It appears that the Pronged Cork Extractor was first patented in the United States in 1879;
Patent 212,863 granted March 4, 1879 and issued to L. C. Mumford of San Francisco for a "Cork Extractor.The patent was later improved by US Patent 474,480 by Lucien C. Mumford, now of New York, and granted May 10, 1892. "This is an improvement on L.C. Mumford's Cork-Extractor patent 212,863, issued March 4, 1879. The improvement is in the internal ratcheting mechanism. The brass bell is usually marked "Magic Cork Extractor" with both patent dates."
"The Daily Screw" has a bit of drama about Mumford and his patent attorney who competed with him and photos at
http://www.bullworks.net/virtual/prong/mumford.htm .
There's a photo at
http://users.skynet.be/fa017402/www.cor ... lame3.html of the "Ah-ha" prong puller.
"Original prong puller manufactured by the firm “MONOPOL” and named “AH-ha”.
The two prongs are easily inserted by a backward and forward motion. It has the advantage of having two blades equal in size (very useful during the drawing operation)." There is a picture of the original box as well.
There's a dated picture of a box for the "So So" at
http://www.muesch-online.com/drgm%20englisch.html D.R.G.M. No. 1 242 981 Aug. 29, 1932
Georg Hermann Usbeck, Steinbach-Hallenberg i. Thür.
Description: Extractor with two prongs and sheath.
Material: Steel, Springsteel, Brass
Markings: D.R.G.M. "So-So" Made in Germany
And another picture on that page of the Ah - Ha:
D.R.G.M. No. 1 242 981 Aug. 29, 1932
Georg Hermann Usbeck, Steinbach-Hallenberg i. Thür.
Description: Extractor with two prongs and sheath.
Material: Steel, Springsteel, Brass
Markings: Ah-ha
There is a French version called the As As shown at
http://corkscrew.de/Pronges/Prongs3.htm made by AS ATELIERS SAINT GERMAIN; no date given.
The earliest use of the Ah-So name I've found so far is 1977 in a book by James Beard: The Cooks' Catalogue: A Critical Selection of the Best, the Necessary and ... by James Beard - Kitchen utensils - 1977 - 570 pages Page 518
Don't despair—you can use our handy-dandy cork extractor (11.220). Be sure to
dry the dark-steel blades of the Ah So carefully before sheathing it in its ...
[Extract from Google Books.]
More anon, perhaps. Great subject, Tom.