George III Silver Bougie Box, c.1770 by EC

This is a lovely Georgian period silver bougie box with the lift-off cover having an aperture for the wax and swivelling cutter for extinguishing the flame.

The box takes the usual cylindrical form and is marked with an "EC" maker's mark. This distinctive mark with a cut-out to the centre top and bottom of the punch is not recorded in Grimwade and was presumably registered between 1758-1773 (unfortunately this register has been lost); the mark possibly belongs to either Elizabeth Cooke or to Ebenezer Coker. This is a fine antique example in excellent condition.

Wax jacks or bougie boxes were an essential part of desk equippage and were used to hold coils of sealing wax. Bougie boxes tended to be favoured when travelling as they could be easily packed away and retrieved when required, plus they had the added benefit of providing a small amount of light when needed. The taper would be threaded through the hole in the cover and lit, allowing the user enough heat to melt the wax to seal letters and documents.