Rushlight

A rushlight is a type of candle or miniature torch formed by soaking the dried pith of the rush plant in fat or grease.

English essayist William Cobbett wrote, "This rushlight cost almost nothing to produce and was believed to give a better light than some poorly dipped candles.

Gilbert White gave a detailed description of rushlight making in The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, Letter XXVI (1789).

Antique rushlight holders are occasionally found in North America, but most were probably imported from England; "none are known to bear the mark of an American smith.

[12] Gilbert White reported that a rushlight 28.5 inches (72 cm) in length burned for 57 minutes; he wrote, "these rushes give a good clear light."

There was much variation in the quality of rushlights; a 19th-century writer observed that "one might very well flicker and splutter for an hour, whilst a second was just as likely to flame away in ten minutes.

"[13] A differently made rushlight in which two strips of the rind were left on the rush before it was coated with tallow produced a dimmer light but burned much longer.

[15] However, there were some devices designed to keep the burning rush in a vertical position,[16] including nightlights made from cylinders of tin or sheet-iron perforated with holes that would allow the light to shine out.

Rushlight is a literary and visual arts journal founded in 1855 by Lucy Larcom and published by Wheaton College (Massachusetts).