Candle making was not just an art but a necessity during the colonial times. Since each and every household had a number of chores many 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 animal fat, while burning, used to produce residues and an unpleasant smell. They didn’t last long and the light produced was small.
Nevertheless the material was available in large quantities and was not expensive. Hence women used to collect them during the cooler months and make tallow to last for the winter.
An alternative to tallow candles was beeswax candles. While quality of the candles was very good and the candles smelt good, burnt clean, and lasted longer, the wax was also very expensive. Hence beeswax candles were found only in richer homes. The colonial people found a cheaper substitute for beeswax when they learned candle making 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 candle making involved using wooden moulds into which molten wax was poured. Thus the process of standardization started. Before that, the tapers were dip candles and each candle differed from its kin. With wooden moulds, the candles started becoming uniform. The hardness of the wax also contributed to this uniformity.
Households which were not able to afford spermaceti wax in large quantities bought it in small amounts and added it to tallow to make harder candles. The wax being hard and the poured candles taking less time than dip candles, candle making became a task which could be done easily any time of the year. Even now, when candle making has become an art and a luxury rather than a necessity, one cannot forget the colonial candle makers who contributed so much to the craft.