A lovely 18th century tinder box made from oak. The box has a chamfered lid which slides open to reveal a great carbonised divided interior. 
Tinder boxes have a divided interior one for storage of the flint, steel etc and the other known as the hearth. The hearth is where the flint would be rubbed against the steel to create sparks to light either bits of material or wood. This would then be used to light the candles and fires. A damper lid  or old cloth would then be used to extinguish any sparks.These antique treen tinder boxes were rarely made in wood as it was not a great choice of material.