Before 1851, letters sent through the mail were charged by the number of sheets it contained and the distance it travelled. For example, a letter consisting of one sheet of paper was charged the single rate; a double letter, that is two sheets, was charged double the single rate, a treble letter, was charged three times the single rate, and so on. In other words, each additional sheet of paper increased the charge by one rate. In Great Britain. Sealing a letter in an envelope effectively put an end to postal clerks' ability to count the number of sheets in a letter and an alternative method of determining the postage had to be found. Overweight mailings had previously required the items to be weighed but with the introduction of the Uniform Penny Postage act of 1839, the public could mail a letter not exceeding a half-ounce in weight within the United Kingdom for one penny if prepaid, or two pence if paid on delivery. At about the same time that the adhesive postage stamps and envelopes made their appearance, postal administrations began to experiment with strategically placed street letter boxes, known as pillar boxes because of their round, pillar-like shape, that permitted the public to mail letters from a place other than from a post office. For all these reasons, the use of postal scales became the nucleus of every post office. Scales had been in use since ancient Egyptian times so their use for everyday commerce was not unusual in the 1800s. What was new in 1840 was their ubiquitous use throughout the postal system. No post office could function effectively without one. Although the earliest scales used in post offices did not differ markedly from the ones in general use as time went on they were adapted specifically for postal use. For example, a paper sleeve, also known as a weight sticker, was attached that showed the applicable rate of postage for any given weight. This innovation was quite a time saver as postal clerks no longer needed to weigh the item first and then refer to a separate chart to determine the required postage for that particular weight. Victorian postal scales were used in village Post offices in the late 19th century, of which there are many examples today for sale. No maker can be attributed to the manufacture of the item. Postal scales with weights,. Balance scale has brass fittings and is mounted on a rectangular wooden stand, with depressions for brass weights; which measure 1/2oz, 1oz, 2oz, "Young Aton REL., C.N.0.9."flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, scales and weights, balancing scales, postal scales, letter scale

The scales were made by Harrison (Birmingham), founded 1898, which went on to become Harrison Drape. Balance scales for full and half sovereigns also measured the circumference and the thickness. As gold is one of the heaviest metals one way to forge a sovereign in brass would be to make it slightly larger to make up the weight. This clever invention put a stop to that.An item from an outstanding and diverse collection of photographs, postcards and artefacts, assembled by members of the Christian and Washfold families of Kew. Harrison Brass Sovereign Rocker Coin Scale in original leather container. The balance scale for full and half sovereigns also measured the circumference and the thickness. It was made from the 1850s to the early 1900s. Scales in perfect condition.cairn scales, sovereign rocker scale, christian-washfold collection

Small balance scale volum collection

Rough Balance (Scales)

This is a pocket spring balance. It would have been used last century in our district by market gardeners, hawkers and other itinerant workers and possibly also used in some small businesses. In households it could also be useful for weighing jam fruit, vegetables etc. Spring balances are still in use today.This item is retained as an example of a spring balance manufactured 80 or more years ago.This is a set of spring balance scales. The spring is fixed at one end with a hook attached to hold an object to be weighed. The top end has a ring to hang the scales up. The spring mechanism is enclosed by a steel cover. The front scale face is made of brass and both this face and the rear spring casing are fastened by three rivets. On the front is a spring-loaded blade which has equally spaced scale markings next to it on one side. This item is much rusted. ‘Hughes Pocket Balance’ ‘Patent’ Scale Markings:- ‘0 to 25’ pocket spring balances, household items of the past., history of warrnambool

Salters Improved Spring Balance Scalesstawell

Peck, Stow & Wilcox was founded in 1870 by the merger of three different industrial tool manufacturers specializing in tin-processing equipment. Their factory complex was at 217 Centre Street in Southington, Connecticut. The company grew rapidly, and was by 1890 producing a diversified array of tools. It was also the town's largest employer. The plant was substantially enlarged in 1912, which is the period when most of the buildings surviving in 1989 were built. By that time, the complex was operated by Ideal Forging. That company went bankrupt in 2003, and the plant was acquired by real estate developers not long afterwards. Demolition of the premises took place in 2015, after hazardous materials were removed from the site.A large American company that exported it’s goods all over the world and was a major producer of balance scales. The company no longer in existence and its products are now regarded as collectors items. The subject item in the Flagstaff Hill collection is significant as the pocket spring balance scale is one of the earliest produced.Spring Balance Scale Weighs 0 to 25LBS.Stamped PS&W. Has a five pointed star stamped on front.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, spring balance scales, peck stow & wilcox, pocket balance scale, weighing scales

