Yesterday I posted about the early part of the 19th century and specifically the oil lamps. In addition to oil lamps there were gas lights and electric lights. Below is an outline of the history of electric lamps throughout the century.
1801 First electric arc lamp was invented in England by Sir Humphrey Davy.
1854 First true lightbulb invented by Henricg Globel of Germany
1857 Fluorescent lamp was introduced in France by A.E. Becquerel
1875 Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans patented a lightbulb.
1879 Thomas Edison improved the incandescent light
1880 Edison's patent was granted.
Practically speaking you won't have electric lamps in the homes of your characters set prior to the 1880's. Another interesting texture to oil and gas lamps is the smell, keep that in mind when writing as well. Remember to use the five senses when describing what your characters are experiencing.
Showing posts with label lighting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lighting. Show all posts
Friday, August 25, 2017
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Lamps
I thought I'd post a simple item on lamps but my, oh, my, there is a lot to say about lamps during the 19th century. So, as time goes by I'll be posting more on lamps. But for now, here's a taste into the world of lamps.
Encyclopedia Britannica ©1824 has this to say. The link brings you to Google books and should bring you to the page. The article starts on page 207.
At the beginning of the 19th century lamps were primarily oil lamps of some sort. Argand lamps were developed during the last quarter of the 18th century. The Argand lamp included a burner and a chimney. The reservoir was on the bottom then the wick was feed into the oil.
We have a variety of oil lamps developed with this simple system during the early part of the 19th century. As the Victorian era came into vogue the lamps became more fashionable. In other words, the more elaborate the lamp the more your wealth and good taste showed to those around you. That did not negate the need for practical lighting.
Below are two images from the 1890 Encyclopedia Britannica. The first is a reading lamp. Generally as writers we might have a tendency to think in only table top lamps. But these reading lamps could stand on the floor or be mounted to a wall. The second image is of an 1838 invention by M. Franchot called the moderator lamp. This helped to pull the oil up to the end of the wick for a brighter flame.
A further invention of the flat wick was developed in the image below. In an 1865 patent Messgrs. Hinks claimed it could have two or more flat flames.
The other key ingredient for these lamps was the oil. We've all read and heard about the whaling industry and how whale oil was the best oil for burning. Animal and Vegetable oil were the first oils used. Mineral oil began being used in the 1830's, specifically because of the invention of the moderator lamps. Another names for these lamps is "Camphine, Vesta and Paragon lamps. They light given off by these lamps were brighter and less smokey. However they produced soot-flakes which made people nervous about them being more dangerous.
Encyclopedia Britannica ©1824 has this to say. The link brings you to Google books and should bring you to the page. The article starts on page 207.
At the beginning of the 19th century lamps were primarily oil lamps of some sort. Argand lamps were developed during the last quarter of the 18th century. The Argand lamp included a burner and a chimney. The reservoir was on the bottom then the wick was feed into the oil.
We have a variety of oil lamps developed with this simple system during the early part of the 19th century. As the Victorian era came into vogue the lamps became more fashionable. In other words, the more elaborate the lamp the more your wealth and good taste showed to those around you. That did not negate the need for practical lighting.
Below are two images from the 1890 Encyclopedia Britannica. The first is a reading lamp. Generally as writers we might have a tendency to think in only table top lamps. But these reading lamps could stand on the floor or be mounted to a wall. The second image is of an 1838 invention by M. Franchot called the moderator lamp. This helped to pull the oil up to the end of the wick for a brighter flame.
Friday, May 12, 2017
Candle Making
Candles and candle making was actually different in various areas of the country. In other words, what were the natural resources in the area to make candles with. I read in the slave narratives hosted at the library of congress, that when they ran out of candles they would burn pine knots. In New England, where I grew up, I loved bayberries and wondered how they got the waxy covering off those tiny berries to make candles with them. Paraffin wax was introduced in 1850 changing the second half of the century and the last quarter with the introduction of the light bulb.
This excerpt gives you the names of several types of candles then goes on to explain in detail all six types. (which I've given you a link for)
CANDLES AND CANDLE - MAKING MATERIALS. Source: A manual of domestic economy: Suited to families by John Henry Walsh ©1874
249. Candles, As burnt in the present day, may be grouped into four classes, namely,
1st, those made from bees-wax, known as wax-candles;
2nd, neutral fat, as spermaceti, tallow, and stearine candles;
3rd, fat acid, known as stearic-acid candles;
4th, composite candles, being a mixture of stearic acid and neutral fat;
5th, the various candles obtained from natural petroleum, and its artificial imitation paraffin;
6th, the new material for candles known as Ozokerit, and only sold by the Messrs. Field, as a patent compound. The substances from which these are made are wax, spermaceti, tallow, palm-oil, cocoa-nut oil, petroleum, and paraffin.
