The wax-melting cup (it was difficult to get screen-shots of it since it was mostly a blurry shape in the foreground of the scene) appears to be simply a small cup with a pouring handle that's sitting upon a simple base. The base with its three posts keep the cup elevated above a burning candle which is used to heat the sealing wax.
It appears as though the candle is kept short enough so that the flame is just brushing against the bottom of the cup. Logic would suggest that when you're done sealing whatever letter or document you have you just blow out the candle and allow the wax to cool in the cup. In this manner any scrap bits of sealing wax could be tossed back into the cup to be melted when needed next.It's a brilliantly simple design that I would love to replicate.
Step 1: Find a sturdy, metallic cup with a handle that I can use as a melting cup.
Step 2: Find some kind of base that would kept the cup above the flame.
I think that I should be able to use a soap stone oil burner for the base as it's already designed to heat up a substance with a candle. I would just need to find a model that allowed me to remove the cup at the top - or replace it with a suitable metal cup with a handle.
I now understand why desks were so large in this supposed era - you had so many trinkets and gadgets to use to write a letter that you needed all the space to keep it all straight and in order.
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| This would be perfect if I could just find a version that has a removable top. |
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| a 1/4th cup, metal measuring cup and a coffee-cup warmer does the trick nicely. |
