Corbett's electrostatic machine

Intended to treat rheumatism,[1] the device built up a static charge and stored it in a Leyden jar, an early type of capacitor.

Corbett was a medical physician for the Shakers, a religious group of colonial America.

He was a botanist and preferred herbal medicines to bloodletting.

A metal comb collected this charge, which was then stored in a Leyden jar.

From the jar, the electrical charge could then be released into the patient, producing a shock akin to "touching a doorknob after walking across carpet in dry weather".