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Antique Brass Candlesticks
Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, has always had appeal beyond its industrial worth. Less opulent than its aristocratic cousins gold and silver, and yet dressier than its common fellows iron and steel, brass was perfect for crafting goods for the middle class. It was especially popular for fashioning candlesticks, an accessory outside the reach of many 18th-and early-19th-century households, where the wisdom in “early to bed and early to rise” had as much to do with diligence as the fact that burning candles was costly. While the poor or thrifty took advantage of daylight hours, brass candlesticks could convey status, gleaming with the presence of respectable, if not substantial, wealth.
Their golden metal took a high polish and was slow to tarnish when lacquered. When thinly coated with silver, they were almost luxurious. But brass candlesticks have consistently been valued for their mix of good design and household importance rather than for their metal content. Age doesn’t necessarily enhance value, either. The market is less about age or weight and more about history, hand craftsmanship, and authentic period style.
Dedicated collectors focus on brass candlesticks made between about 1700 and 1850, when the very popularity of these objects became their downfall. As early as 1830, brass workers began meeting the demands of a rapidly expanding middle class by utilizing new techniques of mass production that enabled them to make candlesticks faster and less expensively. Gradually, the industry turned its attention away from candlesticks and toward new forms of lighting such as oil, gas, and finally electric lamps.
It wasn’t until the industrial age that America could really compete with Europe in brass-making. Before that, England was the world’s largest miner, manufacturer, and marketer of copper and its alloys. In industrial Birmingham, northwest of London, with its concentration of skilled brass workers, a small number of competitive candlestick makers signed their works. Not a single known signed stick is American, a fact that has led many to the conclusion that high-quality brass candlesticks just weren’t made on American shores until the 1800s.
Style is a key factor in determining whether a candlestick is English or Continental in origin. However, because English goods were considered to be the best anyone could have, Americans aimed to compete by using English models as their patterns, therefore style alone will never answer the question of origin.
Without known makers or documented places of origin, the only way to date brass candlesticks is by their form and construction. The earliest were cast solid in two parts, stem and base, and fastened together with a screw. Often a hole was drilled in the side of the socket so that a knife could be inserted to pry out the candle stub. From 1700 on, use of a new casting method spread—one requiring less metal and less time to produce. The stem and socket were cast hollow in two vertical halves, then brazed together and fastened to the base. Seams are a clue to the authenticity of a period stick. Later, as the 19th century neared, a newer core-casting method allowed a hollow stem and nozzle to be made in one piece, so Victorian candlesticks were cast without seams.
As many as half of antique brass candlesticks have some sort of ejection mechanism, the most common being a rod with a button at each end inserted through the hollow stem. A more rudimentary method, the side push-up, uses an external knob connected directly to the candle through a vertical slot cut into the stem. Subtler and more technically sophisticated are the twist-up mechanisms, often unnoticed until the owner tries twisting the candle socket.
At some point in their history, many brass candlesticks were also silvered so that they would resemble the more fashionable metal. Today, any thin silver coatings have all but worn away and the color of the brass plays a large role in value. Brass makers had their own recipes for color: the more copper, the redder the brass; the more zinc, the yellower the brass. The most appealing color to collectors today is a deep, mellow, golden color.
Form remains the most important category for collecting. Styles were followed for decades at a time with only subtle variations. Molds and patterns were a sizable start-up cost, and changing fashions meant major reinvestment. After materials and casting, finishing the candlestick was the next greatest investment, and early candlestick makers favored rounded patterns that could be easily finished on lathe. The perfected casting techniques of the 19th century required little finishing, and a profusion of heavy, angular styles became possible.
Their golden metal took a high polish and was slow to tarnish when lacquered. When thinly coated with silver, they were almost luxurious. But brass candlesticks have consistently been valued for their mix of good design and household importance rather than for their metal content. Age doesn’t necessarily enhance value, either. The market is less about age or weight and more about history, hand craftsmanship, and authentic period style.
Dedicated collectors focus on brass candlesticks made between about 1700 and 1850, when the very popularity of these objects became their downfall. As early as 1830, brass workers began meeting the demands of a rapidly expanding middle class by utilizing new techniques of mass production that enabled them to make candlesticks faster and less expensively. Gradually, the industry turned its attention away from candlesticks and toward new forms of lighting such as oil, gas, and finally electric lamps.
It wasn’t until the industrial age that America could really compete with Europe in brass-making. Before that, England was the world’s largest miner, manufacturer, and marketer of copper and its alloys. In industrial Birmingham, northwest of London, with its concentration of skilled brass workers, a small number of competitive candlestick makers signed their works. Not a single known signed stick is American, a fact that has led many to the conclusion that high-quality brass candlesticks just weren’t made on American shores until the 1800s.
