The Tallow-Chandler, woodcut from "Little Jack of All Trades," published by Thomas Waite and Company and Charles Williams, Boston, Massachusetts, 1813. Courtesy of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association Library, Deerfield, Massachusetts.
The Tallow-Chandler, woodcut from "Little Jack of All Trades," published by Thomas Waite and Company and Charles Williams, Boston, Massachusetts, 1813. Courtesy of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association Library, Deerfield, Massachusetts.
Women had long boiled animal fat to make tallow for candles. When families became more prosperous, they sometimes purchased products they once made at home. The mechanic in this block print is hand dipping candles into a vat of tallow. Because he sells candles in his shop, he uses a "rake" to make many at one time.
By 1800, whale oil lamps became the preferred means of interior lighting. Later development in burning fluids, such as kerosene, made chandlers (candle makers) an obsolete profession.