Boxing Day—the day after Christmas—is a national holiday in England and in many of the British Commonwealth Countries around the world (that is, those countries which were once British territories). Boxing Day was the standard day off granted to the household servants of British aristocrats (as staff were expected to attend their employers on Christmas Day). On 26 December, servants would receive "boxes" from their masters containing food, money and other gifts. It was also a day when the poor might receive alms—monies collected by the Church in alms boxes. (Recall the carol about "Good King Wenceslas" who brought charity [alms] to the needy, through deep snow, on the Feast of Saint Stephen—26 December.)
Shown above, a handsomely hand-hammered English Arts & Crafts brass candle box with rampant lions, heraldry, botanical motifs and a quaint village scene. It would have been made around 1890. Traditionally, a candle box would hang in the kitchen or butler's pantry where replacement tapers might be found quickly. Before domestic gas and electric service was common, candles were an essential, consumable commodity in every household. Candles were a source of light and a handy way to transfer flame from one place to another. By the time this box was crafted, just before the Turn-of-the-Twentieth-Century, most upscale homes already would have had electricity (or, at least, gas). But the presence of a candle box provided a romantic look-back to the olden days—in keeping with the philosophy of the Arts & Crafts movement. And a beautiful box like this was more likely to be given pride-of-place in a home—perhaps in the dining room rather than in the kitchen. Click on the photo above to learn more about it.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.