rf"^0 



Figure 2. — Foucault's are-light regulator of 

 1847. From E. Alglave and J. Boulard, The 

 Electric Light, New York, 1884, p. 62. 



ment-makers Deleuil. Archereau, and Duboscq during 

 the 1840's.- 



After a few private demonstrations in 1841, Louis J. 

 Deleuil showed, in 1843, that he could light the Place 

 de la Concorde by electricity (fig. 1).' The 200 

 Bunsen cells he placed below the statue of Lille 

 produced a discharge between charcoal electrodes in 

 an evacuated glass cylinder that was situated on the 

 knees of the statue. The soft glow penetrated the 

 slight fog on the evening of the demonstration, and 

 the experiment was pronounced a success. Deleuil 

 had been assisted in the trial by Henri A. Archereau 

 who had used a similar method to light his dining 



2 "Eclairage," La Grande Encyclopedie , Paris, n.d., vol. 15, pp. 

 341-346; Eug4ne Defrance, Histoire de t'eclairage des rues de 

 Paris, Paris, 1904; Louis Figuier, Les Applications de la science 

 i I' Industrie et aux arts en 1855, Paris, 1856, pp. 326—336. 



3 Les Mondes, 1863, vol. 2, p. 452; L Illustration, 1843, vol. 2, 

 p. 132. 



Figure 3. — Staite's 1847 regulator for changing 

 the position of the lower carbon (placed in d) 

 in his arc light. The upper carbon was 

 fLxed in position; the lower carbon's position 

 was determined by a clockwork whose speed 

 was controlled by a solenoid. From J. 

 Dredge, Electric Illumination, London, n.d. 

 (about 1882), vol. I, p. 381. 



room in 1843.* Archereau followed with other 

 public demonstrations a short time later but without 

 the feature of the evacuated globe. Nevertheless, 

 such pioneer eflPorts were handicapped by the uneven 

 burning of the carbons that made constant manual 

 operation necessary for continuous performance. 



■* J. Balteau, M. Barrou.x, and Michel Prevost, Dictionnaire de 

 biographic fran^aise, Paris, 1939, vol. 3, p. 381. 



336 



BULLETIN 228: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



