Wax jack
A wax jack (wax-jack, taper-jack[2]) is a device used to hold a taper of sealing wax intended to create sealings on documents.
The wax jack was first introduced in 1700.[3] Before that time a simple taper was used in a loose ball. Despite the resemblance to a candle, they were not used for illumination. Although common in England and Europe, they were not used much in North America.[4]
Most early wax jacks were worked by silversmiths,[5] although later models also exist in other metals such as iron, brass or bell metal.
Description[edit]
A wax jack was a vertical or horizontal shaft around which a thin beeswax taper was coiled. The top end protruded through a hole in a pan that had a pincer to hold the taper in place. This allowed the taper to be lit and the resulting puddle of wax easily controlled. Some models, called "bougie boxes" had a pierced enclosure around the shaft to protect the taper. They were often used when travelling,[2] and to protect the taper from mice.[6] Others included a snuffer.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ "Wax jack - British". The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met Museum). Retrieved 12 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Of Wax-Jacks and Bougie-Boxes". The Regency Redingote. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
- ^ Helaine Fendelman (7 May 2007). "Wax Jack: What Is It? What Is It Worth?". countryliving.com. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Wax Jacks". Internet Antique Gazette. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
- ^ George Bernard Hughes (1970). Sheffield Silver Plate. Praeger Publishers. p. 114.
- ^ Judith Martin (10 September 1989). "Who, What & Ware For the Table". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
If you don't mind your bougie being uncovered, you can hang it on a wax jack, but it is well known that bougie boxes keep the mice from nibbling your tapers.
External links[edit]
- "New-York Historical Society - Wax jack/taper jack". www.nyhistory.org. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
- US patent D244056, Louis Phillip Jimenez & Charles Houck, "Combined taper and holder therefor", published Apr 12, 1977