Wooden insulating stand with glass legs, Europe, 1850-1900

Rectangular insulating stand, mahogany with glass legs, English or French, 1850-1900

This small insulating platform was a simple but often crucial part of any therapeutic or experimental set up of electrical equipment. If an animal or human subject, or a piece of equipment, needs to be insulated from the ground, they can be placed on such a platform – which were made in a range of sizes. As glass doesn’t conduct electricity, any charge that is applied to what is sitting on the platform will not simply leak away through the process known as earthing.