Erin,
It sounds like a candle box. Candle boxes
were fairly common household objects in the Colonial period, which fits your
date. They were used to protect the tallow candles from rodents who liked
to nibble on them. As for the tapered wooden sticks inside, they might be
candle wood. I've never actually seen candle wood, so I couldn't say for
sure.
Here is what Arthur Hayward says about
candle wood in "Colonial and Early American Lighting" 1962 Dover
Publications:
"Pieces of the resinous pitch pine, so
common all along the wooded New England coast, were cut in length and size not
unlike large candles and stuck between the stones of the curde fireplaces on in
improvised holders. They burned freely, giving quite a bright flame with,
however considerable smoke; and since the only expense was the time and trouble
of cutting and drying the wood, they were used very generally for many
years. It was common at night to see the family gathered round the big
stone fireplace, often in the only room of comfortable size in the crude log
house. On the hearth a fire of huge logs brskly burned, and two or three of the
resinous candle-wood torches--either stuck in thes ides of the fireplace
betweenthe stones, or standing upright on the hearth--supplemented the light
from the burning logs. . . ." (page 12)
Below is a link to a picture of a candle
box currently on Ebay. Maybe it will help you.
Edith W. Brady
Curator of Education
High Point
Museum
1859 E. Lexington Ave.
High Point, NC 27262
(336)
885-1859
(336) 883-3284
fax
[log in to unmask]
www.highpointmuseum.org
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