Whale oil lamp

Datelate 19th century

Object number00015656

NameLamp

MediumStainless steel, glass

DimensionsOverall: 250 x 104 mm, 0.85 kg
Display Dimensions: 250 x 103 mm

ClassificationsTableware and furnishings

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

DescriptionA glass whale oil lamp featuring a waffle pattern, original stainless steel collar and burner. Whale oil lamps can be identified by the two short tubes required for burning the oil which needed to keep warm to prevent thickening.HistoryWhaling played an essential part in 19th century life. Industry and households depended on whale products for which there was little substitute. Whale oil was used for lighting and lubrication until 1860 when kerosene and petroleum started to gain popularity. The pure clean oil from sperm whales was a superior source of lighting and the finest candles were made from the whale's wax-like spermaceti. Sperm oil was the first cargo export of New South Wales, and it was not until 1833 that whale oil was surpassed in export value by the land based wool industry. Whale oil was also used in soaps, medicines and the manufacture of paints. Light and flexible, baleen - the bristle-fringed plates found in the jaws of baleen whales - had many uses in objects which today would be made out of plastic, including brushes, handles, and corsets. Before 1860, whaling was an extraordinarily dangerous occupation. Whales were hunted from small open boats by men often only armed with hand-held harpoons and killing lances. The hand-thrown harpoon (or iron) was used merely to attach the rope to the whale resulting in an angry, wounded whale. This would more often than not end with the whaleboat and its crew being towed by the whale in an effort to rid itself of the pain inflicted by the harpoon. This was referred to by American whalers at the "Nantucket Sleighride". For more than 200 years, whaling was a vital industry around the world. It was the source of many important products which could not be found or produced elsewhere at the time. It also provided tens of thousands of men and their families with a livelihood. SignificanceWhale oil was the fuel of choice of the wealthy due to its brightness and minimal odour. As a result whale oil lamps were usually very luxurious and very expensive. They were often decorative and made of pewter, silver, bronze mechanics with finely cut or coloured glass which also made them very fragile.