Hey Irene! about that lighter, I've been searching like madness for 20+ minutes now (in both swedish and english), without any luck, haha. Any chance you can share which episode(s) you've see that lighter from? (because I have never paid attention to that myself). I dunno if it will help, but it might give some inspiration what to search for, hmmhm.
hey, it’s from Gentleman Jack 103. It also shows up in episode 6 when AW wakes up in the night, AL uses it to light up a candle beside the bed.
@victorialitera answered my post (thank u so much by the way) saying they’re pretty sure it’s a portable tinderbox, so that’s what I’m researching now.
After a little history check I found out that friction matches were invented in 1826, and that till that time tinderboxes were what was used around the house to light a fire. So it is more than plausible (I think) that in 1832 tinderboxes were still widely used. And also, it looks like friction matches always had kinda the same look, they have not changed much since their invention – this kinda rules out the possibility of this thing being an early friction match of some kind.
I do think that portable tinderbox is the right answer, I just have to find the exact same kind.
EDIT_1: okay, looking closely, she uses a fire striker (? no idea what’s the name in english, in italian it’s called an acciarino) to start the flame on top of something that is made of I don’t know what but it looks reusable.
And this is what confuses me about this whole thing: the way she lights it. 1) in everything I found about tinderboxes all the contents are not “fixed” to the box. 2) you have to take them all out to light the fire…so the way ^this thing^ works is kinda different.
My research continues…
EDIT_2: editing this post to add the super useful replies I received. Thank u so much @troiings for trying to figure out how ^this^ works:
so… imo it looks like she’s holding a “pen” of sorts with flint on the end (the white tip)… basically flint with a handle. the box contains carbon steel (create a spark by striking with the flint). what i can only assume is that the bit at the end is combustible something or other… and it looks like there’s makybe??? a plug on the end of the box. Perhaps there’s oil inside of it, and the combustible *mumblemumble* is an oversized wick? basically strike up a spark with flint+steel, light the wick, refill the body of the box with oil when needed? this is literally me going by what it looks like is happening and paying no regard to historical whatever
And thank you @extra-mt16 for the info:
A FB group had a discussion regarding the tinderbox a while back, and people were equally confused and intrigued. There was one answer that might be of help. The person read somewhere (maybe in Angela Steidel biography) that AL had it custom-made to her specifications. That might explain the unusualness of the design. :)
This explains A LOT. ( @flozmin you were so right!) Now I have to find that reference and ideally find the journal entry where Anne describes it (which I feel is gonna take forever). @extra-mt16 I’m not really active on FB for these kind of things, do you know if someone managed to find the diary entry? Or do you have some hint around what time Anne had the tinderbox made?
EDIT_3: Update! Thank you so much @winteringinrome for your reply and sharing even more info about this thing:
This page was linked on the FB group and has pictures similar to what Anne used in the show and explains how it works: http://www.oldandinteresting.com/tinderbox.aspx also had a vague memory of Anne talking about something like this in her diaries and I found the following reference in Anne Choma’s book:"John [Oates] thought that for 2 or 3 pounds he could make me a portable one (a reservoir of air like that for air gun and filled in the same way), all to go in a box of 6 inch square - one reservoir full would keep up a strong and regular blast for 1/4 hour” - 12 Sep 1832 (SH:7/ML/E/15/0117).This seems to be talking about something slightly different (blowpipes rather than a tinderbox) but I wonder if that’s what is ringing bells with people.
The link about the tinderbox is also the one I stumbled upon while researching tinderboxes (another reference to understand how those things worked is this: regencyredingote - The Tinderbox it doesn’t have pictures but it’s an interesting read that explains in great details how a tinderbox works etc. etc.) and yep, it looks like the concept of the thing is the same, but the design is different.
I’m just very curious to know if the object we see is accurate or if it’s just inspired by something AL wrote in her journal (like the quote posted above for example). By the way, half an hour ago I wrote to Anne Choma on twitter asking her if the object we see in the show is accurate (long shot, I know but worth trying). Let’s see how this thing evolves.
By the way, you are all amazing, replying and trying to figure this out! What a community! Anne Lister would be proud!
