Asyetnoonehaddiscoveredthatelectricitycouldbestored，orgeneratedinanywayotherthanbysomefrictiondevice。Butverysoontwoexperimenters，DeanvonKleist，ofCamin，Pomerania，andPietervanMusschenbroek，thefamousteacherofLeyden，apparentlyindependently，madethediscoveryofwhathasbeenknowneversinceastheLeydenjar。AndalthoughMusschenbroekissometimescreditedwithbeingthediscoverer，therecanbenodoubtthatVonKleist’sdiscoveryantedatedhisbyafewmonthsatleast。
VonKleistfoundthatbyadevicemadeofanarrow-neckedbottlecontainingalcoholormercury，intowhichanironnailwasinserted，bewasabletoretainthechargeofelectricity，afterelectrifyingthisapparatuswiththefrictionalmachine。Hemadealsoasimilardevice，morecloselyresemblingthemodernLeydenjar，fromathermometertubepartlyfilledwithwaterandawiretippedwithaballoflead。Withthesedeviceshefoundthathecouldretainthechargeofelectricityforseveralhours，andcouldproducetheusualelectricalmanifestations，eventoignitingspirits，quiteaswellaswiththefrictionalmachine。
TheseexperimentswerefirstmadeinOctober，1745，andafteramonthoffurtherexperimenting，VonKleistsentthefollowingaccountofthemtoseveraloftheleadingscientists，amongothers，Dr。Lieberkuhn，inBerlin，andDr。Kruger，ofHalle。
\"Whenanail，orapieceofthickbrasswire，isputintoasmallapothecary’sphialandelectrified，remarkableeffectsfollow；
butthephialmustbeverydry，orwarm。IcommonlyrubitoverbeforehandwithafingeronwhichIputsomepoundedchalk。Ifalittlemercuryorafewdropsofspiritofwinebeputintoit，theexperimentsucceedsbetter。Assoonasthisphialandnailareremovedfromtheelectrifying-glass，ortheprimeconductor，towhichithasbeenexposed，istakenaway，itthrowsoutapencilofflamesolongthat，withthisburningmachineinmyhand，Ihavetakenabovesixtystepsinwalkingaboutmyroom。