Light cleaner

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A costumed light cleaner shortens the wicks of the spotlight, before 1800

The light cleaner is a historical occupation from the time when the lighting mainly came from tallow candles. He tended and monitored their fires.

activity

The material and the asymmetrical interweaving of today's candles ensure that the wick burns down completely after a certain length. This was not the case at the time of candle lighting until the 19th century. The candles began to soot and flicker when the wick got too long and therefore had to be "blown" at least every half hour: This means that the wick was cut with a special wick cutter and the glowing snuff was removed. For the many hundreds of candles in larger rooms, professionals were required to constantly shorten the wicks. It took some skill not to blow the wick too short in the hurry, which would have caused the candle to go out.

The light intensity of a tallow candle decreased to 39% after 11 minutes and to 16% of the initial value after 29 minutes. Regular maintenance of the candles therefore significantly reduced their number and thus fuel consumption . High material costs and low personnel costs favored the profession.

The light cleaners who did this work, but also lit the candles with shavings , extinguished and renewed them with the candle extinguishers, were also fire watchers . They were among the servants of the lowest rank. In the judgment of contemporaries, the light cleaner is an omnipresent, indispensable, less qualified, but responsible profession.

In the theater , a light cleaner had to go on stage to blow the spotlight candles , which gave rise to numerous jokes because he was costumed for this task, but often had little artistic understanding.

The profession of light cleaner existed from the 17th to the 18th century. When in the 17th century plays were no longer held in the open air, theaters needed light cleaners. They not only cut back the wicks; they also set up deformed candles, poured oil into the lamps, and cleaned the mirrors that served as reflectors. With the help of the light cleaner, the visitors were able to follow the events in the theater both on the stage and in the auditorium.

When the Argand lamp with a tubular wick and glass cylinder was invented in 1783 and hardly sooted, the light cleaner was no longer needed.

Literary use and figurative meaning

In Goethe's early Schwank fair at Plundersweilern (1778), the light cleaner steps in for the Hanswurst in the comedy. The enlighteners in the 18th century were often disparagingly called "light cleaners". Johann Gottlieb Fichte was described as “the light cleaner of our time”, claims Heinrich Luden in 1814. In the play of the same name (1810) by Ignaz Aurelius Feßler , the night watchman Benedict explains: “If regents, ministers and generals give skilful light cleaners, it gets brighter and safer in the world. "

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ About the lighting and heating abilities of the oil-producing gas. In: Polytechnisches Journal . 8, 1822, pp. 184-193. Footnote 83.
  2. ↑ Heinrich Luden (ed.): Nemesis. Journal for Politics and History , Weimar 1814, Volume 3, p. 324
  3. ↑ Ignaz Aurelius Feßler: The night watchman Benedict . Karlsruhe 1810, p. 253