If you would like to read in full detail about the process for each of these candle making types here's a link to the source.
This excerpt gives you the names of several types of candles then goes on to explain in detail all six types. (which I've given you a link for)
CANDLES AND CANDLE - MAKING MATERIALS. Source: A manual of domestic economy: Suited to families by John Henry Walsh ©1874
249. Candles, As burnt in the present day, may be grouped into four classes, namely,
1st, those made from bees-wax, known as wax-candles;
2nd, neutral fat, as spermaceti, tallow, and stearine candles;
3rd, fat acid, known as stearic-acid candles;
4th, composite candles, being a mixture of stearic acid and neutral fat;
5th, the various candles obtained from natural petroleum, and its artificial imitation paraffin;
6th, the new material for candles known as Ozokerit, and only sold by the Messrs. Field, as a patent compound. The substances from which these are made are wax, spermaceti, tallow, palm-oil, cocoa-nut oil, petroleum, and paraffin.
If you would like to read in full detail about the process for each of these candle making types here's a link to the source.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Fireplaces & Life on the Frontier
The next few days I'll be posting excerpts from various sources on the use of the Fireplace in the family home, specifically as it pertained to those on the frontiers.
The first excerpt comes from a frontier home in Michigan. This is taken from Pioneer Collections, Volume 5 ©1904. This particular section comes from the memory of A. D. P. Van Buren
The log house of the pioneer with its plain furnishing and its old-fashioned fireplace was a comfortable and cheerful abode. I am sorry that the old fireplace has gone out of use. It contributed much to the health and happiness of the old settler's home, much more than the modern stove does to our modern homes. The settler, after a hard day's work, seated with his family around his glowing ingle, with an abundance of wood in the corner, enjoyed the luxury of his magnificent fires. There is an art in building a good fire; it was cultivated to a great degree of perfection in the olden time. It appears to be one of the lost arts now, as the dull and cheerless stove has banished it from the household. It belonged to the old fireside, where it was kept in constant practice in laying down aright the backlog and fore-stick, and building thereon, with small wood, in so secure and artful a manner, that with a little kindling the fire could be started and give out the most heat and light to the household. As we are writing, distance still lends enchantment to the memory of those by-gone scenes around the old pioneer's fireside.
For lights in the evening, if the fire was too dull, some fat was put in a saucer, a piece of pork was sometimes fried for that purpose, a rag was twisted for a wick and then coiled about in the grease, one end being left out on the edge of the saucer. This was lighted. Sometimes a button was tied up in a rag, the top part of which was twisted into a wick, and was put into the grease in the saucer and the end lighted. This was our evening taper. But beef and pork were often scarce, and tallow or grease of any kind could not be had. There were no pine trees in this region, hence pine knots could not be found. But in their stead we gathered the bark from the shagbark walnut tree, and when we needed light, pieces of this bark were thrown on the fire. This created a bright blaze that was nearly equal, and full as lasting, as that from the pine knots.
The old iron crane, tricked off with its various sized pot-hooks and links of chain, swung from the jams at the will of the housewife, who hung on it the kettles containing the meal to be cooked for the family, and pushed it back over the fire where the kettles hung till the meal was prepared for the table. Pigs, chickens, and spare-ribs were roasted splendidly by suspending them by a wire before the fire. The baking was mostly done in the old brick oven that was built in one side of the chimney, with a door opening into the room. The old iron covered bake kettle sat in the corner under the cupboard, and was used for the various baking purposes. Many will remember the much used "tin reflector" that was placed before the fire to bake bread and cakes, and how finely it baked the Pink-eye and Meshanic potatoes.
Fireplaces & Life on the Frontier Part 2
Fireplaces & Life on the Frontier Part 3
The first excerpt comes from a frontier home in Michigan. This is taken from Pioneer Collections, Volume 5 ©1904. This particular section comes from the memory of A. D. P. Van Buren
The log house of the pioneer with its plain furnishing and its old-fashioned fireplace was a comfortable and cheerful abode. I am sorry that the old fireplace has gone out of use. It contributed much to the health and happiness of the old settler's home, much more than the modern stove does to our modern homes. The settler, after a hard day's work, seated with his family around his glowing ingle, with an abundance of wood in the corner, enjoyed the luxury of his magnificent fires. There is an art in building a good fire; it was cultivated to a great degree of perfection in the olden time. It appears to be one of the lost arts now, as the dull and cheerless stove has banished it from the household. It belonged to the old fireside, where it was kept in constant practice in laying down aright the backlog and fore-stick, and building thereon, with small wood, in so secure and artful a manner, that with a little kindling the fire could be started and give out the most heat and light to the household. As we are writing, distance still lends enchantment to the memory of those by-gone scenes around the old pioneer's fireside.
