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Left to right; Jolin-Parsons, Lever and Pilsen arc lamps.
Three examples of typical arc lamps from the 1880s. Engineers were constantly trying to find ways of improving the arc lamp's mechanism for regulating the movement of the upper carbon - it descended as the two carbons burnt away. Lever used a spring mechanism, while Jolin and Parson's lamp, which won the approval of Silvanus P. Thompson, used an electromagnet.
The Pilsen lamp was developed by two Austrian engineers, Ludwig Piette and Franz Krizik, and was marketed in Britain by Henry F. Joel. It had a complex regulating mechanism which used an iron core between two solenoids. The lamp was quite extensively used, and won a Gold Medal at the Paris Electrical Exhibition of 1881. The illustration shows a lamp with an ornamental covering for use in theatres.
Back to the arc lamp story.