Before electricity or gas was used to light homes, the most common form of lighting was candle light. Over the years candles have been made of different substances, including animal fat, beeswax, spermaceti (an oil which comes from whales) and, most recently, paraffin. Snuffers were used, as they were a more elegant way of putting out a candle than blowing it out. They were also supposed to stop the smoke and the smell that is produced when a candle is blown out, caused by the wick continuing to smoulder. Candle snuffers of different kinds of material and design were developed.

These candle snuffers are like a pair of scissors but, instead of having blades that cut, the snuffers have a small box and a plate for snuffing out the flame of a candle. These snuffers are elaborately decorated. The handles are silver-coloured and moulded into ornamental swirls. The 'blades' of the snuffer, which are of a darker metal, have floral patterns inscribed into them. The snuffers were made in this decorative style, as they would have been out on view so that they could be used easily. They might be kept on the mantelpiece or on a table, next to the candles themselves.