Candles were a necessity in colonial America, made from beef fat and later beeswax or bayberry plant. Spermaceti, a crystallized oil from sperm whales, became the preferred material in the late 1700s. Today’s candles are made from beeswax or paraffin and come in various fragrances. “Colonial candles” now refer to candle accessories.
In colonial America, candles were more than just a decoration – they were a necessity. Made primarily from beef fat melted in boiling water, then re-hardened around a candle rod and protruding wick, colonial candles were the only source of light once the sun went down. This was especially critical in winter, with its reduced daylight, and so autumn became the traditional time to stockpile candles throughout that cold, dark time of year.
Making colonial candles was an arduous and time-consuming task, however, especially when the maker had to lean over an iron kettle filled with boiling water for hours as he dipped the candle sticks into the mixture. The arrival of iron or pewter molds was a marked improvement, allowing the molten wax to harden on its own and eliminating one step in the process. The problem with tallow candles was the smell they gave off, along with the smoke that would stain the walls over time.
Beeswax candles, developed in Europe, provided light without the unpleasant side effects of tallow, but they came with their own side effect: price, which kept them out of the homes of all but the wealthiest in the colonies, and limited their use largely at religious ceremonies. The gray-green berries of the bayberry plant smelled sweet, were smokeless, and relatively inexpensive. The problem in their case was the difficulty of converting the berries into wax.
It wasn’t until the late 1700s that a practical new candle material was developed from an unlikely source, the crystallized oil of sperm whales. Called spermaceti, it was odorless, burned brighter than tallow candles, and was less likely to melt in the summer heat. Soon, that became the candle of choice. These colonial candles burned so evenly that they were occasionally used to tell the time, the narrowing of the candle relative to the markings on the candle shaft.
Today’s candles are made from beeswax or paraffin, although soy candles are becoming more trendy. Unlike colonial candles, they also come in an almost infinite variety of fragrances. Antique stores that advertise “colonial candles” generally refer to candlelight accessories: candle holders, candle molds, and some of the fixtures used to display candles.
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