In viewing the development of artificial light it is seen that preceding the modern electrical age, man depended universally upon burning material. Obviously, the course of civilization has been highly complex and cannot be symbolized adequately by the branching tree. From its obscure beginning far in the impenetrable fog of prehistoric times, it has branched here and there. These various branches have been subjected to many different influences, with the result that some flourished and endured, some retrogressed, some died, some went to seed and fell to take root and to begin again the upward climb. The ultimate result is the varied civilization of the present time, a study of which aids in penetrating the veil that obscures the ages of unrecorded writing. Likewise, material relics of bygone ages supply some threads of the story of human progress and mythology aids in spanning the misty gap between the earliest ages of man and the period when historic writings were begun. Throughout these various stages it becomes manifest that the development of artificial light is associated with the progress of mankind. According to a certain myth, Prometheus stole fire from heaven and brought this blessing to earth. Throughout the mythologies of various races, fire and, as a consequence, light have been associated with divinity. They have been subjects of worship perhaps more generally than anything else, and these early impressions have survived in the ceremonial uses of light and fire even to the present time. The origin of fire as represented in any of the myths of the superstitious beings of early ages is as suitable as any other, inasmuch as definite knowledge is unavailable. Active volcanoes, spontaneous combustion, friction, accidental focusing of the sun's image, and other means may have introduced primitive beings to fire. A study of savage tribes of the present age combined with a survey of past history of mythology, of material relics, and of the absence of lamps or other lighting utensils leads to the conclusion that the earliest source of light was the wood fire. [Illustration: PRIMITIVE FIRE-BASKETS] [Illustration: CRUDE SPLINTER-HOLDERS] [Illustration: EARLY OPEN-FLAME OIL AND GREASE LAMPS]