History of candle making
Encyclopedia
Candle
making was developed independently in many countries throughout history. The earliest known candles were made from whale fat by the Chinese, during the Qin Dynasty
(221–206 BC). In early China
and Japan
, tapers were made with wax from insects and seeds, wrapped in paper. In India
, wax from boiling cinnamon
was used for temple candles. During the 1st century AD, indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest
fused oil from the eulachon
, or "candlefish", for illumination.
In parts of Europe, the Middle-East and Africa, where lamp oil made from olives was readily available, candle making remained unknown until the early middle-ages.
(259–210 BC) was the first emperor
of the Chinese
Qin Dynasty
(221–206 BC). His mausoleum, which was rediscovered in the 1990s, twenty-two miles east of Xi'an
, contained candles made from whale fat. The word zhú 燭 in Chinese originally meant torch and could have the Warring States Period
(403–221 BC); some excavated bronzewares from that era feature a pricket thought to hold a candle. The Han Dynasty
(202 BC – 220 AD) Jizhupian dictionary of about 40 BC hints at candles being made of beeswax, while the Book of Jin
(compiled in 648) covering the Jin Dynasty
(265–420) makes a solid reference to the beeswax candle in regards to its use by the statesman Zhou Yi (d. 322). An excavated earthenware bowl from the 4th century AD, located at the Luoyang Museum
, has a hollowed socket where traces of wax were found.
Wax from boiling cinnamon
was used for temple candles in India
.
Generally these Chinese candles were molded in paper tubes, using rolled rice paper for the wick, and wax from an indigenous insect that was combined with seeds.
Japanese candles were made from wax extracted from tree nuts.
or "candlefish", a type of smelt which is found from Oregon to Alaska. During the 1st century AD, indigenous people
from this region used oil from this fish for illumination. A simple candle could be made by putting the dried fish on a forked stick and then lighting it.
The first candles to appear in Europe were made by nomadic tribes in the late Roman era, but are thought to have been in use much earlier in the colder climates of Northern Europe, where olive oil was scarce. These early candles were made from tallow, or animal fat. The tallow was put into the melting pot, then poured into molds made of bronze. A trough underneath would catch the excess wax and return it to the melting pot. For the wick, a cord, usually made from the pith
of rushes
, was suspended from a horizontal rod over the mold when the tallow was poured in.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, when olive oil became increasingly scarce, and therefore expensive, the use of tallow candles spread across Western Europe. Later wax candles made from various plant extracts replaced tallow as the preferred source of illumination.
In Africa and the Middle East, candle-making remained relatively unknown due to the availability of olive oil for burning in lamps.
Yak
butter was used for candles in Tibet
The first use of calibrated candles for time keeping in England was 870.
The candle clock was also used as a timer. A heavy nail inserted onto the candle at the indicated mark would fall down onto a hard surface after the wax surrounding the nail melted.
s) went from house to house making candles from fats saved from the kitchen or sold their own candles from within their shops.
During the Middle Ages
in Europe, the popularity of candles is shown by their use in Candlemas and on Saint Lucy
festivities. Tallow
, fat from cows or sheep, became the standard material used in candles in Europe. The Tallow Chandlers Company of London
was formed in about 1300 in London, and in 1456 was granted a coat of arms
. Dating from about 1330, the Wax Chandlers Company acquired its charter in 1484. By 1415, tallow candles were used in street lighting. The trade of the chandler is also recorded by the more picturesque name of "smeremongere", since they oversaw the manufacture of sauces, vinegar, soap and cheese. The unpleasant smell of tallow candles is due to the glycerine they contain. For churches and royal events, candles from beeswax were used, as the smell was usually less unpleasant. The smell of the manufacturing process was so unpleasant that it was banned by ordinance in several cities. The first candle mould comes from 15th century Paris.
The first American colonists discovered that bayberries could be used to make candles, but the yield was very poor. Fifteen pounds of boiled bayberries would provide only one pound of wax.
By the 18th century, the Chinese designed weights into the sides of candles; as such a candle melted, the weights fell off and made a noise as they landed in a bowl.
The growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century brought about Spermaceti
, oil that comes from sperm whale
. This was the first major change in candle making since the Middle Ages. Spermaceti was a wax obtained by crystallizing the oil of a sperm whale. It became available in mass quantities. Like beeswax, the spermaceti wax did not elicit a repugnant odor when burned, and produced a significantly brighter light. It also was harder than either tallow or beeswax, so it wouldn't soften or bend in the summer heat. Historians note that the first "standard candles" were made from spermaceti wax. By 1800, a much cheaper alternative was discovered. Colza oil
, derived from Brassica campestris, and a similar oil derived from rapeseed
, yielded candles that produce clear, smokeless flames. The French chemists Michel Eugène Chevreul
(1786–1889) and Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac (1778–1850) patented stearin
, in 1811. Like tallow, this was derived from animals, but had no glycerine content.
was granted a United States patent for a new method of candle making in 1790 (this was the second patent ever granted by the US).