For lights in the evening, if the fire was too dull, some fat was put in a saucer, a piece of pork was sometimes fried for that purpose, a rag was twisted for a wick and then coiled about in the grease, one end being left out on the edge of the saucer. This was lighted. Sometimes a button was tied up in a rag, the top part of which was twisted into a wick, and was put into the grease in the saucer and the end lighted. This was our evening taper. But beef and pork were often scarce, and tallow or grease of any kind could not be had. There were no pine trees in this region, hence pine knots could not be found. But in their stead we gathered the bark from the shagbark walnut tree, and when we needed light, pieces of this bark were thrown on the fire. This created a bright blaze that was nearly equal, and full as lasting, as that from the pine knots.
The old iron crane, tricked off with its various sized pot-hooks and links of chain, swung from the jams at the will of the housewife, who hung on it the kettles containing the meal to be cooked for the family, and pushed it back over the fire where the kettles hung till the meal was prepared for the table. Pigs, chickens, and spare-ribs were roasted splendidly by suspending them by a wire before the fire. The baking was mostly done in the old brick oven that was built in one side of the chimney, with a door opening into the room. The old iron covered bake kettle sat in the corner under the cupboard, and was used for the various baking purposes. Many will remember the much used "tin reflector" that was placed before the fire to bake bread and cakes, and how finely it baked the Pink-eye and Meshanic potatoes.
Fireplaces & Life on the Frontier Part 2
Fireplaces & Life on the Frontier Part 3
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Candle Making
One of the fond images of growing up on Martha's Vineyard were the scores of Bayberry bushes. I loved the scent of bayberry candles and often wanted to make candles from these little berries. Well, I never did get around to it and directions can be found on the web on how to do it. But this little article gives one a look back to earlier days and how such events were done and important for the family.
Excerpt from "The Friend" a Religious and Literary Journal ©1896
Candles in Old New England.
In these days of cheap and universal illumination, we almost forget the humble tallow dips of our grandmothers, and the way they were made. Candle making was the great household event of the late autumn or early winter, as soap making was of the spring. Careful and laborious preparations were made for this labor. The small wooden rods that had been laid up above th* great beams of the kitchen or thrust under the garret eaves since the previous year, were brought down stairs to the scene of the candle-dipping, and cotton wicks that had previously been cut and sometimes soaked in saltpeter were placed three or four inches apart the entire length of each rod. Usually eight or ten wicks were fastened to a rod. Sometimes " cattails" or flags were used instead of wooden rods. Then long poles were placed in a cool room, supported on two straight-backed chairs, and across these poles the bewicked rods were hung, like the rounds of a ladder. This work was all done on the day previous to that appointed for the candle dipping, and on the following morning all in the household were astir before dawn. The fire in the kitchen fireplace was piled with logs, the vast brass kettle brought out and hung on the crane, and partly filled with water. When this water was hot, cakes of tallow were broken up and thrown in to melt and float upon the top of the water.
This tallow had been collected for many months from the slaughtered animals by the careful housewife; and beeswax had also been saved from the hives to add to the candle stock to make harder candles; and, where bayberries grew, bayberry wax also. These fragrant little berries had been gathered through the late summer in vast stores, boiled with water till the melted bayberry wax had separated and risen to the top, whence it had been skimmed and allowed to harden into cakes, to save for the candle making. When the wax and tallow were well melted the kettle was taken from the crane and carried to the cooler room, or the cool end of the kitchen, where stood the chairs with the poles, rods, and wicks. Each wick was then dipped carefully into the melted tallow, and the rod placed again on the poles, care being taken that each wick hung straight and well away from the other. Each rod was taken in turn, and by the time the last wick had received its dipping the first wicks were cool and ready to receive a second coating of tallow by a second immersion. This tedious process was repeated again and again till the candles were as Inrge as desired. The candles were left to thoroughly harden over night, and in the morning were taken from the rods and packed away with satisfaction and pride for winter use.—A. M. Earle.
Excerpt from "The Friend" a Religious and Literary Journal ©1896
Candles in Old New England.
In these days of cheap and universal illumination, we almost forget the humble tallow dips of our grandmothers, and the way they were made. Candle making was the great household event of the late autumn or early winter, as soap making was of the spring. Careful and laborious preparations were made for this labor. The small wooden rods that had been laid up above th* great beams of the kitchen or thrust under the garret eaves since the previous year, were brought down stairs to the scene of the candle-dipping, and cotton wicks that had previously been cut and sometimes soaked in saltpeter were placed three or four inches apart the entire length of each rod. Usually eight or ten wicks were fastened to a rod. Sometimes " cattails" or flags were used instead of wooden rods. Then long poles were placed in a cool room, supported on two straight-backed chairs, and across these poles the bewicked rods were hung, like the rounds of a ladder. This work was all done on the day previous to that appointed for the candle dipping, and on the following morning all in the household were astir before dawn. The fire in the kitchen fireplace was piled with logs, the vast brass kettle brought out and hung on the crane, and partly filled with water. When this water was hot, cakes of tallow were broken up and thrown in to melt and float upon the top of the water.
