AN IMPROVED MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING CANDLES DROPPING
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Elizabeth Steane, of Manor Risc, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, Widow, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MEANS OR
APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING CANDLES DROPPING "
AR
Sealed the 22nd September 1859, and dated the 26th March 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Elizabeth Steane at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with her Petition, on the
26th March 1859.
1, ELIZABETH STEANE, of Manor Rise, Brixton, in the County of Surrey,
Widow, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING CANDLES DROPPING OR GUTTERING," to be
as follows:-
I propose to cast, mould, or otherwise make a cylinder, the upper part of
which shall curve over (or be formed semi-conical) leaving an orifice of from
one-third to one-half as compared with the opening at the bottom. This
apparatus is to be passed over the candle, the wick of which will be in the
centre of the orifice aforesaid. When the candle is lit, heat will soon be com-
municated to the part next the wick, and gradually downwards, but will be
compensated or regulated by the coldness of the remainder or fall of the
cylinder. The candle being carried about even in a slanting position, or
abruptly removed from the table, will not (being shielded by the apparatus)
drop the melted wax, tallow, or composition, or gutter down the sides. The

page_text: protector need not be placed on the candle till it is about to be moved, if
preferred. The protector or apparatus is made of glass, porcelain, earthen-
ware, metal, or any material which I may find suitable for the purpose.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Elizabeth Steane in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th September 1859.'
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ELIZABETH
STEANE, of Manor Rise, Brixton, in the County of Surrey, Widow, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Elizabeth Steane, Her special licence that I, the said Elizabeth Steane, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Elizabeth
Steane, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Islo of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED MEANS OR APPA-
BATUS FOR PREVENTING CANDLES DROPPING OR GUTTERING," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Elizabeth Steane, my executors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Elizabeth Steanc, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings
hereunto annexed, and forming part of this my Specification, and to the
letters of reference marked on each of the Diagrams respectively.
Figure 1 on the said Drawing represents a side elevation of a candle and
part of a candlestick with my hood or cap a in brass placed thereon; Figure 2
is also a side elevation of candle and part of candlestick with glass hood or

page_text: cap 6 placed on the candle; and Figure 3 is a side elevation of candle and
candlestick, partly in section, shewing double hood or cap partly in metal c,
and partly in porcelain d, placed over the wick and upon the shoulder or top
of the candle. The object of my Invention is to prevent the inconvenience,
loss, and mischief occasioned or sustained by the guttering of or the droppings
of grease from lighted candles, either when such candles are at rest on the
It is well known that what is
table or are being carried about the house.
usually termed a "thief" in the candle will cause a sort of well of melted
grease to be formed at the top of the candle, which, overflowing, gutters down
the side of the candle in the most unseemly manner. To prevent the running
or guttering I make a cylindrically-shaped hood or cap of glass, metal, por-
celain, earthenware, or a combination of any metal and material I find
applicable or suitable, with or without an inner casing, the top of which
curves over eliptically or semi-conically (as shewn at each of the Diagrams in
the Drawing,) leaving an orifice of one-half or more in diameter as compared
with the opening at the bottom of the cylinder. The cap or hood is made
either by blowing, if of glass, or casting the material in a mould, as may be
preferred. When a shield or casing is used (as shewn at Figure 8) it
should be dropped on the candle first, but the whole may be made in one
piece, the inner portion to be metal, the outer to be porcelain or other suitable"
material. When the candle is lit (the hood or cap being passed thereon) heat
is soon communicated to the part next the wick of the candle, and gradually
downwards, but the melting power is compensated or regulated by the cold-
ness of the lower portion of the hood or cap, which is usually about two inches
long. If the hood or cap be placed on the candle at or before lighting, and
the unequal combustion of the wick produces a spark, or what is usually, as
before mentioned, termed a "thief," the spark will die out without producing
the well of grease before alluded to, and the candle will be preserved from
guttering. Removal of the candle from the table (however precipitate) will
not, if it be guarded by the hood or cap, prevent its burning equally or, in
other words, no more grease will melt than is required for combustion, nor
will careless holding of the candlestick, such as depressing the top of the
candle so that both hood and candle are placed in a slanting position, destroy
the protection afforded by my apparatus, or cause the grease to drop or gutter.
It is not absolutely necessary that the hood or protector be placed on the
candle until the latter is about to be removed; but, as its use promotes the
even burning of the wick, I prefer to use it as well while the candle is in
repose as when it is being carried about. My apparatus is equally applicable
to candles having two or more wicks, producing the same, if not an increased

page_text: beneficial effect on the wicks during combustion, and preventing guttering or
dropping on removal of the candle or carrying it from place to place.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and the manner
in which it is carried into effect, I.desire it to be clearly understood that I do
not confine myself to the precise details herein set forth, or to any particular
size, length, or diameter of the cylindrical hood or shield, or to any particular
metal or material of which it may be composed, or of any combination of both
metal and other material; and that I claim the exclusive use (as of my
Invention) of a hood or cap, shield, or protector herein-before described and
illustrated in the Drawing, by the use of which candles in course of combustion
are prevented from dropping or guttering.
In witness whereof, I, the said Elizabeth Stenne, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
E. STEANE. (L.B.)
Witness,
JOHN GEDGE, Patent Agent,
4, Wellington Street South, Strand, London.