In 1834, Joseph Morgan began to industrialise the production of candles. He created a machine that allowed for continuous production of molded candles by using a cylinder with a moveable piston to eject candles as they solidified. This more efficient mechanized production produced about 1,500 candles per hour which allowed candles to become an easily affordable commodity for the masses.
A chemist called Laurent distilled paraffin
from schist
in 1830. Another chemist, Dumas, obtained paraffin from coal-tar in 1835. Not until 1850 did paraffin become commercially viable, when James Young filed a patent to produce it from coal. Paraffin could be used to make inexpensive candles of high quality.
Paraffin was also processed by distilling residue left after crude petroleum was refined. It was a bluish-white wax, which was able to burn cleanly, and leave no unpleasant odor, something the predecessor could not achieve like the tallow candles. Although paraffin had a low melting point the discovery of stearic acid solved this problem. Stearic acid was hard and very durable which helped elevate the melting point of paraffin. It was being produced in mass quantity at the end of the 19th century. By this period, most candles being manufactured consisted of paraffin and stearic acid.
(a fuel used in lamps
) and the 1879 invention of the Light bulb. From this point, candles became more of a decorative item.
In 1829, William Wilson of Price's Candles
invested in 1,000 acres (4 km²) of coconut plantation in Sri Lanka
. His aim was to make candles from coconut oil. Later he tried palm oil from palm trees. An accidental discovery swept all his ambitions aside when his brother George Wilson distilled the first petroleum oil in 1854. In 1919, Lever Brothers
purchased Price's Candles and in 1922, a joint-owned company called "Candles Ltd" was created. By 1991, the last remaining owner of "Candles Ltd" was Shell Oil Company
, who sold off the candle-making part of business.
During the 1990s, new types of candle waxes were being developed due to an unusually high demand for candles. In the U.S., agricultural chemists began to develop soybean wax which was a softer and slower burning wax than paraffin. On the other side of the globe, efforts were underway to develop palm wax for use in candles.
Candle
A candle is a solid block or cylinder of wax with an embedded wick, which is lit to provide light, and sometimes heat.Today, most candles are made from paraffin. Candles can also be made from beeswax, soy, other plant waxes, and tallow...
making was developed independently in many countries throughout history. The earliest known candles were made from whale fat by the Chinese, during the Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
(221–206 BC). In early China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, tapers were made with wax from insects and seeds, wrapped in paper. In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, wax from boiling cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
was used for temple candles. During the 1st century AD, indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
fused oil from the eulachon
Eulachon
The eulachon, also oolichan, hooligan, ooligan, or candlefish, is a small anadromous ocean fish, Thaleichthys pacificus, a smelt found along the Pacific coast of North America from northern California to Alaska....
, or "candlefish", for illumination.
300 - 1 BC
Qin Shi HuangQin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...
(259–210 BC) was the first emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
of the Chinese
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
(221–206 BC). His mausoleum, which was rediscovered in the 1990s, twenty-two miles east of Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
, contained candles made from whale fat. The word zhú 燭 in Chinese originally meant torch and could have the Warring States Period
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
(403–221 BC); some excavated bronzewares from that era feature a pricket thought to hold a candle. The Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(202 BC – 220 AD) Jizhupian dictionary of about 40 BC hints at candles being made of beeswax, while the Book of Jin
Book of Jin
The Book of Jin is one of the official Chinese historical works. It covers the history of Jin Dynasty from 265 to 420, which written by a number of officials commissioned by the court of Tang Dynasty, with the lead editor being the Prime Minister Fang Xuanling, drawing mostly from the official...
(compiled in 648) covering the Jin Dynasty
Jìn Dynasty (265-420)
The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...
(265–420) makes a solid reference to the beeswax candle in regards to its use by the statesman Zhou Yi (d. 322). An excavated earthenware bowl from the 4th century AD, located at the Luoyang Museum
Luoyang Museum
Luoyang Museum is a local historical museum in Luoyang, Henan Province of China. Situated in the Yellow River valley, the museum is west of Zhengzhou...
, has a hollowed socket where traces of wax were found.
Wax from boiling cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
was used for temple candles in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Generally these Chinese candles were molded in paper tubes, using rolled rice paper for the wick, and wax from an indigenous insect that was combined with seeds.
Japanese candles were made from wax extracted from tree nuts.
1 AD - 1500 AD
There is a fish called the eulachonEulachon
The eulachon, also oolichan, hooligan, ooligan, or candlefish, is a small anadromous ocean fish, Thaleichthys pacificus, a smelt found along the Pacific coast of North America from northern California to Alaska....
or "candlefish", a type of smelt which is found from Oregon to Alaska. During the 1st century AD, indigenous people
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
from this region used oil from this fish for illumination. A simple candle could be made by putting the dried fish on a forked stick and then lighting it.
