Little Candles That Became Keepsakes
There was a time when holiday decorating didn't require bins of coordinated decor. A few treasured pieces came out of the cupboard each year, found their familiar places on the table or mantel, and quietly announced that the season had arrived.
Gurley novelty candles belonged beautifully to that tradition.
Franklin Gurley's company began producing decorative candles after being approached in 1939 to find a use for surplus paraffin wax from petroleum refining. Originally sold as Tavern Novelty Candles, the business became the Gurley Novelty Company in 1949, producing its distinctive molded candles in Buffalo, New York.
By the 1950s and 1960s, Gurley's inexpensive holiday figures had become familiar seasonal decorations. Thanksgiving brought pilgrims and turkeys; other holidays brought rabbits, ghosts, Santas, choir boys and an assortment of wonderfully nostalgic characters.
And something interesting happened: people often didn't burn them.
The Buffalo History Museum notes that Gurley candles were frequently saved as decorations and brought out year after year rather than used as ordinary candles. That simple habit helped turn an inexpensive seasonal novelty into today's collectible.
This little pair captures exactly why.
The woman stands with her hands clasped beneath a pale collar, while her companion wears his broad pilgrim hat and carries a long gun at his side. Their tiny blue eyes and red mouths add just enough color to an otherwise restrained palette of cream and deep charcoal gray.
Age has softened the wax and finish rather than erased their character. They feel unmistakably like objects that have already lived through many Thanksgivings.
Styling Inspiration
Try them with:
- old ironstone or creamware
- brass candlesticks and warm wood
- miniature pumpkins or dried leaves
- vintage linens and transferware
- an autumn vignette inside a china cabinet
Or give them almost no styling at all. Place the pair on a small shelf together and allow their tiny scale and unmistakably vintage faces to do the work.
Perhaps that is the sweetest thing about old Gurley candles: something originally made to disappear in a flame survived instead because someone decided it was simply too charming to burn.
