History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy

	History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network
Memorabilia & Ephemera

Cable Candlestick

At first glance this looks like an ordinary, if unusual, candlestick, but closer inspection reveals that it was made from an early submarine cable section. A length of the cable was secured with brass bands at one end and in the middle, then on the free end the twelve armoring wires were untwisted and bent to form the base. The candlestick was completed with the addition of the candle holder, the decorative copper wires laid between the armoring wires on the shaft, and the twisted copper wire ring linking the armoring wires of the base.

Detail of the bottom of the base, showing the 12 armoring wires surrounding the jute packing

The shaft of the candlestick, showing the armoring wires inlaid with twisted copper wire for decoration

Detail of the bottom of the base, showing the seven-strand copper conductor

The candlestick is 10" high overall. The base is 5.5" in diameter
and the original cable forming the shaft is 1" in diameter

Last revised: 16 December, 2011

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