'The Dania' dry cell battery

'The Dania' dry cell battery, probably used to power electric bells in a house in about 1910, or for a torch. Cylindrical black dry-cell battery with colourful printed label. Screw-top terminal. Part of the Bob Gray collection of electrical objects.

Electric bells were one of the first uses of electricity in the home before radios became the must-have electrical appliance of the 1920s. Its label, perhaps influenced by the labels for Chinese fireworks, suggests that vitality and power is almost ready to explode out of the device to serve the user. The name may refer to Daniell cells, a type of dry cell battery from the early days of electricity. The electrolyte of a dry cell battery is a form of paste. Because of this, dry cell batteries are portable, unlike wet cell batteries which must be kept still to prevent their contents from spilling.