✅ SOLVED An item that has stumped all to date

[Jeff95531]

Back in the 70's my Dad bought an old bar in Warren Idaho...an old gold mining town. Under the bar on a shelf was this...



And although it wasn't found with a metal detector, I know at least some of you are up for a challenge.

 

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[Anduril]

I cannot believe how many keyword searches I tried before I found this! But when I googled "National Lemon Squeezer" - this came up:

c. 1903

https://books.google.com/books?id=M...v=onepage&q="national lemon squeezer"&f=false

Now for the finishing touches...

1) This mystery lemon squeezer was indeed patented: US Utility Patent # 722,898 (Applied for on 1/4/1902, Granted on 3/17/1903)
Ah, the days when government actually worked in a timely manner!!

2) Inventor's actual name = Mathias Redlinger, Jr. (Freeport, IL)

3) From the patent, we now know this device was designed to squeeze one-half of a lemon at a time.
We also learn the device was engaged by pushing the handle up (not down).
Finally, we get a peek at what the missing parts look like, and what they do.

If TNet can handle it, I will attempt to upload the patent as JPG files (the patent is only 3 pages long, about 2 MB total).

 

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[Back-of-the-boat]

Great research!
Now that we see what the missing parts look like, I'm going to out on a limb (somewhat) and suggest that this product was not a commercial success - possibly for many of the reasons I mentioned previously in the research. (And that might also explain why it was so difficult to track down -- if it were more successful, presumably the research would have been easier?)

Anyway - the missing rod (held by small thumbscrew) looks like it's there to help position the glass or cup, so juice doesn't go on the counter.
Still not clear on whether the handle is forced upwards to squeeze the lemon, or pulled downward towards the operator.
My guess is it's pushed upwards (as shown), but that might be incorrect.
Would be interesting to see it in action. I'm still not convined it's a "press", per se. Maybe a rotational "grinder"? At least that way, it would not put undo force on the latch (which I believe would break quickly.)

Finally, once you've squeezed the lemon and removed the glass, I think this thing would still drip all over the place and make a mess.
Even if you removed the lemon carcass.

For that reason, and others, I would be a little surprised to hear if very many of these were sold.
The other fruit juicers on the market at the time would not have suffered any of these deficiencies and "should" have captured the bulk of the market share.

Jeff might well have one of only a very few proof-of-concept units ever constructed??

Rotational

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

Go to Google and put arcade cork puller then click on Arcade Manufacturing Co.-assigned patents then click on
( patents 72) I looked at all the cork pullers and the last patent design might work, also they had a lemon juicer but no pics or design patent shown.

Jeff you may have a part that this link could use picture of, as they had no pic of the lemon juicer, even part of the item might interest them.

 

[BigWaveDave]

How awesome is Tnet?....45 years of wondering what you got....solved in 2 hours!

ok...2 days....still, that's one of the best "solves" we've seen in a while....