124

Charles T. Simper's

―

Cork Pull

‖

was covered by U. S. Patent No.

120,830 issued November 14,

1871. He explains the wires are

―

so placed that by turning the

handle to which they are attached

part of them fit inside of the others in order to permit a cork to enter into a concave

surface thus formed, when the cork is inclosed [

sic

] within the wires by turning the

handle back again, and thus held secure, may be pulled from the bottle.

‖

Another design incorporating a

corkscrew was conceived by

Charles Hunt. In his Patent No.

140,706 issued July 8, 1873, the

double spring loop slides into the corkscrew handle. Once the springs are inserted into

the bottle, Hunt says

―

... a cork which may have been driven into the bottle can be

caught in the loops and withdrawn very easily.

‖

Like Clapp and Gibson,

William Page and John

Fahy incorporated a

center spear in their

design. Following Clapp's example, their spear slides up and down and they

acknowledge Clapp's patent in their application. They claim the advantage of a

shoulder which

―

insures the prongs being forced down through the neck of and into the

bottle.

‖

U. S. Patent No. 164,731 was granted June 29, 1875.

A new approach was taken by Australian Peter Tyrer in his U. S. Patent No. 199,760 of

January 29, 1878. Tyrer solders the wires at the bottom. Rather than explaining how he

actually traps the cork in the center, he simply refers to his drawings and says the cork

is taken as shown in figure 2.