POTD: “Forget Me Not” Box Lock Flint Tinder and Candle Lighter
Sam.S 12.14.21
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have an interesting box lock candle lighter with the eerie name of “Forget Me Not”. This candle lighter uses a flintlock style mechanism to spray sparks onto a box of tinder held in the lighter itself. From there a candle can be removed from its side post and lit. I have no idea how common these candle lighter devices were but it is very obviously from a different time. A time in which there was no electricity to power a home and the only readily available light at night would be candlelight.
“This interesting antique lighter is marked “FORGET/ME NOT” on the left side and “A. HINE” on the right. There are light martial theme engraving patterns on the sides, a snow flake on the trigger guard, and some engraved borders. The “action” and bag shaped handle are the same design as the popular box lock pistols manufactured in England in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Instead of having a flash pan and barrel ahead of the action, it has a tinder box. When the flint strikes the frizzen sparks light the tinder. A candle stored in the holder on the left side can then be lit using the small fire. It has a scroll style “bi-pod’ on the front and a compartment on the right side. The walnut grip has is checkered on the top and has a small initial shield.”
Lot 164: Engraved A. Hine Marked ‘Forget Me Not’ Box Lock Flint Tinder/Ca. (n.d.). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/65/164/engraved-a-hine-marked-forget-me-not-box-lock-flint-tinderca.