The first candles to appear in Europe were made by nomadic tribes in the late Roman era, but are thought to have been in use much earlier in the colder climates of Northern Europe, where olive oil was scarce. These early candles were made from tallow, or animal fat. The tallow was put into the melting pot, then poured into molds made of bronze. A trough underneath would catch the excess wax and return it to the melting pot. For the wick, a cord, usually made from the pith
Pith
Pith, or medulla, is a tissue in the stems of vascular plants. Pith is composed of soft, spongy parenchyma cells, which store and transport nutrients throughout the plant. In eudicots, pith is located in the center of the stem. In monocots, it extends also into flowering stems and roots...
of rushes
Juncus
Juncus is a genus in the plant family Juncaceae. It consists of some 200 to 300 or more species of grassy plants commonly called rushes...
, was suspended from a horizontal rod over the mold when the tallow was poured in.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, when olive oil became increasingly scarce, and therefore expensive, the use of tallow candles spread across Western Europe. Later wax candles made from various plant extracts replaced tallow as the preferred source of illumination.
In Africa and the Middle East, candle-making remained relatively unknown due to the availability of olive oil for burning in lamps.
Yak
Yak
The yak, Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population...
butter was used for candles in Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
Making candles for timekeeping
Although candles could not be used to find a specific time they were instrumental in able to indicate passage of predetermined periods of time. For example the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great (c. 849 - 899) used graduated candles, later known as candle-clocks. He used this candle to divide up his day into equal periods of study and prayer, royal duties, and rest. There were lines around the side to show the passing of each hour. Later, 24-hour candles were invented based on the same concept. During the Sung dynasty in China (960–1279) calibrated candles and sticks of incense measured time. The concept of this clock utilized six different threads with weights on the end. These were draped over an incense stick at regular intervals and as the incense burned, the threads simultaneously burned one by one and the weights dropped onto a sounding plate below. Sometimes the sticks of incense had varying scents so that hours were marked by a change in fragrance.The first use of calibrated candles for time keeping in England was 870.
The candle clock was also used as a timer. A heavy nail inserted onto the candle at the indicated mark would fall down onto a hard surface after the wax surrounding the nail melted.
Profession of Candle Making
Candles were also commonplace in many households scattered throughout Europe. In England and France candle making had become a guild graft by the 13th century. These candle makers (chandlerChandlery
A chandlery was originally the office in a medieval household responsible for wax and candles, as well as the room in which the candles were kept. It was headed by a chandler. The office was subordinated to the kitchen, and only existed as a separate office in larger households...
s) went from house to house making candles from fats saved from the kitchen or sold their own candles from within their shops.
During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
in Europe, the popularity of candles is shown by their use in Candlemas and on Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy , also known as Saint Lucia, was a wealthy young Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. Her feast day in the West is 13 December; with a name derived from lux, lucis "light", she is the patron saint of those who are...
festivities. Tallow
Tallow
Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.In industry,...
, fat from cows or sheep, became the standard material used in candles in Europe. The Tallow Chandlers Company of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
was formed in about 1300 in London, and in 1456 was granted a coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
. Dating from about 1330, the Wax Chandlers Company acquired its charter in 1484. By 1415, tallow candles were used in street lighting. The trade of the chandler is also recorded by the more picturesque name of "smeremongere", since they oversaw the manufacture of sauces, vinegar, soap and cheese. The unpleasant smell of tallow candles is due to the glycerine they contain. For churches and royal events, candles from beeswax were used, as the smell was usually less unpleasant. The smell of the manufacturing process was so unpleasant that it was banned by ordinance in several cities. The first candle mould comes from 15th century Paris.
The first American colonists discovered that bayberries could be used to make candles, but the yield was very poor. Fifteen pounds of boiled bayberries would provide only one pound of wax.
By the 18th century, the Chinese designed weights into the sides of candles; as such a candle melted, the weights fell off and made a noise as they landed in a bowl.
The growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century brought about Spermaceti
Spermaceti
Spermaceti is a wax present in the head cavities of the sperm whale . Originally mistaken for the whales' sperm , spermaceti is created in the spermaceti organ inside the whale's head and connected to its nasal passage...
, oil that comes from sperm whale
Sperm Whale
The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale having the largest brain of any animal. The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head. The sperm whale is the only living member of genus Physeter...
