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.
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.
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