Jessie Taylor
Price's Candles, founded in 1830, is a British importer and retailer of candles. The company has supplied candles to the British royal family and is one of the largest candle suppliers in the United Kingdom. Price's Candles has used a variety of materials to make its candles over the years, including stearin, coconut oil, tallow, palm oil, paraffin wax, and beeswax. The company has also sold by-products of the candle-making process, such as glycerine and oleine, and has manufactured lubricating oils for engines.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of foundation | 1830 |
| Founders | William Wilson and Benjamin Lancaster |
| Initial name | E.Price and Company |
| Initial factory location | Vauxhall |
| Initial raw materials | Coconut oil |
| Later raw materials | Palm oil, stearin, paraffin wax |
| Other products | Glycerine, oleine, lubricating oils, perfumes, essential oils, aromatherapy products |
| Current headquarters | Bedford, England |
| Current owner | SER |
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What You'll Learn
Coconut oil and tallow
Coconut oil is another common base for candles, often used in conjunction with tallow to make composite candles. Coconut oil candles can be made in a similar way to tallow candles, by melting and pouring the oil into a mould with a wick. They can also be flavoured with herbs and spices, and are especially suited to sweeter spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and lavender.
Price's Patent Candles, founded in 1830, became prominent for their stearin 'composite' candles, made from a mixture of refined tallow and coconut oil. These candles gained popularity around the time of Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840, as households would traditionally burn a candle in their front room windows on the evening of a monarch's wedding.
The process of creating stearin from tallow and vegetable oils was an innovation that allowed Price's to produce candles that burned brightly without smoke or smell. This new formula was very popular, and by 1847, when the company became Price's Patent Candle Co., they were also using palm oil from West Africa to make their candles.
Today, candles can be made from a variety of fats that harden when chilled, including beef tallow, butter, coconut oil, chicken schmaltz, and pork lard. Decorative candles are usually made from wax, but candles can be made from anything that melts, and edible candles can be created using food-safe wicks.
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Palm oil
Oil palm trees are perennials with a lifespan of approximately 25 to 30 years in agricultural settings. Since they are not mowed down annually, the soil disturbance and erosion associated with annual crops are reduced. The high leaf area index of oil palm trees contributes to their high photosynthetic efficiency, resulting in increased oxygen production and carbon dioxide absorption. The mills used to refine the oil from the fruit are often located on the plantation itself, allowing for the recycling of biomass as fuel or natural fertiliser.
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Paraffin wax
Price's Candles, founded in 1830, is a British importer and retailer of candles. The company has supplied candles to the British royal family and held a royal warrant since the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840.
Price's Candles initially used coconut oil to make their candles, but they soon began to experiment with other materials. In the 1840s, the company began using palm oil from West Africa to make their candles. This innovation was significant because it provided an economic alternative to the slave trade, which was still active in the United States, Brazil, and Arabia.
In 1854, after oil was discovered in Burma, Price's began to distill crude oil into paraffin wax. Paraffin wax is obtained from distilling oil shale or petroleum to produce a wax distillate. Dissolving the wax distillate in naphtha separates the wax crystals. By the turn of the century, paraffin wax had replaced stearin as the most important candle-making raw material, with 90% of candles being made from paraffin wax.
Today, Price's Candles continues to produce candles from stearine, but they have also expanded their product range to include decorative, perfumed, and essential oil candles to cater to the modern consumer market.
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Stearine
Price's Candles, founded in 1830, is one of the largest candle suppliers in the United Kingdom. The company has supplied candles to the British royal family and held the royal warrant since Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840.
Price's Candles initially used coconut oil from Ceylon to make their candles. They soon began producing stearine from tallow, vegetable oils, and other animal waste materials. Stearine is an ester of glycerol and stearic acid, often derived from fats. It can be produced from both animal and vegetable sources.
In addition to stearine, Price's Candles also used palm oil harvested in West Africa. This innovation provided an economic alternative to the slave trade in Africa. However, the waste materials from the stearine production process became an issue. George Wilson, the son of William Wilson, one of the company's founders, found uses for these by-products, such as glycerine and oleine.
Price's Candles continued to innovate and diversify their product range, including developing lubricating oils and exporting crude oil. They also created candles for specific purposes, such as for coal miners, the navy, engineers, and emigration ships.
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Spermaceti
There are several theories regarding the biological function of the spermaceti organ. One theory suggests that it may control buoyancy, as the density of spermaceti changes with temperature. Another theory posulates that it acts as a focusing apparatus for the whale's sense of echolocation, with the changing density enhancing the resonance of the echolocation clicks.
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Frequently asked questions
Price's Candles are made from stearine, a hard, pure white fat made from refined tallow and vegetable oils, including coconut oil and palm oil.
Stearine candles burn brightly without smoke or smell.
In addition to stearine, Price's Candles also produces candles made from paraffin wax, which displaced stearine as the most important candle-making raw material in the 20th century.
Price's Candles sought to create a niche product between expensive beeswax candles and cheap but poor-quality tallow candles. Stearine allowed them to produce a high-quality candle without the high cost of beeswax.