Style is a key factor in determining whether a candlestick is English or Continental in origin. However, because English goods were considered to be the best anyone could have, Americans aimed to compete by using English models as their patterns, therefore style alone will never answer the question of origin.
Without known makers or documented places of origin, the only way to date brass candlesticks is by their form and construction. The earliest were cast solid in two parts, stem and base, and fastened together with a screw. Often a hole was drilled in the side of the socket so that a knife could be inserted to pry out the candle stub. From 1700 on, use of a new casting method spread—one requiring less metal and less time to produce. The stem and socket were cast hollow in two vertical halves, then brazed together and fastened to the base. Seams are a clue to the authenticity of a period stick. Later, as the 19th century neared, a newer core-casting method allowed a hollow stem and nozzle to be made in one piece, so Victorian candlesticks were cast without seams.
As many as half of antique brass candlesticks have some sort of ejection mechanism, the most common being a rod with a button at each end inserted through the hollow stem. A more rudimentary method, the side push-up, uses an external knob connected directly to the candle through a vertical slot cut into the stem. Subtler and more technically sophisticated are the twist-up mechanisms, often unnoticed until the owner tries twisting the candle socket.
At some point in their history, many brass candlesticks were also silvered so that they would resemble the more fashionable metal. Today, any thin silver coatings have all but worn away and the color of the brass plays a large role in value. Brass makers had their own recipes for color: the more copper, the redder the brass; the more zinc, the yellower the brass. The most appealing color to collectors today is a deep, mellow, golden color.
Form remains the most important category for collecting. Styles were followed for decades at a time with only subtle variations. Molds and patterns were a sizable start-up cost, and changing fashions meant major reinvestment. After materials and casting, finishing the candlestick was the next greatest investment, and early candlestick makers favored rounded patterns that could be easily finished on lathe. The perfected casting techniques of the 19th century required little finishing, and a profusion of heavy, angular styles became possible.
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, Apr 19 2007, 12:56 PM EDT
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| msbabedoll | Antique or Not? | 0 | May 5 2009, 11:22 PM EDT by msbabedoll | ||
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Thread started: May 5 2009, 11:22 PM EDT
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My father in law sold his home and is elderly in a wheel chair, so it is left to me to clean out his home of 20 plus years. I found these candlesticks which look old to me. No marking on them. I wondered if anyone could help with dating them and the value? I can email a picture msbabedoll@gmail.com
Now they stand I guess 12 inches or so? They look brass, are round at the bottom and go up with two more round spots before the round wax catcher. As you can see I don't know much about them. |
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| Anonymous | Trying to date brass / bronze figural candlestick | 0 | Dec 24 2008, 12:26 AM EST by Anonymous | ||
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Thread started: Dec 24 2008, 12:26 AM EST
Watch
We are trying to date a solid brass / bronze (??) figural candlestick of a man dressed in armour of sorts with a helmet and possibly chain-mail "shirt". The figure is not hugely defined. There are no seams and it is definitely solid. The figure has arms outstretched, each hand supporting a deep drip pan (1/2" deep) and socket. The costume goes to above the knees and the helmet is similar to a roman style with the mohawk style decoration from front to back. (hard to describe!! The base is round / trumpet. The figure stands on a "bell shape" which then goes to a single step. The step is round, but has swirls and dots engraved on the flat step. From what we have read, we think it may be c.1450 to c.1700, but are unsure as the underside of the base is not finished or polished, which suggests a later date. The figure is rivited to the base (very old style!!) and the whole item is "rounded" from age / wear, rather than the more symetrical 18 to 19th century brasswear. My husband has suggested the figure is somewhat feminine as the figure is not manly soldier, but more youthful - he was thinking perhaps Joan of Arc could be the depiction. There are no makers marks at all. The colour of the material is a yellow gold. If there is anything more we can describe that may help, please let us know. Also we have photos if it is possible to post them somewhere.
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| Anonymous | pair of stamped brass candlesticks | 1 | Sep 16 2008, 5:14 PM EDT by Anonymous | ||
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Thread started: Feb 27 2008, 6:06 PM EST
Watch
i have a pair of candlesticks in 2 parts(bass and stem) that screw in together approx 10 inches tall with the letters Y, E and an S crossed almost looking like a dollar symbol and lastly a small cross does anyone know anything about these candlesticks please i was given them by my grand mother who purchased them from a pawn shop many years ago thank you
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