Candle Dipping 2019...but with a Historical Flavor

A few Octobers ago,  I asked my daughter if maybe she and a few of her friends might be interested in helping me dip candles to be used at an upcoming historic reenactment.  She replied enthusiastically in the positive,  and she and her friends had a fun time,  dipping candles...and then dipping leaves,  dipping hands,  and even dipping a rose.
The best part is that we did it in my backyard over the fire pit.
The following year I decided to do it again,  though this time with my own friends...friends who had never done this ancient craft before.  And there was my daughter,  ever the presenter,  teaching adults how to dip candles!
Oh! What fun!
And so the fall tradition continues on;  this year was the 4th year for my candle-dipping day.  Each time I've had at least one person join me that had never done it before,  and this year was no different.
Also,  last year we did not use all of the beeswax so I had plenty left over,  plus another pound I purchased and another Jackie brought over.

There were also the remnants of previously burned candles - the 
little stubs - and the dried drippings that I saved as well.

Before I began having these candle dipping gatherings,  we used to do this craft at Greenfield Village,  but unfortunately they stopped,  which I believe was a mistake,  for I saw continuous long lines of guests waiting their turn to dip on those special dates.  So,  I decided to do it on my own.  To be honest,  it's a bit more fun because not only do I get a goodly supply of candles  (each helper gets to take one with them),  but I can do it with friends in the comfort of my own yard!

The beeswax is melting.

Let's begin,  then,  with a bit of social history and thoughts on this art of candle dipping:
Most 18th and 19th century homes were as self-sufficient as they could be and those who lived in them did their best to produce as many things needful to life as they could,  and this did include candles.  As part of their domestic work,  women usually were the ones who carried the entire candle making process from start to finish,  though many times the children,  and even the men  (as opportunity arose),  would help out as well.

An interesting side note is how reenactors react during power outages;  our candles and oil lamps are generally more easily accessible than flashlights.  In fact,  many times I've used candle light to search for my flashlight or flashlight batteries.
Needless to say,  going to the bathroom becomes infinitely more interesting,  and can be a chore;  we are so used to high brightness that it's almost eerie without.
To head to the basement to get more paper towel?  Bring a candle with you.  Want to change into your night clothes?  Have that oil lamp setting near your dresser.  Need to get a drink of water from the kitchen?  Make sure to bring your light.
The funny thing is,  during these blackouts I still habitually reach for the light switch whenever I enter a darkened room.
You,  too?

Jenny is dipping her batch while Jackie and my wife await their turn.

But I found it to be amazing how many candles one can go through during an outage;  we do try to conserve,  as did the folks in days of old,  by only using one or two candles in whatever room we are in,  with the second light usually for  "traveling"  around the house.
One definite lesson I learned about candle comparisons:  the 12" long tapered candles I used to buy at the store burn nearly three times as fast as the 6"  to 7"  beeswax candles I dip myself.  One beeswax candle almost half that size can burn for five hours or more,  while the longer modern store-bought one lasts maybe two or three hours at most.

Some of our longer dipped candles
(photo taken by Jenny Weingartz)

This was confirmed by Tom Redd,  a Materials Analyst for the Foundation in Colonial Williamsburg:  “Let us imagine we have four candles,  and each one is about three-quarters of an inch in diameter and they are all about 10 inches long.  They are in a room where the air is still.  A candle well-made of the best tallow  ( (beef fat))  might burn two hours.  A bayberry candle might last eight,  while a beeswax candle may burn for 10 hours.  The finest candle,  imported from New England,  would have been made of spermaceti wax.  Spermaceti is taken from the head of the sperm whale.  The spermaceti candle might last 12 hours or more,  and burn with a brighter light.”

My wife made us a homemade pizza!
(photo taken by Jenny Weingartz)

Artificial light in the 18th century was truly a luxury.  People were used to working by daylight while indoors,  so lighting a candle when the sun was up was rare.  It was customary for folks to move from room to room to get the most out of the day's light.  Generally,  candles were lit only during the nighttime hours,  and sparingly so,  due to the lengthy candle-making process.  According to one of the chandlers I spoke to at Colonial Williamsburg,  a typical middle class home in the 1750's could go through nearly 500 to 700 candles a year.  And that may even be a conservative amount for some.
The season for dipping candles was usually in early-to-mid November.  It must be remembered that candlemaking was not the fun hobby then as it is in our modern times;  it was a backbreaking,  smelly,  greasy task.  The making of the winter's stock of candles was the special autumnal household duty,  and a hard one,  too,  for the large kettles were tiresome and heavy to handle,  and the work was well under way at a very early hour,  with the temperatures being just cold enough for quick hardening.
Wicks were made from cotton,  hemp,  or,  less often,  from milkweed.  If they lived near a general store,  or maybe if a peddler happened by,  thick string could be bought to use as wicks.

In all  (including those not yet removed from the tin mold tubes)  
we made 44 candles.  I believe that's the most we've done yet!

During candle-making time, an early hour found the work well under way for our ancestors.  A good fire was started in the kitchen fireplace under two vast kettles,  which were hung on trammels from the crane,  and half filled with boiling water and melted beeswax or tallow.
At the far end of the kitchen or in an adjoining and cooler room,  sometimes in the lean-to,  two long poles were laid from chair to chair or stool to stool.  Across these poles were laid candle rods,  which were about a foot and a half long,  and to each rod was attached about six to eight carefully straightened candle-wicks.  With the fat/tallow or wax in the pot melted,  the wicking from the rods would be dipped into the pot and then returned to its place across the two poles.  This process would occur repeatedly as each rod was dipped into the tub of tallow or wax,  and with each dip the candles became larger and larger until the desired length and width was had.

