Description

Veilleuse au Cœur – Maison B. Bullot Paris 

Wick night light

Late 19th century – Cardboard box

Step back in time to the intimate atmosphere of 19th-century Parisian bedrooms with this authentic “Veilleuses au Cœur” box. Manufactured by B. Bullot in Paris, this oval-shaped cardboard box contained the essential accessories for night-time lighting in the pre-electricity era.

It consists of a weathered cardboard box and a set of floating tinplate holders cut into the shape of a heart. Each holder comes with its original wick made of plant fibres impregnated with wax.

The night light was an ingenious and economical system: the metal holder floated on a thin layer of oil, which in turn rested on water.

A single small wick provided a soft, reassuring glow for around 10 hours, ideal for keeping watch over a sick person or reassuring a child, as illustrated by the lithograph on the lid.

Marked ‘100 Services’ with 50 Night Lights on the lid:

The Service: At the time, a ‘service’ referred to the unit of consumption for one night’s lighting. The box therefore contained 100 ready-to-use wicks. Each evening, the user would prepare a ‘new service’ by fitting a fresh wick onto its holder.

The Nightlight: This is the floating heart-shaped metal holder. The box contains 50 of them because, although reusable, these holders would eventually rust on contact with water or become clogged. The manufacturer, Bullot, thus ensured there was enough material to use up all 100 wicks.

Whilst the glow of these night lights may seem feeble by today’s standards, it was perfectly suited to the 19th century, a time accustomed to twilight and darkness.

In the deep darkness of homes of yesteryear, this subtle glow was enough to outline the contours of a room without disturbing sleep. It was a reassuring presence, a luminous sentinel designed to ‘banish the shadows’ at the bedside of the sick and children.

Stains on the cardboard box