History of Candles
One Minute History of Two Thousand Years of Candles
Candles have cast a glowing light on man's progress since the beginnings of recorded history. The first known candles were developed by the Ancient Egyptians who used rush lights made by soaking the pithy core of reeds in molten tallow. Romans then developed the modern wick candle.
A major candle improvement came with beeswax candles that became the candle of choice in homes and cathedrals in medieval villages. Beeswax was paid as tribute to kings and bishops. Today it takes a King's Ransom to buy this expensive wax.
New world candles were made when resourceful colonial women discovered that boiling the green berries of bayberry bushes produced a sweet-smelling wax that burned with a pleasant aroma.
During the late eighteenth century came the first major change in candle making since the Middle Ages with spermaceti, a wax obtained by crystallizing whale fat.
Later in the 18th century most major developments affecting contemporary candle making methods occurred. In 1834, inventor Joseph Morgan introduced a machine which allowed continuous production of molded candles by the use of movable cylinders.
Energy needs of the industrial revolution gave birth to global petroleum cartels. Paraffin wax is the residue from the refining of gasoline and motor oil. Paraffin provided a plentiful supply of candle wax for the last century. There is one big problem: paraffin wax gives off petro-carbon soot into the air you breathe.
Soy is the "solution to the pollution". Clean burning soybean wax was`first created by inventor Michael Richards in 1993 in Iowa where most of the soybeans in the United States are grown. Soy wax is a novel product solution where everyone wins: consumers now have a clean burning candle from sustainable sources, and farmers have a rapidly growing new market for their crop. Soy wax is the first wax innovation in the candle industry in over a 100 years. Soy wax candles are now becoming the candle industry standard for the twentieth first century. Soy is cost competitive with petroleum wax. Soy is the future. Now is the time to grow with the soy candle revolution.
Compliments of Soyawax.
