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Cavallo-type Medical Leyden
Jar
English, circa 1800
Electrical shocks can be good medicine, but at the same time they are very uncomfortable. Pulling the wire up, and using only the smaller jar, let the physician administer gentler shocks. Pushing the wire in gave much more powerful shocks. This way the physician had better control over the treatment, without the nuisance of carrying two separate jars about. |
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This is actually two jars in one, for medical use. The
small jar is in the tubular glass stem, while the large jar is the
outer glass bottle. The dark wire at the upper right can be slid in
and out to connect the smaller, or the larger, jars to the electrical
machine. The brass hook on top is to hang the jar from the connecting
rod of the electrical machine.