Civil War-period collapsible candlestick and war-date letter referencing same type of candlestick.  

3 1/4 in. diam. (at rim) brass candlesticks with screw-on candle cups (heavy wear to both, excavated example broken in areas and with very heavy oxidation throughout). Candlesticks of the pattern illustrated in the 1864 Schuyler, Hartley & Graham wartime catalog of military goods.

[With:] Letter written from a father to his son at war. Dated 3 January 1864. 2 pages, 5 x 8 in. Creased, with wear to left edge. Father writes about a forthcoming package, "I have a dim recollection of saying something about adding to it a pair of queer little travelling candlesticks, which your mother bout at the Fair & which, if they serve no other purpose, will amuse you for a moment by their reciprocal fittings & ingenuity."  

Letter recipient was likely Lieutenant Frank B. James, Company I, 52nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as the letter was obtained from a group of James' wartime correspondence.  


The Civil War Collection of James C. Frasca

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