How Photographers Captured Electricity When It Was New

(via Atlas Obscura)  As one of the earliest, practical uses of electric light, arc lamps were garishly bright. Setting aside complaints about the intensity of the light, the widespread use of arc lamps marked a shift into a world of illumination. The discovery of electricity impacted every facet of modern life, from working hours to transport.  As Thomas Edison remarked in 1879: “We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles.”