Here you have the candle makers of 2019:  (from left)  me,  my 
wife Patty,  Jenny,  and Jackie.  This was Jackie's first time and Jenny's third.
Maybe one year I will make this a period dress event!
How cool would that be?

It's here that we can quote Susan Blunt,  who remembered her 18th century mother during the fall candle dipping season:
"Mother used to dip candles in the fall,  enough to last all winter.  When a beef was killed in the fall,   she would use all the tallow for candles.  On the evening before,  we would help her prepare the wicks.  The boys would cut a lot of rods and she would cut the wicks the length of a candle and then string them on the rods.
"In the morning she would commence her day's work.   She would dip each one in the hot tallow and straighten out the wicks so the candles would be straight when they were finished.  By raising the candles  (out of the kettle)  at just the right speed and working on a day with a moderate temperature,  the fine quality of the candles would be assured.  The candles would be cooled overnight and the bottom ends cut off neatly.  The finished  candles were packed away in a mouse-proof container for safe storage."

And the diary of Martha Ballard tells us:
November 5, 1787
"Clear & pleast. I Came from mr Fosters. we made 25 Dozn of Candles."
Twenty five dozen - that's 300 candles in one day!

Next we have a wonderful example of candle-making from the Laura Ingalls Wilder book,  "Farmer Boy."  Wilder writes of Almanzo's mother making candles,  also from tallow.  One day I hope to make tallow candles - maybe next year - but the basic motions are the same as with using beeswax:

Even though this is a colonial
picture,  the mold is similar
to the Wilder description from
the 1860s.

"The end of butchering time was candle making.  Mother scrubbed the big lard kettles and filled them with bits of beef fat.  Beef fat doesn't make lard;  it melts into tallow.  While it was melting,  Almanzo helped string the candle molds.  A candle mold was two rows of tin tubes,  fastened together and standing straight up on six feet.  There were twelve tubes in a mold.   They were open at the top,  but tapered to a point at the bottom,  and in each point there was a tiny hole.  Mother cut a length of candle-wicking for each tube.  She doubled the wicking across a small stick,  and twisted it into a cord.  She licked her thumb and finger and rolled the end of the cord into a sharp point.  When she had six cords on the stick,  she dropped them into six tubes,  and the sticks lay on top of the tubes.  The points of the cords came through the tiny holes in the points of the tubes,  and Almanzo pulled each one tight,  and held it tight by sticking a raw potato on the tube's sharp point.

When every tube had its wick,  held straight and tight down its middle,  Mother carefully poured the hot tallow.  She filled every tube to the top.  Then Almanzo set the molds outdoors to cool.  When the tallow was hard,  he brought the mold in.  He pulled off the potatoes.  Mother dipped the whole mold into the boiling water,  and lifted the sticks.  Six candles came up on each stick.  Then Almanzo cut them off the stick.  He trimmed the ends of wicking off the flat ends,  and he left just enough wicking to light,  on each pointed end.

All one day Almanzo helped mother make candles.  That night they had made enough candles to last til butchering time next year."

And that is exactly how I removed the beeswax candles from the tin mold tubes I have.

The candles and the molds they came out of.
The molds aren't like the one in the previous picture,  
but they work the same. 

The very next day after my candle dipping gathering,  we also had another surprise:

we got snow!

A lot of snow.

7 1/2 inches,  which I believe is some kind of record for a single snowfall this early in November for us.

Just the day before,  this firepit was a-cookin'!

My cozy 1944 bungalow in the snow.

Our ancestors did live in darker times,  as we in the modern day find out when a power outage strikes;  we are so used to having bright electric lights,  day or night,  that sometimes even sunlight coming through a window isn't bright enough for some - they'll still turn on their electric light.
There are also those who feel - have proven,  to some extent - that the harshness of the modern electric light plays greatly upon our moods and emotions:
~excessive artificial lighting can cause us to feel nervous and on edge
~uncovered globes and lamps without shades can cause us to feel irritated
And common sense can tell us of the relaxation received upon entering a candle lit room.  When friends visit our home on a fall or winter evening,  the candle/oil lamp light we use for lighting brings a smile to their faces...every time.
Even the kids.
And natural lighting through windows has calming effects on our emotions as well.

A scene our colonial ancestors may had been familiar with.

To finish off this day of candle making:  our grandkids came by to make cookies!  They had such fun with their Nonna  (my wife),  and she,  too,  enjoyed herself as well.  

These are our two eldest grandchildren.  We have a younger 
grandson,  but he was off,  busy playing with toys and having a 
ball on his own.
The finished product

What a wonderfully crazy day!

Making candles over an open fire with friends on a perfect crisp fall day is a great tradition,  then Patty baking pizza,  bread,  and pea soup...and cookies with our grandkids!  The house smelled awesome!
A very fine way to spend a fall Sunday indeed!

And as I wrote on my Facebook page the next day evening:
"So---yesterday we dipped candles.  I also used my candle molds.  Today I removed the candles from the tin tubes - 17 out of the 18 molded candles turned out!
In all we made 44 candles,  with only one not turning out  (it will be re-melted next year).
Not bad!

It's been a fine day indeed.
Until next time,  see you in time.


To read about night time in the old days,  including lighting apparatus,  please click HERE

The information for today's post came from the above link - - check it out and scroll all the way down to see my sources.

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