Nobili's electromagnetic kit

This is the fullest kit of small apparatuses to demonstrate the electromagnetic properties of current available at that time, based on the work of Hans Christian Oersted, André-Marie Ampère, Michael Faraday, Peter Barlow, Auguste De La Rive, and others. It took Leopoldo Nobili nearly nine years to develop this teaching aid. The pieces are not in the same order as those described in Nobili's Memorie (Florence, 1834), and two are missing: the box with spout for pouring mercury and the Wollaston battery. This kit, of which very few copies survive, is one of the most fascinating teaching compendia of the nineteenth century. Provenance: Lorraine collections.