Untitled

Place MadeNantucket, Massachusetts, United States

DateCirca 1978

Mediumwax, cardboard

Dimensions1 × 11 1/4 × 2 1/2 in. (2.5 × 28.6 × 6.4 cm)

Donor credit lineGift of Ms. Elizabeth Thompson

Object number2010.18

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionA box of two (2) spermaceti candles, dated Aug. 1978. The box reads: Spermaceti Candles from Nantucket Island, Mass. The candles you find in this box are just about the purest and finest you can buy anywhere. They are made from a white semi-solid, crystalline wax found in the head-cavity of the sperm whale. That candles could be made from "spermacoeti", as it was then called, was discovered during the latter half of the 18th century. A spermaceti candle provided a soft light which was equal to the flame of four other candles and which burned about twice as long as other candles the same size. It surpasses all other candles for its beauty.

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