Rushlight and candle holder, 1800-1850

A rushlight, or poor man's candle, held a grease-soaked rush, a common grasslike marsh plant that has been stripped of three-quarters of its outer covering. This rushlight was also made to hold a candle.

Iron
Gift of George N. Keyser in memory of Mary Keyser, St. Charles, IL (1983.113.96)

Lighting | Metal

© Illinois State Museum 31-Dec-96