The platform here is marked, in raised letters, “LIVINGSTON, COPELAND & CO. / NOVELTY WORKS” and “NO. 10.” The beam is marked “LIVINGSTON COPELAND & CO.” on one side, and “PITTSBURGH NOVELTY WORKS” on the other. Despite these inscriptions, the hardware for this scale, if not the entire device, was probably made by E. & T. Fairbanks in St. Johnsbury, Vt.
The Pittsburgh Novelty Works was established in 1833 and specialized in “Domestic Hardware.” Laureston R. Livingston and John J. Roggen took charge of the firm in 1846. Livingston and William B. Copeland were proprietors by 1856. The shop burned in 1870 and was not rebuilt.
Ref: Pittsburgh Novelty Works, Catalogue and Price List (Pittsburgh, [186?], pp. 18-29.
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