University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois I-Mark

The items in the Digital Collections of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library contain materials which represent or depict sensitive topics or were written from perspectives using outdated or biased language. The Library condemns discrimination and hatred on any grounds. As a research library that supports the mission and values of this land grant institution, it is incumbent upon the University Library to preserve, describe, and provide access to materials to accurately document our past, support learning about it, and effect change in the present. In accordance with the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read statement, we do not censor our materials or prevent patrons from accessing them.

If you have questions regarding this statement or any content in the Library’s digital collections, please contact digitalcollections@lists.illinois.edu

American Library Association’s Freedom to Read Statement

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility at the University Library
  Atom  JSON
Showing 1–0 of 0 items

Sorry, we couldn't find anything matching "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. This whale oil lamp is very similar to later lard oil lamps. The difference is in the wick. This wick is rounded, and lard oil lamps had flat heavy rope like wicks. Lard oil was cheaper and easier to get (lard being pig or cow fat) and lard oil lamps were more cheaply made. By the 1840s whale oil declined as a lamp fuel, in part because of its expense. The Civil War made whaling very difficult and that, in combination with the discovery of kerosene, spelled the end of whale oil as a lamp fuel.".