Lot 316 email save

Large Collection of 19th Century Can Openers

Excellent group of twenty-nine (29) can openers, dated from 1875 to the turn of the century, many with manufacturer and date, several are very unusual, including one fashioned as a bull, and a large circular opener, a few with bone and wood handles. A wonderful and extensive grouping of late 19th century can openers.The first practical can opener was developed 50 years after the birth of the metal can in England in 1810. British soldiers in 1812 tore open cans with bayonets, pocket knives and rifle fire. These early cans were large, thick-walled, made of iron and were sometimes heavier than the foods they held. Only when thinner cans of steel came into use in the late 1850's was it possible to create a can opener, patented in 1858. The can opener we use today, with a cutting wheel that travels around the rim, was invented in 1870. The only change from the original patent was the introduction of a serrated rotation wheel.

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