This tallow had been collected for many months from the slaughtered animals by the careful housewife; and beeswax had also been saved from the hives to add to the candle stock to make harder candles; and, where bayberries grew, bayberry wax also. These fragrant little berries had been gathered through the late summer in vast stores, boiled with water till the melted bayberry wax had separated and risen to the top, whence it had been skimmed and allowed to harden into cakes, to save for the candle making. When the wax and tallow were well melted the kettle was taken from the crane and carried to the cooler room, or the cool end of the kitchen, where stood the chairs with the poles, rods, and wicks. Each wick was then dipped carefully into the melted tallow, and the rod placed again on the poles, care being taken that each wick hung straight and well away from the other. Each rod was taken in turn, and by the time the last wick had received its dipping the first wicks were cool and ready to receive a second coating of tallow by a second immersion. This tedious process was repeated again and again till the candles were as Inrge as desired. The candles were left to thoroughly harden over night, and in the morning were taken from the rods and packed away with satisfaction and pride for winter use.—A. M. Earle.
Friday, August 12, 2016
Candles
I'm just scratching the surface here, I know there is more to do with the various lighting needs of the 19th century but here are a few facts.
1820 a French chemist named Michel Eugene Chevreul discovered how to extract stearic acid from animal fatty acids. Which lent to the development of stearin wax. It's a hard wax, durable and burned cleanly.
1834 Jospeh Morgan invented a machine that produced molded candles by using a cylinder with a movable piston to eject candles as they solidified. This meant that candles became an easily affordable commodity for the masses.
1850 parafin was was introduced. It was odorless and burned cleanly. The disadvantage was a low melting point. They soon added stearin wax giving it a higher melting point.
1879 the lightbulb started to come into use and gradually reduced the need for candles.
1820 a French chemist named Michel Eugene Chevreul discovered how to extract stearic acid from animal fatty acids. Which lent to the development of stearin wax. It's a hard wax, durable and burned cleanly.
1834 Jospeh Morgan invented a machine that produced molded candles by using a cylinder with a movable piston to eject candles as they solidified. This meant that candles became an easily affordable commodity for the masses.
1850 parafin was was introduced. It was odorless and burned cleanly. The disadvantage was a low melting point. They soon added stearin wax giving it a higher melting point.
1879 the lightbulb started to come into use and gradually reduced the need for candles.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Pine Knots
One of the interesting tidbits I picked up from reading the Slave Narratives at the Library of Congress was the use of Pine knots. The knots of pine trees were used as a candle substitute when the slaves ran out of candles or lamp oil.
There were other curious tidbits I picked up from the slave narratives that I'll share in the future. This project was done between 1936-1938. I include the information here because it is from interviews with former slaves. The project was published in 1941 and you can find most of them at the Library of Congress online today. It's a great resource for historians and novelist.
A fair amount of the interviews are recorded and you can hear them as well.
There were other curious tidbits I picked up from the slave narratives that I'll share in the future. This project was done between 1936-1938. I include the information here because it is from interviews with former slaves. The project was published in 1941 and you can find most of them at the Library of Congress online today. It's a great resource for historians and novelist.
A fair amount of the interviews are recorded and you can hear them as well.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Burning Fluids
What type of burning fluids are your characters putting in their lamps. This tidbit is something that might not have occurred to you. We tend to think oil for lamps but that was not the only burnable fluid available to our 19th Century ancestors or characters.
BURNING FLUID.—Best In Use— Alcohol, of 98 per cent 9 pts.; good camphene 1 qt., or in these proportions. Shake briskly, and it will at once become clear, when without the shaking it would take from 6 to 7 qts. of alcohol to cut the camphene, while with the least it is the best.
These proportions make the best burning fluid which can be combined. Many put in camphor gum, alum, &c., the first to improve its burning qualities, the last to prevent explosion, but they are perfectly useless for either, from the fact that campnor adds to the smoking properties, and nothing can prevent the gas arising from any fluid that will burn, from explosion, if the fire gets to it when it is confined. The only safety is in filling lamps in day-time, or far from fire or lights; and also to have lamps which are perfect in their construction, so that no gas may leak out along the tube, or at the top of the lamp; then let who will say he can sell you a recipe for non-explosive gas or fluid, you may set him down at once for a humbug, ignoramus, or knave. Yet you may set fire to this fluid, and if not confined it will not explode, but will continue to burn until all is consumed. Families cannot make fluid any cheaper than to buy it, as the profit charged on the alcohol is usually more than tkat charged on fluid; but they will have a better article by this recipe than they can buy, unless it is made from the same, and it is best for any one, even the retailer, only to make small quantities at a time, and get the freshest camphene possible. When made in large quantities, even a barrel, unless sold out very soon, the last part is not as good as the first, owing to the separation of the camphene from the alcohol, unless frequently shaken, whilst being retailed out.
