26

A $3.50 fee was paid and the Charter was recorded on August 17, 1911.

The Engineers

With the company formed and the patent secured, the American Corkscrew Company

now needed a machine to produce the corkscrew. They turned to McConnell-Browning

Engineering Company of Richmond.

McConnell-Browning Engineering Company designed and made machinery of all

types. They occupied a three story 50' x 75' building at 1015 East Cary Street. In 1915

Harry R. McConnell, the vice president of the firm, applied for a patent on a

―

Machine

for Making Corkscrews

‖

. The application includes seven pages of drawings and eleven

pages of description. McConnell wrote:

―

The primary object of my invention is to provide a machine which will not only form

the ordinary small wire corkscrew with looped handle and twisted shank, but will also

form, from the same length of wire, a resilient or flexible clip or arm adapted to

partially embrace the neck of the bottle and hold the corkscrew in conjunction

therewith.

‖

U. S. Patent Number 1,238,166 was granted to McConnell on August 28, 1917. The

patent was assigned to the American Corkscrew Company of Richmond.