Electrical machine and accessories
The upright glass cylinder is rotated rapidly by gearing inside the brass box [1]. Popular with amateurs, this type of electrostatic generator was disliked by serious experimental philosophers. It was probably made by the noted London maker George Adams Jnr and sold on 16 October 1786 to Dr John Birch, author on electrotherapy, who founded an electrical department in St. Thomas' Hospital, London, in 1793.
The surviving accessories are a Lane electrometer mounted on Leyden jar [3]; a pair of medical directors [2, 4]; a mercury shower apparatus [5]; and a brass spanner [6].
Other narratives:
- Inventory no. 79777 - Former Display Label
- Inventory no. 59359 - Former Display Label
- Inventory no. 78492 - Former Display Label
Related Objects:
- Inventory No. 78492, "Medical Electrostatic Machine, by George Adams, London, 1786", Adams, George
- Inventory No. 79777, "Medical Director, by George Adams Jnr, English, 1786", Adams, George Junior
- Inventory No. 93441, "Lane Electrometer on Leyden Jar, by George Adams Jnr, London, 1786", Adams, George Junior
- Inventory No. 73585, "Medical Director, English, 1786"
- Inventory No. 15368, "Mercury Shower Apparatus, by George Adams, London, 1786", Adams, George Junior
- Inventory No. 59359, "Spanner for Medical Frictional Generator, by George Adams Jnr, English, 1786", Adams, George Junior