Source: Dr Chase's Recipes ©1866
BURNING FLUID.—Best In Use— Alcohol, of 98 per cent 9 pts.; good camphene 1 qt., or in these proportions. Shake briskly, and it will at once become clear, when without the shaking it would take from 6 to 7 qts. of alcohol to cut the camphene, while with the least it is the best.
These proportions make the best burning fluid which can be combined. Many put in camphor gum, alum, &c., the first to improve its burning qualities, the last to prevent explosion, but they are perfectly useless for either, from the fact that campnor adds to the smoking properties, and nothing can prevent the gas arising from any fluid that will burn, from explosion, if the fire gets to it when it is confined. The only safety is in filling lamps in day-time, or far from fire or lights; and also to have lamps which are perfect in their construction, so that no gas may leak out along the tube, or at the top of the lamp; then let who will say he can sell you a recipe for non-explosive gas or fluid, you may set him down at once for a humbug, ignoramus, or knave. Yet you may set fire to this fluid, and if not confined it will not explode, but will continue to burn until all is consumed. Families cannot make fluid any cheaper than to buy it, as the profit charged on the alcohol is usually more than tkat charged on fluid; but they will have a better article by this recipe than they can buy, unless it is made from the same, and it is best for any one, even the retailer, only to make small quantities at a time, and get the freshest camphene possible. When made in large quantities, even a barrel, unless sold out very soon, the last part is not as good as the first, owing to the separation of the camphene from the alcohol, unless frequently shaken, whilst being retailed out.
Source: Dr Chase's Recipes ©1866
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Kerosene And it's many uses
Below are some excerpts with regard to Kerosene and Kerosene Lamps. I like the first one because the author admits that it isn't a fun task to take care of a kerosene lamp. I have cleaned a few in my day and it is a messy job.
ANOTHER disagreeable feature of household work is the care of kerosene lamps, for even where houses are supplied with gas, reading-lamps are often preferred on account of their steady white light. By exercising great neatness in handling the oil, and Keeping all cloths and trimming implements on a large tray exposed to the air but little odor of oil will be perceptible. After trimming the lamps turn the wicks down below the top of the burners to avoid the slight overflow of oil which makes the tops of the lamps greasy when the wicks protrude.
After the lamps are filled do not stand them in a warm place lest sufficient gas be generated to cause an explosion, over the stove, for instance, or upon the hot mantelshelf, and do not continue to burn a halfempty lamp for the same reason. It seems almost incredible that any one should attempt to fill a lamp while it is lighted, or in the immediate vicinity of a flame, but frequent accidents attest the necessity for this caution. Remember, then, that heat generates from the oil a volatile gas which ignites at any neighboring flame, and ex
filodes with most disastrous consequences, t is not the oil which explodes. A lighted match can be thrown into good oil without causing an explosion. In case of an accident by the ignition of gas from spilled kerosene oil do not attempt to quench the flames with water; it only provides additional fuel for them. Either smother the fire with woolen carpet or heavy woolen cloth, or throw sand or dry flour upon it to absorb the oil and destroy the evolution of gas from it. Some fire grenades and hand fire-engines contain a chemical composition which quenches flame upon contact with it, but there is safety in the flour and woolen cloth.
***
KEROSENE.
Many think that a bright steady light from a kerosene lamp is the best artificial light for the eye.
Rub the teakettle with kerosene, and a beautiful polish may be obtained with a dry flannel cloth afterward.
Kerosene is excellent for cleaning windows. Add a very little to each dish of water used. It will prevent sticking when judiciously used in boiled starch. It will remove rust from steel and iron tools. Kerosene is excellent for chilblains.
Rub stoves and the pipe with it before storing.
***
Lamp chimneys can be washed easily by holding them over the nose of the tea-kettle when the kettle is boiling furiously. This will make them beautifully clear. Of course they must be wiped with a clean cloth.
***
Many of these are the same as the above but there are a few differences and additions.
Kerosene—Its Uses.
