Showing posts with label snuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snuff. Show all posts

Friday, January 28, 2022

Out, Out Brief Candle

 

QUESTION: One of my aunts recently passed away. She had a collection of antique candle snuffers that was truly unique. Now I’ve inherited them. I know absolutely nothing about them. Some look very strange. What can you tell me about candle snuffers? How far back do they go—obviously before the invention of electricity. 

ANSWER: Most people call the bell-shaped cone at the end of a long handle used to put out candles a snuffer. But the device known as a snuffer is actually an “extinguisher” or candle “douter.”

As candlesticks became more sophisticated in the mid-18th century, people required a method to safely put out candles without blowing them. While the candle snuffer's component parts—scissors, a stand, dustpan—might be familiar to some people,  combined, they do look strange. However, before electricity, candles and candle snuffers were an integral part of everyday life. Candle wicks used to be made of cotton which would start smoking and burst into flames as they grew longer, therefore necessitating regular trimming. The scissor part of the candle snuffer would sever the burnt wick, which would safely fall into the dustpan to be extinguished and discarded. This would also catch any dripping hot wax.

Christopher Pinchbeck the Younger developed and patented the true candle snuffer in England in 1776. His device looked like a pair of stunted scissors with a raised round bowl on top of them. The user would to snip the wick, catching it in the bowl and extinguishing the candle safely with no soot or wax on the walls from blowing, or hot wicks catching anything on fire. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was considered a sign of candle skill for a person to be able to use the snuffer to trim a wick without extinguishing the flame.

There’s considerable confusion among collectors, antiques dealers and the public concerning the name and function of these little devices known as candle snuffers.

The problem is due to two meanings of the word "snuff." Used as a noun, snuff refers to the burned ash from the spent wick of a candle, but when it's a verb, usually used with the word "out" – then it means to extinguish.

Back in the 18th century, people used snuffers to trim the candlewicks, and to remove the burned snuff, but not to extinguish the candle. At times the flame might have been inadvertently put out in the process, but that wasn’t the intent.

A snuffer was a device made of metal for cutting off, or snuffing, and holding the charred part of a candlewick. Before the invention of the self-consuming wick, around 1830, the hanging burned wick caused the flame to dim, flicker or even go out. Or it may have dropped against the side of the candle, forming a channel or gutter in the precious wax. So it became expedient to reach in with the snuffer to clip the wick and remove the snuff every hour or so. 

The earliest snuffers were plain and simple but over time became more decorative and complicated. The first snuffers were simple scissors types with no container for the snuff. This presented the problem of dropping charred, sometimes still burning wick onto the table, and so the idea of adding a little box to contain the snuff was born.

Craftsmen made all snuffers, douters, and extinguishers of brass, copper, or pewter and  elaborately engraved them. They added delicately twisted handles, basket woven cones, or beautifully etched patterns to make the snuffer a beautiful addition to any home.

Besides improving the efficiency of their snuffers, craftsmen began engraving and chasing them with cupids, garlands, leaves and flowers, and sometimes with the monogram of the owner. They used elaborate finishes, such as gilt, enamel, silver plating and even inlaid fancier ones with faience and porcelain. 

Snuffer trays were flat and usually rectangular, with cut off corners, deep enough to hold the snuffer and the clippings with safety. Sometimes, the tray had small feet to raise them up The invention of the box addition and the automatic spring mentioned above affected the style of the tray. The deep dish of early days was no longer required, for the snuffer box contained the burned snuff. So a more shallow tray with a low rim grew in favor. At the same time, makers fitted trays with three short feet—one beneath each finger hold on the scissors end and one on the pickwick end. These lifted the tool a bit above the tray and made it easier for the user to grasp.

Makers also decorated snuffer trays with handles, scrolls, and masks, and often finished them in Sheffield plate. Heavy borders became popular. By the late 18th century, large “table snuffers,” that sat between a pair of large candlesticks, came into fashion. By that time smaller ones became known as “chamber snuffers.”

It may seem strange today that so much effort went into the design and making of simple snuffers and trays. But since candles provided all lighting during the darker hours, it’s easy to see why so much went into care went into these devices. A pattern bock of around 1800 shows 165 different tray designs, and in 1839 a directory of the city of Birmingham, England, listed 30 manufacturers of steel candle snuffers, the plainest kind.

With the invention of the self-consuming candle wick and improved wax, snuffers and their trays became unnecessary. In fact, many people used the snuffer trays as ashtrays when cigar smoking came into vogue during the Victorian Age.

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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Collecting Boxes



QUESTION: I love old boxes and want to start a box collection. But where do I begin? What sort of boxes are highly collectible?

ANSWER: Collecting old boxes is a great introduction into collecting antiques. Boxes are small enough so as not to take up too much room, yet intriguing enough to keep you interested as your collection grows.

Boxes are popular with collectors. The shape of a box reveals clues as to what it once held while the quality and type of workmanship are a key to the type of individual that owned and used it. And when you life the lid of an antique box, you’ll smell exotic aromas of times gone by—the scent of peppery clove, the fruity wood smell of tobacco, the delicate odor of beeswax or bayberry.

With the passing of time, the styles and functions of boxes have changed . Early settlers used rustic wooden and tin boxes to hold necessities like salt, flour, and candles. Colonials in Ben Franklin's day toted their snuff in convenient pocket-size boxes, the elaborateness of which indicated a gentleman's social standing. Elegant Victorian ladies who indulged in the luxury of lace gloves and cloth beauty patches kept them in ornate silk- and velvet-covered boxes. Today,  boxes like these bring a bit of history to any room and can be used to hold keepsakes or simply enjoyed for their own unique charms. So you want to start a box collection? What’s involved?

Before you buy any antique box, research it carefully. If you're looking for boxes made in the late 19th century, for example, read books on the subject, view historical displays of that period in museums, and browse antique shops and shows.  Once you decide on the type of boxes you want to collect, go to auctions, estate sales, and quality flea markets to see what's available.

Once you begin finding boxes to add to your collection , select on the best ones and avoid those that show more than normal wear. Bypass wooden boxes with warped veneers, cracks, and damaged hinges. Check porcelain, pottery, and glass boxes for chips and cracks, and avoid metal boxes that have bad dents. Always buy the best your budget will allow. Quality boxes do appreciate in value with time. Plan to keep any box you purchase at least 10 years to realize this appreciation.

Box collectors particularly favor those handmade by American craftsmen in the 19th century. Many of these are rustic and were designed to hold everyday possessions, such as salt and seasonings or grooming aids. The contents of a box usually determined its shape. A box made for a three-cornered hat, for instance, was triangular, while a candle box was long and narrow. Craftsmen decorated some boxes with carving or delicate hand-painted designs while they left others plain.

Brightly colored boxes made by Pennsylvania Germans, and boxes with finger-style joinings made by Shakers are excellent examples of folk art, and command high prices today. Fortunately, most antique shops and shows have many other types of primitive boxes at reasonable prices.

Boxes made during the early 20th century are also gaining popularity with collectors. Victorian women used some of the most common ones, made of cardboard covered with silk, velvet, paper, or shells, to store gloves, handkerchiefs, sewing items, and trinkets. You’ll find these boxes for $15-20 and up. Other early 20th-century examples include assorted sizes of Japanese lacquered  boxes, selling for $20 or more, small brass Oriental ones with metal appliques, and porcelain "fairing boxes," originally sold at English country fairs. You’ll usually find these “fairings” in antiques shops or at shows, starting at around $125.

Collecting boxes can be addictive because there are so many different kinds out there. The more focused your collection is, the better.