The world before electricity and gas lighting was a very dark place. If you could afford them–and most ordinary people couldn’t–oil lamps and candles made from beeswax shed some light. Most people made do with rush lights or smoky, smelly… Read More
Candlestick makers–or tallow chandlers as they were once called–led a wretched existence. I thought I’d make today’s blog about candle making, because I’m still without power.
Thanks to the freakishly violent October snowstorm we had over the weekend, and because… Read More
According to some accounts, in 1814, Luigia Verdi grabbed her baby and hid in the tower of the town’s church. Soldiers killed everyone in the church except for them. Her baby, Giuseppe, grew up to compose operas.
source: Kathleen Krull, Lives of the Musicians, p 37