Oil-cloth is much brightened if rubbed with kerosene. Iron and polished steel, knives, etc., may be kept from rusting by wiping them over before putting them away with a cloth which has been soaked in a little kerosene. Kerosene brightens silver. Lamp chimneys cleaned with newspaper which has been dipped in kerosene look much clearer than when washed in any other way. In washing clothes a tablespoonful of kerosene greatly helps the rubbing. Rusty flat irons should be rubbed with kerosene. Dirty paint is best cleaned by rubbing with a cloth wetted with kerosene. It is also good for sore throats: pour some on flannel and wrap the throat round with it. It also heals cuts and chilblains.
***
Kerosene will make the tin tea-kettle as new. Saturate a woolen rag, and rub with it. It will also remove stains from clean varnished furniture.
***
To Kerosene Lamps. These aro so much used that a few hints on their management will no doubt be acceptable. There are very few common illuminating substancss that produce a light as brilliant and steady as kerosene oil, but its full brilliancy is rarely attained, through want of attention to certain requisite points in its management. By following the directions here given, the greatest amount of light will be obtained, combined with economy in the con. sumption of the oil. The wick, oil, lamp, and all its appurtenances, must be perfectly clean. The chimney must be not only clean, but clear and bright. The wick must be trimmed exactly square, across the wick-tube, and not over the curved top of the cupola used to spread the flame; after trimming, raise the wick, and cut off the extreme corners or oints. A wick cannot be trimmed well with ull scissors; the sharper the scissors, the better the shape of the fame. These hints, simple as they appear, are greatly disregarded, and the consequence is a flame dull, yellow, and apt to smoke. The burners made with an immovable cupola, and straight, cylindrical chimneys, require especial care in trimming; the wick has to be raised above the £ and has therefore no support when being trimmed. A kerosene lamp, with the wick turned down, so as to make a small flame, should not be placed in a sleeping room at night. A wick made of felt is greatly superior in every way to the common cotton wicks.
***
To Keep Kerosene Lamps from getting greasy. The upper part of a kerosene oil lamp, after standing for a short time, frequently gets oily, from the condensation of the vapor of the oil. This will be greatly, if not entirely prevented, by taking a piece of felt and cutting a hole in it so as to fit exactly around the socket into which the burner is screwed; trim the felt off so as to leave a rim about $ inch wide, and place this felt ring on the socket.
ANOTHER disagreeable feature of household work is the care of kerosene lamps, for even where houses are supplied with gas, reading-lamps are often preferred on account of their steady white light. By exercising great neatness in handling the oil, and Keeping all cloths and trimming implements on a large tray exposed to the air but little odor of oil will be perceptible. After trimming the lamps turn the wicks down below the top of the burners to avoid the slight overflow of oil which makes the tops of the lamps greasy when the wicks protrude.
After the lamps are filled do not stand them in a warm place lest sufficient gas be generated to cause an explosion, over the stove, for instance, or upon the hot mantelshelf, and do not continue to burn a halfempty lamp for the same reason. It seems almost incredible that any one should attempt to fill a lamp while it is lighted, or in the immediate vicinity of a flame, but frequent accidents attest the necessity for this caution. Remember, then, that heat generates from the oil a volatile gas which ignites at any neighboring flame, and ex
filodes with most disastrous consequences, t is not the oil which explodes. A lighted match can be thrown into good oil without causing an explosion. In case of an accident by the ignition of gas from spilled kerosene oil do not attempt to quench the flames with water; it only provides additional fuel for them. Either smother the fire with woolen carpet or heavy woolen cloth, or throw sand or dry flour upon it to absorb the oil and destroy the evolution of gas from it. Some fire grenades and hand fire-engines contain a chemical composition which quenches flame upon contact with it, but there is safety in the flour and woolen cloth.
***
KEROSENE.
Many think that a bright steady light from a kerosene lamp is the best artificial light for the eye.
Rub the teakettle with kerosene, and a beautiful polish may be obtained with a dry flannel cloth afterward.
Kerosene is excellent for cleaning windows. Add a very little to each dish of water used. It will prevent sticking when judiciously used in boiled starch. It will remove rust from steel and iron tools. Kerosene is excellent for chilblains.
Rub stoves and the pipe with it before storing.
***
Lamp chimneys can be washed easily by holding them over the nose of the tea-kettle when the kettle is boiling furiously. This will make them beautifully clear. Of course they must be wiped with a clean cloth.
***
Many of these are the same as the above but there are a few differences and additions.
Kerosene—Its Uses.
Oil-cloth is much brightened if rubbed with kerosene. Iron and polished steel, knives, etc., may be kept from rusting by wiping them over before putting them away with a cloth which has been soaked in a little kerosene. Kerosene brightens silver. Lamp chimneys cleaned with newspaper which has been dipped in kerosene look much clearer than when washed in any other way. In washing clothes a tablespoonful of kerosene greatly helps the rubbing. Rusty flat irons should be rubbed with kerosene. Dirty paint is best cleaned by rubbing with a cloth wetted with kerosene. It is also good for sore throats: pour some on flannel and wrap the throat round with it. It also heals cuts and chilblains.
