18th Century Chambersticks
Last updated: Jan 5, 2024
In the 18th century, chambersticks lit the way from the main living quarters to the bedchamber, whether at home or at an inn. During the day, a chamberstick would be stored in a main part of the house – often the kitchen, on a wall or on the mantel. (You can sometimes see candles stored hanging up on the wall, as in Cobler’s Hall and High Life Below Stairs.)
Last updated: Nov 17, 2021
Extant 18th century chambersticks
- Met 68.141.264, a silver chamberstick made in London in 1699-1700
- V&A 2177A-1855, a silver chamberstick made in France c. 1700
- Bonhams 22 Oct 2020, Lot 212, an English brass chamberstick, c. 1700-1720
- Met 2006.470.2, a silver chamberstick made in London in 1714-1715
- Met 2006.470.3, a silver chamberstick made in London in 1715-1716
- Bonhams 19 Apr 2021, a cast brass chamberstick made in France c. 1720
- Winterthur 1958.2995, a brass chamberstick with a wooden handle, England, c. 1725-1750
- MFA 1993.373, a silver hand candlestick made in Paris in 1726-1727
- Winterthur 1958.1747, a brass chamberstick made in England, 1730-1750
- V&A LOAN:GILBERT.670-2008, an engraved silver chamberstick made in London in 1731-1732
- Colonial Williamsburg 1954-572, a silver chamberstick, originally gilt, made in London in 1734-1735
- Winterthur 1958.2727 A-C, an iron candlestick, douter, and snuffer, made in England c. 1740-1764
- Met 2005.364.26, a silver chamberstick made in Augsburg in 1743-1745
- Met M.2-1980, a silver chamberstick made in London in 1744-1745
- Met 48.187.52, a mid-18th century chamber candlestick, possibly French
- Met 1977.227, a French petit bougeoir chamber candlestick, third quarter of the 18th century
- MFA 1988.865, a porcelain chamberstick in the form of a grape leaf, made in England, c. 1755
- Met 1974.356.747, a silver chamberstick made in London in 1773-1775
- Winterthur 1959.3040, a glass candlestick made in New Jersey c. 1775-1800
- V&A M.173-1912, M.124-1920, and M.125-1920, Sheffield plate chambersticks, c. 1780-1790
- Winterthur 1959.1382.001 A-C and 1959.1382.002 A-C, silverplate candlesticks with blown-glass shades, c. 1780-1800
- Winterthur 1959.3420, a brass candlestick made in England, c. 1780-1810
- Winterthur 1959.0605 A-C, a silver chamberstick, c. 1780-1830
- Winterthur 1959.0679, brass candlestick made in Skultuna, Sweden, c. 1785-1820
- Winterthur 1964.1204 A-C, a silver (or silverplate?) candlestick made in England c. 1790-1820
- Pair of silver-gilt chambersticks with snuffers (Met 2019.283.116a-d and 2019.283.117a-d) made in London in 1792
- V&A M.322:4-1962, a pair of silver-gilt chambersticks with snuffers and extinguishers, made in London in 1792-1793
- V&A M.1044-1926, a Sheffield plate chamberstick with snuffer, late 18th century
- V&A M.241A-1920, a pair of Sheffield plate chambersticks made in Birmingham in the late 18th century
- Winterthur 1955.0048.075, a brass chamberstick made in England c. 1790-1810
- Historic Deerfield P.002, an American or English chamberstick in tinned sheet iron, with a cone-shaped snuffer attached to the handle with a brass chain, c. 1800
Depictions of chambersticks
- Night: Boy Blowing Charcoal
- At Sandpit Gate by Paul Sandby, c. 1752
- The Kitchen by Willem Joseph Laquy, c. 1760-1771
- David Garrick and Mary Bradshaw in David Garrick’s The Farmer’s Return by Johan Joseph Zoffany, c. 1762
- The Methodist Tailor Caught in Adultery, 1768
- The Great Luminary of the Law, 1771
- Bedroom scene, 1788
- The pancake-baker by Adriaan de Lelie, c. 1790-1810
- The False Alarm, 1792
- Diligence and Dissipation: The modest girl in her bedchamber, 1796
- Morning Visit by Adriaan de Lelie, 1796
- The Ghost, or Second Warning, 1799
- Love in a Blaze, c. 1800