A Large Rare mid 19th Century Balance Scale (also called a Beam Scale) Made in England by W&T Avery a British manufacturer of weighing machines. The company was founded in the early 18th century and took the name W & T Avery in 1818. The undocumented origin of the company goes back to 1730 when James Ford established the business in the town of Digbeth. On Joseph Balden the then company’s owner’s death in 1813 William and Thomas Avery took over his scale making business and in 1818 renamed it W & T Avery. The business rapidly expanded and in 1885 they owned three factories: the Atlas Works in West Bromwich, the Mill Lane Works in Birmingham and the Moat Lane Works in Digbeth. In 1891 the business became a limited company with a board of directors and in 1894 the shares were quoted on the London Stock Exchange. In 1895 the company bought the legendary Soho Foundry in Smethwick, a former steam engine factory owned by James Watt & Co. In 1897 the move was complete and the steam engine business was gradually converted to pure manufacture of weighing machines. The turn of the century was marked by managing director William Hipkins who was determined to broadening the renown of the Avery brand and transforming the business into a specialist manufacture of weighing machines. By 1914 the company occupied an area of 32,000m² and had some 3000 employees. In the inter-war period the growth continued with the addition of specialized shops for cast parts, enamel paints and weighbridge assembly and the product range diversified into counting machines, testing machines, automatic packing machines and petrol pumps. During the second world war the company also produced various types of heavy guns. At that time the site underwent severe damage from parachute mines and incendiary bombs.Then from 1931 to 1973 the company occupied the 18th-century Middlesex Sessions House in Clerkenwell as its headquarters. Changes in weighing machine technology after World War II led to the closure of the foundry, the introduction of electronic weighing with the simultaneous gradual disappearance of purely mechanical devices. The continued expansion was partly achieved through a series of acquisitions of other companies. After almost a century of national and international expansion the company was taken over by GEC in 1979. Keith Hodgkinson, managing director at the time, completed the turn-around from mechanical to electronic weighing with a complete overhaul of the product range of retail scales and industrial platform scales. In 1993 GEC took over the Dutch-based company Berkel and the Avery-Berkel name was introduced. In 2000 the business was in turn acquired by the US-American company Weigh-Tronix, who already owned Salter, and is today operating as Avery Weigh-Tronix. Item made and used possibly around the 1850s by Victorian colonial government to check weights of goods being sold by early shop keepers on the gold fields item is very rare.James McEwan & Co were the retailers of W & T Avery scales in Victoria from 1852. A very rare item used probably to check weights used by merchants during colonial times by government inspectors in Victoria. A similar example exist in a NSW museum, the item is believed to have been made before W & T Avery expansion to the Soho foundry in Birmingham in 1885 and after 1818.Beam balance scale suspended from a wooden tripod, with metal trays suspended by three chain lengths. embossed on the balance beam W T Avery, Birmingham,flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, scale, avery

Scales like these were used to weigh babies.Dr Mitchell Henry O'Sullivan worked in the Victorian country town of Casterton as a general practitioner from 1919 until his death in 1977. He also practiced obstetrics. His son, Dr David More O'Sullivan donated the obstetric bag and its contents to the College in 1999. The gladstone bag and contents are a unique time capsule of the type of instruments and pharmaceuticals used in the inter-war period. Set of small, portable spring balance scales. With case/enclosure.infant care

