Whalebone combined strength and lightness with flexibility. When heated the substance could be bent and twisted into any shape. Perhaps its most popular use was to reinforce womens' corsets such as the one shown from the 1880s, but it was also fashioned into umbrellas, knife handles, carriage springs, fishing rods, walking sticks, decorative hair combs and other products. Whalebone was eventually replaced by the development of plastics and steel.
Whale oil constituted the most widely used and effective fuel during the latter part of the eighteenth century and the first part of the nineteenth century. The fuel was contained in a closed receptacle and the light from the vertical wicks had a stronger candle power than the open pan lamps. During the early period of development, various types of whale oil lamps were designed, ranging from delicate blown glass to tin and pewter hand lamps. This tin night watchman's lamp was used at Perth, Ontario prior to 1860. Since the Maritimes never became as involved in the arctic whaling operations as New England, most of the whale oil used in British North America was imported from the United States.
Courtesy: National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada
