Description

We are offering a good example of the Santitoire Voltaique, a c1900 quack “electrical” device. It is in good working condition  and retains its original labeled case. Case is 4.75″ long, the instrument just under 4″ or 10cm. 

According to the storiedellamedicina site:

“The “Sanatoire Voltaique Riviere” [“Riviere” was added to the cases of the later models] was a small medical kit marketed between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, designed to exploit the supposed therapeutic properties of electricity. Inside the package was a small copper disk, connected to a thin metal rod that could be adjusted to suit the area of the body being treated: moving it to the left was recommended to relieve heart problems, while positioning it to the right improved its effect on the liver, at least according to the rudimentary principles of electrotherapy in the last century.”