Wooden box containing W.W. & R.M. Telford Balance Scales and weightsstawell

In the 18th century, spring scales appeared. To produce these scales, a manufacturer would use the resistance of a spring to calculate weights, which could be read automatically on the scale’s face. The ease of use of spring scales over balance scales is what led most post offices to outfit their clerks with spring postal scales. One of the most common types of spring scales was the kitchen scale—also known as a family or dial scale. Designed for horizontal surfaces, these scales used the weight of goods in a pan at the top of the scale to force the spring down. Such scales were common in early-20th-century households and were sold by Sears and Montgomery Ward. Many had flat weighing surfaces but some were topped by shallow pans. Companies such as Salters, Chatillon, and Fairbanks made both. SALTER HOUSEWARES began in the late 1760 in the village of Bilston, England. At this time Richard Salter, a spring maker, began making 'pocket steelyards', a scale similar to the fisherman's scale of today. By 1825 his nephew George had taken over the company, which became known as George Salter & Co. and later established a large, well equipped manufacturing site in the town of West Bromwich. The business thrived throughout the 1900s, and in 1972 the company was purchased by Staveley Industries Plc. In 2002, the management team at Salter Housewares Ltd, backed by Barclays Private Equity, bought the company out from the group, to concentrate on its consumer businesses. In 2004 was sold to the US-based HoMedics company, and in 2006, Salter Housewares USA and Taylor Precision Products Inc (also owned by HoMedics) merged. A portable, brass balance scale , 'Salters' for weighing items. A steel ring holds a brass plate marked with graduations 0 – 26 to which is attached a steel hook. ( rope & arrow TM ) / SALTER / POCKET / BALANCE / MADE IN ENGLAND Graduated 0 – 26 / PATENT / No. 8 Base rope & anchor S (trade mark) pioneers, early settlers, market gardeners, moorabbin, brighton, cheltenham, tools, craftsman, balance, scales, weights, imperial measure,, salter housewares pty ltd, west bromwich, england, salter george, salter richard, bilston england,

A self-contained demountable balance scale set mounted and housed in a timber box. Complete with balance weights - scales, balance, scientific instrument

8388.1 - Brass-faced spring-balance scales, with hook and rope-ring, rated up to 200 pounds.- Salter's spring balance No 20 made in England - Silvester's (?) patent to weigh 200lb

The subject item was made in England by W&T Avery a British manufacturer of weights and weighing machines. The company was founded in the early 18th century and took the name W & T Avery in 1818. The undocumented origin of the company goes back to 1730 when James Ford established the business in the town of Digbeth. On Joseph Balden, the then company’s owner’s death in 1813 William and Thomas Avery took over his scale making business and in 1818 renamed it W & T Avery. The business rapidly expanded and in 1885 they owned three factories: the Atlas Works in West Bromwich, the Mill Lane Works in Birmingham and the Moat Lane Works in Digbeth. In 1891 the business became a limited company with a board of directors and in 1894 the shares were quoted on the London Stock Exchange. In 1895 the company bought the legendary Soho Foundry in Smethwick, a former steam engine factory owned by James Watt & Co. In 1897 the move was complete and the steam engine business was gradually converted to pure manufacture of weighing machines. The turn of the century was marked by managing director William Hipkins who was determined to broaden the renown of the Avery brand and transform the business into specialist manufacture of weighing machines. By 1914 the company occupied an area of 32,000m² and had some 3000 employees. In the inter-war period, the growth continued with the addition of specialized shops for cast parts, enamel paints and weighbridge assembly and the product range diversified into counting machines, testing machines, automatic packing machines and petrol pumps. During the second world war, the company also produced various types of heavy guns. At that time the site underwent severe damage from parachute mines and incendiary bombs. Then from 1931 to 1973, the company occupied the 18th-century Middlesex Sessions House in Clerkenwell as its headquarters. Changes in weighing machine technology after World War II led to the closure of the foundry, the introduction of electronic weighing with the simultaneous gradual disappearance of purely mechanical devices. The continued expansion was partly achieved through a series of acquisitions of other companies. After almost a century of national and international expansion, the company was taken over by GEC in 1979. Keith Hodgkinson, managing director at the time, completed the turn-around from mechanical to electronic weighing with a complete overhaul of the product range of retail sales of industrial platform scales. In 1993 GEC took over the Dutch-based company Berkel and the Avery-Berkel name was introduced. In 2000 the business was in turn acquired by the US-American company Weigh-Tronix, who already owned Salter, and is today operating as Avery Weigh-Tronix.An item used by grocers and merchants throughout the then British colonies of England to weigh store-bought goods around the mid to late 19th century. This item gives an insight into the daily lives of early colonial settlers and is a significant part of the era’s social history of the time.Balance scale and weights with removable dish, two round weights glued to tray 4oz and 8oz. Scales 'to weigh up to 28lb. Printed in gold on black labels each side "W & T AVERY LTD", "BIRMINGHAM" warrnambool, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, scale and weights, food preparation equipment, w t avery ltd, balance scale, grocers scales, james ford, william & thomas avery, birmingham uk

The Story of the children who lived and died with the killer diseases of the last century (1800's). Theere is a preservation order now on force to restore the cm=emetary.Yellow Card Cover with black in drawing of Large balance scale. A Miner slucing gravel to the left and a woman looking at an empty cradle to the rightThe Pennyweight Kids 1852 1857 A.R. McMillan Why did more than 200 children die at Forest Creek Victoria and who were They? 1830 The Ancestors - The Descendants 1930 Inside: To The Stawell Historical Society from the Authorcastlemaine

