LAST week's Craven Curiosity looked to me like a bird perching on the side of a small box. Reader Michael Lindsay thought it could be a door knocker, while Anne Lindsay suggested it was a type of pen and ink well.
It was in fact a match dispenser, and can be viewed at Craven Museum and Gallery, in Skipton. Experts at the museum tell us it would have been used to store matches, and keep them dry.
"The word match comes from the old French mèche which means wick of a candle. It is believed that matches originated from China as early as 577AD. Before matches people would have to light tinder either by striking flint and steel or by focusing a lens on the sun. The first modern self-igniting match was developed in 1805 by Jean Chancel."
This week's Craven Curiosity will be the last for a few weeks, suggestions for what it is should be sent before 8am on Monday to lesley.tate@cravenherald.co.uk
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