Lamp, whale oil with clock
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https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/c0d45fb0-0d92-0135-23f6-0050569601ca-8
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Descriptive Information
| Title | Lamp, whale oil with clock |
| Description | This whale oil lamp is made of pewter. It stands on a tall, slender cylindrical stem. The reservoir is an inverted pear shaped bulb surrounded by a strap of thinly hammered pewter numbered 1 to 12 in Roman numerals. The reservoir leads to a spout shaped wick opening. |
| Interpretation | Whale oil was highly prized from 1750 to 1850 as the best lamp oil fuel. It burned at a very steady rate, very brightly and with little smoke. Oil from the skull cavity of the spermaceti whale was the finest quality and was a major reason the whaling industry was so profitable. Because whale oil burned so evenly, it could be depended on to keep time. The Roman numerals on the pewter strip served as a clock. For each hour the whale oil burnt, the oil lowered to the next marked level and another hour had passed. |
| Lesson Plans / Themes | |
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| Temporal Coverage | 1800/1850 |
| Collection Publisher | Early American Museum |
| Rights | Copyright Not Evaluated |
| Resource Identifier | 1968.001.1113 |
| Date Created | 2-24-2003 |
| Collection Title | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community) |
| Collection | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community) |
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Lamp, whale oil with clock |