A Glance at the Lighting Fixtures From the Beginning to Now 
The word "lamp maker" was once given to the persons who repaired oil lamps of different kinds like: round-wick, mantle, and two or three wick lamps as well as oil-burner heaters. It was some years later that they started to build three, seven and ten glass chimney lamps, brass and chromium plated round burners, two or three wick burners. heaters and so on. Today, lighting industry in Iran is one of the most advanced industries which continues to become one of the exportable products.
In this part, at first, we introduce a brief description of the development process of lighting fixtures in the world, then the history of lighting industry in Iran is reviewed.

From the Invention of Fire to the Production of Candle 
The fires created by our ancestors served mainly as protection against the cold, and wild animals, and for preparing food. Not until fire became transportable can one speak of fire as lighting. The first means of illumination were branches of resinous trees, used as torches.
Much later - archaeological finds point to about 20 000 years ago - oils from animals and plants were used for lighting purposes. The oil was poured into hollowed-out stones, shells or other natural containers, and provided with wicks of tree bark, vegetable fibers or moss. Learning to handle clay gave rise to the different kinds of oil lamp that we see in our museums today.
Animal fats (principally tallow) and also beeswax were the materials for the first candles. Oil lamps and candles were used only for interior lighting. Proper outdoor lighting was as good as unknown until the mid-17P' century. Torches of pitch were employed at public events and festivities (as well as more bellicose get-together ). Torches were also used to escort goods and passengers if they had to travel by night.
The first known oil-burning outdoor light that was also practicable was produced by the Dutch-man Jan van deer Hayden, and set up in Amsterdam in 1669.
Towards the end of the 18th century - in parallel with the start of the industrial revolution and with it an emerging demand for better, and cheaper, lighting - the oil lamp underwent a number of improvements.

From Oil Lamps to Electric Lights (1)
The oil lamp gained a new lease of life when refined oil (Paraffin) became available from North America in 1859. This paraffin had substantial advantage. It was cheap, and once the highly inflammable Compounds had been removed by distillation, it was safe to use as well. Paraffin quickly supplanted the vegetable and animal oils formerly employed, particularly as it could be burned without difficulty in existing oil lamps.
As early as the 17th century, a Gemian chemist and mining engineer called Becker realized that gas obtained from coal could be employed for lighting. In this way, the first gasworks was built in London in 1813. Illuminating gas revolutionized street lighting. The gas could be
fed direct from the gasworks along a system of pipes. This did away with the constant filling necessary with oil lamps. Gas was slower to become established for indoor lighting. It was much more expensive than oil, the buildings had to be connected to the distribution networks, and the gas when burned left behind a rather unpleasant smell.
Already in 1804 Drummond had conducted experiments in which he raised a block of limestone to white heat with a hydrogen flame. This produced an extremely bright and concentrated light. So-called "lime-lights" were the firs[ form of floodlighting, and became widely used in the theatre.
The Cornishman Humphry Davy is cited as one pioneer. In 1802 he carried out tests in which he got strips of various metals to glow by passing a current through them. In these experiences, he brought together two pieces of charcoal within a distance of 4 inches, a bright spark occurred. The drawback of this discovery was that the thin charcoal sticks burned away, and eventually the spark could no longer be sustained, and went out. In order to maintain a uniform discharge the gap between the sticks had to be kept constant. This was done by regularly sliding them towards each other.