Mining Candlestick Sticker

Mining candlestick sticker! Size is 3" x 2.2", made of durable vinyl made to withstand scratching, rain, and sunlight. Perfect for hard hats, water bottles, and coolers!

The miner's candlestick was a very important part of the miner's life in the early days of underground hard rock mining. Miner's had used candles to provide light to work underground as far back as the 1600's, but as mining evolved so did the lighting devices. By the 1850's it was found that stearic acid candles provided bright, smokeless light and burned at a much more predictable rate than tallow candles. At this time the typical candlestick design was being made by blacksmiths all over the West. Evolutions in the design eventually included a handle, hook, pointed spike, and a thimble to hold the candle. The candlestick could be driven into wooden support timbers, cracks in the rock, or hung by the hook from a miner's hat. Miner's candlesticks saw their highest use in the years from 1860 - 1915. By the early 1900's the carbide lamp became the preferred method of underground mine lighting due to it being brighter, and safer. Soon after many mines began to utilize electric and battery powered lights bringing the candlesticks use to an end. This miner's candlestick is referred to as a "pistol grip" due to the handle being turned downward to look like the grip of a gun. It was made in the blacksmith shops at Butte Montana by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company's Hardware Department and sold to miners through the company's chain of Montana Hardware stores. Miner's would carry four candles underground with them each shift with each burning a little over two hours to get through the work shift. A miner's candlestick was often the only tool that he owned himself, so customizing them with designs and the owner's name was common. It not only was the miner's source of light in the darkest of dark places, but could be used to defend themselves against a rowdy coworker if needed. This candlestick design was popular in the rough and tough mining camp of Butte and was used from the 1890's - the late 1910's.