In 1782 the Swiss engineer Amie' Argand invented the Argand burner, which was the archetype for the kerosene lamp still in use today . The Argand burner however used oil instead of kerosene, which only came into wide use in 1859 . The instrument included an oil receptacle and a glass cylinder in which the flame burned, protected, immensely reducing the danger of fire. The lamp was designed so that a supply of enriched oxygen entered through openings in the bottom of the lamp and flowed up the cylinder and along the wick, feeding the flame. Colored light for special theatrical effects was achieved by simply placing colored glass in front of the light source.

Argand burner for the theater (left) An elegant Argand burner (right)

The structure of an Argand burner.

 Argand burners were introduced into the Odeon Theatre in Paris in 1784, when the Comedie Francaise premiered Le Marriage de Figaro. Within a short time these oil lamps were adopted as the standard source of stage lighting all over Europe.