Lard Fueled Lamps
The introduction of lard lamps, circa 1835, came in response to the widespread use of whale oil and other fluid oil lamps. These liquid fuels were dangerous to handle and the less expensive grades were smokey and poor illuminators. Lard, on the other hand, was safer as a solid, easily stored and could be inexpensively made at home.
The primary difficulty with lard was getting the thick fat to flow up the lamp’s wick. This difficulty challenged the nation’s inventors who patented many, many variations during the 1840′s and 1850′s. Most of these variations worked by bringing heat to the lard, but some worked with plungers to force the lard into the wick. Lard lamps became obsolete with the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania by Edwin Drake in 1859. This development permited the inexpensive refining of kerosene which quickly became the safe and inexpensive lighting fuel of choice.