Wood Pollard Co. Boston, Mass

Of course, there are rarer variations of the The Detroit, Davis, and “Davis Improved” out there as

well; fancy decorated leg with garter, plain leg, mermaid, decorative embossed handles, Sterling

handles, and those that were souvenirs from the Columbian Exposition. Many of these variations

are pictured on the pages that follow this brief overview, and I have no doubt that there are still

others that are in your own collections, that could be added.

As with many corkscrew stories, a corkscrew’s history is difficult to trace.

We can find

references to a maker or manufacturer, patent drawings and descriptions, and sometimes some

biographical information. Still in many ways the hunt for this information can be as satisfying

(and occasionally as frustrating) as the hunt for the corkscrews themselves. For this reason, the

story is yet complete, and it will remain a work in progress, as I continue to hunt information

that explains how Puddefoot and Davis came together to create the corkscrews of The Detroit

Cork Screw Company.

I would like to thank John Morris, Barry Taylor, and Bert Giulian for sending in photos for this

article. Surely there are other variations that you each have your own collections, and if you are so

inclined, feel free to send me pictures at

josef@vintagecorkscrews.com

, as I will continue to

research the corkscrews of the Detroit Cork Screw Company, David Davis, and Charles Puddefoot.

The Corkscrews of the Detroit Cork Screw Company

Davis with bladed worm marked THE DAVIS CORK

SCREW PAT’D JULY 14, 1891

Davis with wire worm marked THE DAVIS CORK

SCREW PAT’D JULY 14, 1891

Davis marked THE DAVIS CORK SCREW PAT’D JULY 14,

1891 with advertising COMPLIMENTS OF GERKE

BREWING CINCINNATI

Davis marked THE DAVIS CORK SCREW PAT’D JULY 14,

1891 with advertising COMPLIMENTS OF

MINNEAPOLIS BREWING CO, MINNEAPOLIS MINN.

“EXPORT WIENER”

Davis marked THE DAVIS CORK SCREW PAT’D JULY 14,

1891 with advertising WOOD & POLLARD, BOSTON

MASS

Unusual Davis marked THE DAVIS CORK SCREW PAT’D

JULY 14, 1891, but a solid metal neckstand—perhaps

a machine shop project?