Donanted by Robert Petty Family of Petty's Orchard in Doncaster/Templestowe area. The scales were owned by Gertrude Petty (nee Pye)Kitchen scales - imperial measurement, balance scale , 25lb capacity. Enamel Painted, chrome with chrome tray. Krups brand. Made in Germany.Krups Perla, made in Germanydomestic items, weighing

Scales such as the subject item were used to measure commercial quantities, possibly grains and farm produce for quite large amounts of product. Bags of grain etc would have been hooked up and weighed. Salter has been a name long associated with weights and measures. The firm began life in the late 1760s in the village of Bilston, England when Richard Salter, a spring maker, began making the first spring scales in Britain. He called these scales "pocket steelyards", though they work on a different principle from steelyard balances. By 1825 his nephew George had taken over the company, which became known as George Salter & Co. George later established a manufacturing site in the town of West Bromwich, about 4 miles (7 km) from Bilston. West Bromwich Albion football club was formed from workers at this works site. From here the company produced a wide variety of scales including the UK's first bathroom scales. Other items were added to the range, including irons, mincers, potato chippers, coin-operated machines and the first typewriters made in the UK. The business thrived throughout the 1900s, and by 1950 it employed over 2000 people, still in the same area and owned by the same family.Salter is a British housewares brand developing products that span a wide range of core product categories, including scales, electrical, cookware. It is a market leader in kitchen and bathroom scales and one of the UK’s oldest consumer brands.  Established in 1760, Salter has been developing precision products for over 260 years. It was acquired by Manchester-based consumer goods giant Ultimate Products in 2021 after they had previously licensed the brand for cookware and kitchen electrical since 2011.Balance scale Salters Spring Balance consisting of a circular, bronze face engraved with measurements in pounds, with an iron hand, weighing mechanism and hanging loop. Engraved on the face: "Class III Salter's Spring Balance Silvester's Patent To Weigh 300lbs".flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, salter balance scale, weight measuring scale, weighing dry goods

Jabez and John Whitehouse had the Phoenix Foundry in Castle Street, Tipton. These scales are interesting because they are a common domestic kitchen item used when all meals were prepared at home. A set of cast iron balance scales with seven weights up to 4 lbs. The pan is detachable and painted green. The pan seems to be made of tin. The weights are labelled.TO WEIGH 14 LBS weights - J. & J. Whitehouse TIPTONscales food-preparation weights cast-iron measurement

Sets of scales similar to these were very common in households throughout Australia in the 19th and 20th centuries. Avery of Birmingham were a British manufacturer of weighing machines. The company was founded in the early 18th century and took the name W & T Avery in 1818. The company produced a wide range of scales ranging from industrial scales and weighbriges to small scales for domestic use, such as these scales. At the time of the death of the last Avery family member in 1918, it employed over 3,000 people and had businesses all over the world. Today it has evolved to become part of the conglomerate, Avery Weigh-Tronix.Domestic scales such as these were common throughout Australian homes. They are now primarily superceded by plastic items, often electronic.Metal balance table scales and a set of imperial weightsOn weights "AVERY/ B'HAM"weights and measures australia, domestic scales

Scale - Balance Brass scale with 05, 10 m 20, 30. on the other side is 20 to 300. Approx 100mm x 80mm

A pair of scales or dishes in which objects to be weighed and the weights / masses against which to weigh them are placed is an "Apparatus for weighing. The pan, or each of the pans, of a balance." Its parts include a fulcrum, a beam that balances on it, two pans at the ends of the beam to hold the materials to be weighed, and counter-balancing weights. Gottingen made fine precision scientific scales for use by assayers, jewellers, chemists, gold buyers rtc. A 2 pan analytical, scientific or pharmaceutical beam balance scale made in Gottingen Germany c 1880. These scales are encased in a mahogany framed glass cabinet and Graded 0 -9 9-0D.R.PATENT / GOTTINGER PRAZISIONSWAGENFABRIK G.m.b.H. / GOTTINGEN On upright V over GPW scales, balance, precision measures, gold, pharmacy, precious metals, jewellery, gottingen germany, sartorious f, moorabin, bentleigh, cheltenham, early settlers, gold miners, pioneers, market gardeners, ballarat, bendigo, imperial measure, troy weight

