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Thomason

One of the most important corkscrew inventions of

the nineteenth century was that of Sir Edward

Thomason. His design was granted English patent

number 2617 on May 7, 1802. He produced his

corkscrews in Birmingham and was one of the first

major producers of corkscrews.

A modern

“

Thomason

”

is on the right.

Lazy Tongs

The father of the lazy tongs corkscrew was Marshall Wier. An abridged version

of his 1884 patent specification reads

“

The screw is attached to a centre pin of the

lowest pair of cross-bars of the lazy-tongs, and the ring, which passes over the

bottle neck, is hinged to the side bars, suitable stops being provided to prevent

lateral motion when the corkscrew is closed. A suitable handle is hinged at the

other end of the lazy-tongs

”

On the left is the modern

“

Lazy Fish.

”