History of candle making
3189819
215421997
2008-05-28T03:06:33Z
Kubigula
1453997
Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/68.6.148.172|68.6.148.172]] ([[User talk:68.6.148.172|talk]]) to last version by Nn123645
{{mergeto|Candle|Talk:Candle#Merger proposal|date=April 2008}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2008}}
Candle making was developed independently in many countries throughout history. The Egyptians formed candles that were made out of beeswax as early as 3000 BC.<ref name =Malbrough>{{cite book | last = Malbrough | first = Ray T. | title = The Magical Power of the Saints: Evocation and Candle Rituals | publisher = Llewellyn Worldwide | date = 1998 | pages = 68 | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0gc3AMU7U2IC&pg=PA68&dq=candle+making+egypt+3000+beeswax&sig=yAGS_CtljoU3cZa9-rDDk1OQzcw | isbn = 1567184561}}</ref> The Chinese created candles from whale fat during the [[Qin Dynasty]] (221–206 BC). In early China and [[Japan]], tapers were made with wax from insects and seeds, wrapped in paper.<ref name=telesco>{{cite book | last = Telesco | first = Patricia | title = Exploring Candle Magick: Candle Spells, Charms, Rituals, and Divinations | publisher = Career Press | date = 2001 | location = | pages = 10 | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ogHORLtm3KAC&pg=PA10&dq=wax+boiling+cinnamon+candle&as_brr=3&sig=tiI6EMFlQa8qc-8HN8J7qfUXS3k | isbn = 1564145220}}</ref> In [[India]], wax from boiling [[cinnamon]] was used for temple candles.<ref name=telesco/> During the first century AD, [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest]] fused oil from the [[eulachon]], or "candlefish", for illumination.<ref name=telesco/> Excavations at [[Pompeii]], Italy, revealed several candelabra.
== 3000 - 1 BC ==
The clay candle holders found in Egypt date back to 400 BC.<ref>{{cite book | last = Acaysha | title = Show Me, Teach Me, Heal Me: A Beginner's Guide to Natural Answers | publisher = Trafford Publishing | date = 2004 | pages = 83 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=PthnonxyTgcC&pg=PA83&dq=candle+clay+egypt&lr=&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&sig=ZfaeqLTBgh8rN4Oc1FNB_uWRjqE#PPA83,M1 | isbn = 1412001315}}</ref>
[[Qin Shi Huang]] (259–210 BC) was the first [[emperor]] of the [[History of China|Chinese]] [[Qin Dynasty]] (221–206 BC). His mausoleum, which was rediscovered in the 1990s, twenty-two miles east of [[Xi'an]], contained candles made from whale fat{{Fact|date=February 2008}}.
Wax from boiling [[cinnamon]] was used for temple candles in [[India]]<ref name=telesco/>.
== 1 AD - 1500 AD ==
There is a fish called the [[eulachon]] or "candlefish", a type of [[smelt]] which is found from Oregon to Alaska. During the first century AD, [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous people]] from this region used oil from this fish for illumination<ref name=telesco/>. A simple candle could be made by putting the dried fish on a forked stick and then lighting it. In [[Rome]], they used tallow, derived from suet, a crumbly animal fat to make their candles. Although the tallow was extremely smoky, the smoke was forgiven for light and used for prayer. They were at altars, shrines, used in temples and were very common. The technique was simple; the tallow was put into the melting pot, then poured into molds made of bronze. A trough underneath would catch the excess wax and return it to the melting pot. For the wick, hemp, usually made from the pith of rushes, (the tissue inside the stem of a plant that grows in marshes) is suspended from a horizontal rod over the mold when the tallow is poured in.
Excavations at [[Pompeii]] discovered several [[candelabra]]{{Fact|date=February 2008}}.<!-- The Latin word "candere" means to flicker. <-- how is that relevant? -->
[[Yak]] butter was used for candles in [[Tibet]]{{Fact|date=February 2008}}.
In [[Europe]], the earliest surviving candle was discovered near [[Avignon]] in [[France]], from the first century AD.<ref name=Malbrough/>
=== Manufacturing of candles ===
The oldest candle manufacturers still in existence are [[Rathbornes Candles]], founded in [[Dublin]] in 1488.
=== Making candles for timekeeping ===
Anglo-Saxon king [[King Alfred|Alfred the Great]] (c. 849 - 899) used a candle-clock which burned for 4 hours. There were lines around the side to show the passing of each hour<ref>{{cite book | last = Tappan | first = Eva | title = In the Days of Alfred the Great | publisher = Yesterday's Classics | date = 2006 | pages = 226-227 | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YXK5ZdBGJqkC&pg=PA227&dq=%22Alfred+the+Great%22+candle&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&sig=Lkwq0bHXxPUcg3Q4-B9RAVWUcKA#PPA227,M1 | isbn = 1599150352}}</ref>. Later, 24-hour candles were invented based on the same concept.<ref>{{cite book | last = Dohrn-van Rossum | first = Gerhard | authorlink = | coauthors = Thomas Dunlap | title = History of the Hour: Clocks and Modern Temporal Orders | publisher = University of Chicago Press | date = 1996 | pages = 59| url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=53K32RiEigMC&pg=PA59&dq=twenty+four+hour+candle&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&sig=A_aJCvReonRsbiofOwNSwynihJg | isbn = 0226155102}}</ref> The [[Sung dynasty]] in China (960–1279) also used candle-clocks.<ref>{{cite book | last = Bedini | first = Silvio A. | title = The Trail of Time: Time Measurement with Incense in East Asia | publisher = Cambridge University Press | date = 1994 | pages = 54 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=xdVkzs6iI1YC&pg=PA54&dq=dynasty+sung+candle+clock&lr=&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&sig=TBfC05FfyGa9GZ7WhgyPFGijoxU | isbn = 0521374820}}</ref>
== 1500 AD - present ==
During the [[Middle Ages]] in Europe, the popularity of candles is shown by their use in [[Candlemas]] and on [[Saint Lucy]] festivities. [[Tallow]], fat from cows or sheep, became the standard material used in candles in Europe. The Tallow Chandlers Company of [[London]] was formed in about 1300 in London, and in 1456 was granted a [[coat of arms]]. Dating from about 1330, the Wax Chandlers Company acquired its charter in 1484. By 1415, tallow candles were used in street lighting. The trade of the chandler is also recorded by the more picturesque name of "smeremongere", since they oversaw the manufacture of sauces, vinegar, soap and cheese. The unpleasant smell of tallow candles is due to the [[glycerine]] they contain. For churches and royal events, candles from beeswax were used, as the smell was usually less unpleasant. The smell of the manufacturing process was so unpleasant that it was banned by ordinance in several cities. The first candle mould comes from 15th century Paris{{Fact|date=February 2008}}.
