A crude beginning had been made in the technology of electrical illumination. The unfortunate part in all this was that battery and electrical generating technology had not developed enough to make the carbon arc more than a laboratory curiosity. An Englishman, William Staite, who did pioneering work with the carbon arc in the early Nineteenth Century is not well remembered today for his contributions. Finally, in the 1870's, batteries that could power arc lamps became economically feasible. An outdoor football match was illuminated with carbon arc lamps in 1878 and the arc was developed for use in heavy duty industrial lighting during the remainder of the Nineteenth Century and early Twentieth Century.
Carbon arcs are too powerful for domestic lighting.
Their main uses were massive outdoor illumination. A carbon arc experiment that can be performed in the classroom. Please read about proper safety precautions before doing this.