What is this?

[samanthadear]

I honestly have no idea. I can't even begin to think of its usage, so it's been impossible for me to try to do research on it myself. It is quite heavy and the leaves open and close like they are set on a spring. Help?





Will this make any difference in the value?

[mart]

Don`t know how tall this is but I have seen similar as part of a desk set !! For holding letters ect !!  This one may be a bit larger from the way it looks in pics !!

[ghopper1924]

Yep, for holding messages/letters.  The replacement work will affect the value, but not tremendously.

[samanthadear]

Thank you for responding so quickly. A few more questions. How old do you think it is? And how much do you think it'd be worth (with the replacement work)?

[mart]

That would depend on what it is made of !! Silver or white metal !! Seems like one would have not bothered to repair it if it were made of a poor quality metal !! So likely at least silverplate !! Could date from 20`s to 40`s from the style !!

[ghopper1924]

That pretty well nails it, I think.

[samanthadear]

Neat! I didn't realize it was probably so old. Is there any way to tell what it is made of? There are absolutely no markings on it.

Just out of curiosity, as I am planning on keeping it, what would it be worth if it were silver and what would it be worth if it were silverplated? I'm just looking for a ballpark number. I'm paid $8 at a thrift store, and I'm hoping I got my money's worth.

[greenacres]

It could be something a short order cook used.

[mart]

Greenacres, it could be but would be hard to read from the top !!  For something like that paper would need to hang vertically !!
Guess at value, if silver plate $20. !!

[Chris_Marshall]

I assume it's a type of wick-candle holder, something barely known nowadays - at least it looks *very* familiar to some I have seen at the museum. The 'candles' (in the end nothing but a wick with a few layers of wax), each a few feet long, were sold in rolled form. One would dump the roll on the table, clamp the wax-coated wick into one of the leaves, then light it. Every now and then one had to manually 're-feed', otherwise the flame would reach the spring-held leaf and get snuffed out ... literally an early version of "snooze mode".

[cogar]

Thanks, Chris, ... it was unknown to me.

I knew it was too elaborate or "fancy" to be a simple utility item but I didn't have a clue as to what its purpose was.

[mart]

Where would the wax drip ??

[Chris_Marshall]

mart,

unlike larger candles, the wax-covered wicks barely produce running/dripping wax. Running "wax" (real wax, paraffin, stearin, etc.) is per definition only excess molten material that was not burned up. The wax-covered wicks were very efficient, viewed from that point, but burned down pretty fast.

[mart]

Perhaps they should use that method for todays candles !! They make a mess !!

[samanthadear]

That is so neat! I had never seen anything like it, and knew that I needed to have it. I'm a sucker for oddities.

I can't find anything like it online, though I've been searching for it with the keywords "wick-candle holder." Everything that shows up is modern or doesn't look anything like it.