. This was the first major change in candle making since the Middle Ages. Spermaceti was a wax obtained by crystallizing the oil of a sperm whale. It became available in mass quantities. Like beeswax, the spermaceti wax did not elicit a repugnant odor when burned, and produced a significantly brighter light. It also was harder than either tallow or beeswax, so it wouldn't soften or bend in the summer heat. Historians note that the first "standard candles" were made from spermaceti wax. By 1800, a much cheaper alternative was discovered. Colza oil
Colza oil
Colza oil is a nondrying oil obtained from the seeds of Brassica rapa, var. oleifera, a variety of the plant that produces turnips. Colza is extensively cultivated in France, Belgium, the United States, the Netherlands and Germany and Poland. In France, especially, the extraction of the oil is an...
, derived from Brassica campestris, and a similar oil derived from rapeseed
Rapeseed
Rapeseed , also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rappi, rapaseed is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae...
, yielded candles that produce clear, smokeless flames. The French chemists Michel Eugène Chevreul
Michel Eugène Chevreul
Michel Eugène Chevreul was a French chemist whose work with fatty acids led to early applications in the fields of art and science. He is credited with the discovery of margaric acid and designing an early form of soap made from animal fats and salt...
(1786–1889) and Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac (1778–1850) patented stearin
Stearin
Stearin , or tristearin, or glyceryl tristearate is a triglyceride, a glyceryl ester of stearic acid, derived from animal fats created as a byproduct of processing beef. It can also be found in tropical plants such as palm. It is used as tallow in the manufacture of candles and soap. In the...
, in 1811. Like tallow, this was derived from animals, but had no glycerine content.
Manufacturing of candles
Joseph SampsonJoseph Sampson
Joseph Sampson was a 19th-century American businessman and merchant. He was among the founding shareholders of Chemical Bank in 1823.-Biography:...
was granted a United States patent for a new method of candle making in 1790 (this was the second patent ever granted by the US).
In 1834, Joseph Morgan began to industrialise the production of candles. He created a machine that allowed for continuous production of molded candles by using a cylinder with a moveable piston to eject candles as they solidified. This more efficient mechanized production produced about 1,500 candles per hour which allowed candles to become an easily affordable commodity for the masses.
A chemist called Laurent distilled paraffin
Paraffin
In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
from schist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
in 1830. Another chemist, Dumas, obtained paraffin from coal-tar in 1835. Not until 1850 did paraffin become commercially viable, when James Young filed a patent to produce it from coal. Paraffin could be used to make inexpensive candles of high quality.
Paraffin was also processed by distilling residue left after crude petroleum was refined. It was a bluish-white wax, which was able to burn cleanly, and leave no unpleasant odor, something the predecessor could not achieve like the tallow candles. Although paraffin had a low melting point the discovery of stearic acid solved this problem. Stearic acid was hard and very durable which helped elevate the melting point of paraffin. It was being produced in mass quantity at the end of the 19th century. By this period, most candles being manufactured consisted of paraffin and stearic acid.
Decline of Candles
Despite advances in candle making, the candle industry was devastated soon after by the distillation of keroseneKerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
(a fuel used in lamps
Kerosene lamp
The kerosene lamp is a type of lighting device that uses kerosene as a fuel. This article refers to kerosene lamps that have a wick and a tall glass chimney. Kerosene lanterns that have a wick and a glass globe are related to kerosene lamps and are included here as well...
) and the 1879 invention of the Light bulb. From this point, candles became more of a decorative item.
In 1829, William Wilson of Price's Candles
Price's Candles
Price's Candles, founded in 1830, is a United Kingdom manufacturer and retailer of candles. Its full name is Price's Patent Candles Ltd. The firm is headquartered in Bedford and holds the Royal Warrant for the supply of candles....
invested in 1,000 acres (4 km²) of coconut plantation in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. His aim was to make candles from coconut oil. Later he tried palm oil from palm trees. An accidental discovery swept all his ambitions aside when his brother George Wilson distilled the first petroleum oil in 1854. In 1919, Lever Brothers
Lever Brothers
Lever Brothers was a British manufacturer founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever and his brother, James Darcy Lever . The brothers had invested in and promoted a new soap making process invented by chemist William Hough Watson, it was a huge success...
purchased Price's Candles and in 1922, a joint-owned company called "Candles Ltd" was created. By 1991, the last remaining owner of "Candles Ltd" was Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company is the United States-based subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil company of Anglo Dutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 22,000 Shell employees are based in the U.S. The head office in the U.S. is in Houston, Texas...
, who sold off the candle-making part of business.
Candles for timekeeping
A form of candle-clock was used in coal-mining until the 20th century.20th Century
As candles started to wane as the major light source due to the introduction of the light bulb, they became a more decorative item. Candles were suddenly available in a broad array of sizes, shapes and colors, and consumer interest in scented candles began to escalate.During the 1990s, new types of candle waxes were being developed due to an unusually high demand for candles. In the U.S., agricultural chemists began to develop soybean wax which was a softer and slower burning wax than paraffin. On the other side of the globe, efforts were underway to develop palm wax for use in candles.