[1] The series was originally commissioned by the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d'Électricité (CPDE), a French electricity company.
The pictures were intended to promote the domestic use of electricity, at a time when households were often still dependent on gas, wood or coal.
The portfolio consists of ten photographs, made in the experimental process that Man Ray named "rayographs".
The images were created by placing the devices directly on light-sensitive paper and exposing it to electric light.
Man Ray also added five of his own images, including a female nude, representing his mistress, Lee Miller, the moon and a roasted chicken.