Balance

Balance

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Description
Rugged balance with a chrome finish, designed for commercial and industrial purposes. The inscription on the front reads “THE EXACT WEIGHT SCALE CO., COLUMBUS, O. / ‘EXACT WEIGHT’ / MADE IN U.S.A. / U.S. PAT. NOS. NOV-8-1921 FEB-7-1922 / 1694442 / STYLE 8000.” That on the back reads “EXACT WEIGHT / SCALE CO. / COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A.” The scale reads “EXACT WEIGHT” and over/under up to two ounces. There are two 1 pound cylindrical weights.
The Smith Scale Company, of Columbus, Ohio, was established in 1916, to manufacture scales and balances designed by Walter Standish Smith (1877-1940). By 1930 the firm had become the Exact Weight Scale Co. That firm presented this example to the Smithsonian in 1935. The bottom is sectioned so that the mechanism can be seen.
Ref: Walter S. Smith, “Weighing Scale,” U.S. Patent 1,396,668 (Nov. 8, 1921), assigned to the Smith Scale Company.
Walter S. Smith, “Scale,” U.S. Patent 1,405,634 (Feb. 7, 1922), assigned to the Smith Scale Company.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
Scale
Object Type
Scales
date made
1938
maker
Exact Weight Scale Company
place made
United States: Ohio, Columbus
Measurements
base: 19 in x 7 in x 18 in; 48.26 cm x 17.78 cm x 45.72 cm
overall: 19 1/4 in x 22 in x 9 in; 48.895 cm x 55.88 cm x 22.86 cm
ID Number
CH.311532
accession number
135108
catalog number
311532
Credit Line
Gift of the Exact Weight Company
subject
Weights & Measures
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Chemistry
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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