“Candle-Making Machine” by Anne Langton c. 1846

The rough sketch is a line drawing of a woman working beside a crippling machine (like a waterwheel) that was built by John and Anne Langton at Blythe Farm.

The Langtons could not secure enough workers to free them from domestic labour in the New World.  Anne was responsible for baking the daily bread, making soap and candles and overseeing the provision of firewood.

These activities were in stark contrast to her lifestyle in Europe.  In her journals, Anne Langton says that this is a “candle dipping machine” invented by Anne and John Langton to make candles efficiently. It is assumed that the woman at the structure is Anne Langton.