James Burke's Connections episode 9: Countdown [1], covers the invention of limelight, gives a history of the technology and places it in context. The entire series is intertwined (thus the title, Connections), but if you start watching Ep. 9 at 18:30 it gives plenty of preamble for the need for the invention before introducing it and covering its adoption.
[1] https://archive.org/details/james-burke-connections_s01e09