homemade Leyden jar?
Date1850-1900
Inventory Number1997-1-0510
ClassificationElectrical Apparatus
Subject
Maker
American
?
Cultural Region
Dimensions37.8 x 6.4 cm (14 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.)
Material
DescriptionTwo objects: The first is a large cylindrical glass jar of which a several inches of its surface at the bottom has been covered with metal sheet. The second is a much smaller cylindrical glass tube, cracked and with a broken top, mended with masking tape that is placed inside the first jar. The smaller jar also has a fraction of its lower surface covered in metal foil (parts of it peeling off), and it also has a brass rod going along its axis supported by two pieces of cork, one at the bottom and another near the top end of the tube.
Signedunsigned
FunctionThe exact function is uncertain. The metal foil that covers the outside of the tubes might indicate their use as a Leyden jar, but other necessary elements of a Leyden jar are missing.
