RAIN MACHINE

Model, Tadeusz Krzeszowiak, after an 18th-century sketch and description

The rain machine was a hand-spun drum or sieve of wire mesh, with a diameter of about 30 cm and a length of 60 cm, filled with pebbles, nuts or peas that could roll freely. Depending on how fast the drum was spun, the stones would produce the noise of light or heavy rain, or even a hail-storm. To amplify the sound, the contrivance was mounted on a hollow wooden stand, which acted as a resonating body.

Private collection of Tadeusz Krzeszowiak