The Art of Colonial Candle Making
... of which continued into the night, light to see and work during dark hours was necessary. There was no electricity during the colonial period and candles were the only source of light. The most common and least expensive type of colonial candles was the tallow made from animal fat. For candle making, the tallow was melted and the wicks were dipped into the molten tallow to make taper candles. Due to the inherent softness of the tallow, these tapers were much softer than the modern tapers. These used to melt during hot summers and storage used to be a problem. The ... using bayberries. The material was available in abundant quantities. The wax was hard and burned with a nice fragrance. It lasted longer and didn't run or drip. The problem with bayberry was the time and amount of bayberries consumed in preparing just one candle. Since people had numerous other chores to perform, wasting such a large chunk of time on candle making didn't seem very practical. The problem was solved when whale oil and spermaceti wax became widely available in the late eighteenth century. The wax was hard and hence lasted longer and did not melt during hot months. The ...
Tags: candle making | colonial candle making |
Tags: candle making | colonial candle making |