***
Kerosene will make the tin tea-kettle as new. Saturate a woolen rag, and rub with it. It will also remove stains from clean varnished furniture.
***
To Kerosene Lamps. These aro so much used that a few hints on their management will no doubt be acceptable. There are very few common illuminating substancss that produce a light as brilliant and steady as kerosene oil, but its full brilliancy is rarely attained, through want of attention to certain requisite points in its management. By following the directions here given, the greatest amount of light will be obtained, combined with economy in the con. sumption of the oil. The wick, oil, lamp, and all its appurtenances, must be perfectly clean. The chimney must be not only clean, but clear and bright. The wick must be trimmed exactly square, across the wick-tube, and not over the curved top of the cupola used to spread the flame; after trimming, raise the wick, and cut off the extreme corners or oints. A wick cannot be trimmed well with ull scissors; the sharper the scissors, the better the shape of the fame. These hints, simple as they appear, are greatly disregarded, and the consequence is a flame dull, yellow, and apt to smoke. The burners made with an immovable cupola, and straight, cylindrical chimneys, require especial care in trimming; the wick has to be raised above the £ and has therefore no support when being trimmed. A kerosene lamp, with the wick turned down, so as to make a small flame, should not be placed in a sleeping room at night. A wick made of felt is greatly superior in every way to the common cotton wicks.
***
To Keep Kerosene Lamps from getting greasy. The upper part of a kerosene oil lamp, after standing for a short time, frequently gets oily, from the condensation of the vapor of the oil. This will be greatly, if not entirely prevented, by taking a piece of felt and cutting a hole in it so as to fit exactly around the socket into which the burner is screwed; trim the felt off so as to leave a rim about $ inch wide, and place this felt ring on the socket.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Whale Oil
I grew up on Martha's Vineyard which was a huge whaling port during the 19th Century and Whale oil was what drove them to the open seas. Below are some tidbits about whale oil that some of you may not have known. The primary use of the whale oil was for lamps but it had other uses as well.
Whale-oil prepared by the method just described, is of a pale honey-yellow colour; but sometimes, when the blubber from which it is procured happens to be of the red kind, the oil appears of a reddish-brown colour. When first extracted, it is commonly thick, but after standing some time, a mucilaginous substance subsides, and it becomes tolerably limpid and transparent. Its smell is somewhat offensive, especially when it is long kept. It consists of oil, properly so called, a small portion of spermaceti, and a little gelatin. At the temperature of 40°, the latter substances become partially concrete, and make the oil obscure, and at the temperature of 82°, render it thick with flaky crystals. It is sold by the ton of 252 gallons, wine-measure. A gallon of oil, by measure, weighs 7 lb. 10 oz.
Source: The Whale Fishery ©1820
Using Whale Oil Soap to help protect fruit trees:
The manner in which Capt. Randall uses the whale oil soap, and which we consider the most important part of his communication, is as follows:—eight to ten pounds of whale oil soap are put into a common pail, to which a sufficient quantity of warm water is added, so that when well mixed together, the whole is about the consistence of good'thick paint. With this pail of soap, thinned in this manner, the man having a small tin pail, or bag, or pocket, filled with fine sand, tied round bis waist, with a coarse crash cloth, and a paint brush, is ready for operations. He first wets his cloth with soap, then scatters on some dry sand, and gives the trunk and branches a good rubbing; nfter which, with a hand brush, he puts on a coat of the soap, prepared as above, equal to a thick coat of paint. The time selected for the operation is just at the termination of a storm of rain, when the moss, or any roughness on the bark, will yield more readily to rubbing.
Source: Magazine of Horticulture ©1842
Increasing Consumption of'Whale-oil.—It appears worthy of remark, that notwithstanding the large consumption of coal fur gas, which has in a great degree superseded the use of oil for street-lighting, the aggregate consumption of whale-oil has very materially increased. This fact is of course referable to the fashion now become very general of burning table-lamps in the *ace of candles in our dwellings; but it must excite surprise in the mind of every one when first made acquainted with the fact, that during this time the use of candles in dwellings, and especially of wax-candles, has also increased in a greater proportion than the population. It has been suggested, and with much apparent reason, that this increase may be consequent upon the greater brilliancy of the streets since they have been lighted with gas, since we have thus been made dissatisfied with the quantum of light previously thought sufficient within our houses. Certain it is, that our apartmcnU are much more brilliantly lighted now than they were before the introduction of coal-gas, whether that invention be chargeable with the increase or not.—Porter's Progress of the Nation,
Source: The Penny Magazine ©1843
Whale-oil prepared by the method just described, is of a pale honey-yellow colour; but sometimes, when the blubber from which it is procured happens to be of the red kind, the oil appears of a reddish-brown colour. When first extracted, it is commonly thick, but after standing some time, a mucilaginous substance subsides, and it becomes tolerably limpid and transparent. Its smell is somewhat offensive, especially when it is long kept. It consists of oil, properly so called, a small portion of spermaceti, and a little gelatin. At the temperature of 40°, the latter substances become partially concrete, and make the oil obscure, and at the temperature of 82°, render it thick with flaky crystals. It is sold by the ton of 252 gallons, wine-measure. A gallon of oil, by measure, weighs 7 lb. 10 oz.
