Antique Candle Boxes

No two antique candle boxes are the same, differing in size, timbers, inlay, shape of the backboards, secret drawers, side openings etc!

They were originally made to protect precious candles from being eaten by rats, mice and other vermin up until the early 1800's.

This was necessary as candles in the main were made from animal based tallow ( from sheep and cattle), unless you were wealthy where you would have beeswax ones, and so the animal fat odour even when not alight would have attracted these vermin, therefore these candle boxes were made to keep their supplies of candles safe. They were usually hung on the wall vertically.

These lovely antique boxes were made in a variety of woods from oak and elm and fruit woods to mahogany and were oblong in shape with a front pannel which slides up to retrieve a candle.

Its the small subtle additions which make them so interesting from maybe a heart cut out on the backboard, possibly given as a wedding present, where if the heart is upside down it can be hung from symmetrically if the heart is the right way up it can't!! The diffent inlays ususlly in the front pannels of these antique treen candle boxes, though sometimes on the side pannels as well, see gallery images vary so much. The inlay can be simple stringing or crossbanding to shells and flowers or even once I was lucky enough to find one where the front pannel was a cribbage board.

The simplest looking antique candle boxes can be lovely where the grain/figuring of the wood is all thats needed to make a fabulous antique candle box. Enjoy looking at the images of some of my antique candle boxes that I have had over the last year or two.