222

Match Boxes

Between 1893 and 1910, seven patents were issued by the U. S. patent office for match

boxes which incorporated a corkscrew into the design

Proctor Dean and George Orr

patented a

Combined Corkscrew,

Match-Holder, &c

on August 1,

1893 (U. S. No. 502,351).

―

A

match holder, preferably made in

close imitation of a pocket flask

such as used for carrying liquors,

and having adapted and applied

thereto a cork screw of novel

construction and also preferably

constructed to provide a stamp

holder.

‖

A photo of Proctor

Dean

‘s patent

is shown in Fred O'Leary's

Corkscrews

book (right).

Charles L. Higgins of Springfield, Massachusetts applied for his

Match-Box

patent on

April 17, 1895. U. S. Patent Number 553,030 was granted on January 14, 1896. In his

application Higgins sums up his invention with the claim

―

A compound pocket

implement comprising a match-box made of two tubes longitudinally secured together

and provided with a top and bottom, a cigar-cutter in one of said tubes, a cork-screw

foldable into the same tube and a call-whistle upon one end of the device.

‖

U. S. Patent No. 658,393 issued

September 25, 1900 to Henry C. Paul

of St. Louis for a

Match-Box

with one

half assigned to Frank Hilbig. The

point of the corkscrew

―

rests upon

the edge of the body when the same

is in a folded position and is