Early Leyden Jars

ca 18th century

Three Leyden jars, filled with gold foil. The Leyden jar was invented in 1746, as the first device for storing electricity. Today we would call them capacitors. The earliest jars contained water. Later gold foil was used, and by the 19th century the jars were made with a thin coating of lead foil on the inside and outside of the jar. unsigned,French.