by Edouard A. Stackpole

24

Nantucket Whale Oil and Street Lighting

by

Edouard A. Stackpole

MELVILLE, IN HIS "Moby D i c k " made a remarkable statement in his passage on "The Advocate". He wrote:

"But, though the world scouts us as whale hunters, yet does it unwittingly pay us the profoundest homage; yea, an all-abounding adoration! for almost all the tapers, lamps, and candles that burn around the globe, burn, as before so many shrines, to our glory!"

There was a considerable truth in his words. The part played by Nantucket whalemen was, however, even more extraordinary. The name of this Island was known throughout the western world as being synonymous with American whaling. In the 18th century the Nantucketers had inaugurated an entirely new Colonial industry called "whaling in the deep". Until the end of its long career as a whaling port its reputation was established, as Nantucket whaling men became the pioneers in exploring and discovering new whaling grounds in all the great oceans of the world. Because of the influence of the Society of Friends in its life on land and at sea, these whalemen were called by Melville "Quakers with a vengeance". During the 18th century the Nantucket whaleships lighted the lamps of both the new and old worlds.

The true impact of the whaling industry on the habits and customs of the town and city life of its time has never been fully evaluated. It must be remembered that, before the introduction of the whale oil lamp, the means of lighting homes and buildings was governed by the meager illumination allowed by fish oil, torches and tallow dip candles. With the coming of a better light through the whale oil lamp, the lengthening period of study and recreation created greater opportunities for the advancement of learning and social gatherings. As an example of cultural advancement, the dim medieval theatre was succeeded by the first theatres with stage lights, footlights and other advancements in the art of stage craft, using whale oil and candles.

The 18th century saw a new era in lighting history. In contrast with the crude fish and vegetable oil lamps, the rush lights, link torches and

N A NT U CK E T W H A L E O I L 25 tallow dips, and the first (right) whale lamps, came spermaceti oil from that aristocrat of whales, the sperm. The improvement in lamps and the introduction of sperm candles brought a great demand for sperm oil, and Nantucketers were the great specialists in marketing this superior oil. Quite aside from home consumption there soon came a demand of Nantucket whale oil for street lighting. For years, the great cities of Europe remained unlighted. London was a prime example. Save for the watchman's lanthorn as he made the rounds, and the link-boys bearing their torches for the individual traveller or sedanchair, the streets were as tombs, dark and rambling, with refuse and garbage underfoot and robbers at pitch-black corners laying in wait for travellers who were out unattended.

When, in 1709, the first lights made their appearance in London, they were few and placed at points too far apart to be effective. Then, in 1745, came the reforms in civic government, when the elder Pitt secured passage of a bill which would give more street lights for the metropolis heart of the British Empire.

As an immediate result, the demand for whale oil increased one hundred fold. The addition of more street lights resulted in the decrease of crime. It has always been an axiom that crime does not thrive in the light, whether in illumination from lamps or from an enlightened society. Great cities like London and Paris recognized these important facts early, and made provisions for better lighting.

Most of the great cities of Europe soon adopted a system of street lighting which increased the demand for whale oil. The cities of Hamburg, Copenhagen, Kronstadt, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, Rome, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon, Marseilles, Bordeaux on the Continent, and London, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Hull, Dublin and Edinburgh in the British Isles — these cities constituted a tremendous market for the industry.

By far the aristocrat of lighting in the home was the sperm candle. From the head-oil - or the almost pure spermaceti oil taken from a great reservoir in the whale's head called the "case" - came the "headmatter", that great wax-like substance which, when processed, was made the sperm candle. This candle burned with a pure white flame, giving forth no smoke and no odor. Here, indeed, was the very essence of candle-making, a peerless taper which graced the rooms and tables of the rich, the cultured and the governing classes of its time. Even today this candle is considered without rival in its performance.

Street Lighting in Nantucket

It is interesting to note that Nantucket, as a community, was not

26

HISTORIC NANTUCKET

called a village, as were most New England habitations in Colonial days. It was always a town from the beginnings. When the first houselots were laid out along the shores of the Great Harbor, these areas were first called the Wesco Acre Lots, and as the town grew, the Fish Lots and the Monomoy Acre Lots were added. The dwellings, shops, lofts and warehouses were built close to each other, with the waterfront and the wharves the more closely congested. Houses from the old settlement to the west were moved into the new town of Sherborn as the town grew in size.

