History of Candles
For centuries man’s progress has been
lighted by candles. However, people know only very few things about the
origin of candles. It has been written that the first candles were made by
the Ancient Egyptians. They used rush lights, or torches, made by soaking
the pithy core of reeds in molten tallow. Unlike the candles, the rush
lights had no wick. The Romans were the ones who it is said to have
developed the wick candle. They used it to help travelers at dark, and to
light homes and places of worship during the night.
The Chemical History of a Candle
America's first contribution to candle-making was
made by colonial women who discovered that if they boiled the grayish
green berries of bayberry bushes they got a sweet-smelling wax that burned
clean. But it was extremely tedious to extract the wax from the bayberries
so their popularity soon diminished. The first important change in candle
making since the Middle Ages was bought by the growth of the whaling
industry in the late 18th century. Spermaceti, a wax obtained by
crystallizing sperm whale oil, was available in large quantities. The
spermaceti wax, as well as beeswax, did not smell unpleasantly when
burned. Even more importantly, spermaceti wax was harder than tallow and
beeswax and it did not soften or bend because of the summer heat.
Historians write that the first candles as we know them were made from
spermaceti wax.
Country Living Handmade Candles
During the 19th century, people made most
of the changes in candle making. In 1834, Joseph Morgan, invented a
machine, which allowed continuous production of candles by the use of a
cylinder, which had a movable piston that ejected candles as they
solidified. Today, they are no longer a major source of light for people,
but candles continue to be very popular and useful. Candles mean
celebration, romance, ceremony, and can be an object of décor, while
casting the same warm and enjoyable well-known glow.
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Article By Dominic Ferrara -
http://www.candlesources.com.
