Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Lighting through the ages

 
Original - Lighting through the ages. Antiquity: 1. Prehistory. - 2-3. Egyptian - 4-5. Assyrian. 6-13. Roman. - 14-15. Carthaginian. - 16-17. Merovingian period. - Middle age and modern times: 19-20. 11th century. - 21. 12th century. - 22. 13th century. - 23-24. 14th century. - 25-26-27. 15th century. - 28. 16th century. - 29. 17th century. - 30-31. 18th century. - Contemporary period: 32. (original) Argand lamp. - 33-34. (Antoine Quinquet's improved) Argand lamp. - 35. Stephenson (Geordie) lamp (mines). - 36. Street light. - 37. Davy lamp. - 38. Air-fed wick lamp (theatre). - 39. Railway lamp. - 40. Carcel lamp. - 41. Gasifier. - 42. Auer (gas) lamp with gas mantle. - 43. Gas street lighting (regular burner). - 44. Gas street lighting (high intensity burner). - 45. Auer (petrol) lamp. - 46. (Air-fed) petrol lamp. - 47. Incandescent (electricity). - 48. Lighthouse (electricity). - 49. Mine lamp (electricity). - 50. Incandescent (electricity) [street light]. - 51. Arcl light (electricity). - 52. Acetylene lamp (burner). - 53. Acetylene lamp (bycicle). - 54. Acetylene lamp (lamp). - Japan: 55. Street light. - 56. Transportation (rickshaw). - 57. Lantern for funerals. - 58. Portable lantern.
Reason
Eclairage, plate by Maurice Dessertenne for volume IV (E-G) of the Nouveau Larousse illustré (France, 1898-1907). Is there's anyone here who didn't spend countless hours pouring over illustrations like this in encyclopedias when they were young? And who still does?
Illustrates high-quality custom-made engravings for encyclopedias, and of course the various means of making light through the ages (prehistory - ca. 1900).
The way everything is slotted into "Antiquity", "Middle age and modern times", "Contemporary period" and, weirdly, "Japan", just adds to the charm, I feel.
Articles this image appears in
Encyclopedia, Maurice Dessertenne
Creator
Engraving by Maurice Dessertenne; scanned and restored by Michel Vuijlsteke

Promoted File:Eclairage.jpg ~ ωαdεstεr16«talkstalk» 22:24, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]