In the late Victorian period, there was a craze for electric shock machines. It was claimed that these machines could cure anything from weak eyes to baldness to spinal pain. Luckily most of them could not generate enough current to harm anybody! Many of these were intended for use in the home, and some people even made their own versions.

The machine you can see here was made by Joseph Gutteridge who was a skilled Coventry ribbon weaver. He was extremely able with his hands and in later years amused himself by making furniture as well as musical and scientific instruments. A microscope that he made for the Coventry Exhibition in 1867 was awarded a prize medal and certificate.

Gutteridge is also known for his autobiography that gives a painful account of his sufferings during the industrial depression in Coventry. On several occasions he and his family were on the verge of death from cold and hunger.

You can find out more about Gutteridge's experiences and Victorian attitudes to health in the new History Gallery.