# closed lantern?



## Draik41895 (Oct 25, 2008)

In one of my favorite stories "The Tell-Tale Heart"(woo hoo)by Edger Allen Poe,it talks of a closed lantern."A dark lantern,all closed, closed so that no light shown out.it also says "its hinges creaked",and that it has a tin fastening.Now i cant find out what it is talking about at all,nothing seems to match the discription.Can anyone here help me out?


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

He may be talking about something like this:










Old fashioned tin candle lanterns had little hinged doors or windows which could be opened to allow the user to let more or less light out as needed. These were in use long before things like flashlights existed.


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## Ghoul Friday (Oct 6, 2007)

If I'm not mistaken, it's just a traditional lantern - metal frame and handle - with a shield you could slide that allowed the owner to have the light "closed" - completely blocked from sight. This is why he can 'narrow' the light or slowly pull back the shield to let all the light shine.

Added later - DOH Roxy beats me to the reply!


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## Draik41895 (Oct 25, 2008)

why, thank you


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Ghoul Friday said:


> Added later - DOH Roxy beats me to the reply!


LOL, Ghoul, your answer is still good (and I think I beat you by a nanosecond last night). There were different versions of the metal lanterns, some with hinged doors and some with the sliding panels you mention.


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## Draik41895 (Oct 25, 2008)

Roxy,i'm curious a to where you got that picture from


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I don't remember the site, but if you do a Google image search using "tin lantern", you'll find many pictures of similar items.


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