202
Vaughan Novelty Mfg. Co.
Vaughan was founded in 1910 as the Crown
Throat & Opener Company. The earliest
catalog I have found from Vaughan is No. 7
from September 1919. At that time Vaughan
was at 703 Fulton Street in Chicago.
Openers in the 1919 catalog included a
combination button hook bottle opener,
screw driver and cigar cutter; the
“
Dairy
”
lifter; a can opener with bottle opener and
corkscrew; the
“
Dainty
”
corkscrew; an
“
Over
the Top
”
opener; the
“
Perfection
”
opener, the
“
Never Chip
”
wall mount; several key style
and figural openers, and the
“
Nifty.
”
The 1922 catalog is only three years later but the number is 25 and now the
company is located at 3211 Carroll Avenue at the intersection of Kedzie Avenue.
Vaughan
‟
s new building was completed in 1920. An
“
Over the Top
”
opener with
a pin under the lifter was added to puncture the cap when using it.
One of the most frequently found Vaughan products is the
“
Nifty
”
. This
combination cap lifter and corkscrew was invented by Harry L. Vaughan in 1916
and was sold by the millions in subsequent years. A 1939 Canadian catalog said
that 38 million had been sold. They were still listed in 1949 in a Vancouver
hardware catalog for 25 cents each.
Left: A box containing
a Nifty (from the
collection of Ron
MacLean).