During the night, people walking the streets and byways carried either a candle lanthorn or an oil-lighted one. Early in the history of the old town, a watchman made the rounds, with the number augmented as the population increased, and the houses gradually spread throughout the confines of the house-lot divisions. With the development of the whaling industry the closely-knit town also grew. However, the introduction of street lights was comparatively slower. Whale oil was too valuable a commodity to be "wasted" by burning it at night for the citizens.

However, in 1826, the town began the practice of furnishing oil for street lamps which certain individual citizens erected along the streets. Apparently this custom was not universally agreed upon by the voters, who at the town meeting in November, 1826, decided to postpone the continuance of such action. A number of years later (1848) the firewards requested citizens to place lighted lamps in their front windows at night time to help when a fire occurred in the neighborhood.

It must be remembered that London in 1730, as the chief marketplace for Nantucket whale oil, had no more than 700 street lights in the entire limits of this city - the greatest in Europe. In 1736 a system of street lighting was introduced in London known as "parish lamps," and paid for by a tax collected. The practice grew; it was a great way to curb the crimes that were taking place in that city's streets. By 1780 some 15,000 street lamps were being tended by lamp-lighters. It was London's boast that there were more street lamps along Oxford Row than in the entire city of Paris! The street lamps were placed at regular intervals, and were now enclosed by glass. Whale oil was the illuminant, and a cotton twist was the wick. Sperm oil was used in private homes.

With the demand for oil by the London market, it was natural for the thrifty Nantucketers to curtail any extravagance in bringing regular streetlights to the town. Private enterprise, on the other hand, led to the first "out door" lamps, which were placed by the door posts of the dwellings of certain wealthy citizens. It is probable that Liberty, India, Orange and Union Streets were the first to boast these lamps by

NANTUCKET WHALE OIL 27 the door-ways of the ship-owners and whaling merchants. The style of light was similar to those found in London. It will be remembered that Boston and Philidelphia were the first American cities to adopt the London methods. John Hancock, in 1772, was the promoter of street lighting in Boston, proposing a globe of glass. Three hundred were imported from London, and it was Benjamin Franklin who earlier had proposed a triangular glass cover for the street lamps in Philadelphia, demonstrating that the lanthorn, if completely closed, would cause smoke and soot and obscure the light.

The tallow candle was undoubtedly first used by the Nantucket families, with mutton and hog fat for the ingredients. When visiting at night the lantern guided the way along the footpaths and then, in the town, along the streets. When whale oil came into use, the lanterns were improved, and the tinsmith was employed for lamp-making as well as for lanterns. Some of the early lantern types had horn instead of glass, which served the owners well through the years.

In September, 1748, the town voted to establish the night watch from 8 o'clock in the evening until the "break of day". As the watchmen carried lanterns, we are now aware of the official night use of whale oil for lighting. It is highly probable that individuals hung lights in front of their homes when expecting visitors at night, but just what type used must have been a personal choice. Hogarth, in London, drew sketches of street lights, showing tin sections as well as glass.

It is probable that no regular street lighting in Nantucket was ever adopted until the advent of the first decade of the 19th century. The records of the town are singularly free of any references to such a use, but it is logical to recognize that some means of providing light along the thoroughfares must have been in existence. It is also likely that the commercial connections with seaports brought about the adoption of posts of a standard size for this use. Individual house owners provided street lamps at their dwellings well into the 19th century.

In voyages to London the Nantucketers reported the advances made in street lighting in that great metropolis. The first use of manufactured gas for lighting was introduced in London, with American cities following this example. In Nantucket gas was manufactured for the first time in 1854, and the stores on Main Street began installing gas fixtures soon after. The iron standards for street lights were next to be introduced. This cast iron post had a cross-arm under the lamp holder, so that the attendant took care of the glass enclosed burner. On the 22nd of November, 1854, the Main Street Square was lighted with gas for the first time.

The average iron standard was 20 feet high, and the design was