A brass astral lamp with a marble base and frosted, cut-glass baluster shade; patented July 14, 1849, New York City. (Photo courtesy Lee W. Rahe and Rickey Yanaura) It is difficult for us to comprehend today how dark most homes were after sunset prior to the advent of electric power in the 1880s. As late as the middle of the nineteenth century, candles, because they were costly, were used sparingly even in the homes of Alabama's wealthiest planters. Lamps, too, were expensive, as was the fuel they consumed. Plus they were troublesome and time-consuming to clean.
We know from the probate inventories of Black Belt planters who died between 1845 and 1860 that most families in this region of the state had only one or two lamps per residence. Most would have been fueled by commercially made lard oil, which was produced by boiling pig fat. Not surprisingly, lard oil had a decidedly unpleasant odor and, like all oil lamps, it deposited a heavy layer of soot as it burned , necessitating the daily cleaning of lamp chimneys and shade. The best and cleanest-burning fuel available was whale oil, but it was expensive and rarely used, as was kerosene, which was not introduced in the South until the mid-1850s.
We know from the probate inventories of Black Belt planters who died between 1845 and 1860 that most families in this region of the state had only one or two lamps per residence. Most would have been fueled by commercially made lard oil, which was produced by boiling pig fat. Not surprisingly, lard oil had a decidedly unpleasant odor and, like all oil lamps, it deposited a heavy layer of soot as it burned , necessitating the daily cleaning of lamp chimneys and shade. The best and cleanest-burning fuel available was whale oil, but it was expensive and rarely used, as was kerosene, which was not introduced in the South until the mid-1850s.
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