The hogscraper candlestick is an early (c. 1780 – 1860) form of lighting device commonly used in 19th-century North America and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, and mainly manufactured in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The device is manufactured of tempered sheet

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

, wrought in several pieces and joined by metal joinery and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

soldering. The name is derived from the candlesticks resemblance to an antique device used to scrape bristles from hog hide after slaughter. The antique lighting device commonly consists of a shaft, attached to a round base with a thumb tab ejector mechanism to remove the residual candle stub, and a round lip or " bobèche" to collect candle drippings. The "bobèche" often has a hook extension used for hanging the device. Some hogscraper candlesticks were manufactured with decorative

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

bands at the midsection of the shaft and are commonly referred to as "wedding band" hogscrapers. Often the devices are "signed" on the thumb ejector tab by the manufacturer. Historical trade directories have identified most of these manufacturers and the dates of their business existence. While most manufacturers have been identified to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

there is evidence of manufacturing in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. There is no substantive evidence of American manufacturers before 1850.Ruggio, Joseph. "The Hogscraper Candlestick of Birmingham", '' The Rushlight, Volume 55 No. 1'', Boston, MA, March 1989.Koldeweij, Eloy.''The English Candlestick'', p. 34. Christie's Books, London.

References

{{reflist Candlestick patterns