projecting recessed portion

intermediate the ends thereof, a corkscrew pivotally mounted exteriorly of said

portion to swing in a vertical plane, and a means on the upper end of said base

for holding the end of said corkscrew in inoperative position.

‖

The patent was manufactured in Newport News, Virginia by Brown

Manufacturing Company.

Brown marketed his patent with and without the corkscrew to bottlers of soda

and beer.