BHS CollectionA set of six weights for balance scales, possibly for weighing gold. We have a 2, 1, 1/2 and 1/4 ounces and a 20 and 10 GM. Aileen and John Ellison Collection.weights, balance

The Percy Uebergang family lived at Tooram Park, Allansford from 1912 until 1992. The scales were part of the collection of kitchen items given into the care of the Cheese World Museum.Heavy silver-coloured cast iron balance scales with an 8-sided tray to hold the weights, and a 4-armed cradle to hold the tin ingredient tray. The scooped ingredient tray has folded edges.TO WEIGH 14lb (on base: Uebergang No.F16)domestic items, food preparation, allansford, uebergang, kitchen scales

The Hughes’ Family Scale No. 48 is a spring balance scale. It uses the Imperial measurements of ounces and pounds. There are 16 ounces (OZ) in one pound (LB), and each pound equals approximately 454 grams in Metric measurements. Scales have been used to measure and compare items for value for centuries. A weight was placed on one side of a balance and the object was placed on the other. Adjustments were made to either the weight or the object until the balance was horizontal, which meant that each side was the same weight. The Salter family business began in 1760 with spring makers, Richard and William Salter. In the late 18th century, Richard Salter invented the spring scale, where the weight of an object on the tray of the scale causes pressure on a spring in the scale. The pressure caused by gravity was then measured to calculate the weight of an object. Spring scales are still used today along with the more recent and accurate digital scales. The company began manufacturing in West Bromwich, England, in 1770. The firm was taken over by William’s sons, John and George. In 1824, after the death of John, the firm became George Salter & Co. The company produced a wide variety of products, including Britain’s first bathroom scale and the first English typewriter. In 1884 the Salter Trademark of a Staffordshire knot pierced by an arrow was registered. After over 100 years of manufacturing, the company was bought out by Staveley Industries, which was bought by Weigh-Tronix, and then that company was bought by HoMedics Company in 2004.This scale was made by Salter, the company that invented the balance scale, the first British bathroom scale and the first English typewriter. The scale represents the domestic equipment used for measuring in food preparation over 100 years ago. Modern kitchen scales are still using the same principal, along with scales used in business and industry.Scale; a domestic spring balance scale for measuring weight from 0 to 20 pounds. The scale’s grey metal case has a round white dial on the front with black markings, an arrow indicator and a round shallow metal bowl on a pedestal at the top. The scale is raised on a rectangular metal base with outward-sloping sides. An adjustable screw is on the dome top. The scale is marked from 0 to 20 pounds, with each pound marked in 1-ounce increments. The scale is named the Hughes Family Scale No. 48 and was made in Britain by Salter.“HUGHES’ / FAMILY SCALE / No. 48” “BRITISH MADE” “TO WEIGH 20 LBS BY 1 OZ” “SALTER” above logo [knotted rope with an arrow through loops]flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, hughes, salter, british made, family scale, no. 48, spring balance, scale, weighing instrument, weights and measures, weighing machine, kitchen utensil, baking accessory, domestic equipment, cookware, bakeware, kitchen scale, kitchen accessory, food preparation, recipes, cooking, measuring

These scales were used by students at St Joseph's School in Orbost. St Joseph's Catholic School in Orbost was planned from 1913 when the town's population was increasing rapidly. It wasn't until 1923 that the school was built in Raymond Street next to St Colman's Church. The Catholic school was opened in thecharge of Sister Moira and Sister Lucy, Fifty-five students were initially enrolled and taught in two rooms. When the numbers increased to 170 work began on extensions which were completed in 1959. St Joseph's school had classes to Form 4 at one stage. Later on Form 2 was the highest level. However, after Nagle College at Bairnsdale built a new school on the Lindenow Road site, a Nagle College school bus ran from Orbost and the school was reduced to Grade 6. It was also about this time that the last of the St Joseph teaching nuns left Orbost. From 1969 to the early 1980s the secondary St Joseph students attended Orbost High School for the practical subjects of Woodwork and Home Economics. Today enrolments reflect the declining population of the district.This item is an example of early school equipment.A set of beam balance scales in a wooden framed cabinet with glass windows on all for sides. The front is a vertical slide which allows acess to the scales. The scales have one fixed leg and two adjustable legs for accurate levelling. GRIFFIN GEORGE LIMITED, LONDON, BIRMINGHAM, MANCHESTER label on front of wooden section of case -ANALITE PTY LTD ASG@W EDINBURGH MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN MINOR REG DES No's 891235 & 891238education science scientific-apparatus measurement