Source: The Whale Fishery ©1820
Using Whale Oil Soap to help protect fruit trees:
The manner in which Capt. Randall uses the whale oil soap, and which we consider the most important part of his communication, is as follows:—eight to ten pounds of whale oil soap are put into a common pail, to which a sufficient quantity of warm water is added, so that when well mixed together, the whole is about the consistence of good'thick paint. With this pail of soap, thinned in this manner, the man having a small tin pail, or bag, or pocket, filled with fine sand, tied round bis waist, with a coarse crash cloth, and a paint brush, is ready for operations. He first wets his cloth with soap, then scatters on some dry sand, and gives the trunk and branches a good rubbing; nfter which, with a hand brush, he puts on a coat of the soap, prepared as above, equal to a thick coat of paint. The time selected for the operation is just at the termination of a storm of rain, when the moss, or any roughness on the bark, will yield more readily to rubbing.
Source: Magazine of Horticulture ©1842
Increasing Consumption of'Whale-oil.—It appears worthy of remark, that notwithstanding the large consumption of coal fur gas, which has in a great degree superseded the use of oil for street-lighting, the aggregate consumption of whale-oil has very materially increased. This fact is of course referable to the fashion now become very general of burning table-lamps in the *ace of candles in our dwellings; but it must excite surprise in the mind of every one when first made acquainted with the fact, that during this time the use of candles in dwellings, and especially of wax-candles, has also increased in a greater proportion than the population. It has been suggested, and with much apparent reason, that this increase may be consequent upon the greater brilliancy of the streets since they have been lighted with gas, since we have thus been made dissatisfied with the quantum of light previously thought sufficient within our houses. Certain it is, that our apartmcnU are much more brilliantly lighted now than they were before the introduction of coal-gas, whether that invention be chargeable with the increase or not.—Porter's Progress of the Nation,
Source: The Penny Magazine ©1843
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Lanterns
Below is just one of the images from the "Lanterns and Lamps Catalogue" ©1896. This helpful tool will be a great resource for your writing. Not only does it have images, names of manufacturers, etc. It also has sizes and dimensions. It's a great resource and will give you more information than you possibly will need while writing your historical novels.
Lanterns and Lamps Catalogue from Google books.
This quote is from the Ladies' Companion ©1841 gives a little insight about this handy tool earlier in the 19th Century.
I have often thought of the associations of a lantern. A common utensil:—it has witnessed many a queer and
many a severe joke—many a sad and many a glad tale. It is not of modern origin—whether Noah had one in the
ark or not, is not yet sufficiently ascertained to he affirmed: but, this much I do know, Diogenes had one
which he held in the fnce of every person he met with, while endeavoring to find an honest man on earth; and
the lantern of Demosthenes rests, somewhat opaque to be sure, upon the Acropolis of Athens, at the present
moment. Judas Iscariot, whose price was tho cost of a coat of the present day, betrayed his Saviour by
the light of a lantern. Guy Fawkes endeavored to blow up the parliament of England, King James and all, with
his lantern: and Sir John Moore was huried on the heights of Corrunna,...
"By the struggling moon-beam's misty light,
And the lantern's dimly hurning."
Lanterns and Lamps Catalogue from Google books.
This quote is from the Ladies' Companion ©1841 gives a little insight about this handy tool earlier in the 19th Century.
I have often thought of the associations of a lantern. A common utensil:—it has witnessed many a queer and
many a severe joke—many a sad and many a glad tale. It is not of modern origin—whether Noah had one in the
ark or not, is not yet sufficiently ascertained to he affirmed: but, this much I do know, Diogenes had one
which he held in the fnce of every person he met with, while endeavoring to find an honest man on earth; and
the lantern of Demosthenes rests, somewhat opaque to be sure, upon the Acropolis of Athens, at the present
moment. Judas Iscariot, whose price was tho cost of a coat of the present day, betrayed his Saviour by
the light of a lantern. Guy Fawkes endeavored to blow up the parliament of England, King James and all, with
his lantern: and Sir John Moore was huried on the heights of Corrunna,...
"By the struggling moon-beam's misty light,
And the lantern's dimly hurning."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)