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Shire of Toodyay > Records

Can opener, cow design

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Subcollections

Domestic equipment

Overview

Metal can opener, partly cow shaped, with cow head at sharp end and cow tail at hand end.
The spike on the cow (bull)'s head was used to stab a hole in the top of the can. Then the lower blade was levered around the top edge to cut out a lid to access the contents.

Details

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-37-2001.673

Material

Height or length

16 cm

Contextual Information

A home-use opener named the "Bull's head opener" was designed in 1865 and was supplied with cans of pickled beef named "Bully beef". (This British term is derived from the French word bouilli meaning a mixture of beef and vegetables boiled in water.)
The opener was made of cast iron and had a very similar construction to the Yeates opener (the original claw-ended can opener), but featured a more artistic shape and was the first move towards improving the look of the can opener. The bull-headed design was produced until the 1930s and was also offered with a fish-head shape.

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Primary significance criteria

Historic significance

Shire of Toodyay

Shire of Toodyay

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Other items from Shire of Toodyay

Bully beef can opener

Bully beef can opener

blade end of can opener

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