Well-made tinder box

August 2025

A typical Dutch item is the tinder box, used for centuries as a storage box for the material to make fire. In the tinder box you kept a piece of tinder fungus, together with a flint and a fire striker. If you needed fire, you brought the highly flammable tinder to smolder by striking a spark with iron on the stone. Then it was a piece of cake to transfer the fire to a chip of wood that can be used to light your pipe. Tinder boxes have been made since the seventeenth century, from simple to richly decorated. Characteristic of the nineteenth century is the cylindrical elongated box that fits comfortably in the hand. Such metal tinder boxes have a lid that closes over the box. The other side of the box shows a sliding bottom that clamps into the box. You can slide that bottom up to get the tinder fungus out of the narrow storage space more easily. As in most cases, a link chain connects the box and lid. All these features are clearly visible in this beautifully made tinderbox. Another nice aspect is that this luxurious version is made of silver; such tinderboxes are usually made of brass or copper. The bands with twisted rings provide strength and are a beautiful decorative element. Another attractive detail is the way in which the chain is made. This refined tinderbox was made in 1850 by Johannes van Kempen from Utrecht, not just any silversmith.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 30.424

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