Historical information

The Crane foundry opened some time before 1827 and was known as Atherton’s Foundry, run by James Atherton and Henry Crane. Initially it was a brass foundry, but by 1827 iron castings were also produced on the site. The main products were castings for the building industry, ironmongery and brassware. In the 1830s castings for the hand tool and lock industries were added to the product range and by 1836 Henry Crane had taken control of the business.
The company became known as the Crane Foundry in 1847 with its own registered trademark. By the 1850s iron weights were produced, and a design was registered in 1872 with roundels decorating the edge. Brass weights were also produced, mainly after the regulation of 1890 that required weights of 2oz. or less to be made of brass.
In the early 1900s the foundry began to produce castings for electric motors and continued to do so throughout its life. The Crane family continued to control the company until 1917 when William Cyril Parkes of lock makers Josiah Parkes & Sons Limited, Willenhall became a majority shareholder. Things were going well until the company’s liabilities spiraled out of control with the rise in electricity and gas prices along with the loss of two of the company’s largest customers. The factory went into liquidation and then closed in 2006 an end to one of Wolverhampton’s oldest companies.

Significance

An item made by one of England's foundry’s based in Wolverhampton that exported items all over the world for many years. The scale gives a snapshot into the commercial life not only of England by Australian colonial life before Federation.

Physical description

Beam scale with three weights (4lb, 2lb, 1lb), metal tray, corroded

Inscriptions & markings

Marked on 2lb weight "Wolverhampton Crane Foundry"