The first American colonists discovered that [[bayberry|bayberries]] could be used to make candles, but the yield was very poor. Fifteen pounds of boiled bayberries would provide only one pound of wax.<ref>{{cite book | last = Mays | first = Dorothy A. | title = Women in Early America: Struggle, Survival, and Freedom in a New World | publisher = ABC-CLIO | date = 2004 | pages = 438 | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UYWs-GQDiOkC&pg=PA438&dq=bayberries+candle+america&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&sig=eIyGTufEKFnUh29PWAdjhPQwSiA | isbn = 1851094296}}</ref>
By the 18th century, the Chinese designed weights into the sides of candles; as such a candle melted, the weights fell off and made a noise as they fell into a bowl.
In 1750, [[Spermaceti]], oil that comes from [[sperm whale]], was used to provide very expensive candles. By 1800, a much cheaper alternative was discovered. [[Colza oil]], derived from [[Brassica campestris]], and a similar oil derived from [[rape seed]], yielded candles that produce clear, smokeless flames. The French chemists [[Michel-Eugene Chevreul]] (1786–1889) and [[Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac]] (1778–1850) patented [[stearin]], in 1811. Like tallow, this was derived from animals, but had no glycerine content.
===Manufacturing of candles===
[[Joseph Sampson]] was granted a United States patent for a new method of candle making in 1790 (this was the second patent ever granted by the US).<ref>{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = Holland | title = Age of Invention: Chronicles of America Part 37 | publisher = Kessinger Publishing | date = 2003 | pages = 28-29 | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ejhykSbtDDAC&pg=PA29&dq=Joseph+Sampson+patent+candle&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&sig=_m_Hrd20IAXJLIay27XCMpJnplo#PPA29,M1 | isbn = 0766160130}}</ref>
In 1834, [[Joseph Morgan]] began to industrialise the production of candles. He invented a machine to manufacture 1,500 per hour, from a mould.<ref>{{cite book | last = Phillips | first = Gordon | title = Seven Centuries of Light: The Tallow Chandlers Company | publisher = Book Production Consultants plc | date = 1999 | pages = 74 | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=OWt03_on0qUC&pg=PA74&dq=Joseph+Morgan+candles+1834&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&sig=4YXvX0eEdKqze7B13yQiKehrgjs | isbn = 1857570642}}</ref>
A chemist called Laurent distilled [[Paraffin]] from [[schist]] in 1830. Another chemist, Dumas, obtained paraffin from coal-tar in 1835. Not until 1850 did paraffin become commercially viable, when James Young filed a patent to produce it from coal.<ref>{{cite book | last = Golan | first = Tal | title = Laws of Men and Laws of Nature: The History of Scientific Expert Testimony in England and America | publisher = Harvard University Press | date = 2004 | pages = 89-91 | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=kQhYsAmcj-EC&pg=PA90&dq=james+young+patent+paraffin&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&sig=GVRHQw_E_JpKCMJyDIHh_0mY8uI#PPA90,M1 | isbn = 0674012860}}</ref> Paraffin could be used to make inexpensive candles of high quality.
===Kerosene's impact on candle making===
Despite advances in candle making, the candle industry was devastated soon after by the distillation of [[kerosene]] (an excellent fuel for [[Kerosene lamp|lamps]]). (In Britain, kerosene is known as ''paraffin oil'' or ''paraffin'' despite having little to do with paraffin wax). From this point, candles became more of a decorative item.
In 1829, William Wilson of [[Price's Candles]] invested in 1,000 acres (4 km²) of coconut plantation in [[Sri Lanka]]<ref>{{cite book | last = Ball | first = Michael | coauthors = David Sunderland | title = An Economic History of London, 1800-1914 | publisher = Routledge | date = 2001 | pages = 131-132 | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MI6JfTiEcdAC&pg=PA132&dq=Prices+Candles+Coconut&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&sig=So7CcAanBJha_PZuwQsHDyhgyeo | isbn = 0415246911}}</ref>. His aim was to make candles from coconut oil. Later he tried palm oil from palm trees. An accidental discovery swept all his ambitions aside when his brother George Wilson distilled the first petroleum oil in 1854. In 1919, [[Lever Brothers]] purchased Price's Candles and in 1922, a joint-owned company called "Candles Ltd" was created. By 1991, the last remaining owner of "Candles Ltd" was [[Shell Oil Company]], who sold off the candle-making part of business.
===Candles for timekeeping===
A form of candle-clock was used in coal-mining until the twentieth century.
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Candles]]
[[Category:History by topic|Candle making]]