snuffer

snuffer, metal implement used to extinguish the flame of a candle, generally in a form of a scissors (to snuff the flame and cut off the wick) or a hollow cone at the end of a long handle. The earliest surviving example is a silver-gilt snuffer in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, dated about 1550; but inventories mention snuffers as early as mid-15th century in England. Other surviving examples show that brass and steel were the most common metals used, but precious metals were also used. The decoration on snuffers usually consists of roughly cast ornament, but some 18th-century continental examples of steel are finely pierced and chiselled. The introduction of candles with self-consuming wicks in the latter half of the 19th century and the development of alternative methods of lighting brought about a consequent decline in the use of snuffers.