Let there be light! No other subject has evoked as many expressions of reader interest as the last note. I look forward to Craig's mother comments (or from other sources). I apologize that I have duplicated some of the comments already made, but I had written this before some of them came in.
Several of you thought maybe kerosene was the answer, but this is a petroleum product. Until Drake struck oil, and it was produced in volume and refined, there was no kerosene. There have always been, in recorded history, outbreaks of oil or tar to the surface of the ground which could be used as a fuel. (There was a house in Hollywood that was so bothered by oil seeping out of the ground that they dug a pit and when it filled up they had a truck come and pump it out.)
I remember the kerosene lamps we used for light when I was a boy. It used to be one of my chores to fill it if necessary. Also, the wick might need trimming. Kerosene lamps generated a lot of heat and could set objects two or three feet above them on fire. (We had a quilt that was pulled up in the frame used to hold while it was quilted and a lamp underneath it set it on fire but the quilt has been repaired and we still have it.) Then we had an Aladdin Lamp which had a mantle that would be white with heat. It gave off a very strong light. My parents generally tended this. All of these forms of kerosene lamps produced sufficient light to read, study, sew, or to do any activity requiring reasonable illumination. All of these lamps were slightly dangerous, for if they were knocked over the kerosene could run over the floor and might ignite.
This was always one of the problems in producing light. With light goes heat, and the surrounding area must be protected.
Reading a little about light, whale oil has been known for a long time, but I don't believe it was used widely until the Nineteenth Nentury and even then it was restricted to the more affluent homes.
Several vegetative sources produce oil that will burn, such as some nuts. These have been used for centuries. In castles, with stone walls, iron frames on the walls could hold burning wood such as pine knots which has pitch. These could produce lots of light, but also smoke and smells.
There was a Colonial Lamp, fueled by a liquid and a wick, which could be carried from room to room. As suggested, reflectors improved the brightness, but it was still weak. On the door frame as you entered each room, there was a metal hook. When you entered the room, you hung the lamp on this hook. When you left the room, you took the lamp with you.
(23 Sep 03)
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