Gurley and Tavern Candles Collectibles Guide
14 May
I bet many of you remember your mom or grandmother having these cute little candles when you were young right?
Those cute little candles are now desirable collectibles! I think they bring back a bit of nostalgia 😊
Do you collect them? If not, maybe you'd like to?
This guide covers:
- A little bit of history about these candles
- What the difference is between Tavern and Gurley candles
- Examples of the many different candles that have been made over the years
- Care and cleaning
- Fun facts about them
- Suggested values (note that these values are my opinion only based on buying for my own collection and selling these candles)
- Display ideas!
Gurley and Tavern Candles Collectibles Guide
What are Gurley candles?
First, let's go over some history of these sweet little collectibles.
Gurley candles were produced by Gurley Novelty in Buffalo, New York. The company originally started in 1927 and was called W&F Manufacturing Company, and was a confectionary company owned by Franklin Gurley.
The first line of candles was commissioned by a company called Socony Vacuum Oil Company (now ExxonMobil) in 1939 and they were sold under the name Tavern Novelty Candles. They were first created as a way to recycle and reuse the excess paraffin that was a by-product of the oil refinery process (they were ahead of their time with this recycling effort weren’t they?!)
The candles were a success and by the late 1940s, most of Gurley's profits were from these candles! In 1949 W&F manufacturing was renamed Gurley Novelty Company.
The company quit making the candles and closed in 1994. However!! The Vermont Country Store purchased the molds and they reproduce some of the candles now!
I'm including a few examples of these candles throughout the guide along with my opinion of their value.
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission which helps keep my blog up and running but it won't cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Here are some of these cute candles. Please note, I linked the source for the images when I know it but I cannot guarantee that the links will work. As time goes on, some websites are taken down and things are sold. You can do searches for sellers of these candles on Etsy and eBay.
Thanksgiving
A little pilgrim couple, Value = $10 to $15 for the pair.
Source: Little Boho Cottage
These turkeys would be cute with the Pilgrims! Value = $5 to $6 each
Source: Little Boho Cottage
Little Indian couples like these are a little more rare. Value = $25 to $30 for the pair
Gurley and Tavern, what's the difference?
As noted above, the very first products created to use up this excess paraffin were marketed under the name “Tavern”. They consisted of wax lips and teeth as well as small candle figures in fun holiday shapes like ghosts, pilgrims, and Santa Claus.
This is what the labels look like. They will have slight variations as they evolved over the years.
- Most of the candles were made for specific holidays and even though they have wicks they were not really intended to burn but instead just to collect for fun holiday displays.
- The smaller candles were sold individually out of a shallow, cardboard display box. The sets and larger candles were sold in sealed paper boxes.
- Most had round, paper Gurley labels attached to the bottoms.
- These cute candles were inexpensive
- Small 3 1/2" figures were .10 cents each
- Packs of two were .29 cents
- Packs of threes were .49 cents
- The larger candles rarely went above .99 cents.
You can clean them by wrapping a piece of pantyhose around your finger and gently buffing it in a circular motion. Don’t rub too hard though or the color may come off the wax. You can practice by doing a small area on the back. Small crevices can be done with a Q-tip dipped in soapy water.
It should be obvious not to store them in areas where they will have to endure excessive heat like attics, garages, and storage units, although I often find them that are melted for this very reason 😢 like this turkey that had corn embedded into it!
Christmas
Santa Claus, Value = $12 to $14.
Source: Flint Creek Vintage - Etsy
Christmas Carolers, Value = $10 to $12 each.
There were buildings too, like these cute little churches (these show signs of a hot environment with their bent tops)! Value = $8 to $10 each.
A snowman, Value = $10 - $12.
This one is quite large at about 6"!
Value $30 - $40
Source: Little Boho Cottage
Halloween
Dancing Scarecrow Jack-o-lanterns, Value = $10 to $12 each.
Source: The Children's Room - Etsy
Ghoul or Grim Reaper, Value = $18 - $20.
Display Ideas
I found some fun ways that people have displayed their candle collections. I just love these first two displays of Halloween candles!
And old pans as display shelves?! Genius!!
Source: Country Living
Displaying some under a cloche is such a great idea! I can see a whole little village under a very large cloche!
Source: Every Day Vintage
This is just beautiful... and did you notice the box they are displayed on?! 😲
Source: My Weathered Home
Here is how I have displayed some of my collection of Gurley candles, check out the post here: Christmas Decorating - A Gurley Little Christmas.
Aren't they adorable? Do you have any vintage Gurley candles?
There are so many more examples too, here are a couple of Pinterest boards dedicated to them!
If you enjoyed this guide and found it to be useful, I'd love it if you'd share!
PIN ME!
Resources
Martha Stewart.com. (n.d.). Festive Candles. Retrieved October 17, 2013, from, http://www.marthastewart.com/270511/festive-candles
The Buffalo History Museum. (2014). Spotlight Artifacts by Registrar Rebecca Justinger. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from, https://buffalohistorymuseum.com/2014/10/31/spotlight-artifacts/
Wikipedia.org. (2013). Gurley Novelty. Retrieved October 17, 2013, from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurley_Novelty
Posted by: Tania | Little Vintage Cottage
at 14 May
Tag:
Everything Else
They're adorable! I have a couple tucked away in my Christmas decorations, I think. Interesting info!
ReplyDeleteYou had me interested at the first picture because of the Thanksgiving memories they evoked. My mother had multiple sets of the candles - both turkeys and pilgrims and it was my job to set them out on the table in the dining room.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a trip down Memory Lane.
Such a fun post! My Mom had a group of choir boys. I found the pilgrims for 50 cents at a yard sale last year, but other than that never see them in the wild. Fun to look on Etsy for them. Thanks for the great info! :)
ReplyDeleteFascinating info Tania! I do remember seeing those around the house in the past...had no idea they were collectible. So do you collect them now?
ReplyDeleteFlorence
Thanks Florence :o) Yes, I do have a small (but growing) collection! So far I have a couple of trees, Santa Claus, deer, group of choir boys and girls, and a church!
DeleteTania
I remember these from my childhood. What sweet memories these bring!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had some memories from this post! :o)
ReplyDeleteTania
Thank you so much for the little history lesson. I think we get the Vermont Co. Store catalog now and again; I will have to be on the lookout! I have so far resisted the urge to collect these, but this post is an awful inducement!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the guide Kathy!
DeleteI love my originals from my Grandma! Rudolph, two deer and Santa in sleigh ❤️
ReplyDeleteHi Geri! I'm so glad you have some of these candles that you cherish, it's even better when they come from grandma! ;o)
DeleteThe Vermont Country Store does NOT own the original molds. All the candle molds were scrapped when the company closed in 1994. Some candy molds were saved, but not by the Vermont Store....the ones they sell, are made in China, using original candles as patterns for new molds. When you see them side by side with an actual original, you'll see just how inferior they are.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know :)
DeleteIt was nice to discover your website and read about this candle company and it's collections. My mom gave me the pilgrim couple and the large turkey candles to keep and display at my Thanksgiving get-togethers. I have them displayed on my fireplace mantle. My mom most likely got them at either a Ben Franklin store or Woolworth's, which she shopped at all the time in the 60s and 70s. Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gail! I'm glad you found the article interesting. The Thanksgiving candles are so cute!
DeleteBe nice to know the year various ones i have were produced
ReplyDeleteI hope this article was able to help you determine the answer. You'll probably never know the exact year but you should be able to narrow it down to a date range. 😊
Delete