thunder house
Date: 1789
Inventory Number: 0019
Classification: Thunder House
Subject:
Maker: the Reverend John Prince (1751 - 1836)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
26.7 x 15.8 x 26.4 cm (10 1/2 x 6 1/4 x 10 3/8 in.)
Bibliography:
The Apparatus of Science at Harvard, 1765-1800
DescriptionThe mahogany house is shaped as a church with a small steeple. The sides of the building are hinged to the base. The roof and gables lift off. The roof line is chipped at the rear.
A brass wire conductor ascends up the front of the house through the steeple to a lightning rod terminated by a point. There is a removable brass ball on the point. The other end of the conductor ends in a loop, used to attach a chain to take the conductor to the ground. The path of the wire conductor is interrupted by a removable block of wood that contained the continuation of the rod. The block is now missing.
The interior of the base has a tin strip (approximately 4.2 x 13 cm) glued down. So does the front wall. The strip links to the exterior conductor by means of nail heads, and is used as a platform for gun powder.
A paper oval label on the front wall reads, "6-6-5." There are blank-stamped numerals "6 1" on the roof. Rectilinear stickers are glued to the underside, and read "F & J 1003" and "F & J A1003."
A brass wire conductor ascends up the front of the house through the steeple to a lightning rod terminated by a point. There is a removable brass ball on the point. The other end of the conductor ends in a loop, used to attach a chain to take the conductor to the ground. The path of the wire conductor is interrupted by a removable block of wood that contained the continuation of the rod. The block is now missing.
The interior of the base has a tin strip (approximately 4.2 x 13 cm) glued down. So does the front wall. The strip links to the exterior conductor by means of nail heads, and is used as a platform for gun powder.
A paper oval label on the front wall reads, "6-6-5." There are blank-stamped numerals "6 1" on the roof. Rectilinear stickers are glued to the underside, and read "F & J 1003" and "F & J A1003."
In Collection(s)
Signedunsigned
FunctionThe thunder house was a demonstration device to show the effectiveness of lightning rods in preserving buildings from lightning strikes.
A video demonstration of a thunder house by the Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica in Florence is available on Youtube here.
A video demonstration of a thunder house by the Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica in Florence is available on Youtube here.
Historical AttributesSold by John Prince to Harvard in 1789 for 9 shillings.
Published ReferencesDavid P. Wheatland, The Apparatus of Science at Harvard, 1765-1800 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968), 146, 148.
