117
Dewey's Slug
Williamson advertisements from 1899 issues of the
The House Furnishing Review.
Dewey‘s Slug
with copy on the advertising plate:
―
Dewey's Slug/Two Fred's/59 So. Prairie St./Galesburg,
ILL.
‖
Courtesy of Jack Bandy.
On January 11, 1897 William A. Williamson filed an
application for a patent for his invention of a corkscrew
which is concealed inside a small bottle shape. The ends
thread together and when unscrewed, a helix pivots at an
angle to the base. The two pieces are then screwed back
together to form the handle. The bottle had already been
introduced in 1893 at the Chicago Columbian Exposition
as a souvenir. In the ensuing years, a number of
breweries, distillers, cafes, etc. used the bottle as a
promotional item. On June 1, 1897, U. S. Patent #583,561
was issued.
In 1899 Williamson introduced the
―
Cartridge
Corkscrew
‖
or
―
Dewey's Slug
‖
using the same
functional design as the bottle. The
―
Slug
‖
is in
the shape of a cannon projectile. The
―
Slug
‖
was most likely introduced in celebration of the
end of the Spanish-American war and to
commemorate the capture of the
―
Dewey
Cannon.
‖
