Peerless hanging letter scale

A letter hung from the hook swung a pendulum along a curved scale, showing the weight and so the postage.

Date: c. 1900
Maker: Cross Pen Company
Place: Massachusetts
Materials: metal
Dimensions: Height x Width x Depth: 6 1/4 x 3 1/2 x 1/2 in. (15.88 x 8.89 x 1.27 cm)
Museum: National Postal Museum
Credit line: Transfer from the Post Office Department

The “Peerless” Letter Scale is a quadrant, pendulum, hanging-style scale that features a clip and a hook to weigh both letters and small parcels. A contemporary advertisement and catalog listing for the scale noted that “the scale is made of hard metal, nickel-plated, weighs accurately up to twelve ounces, and will wear for years. It has no springs, levers, or other contrivances that are liable to get out of order, and is simple, accurate, and durable. The scale is provided . . . with a holder, whereby a letter or paper can be easily and quickly inserted, and a hook to attach to parcels. Each Scale is packed in a neat box, and can be sent safely through the mail.”

The case or box that originally accompanied the scale is described as a “handsome morocco box [sic], satin-lined, and is especially suitable as a presentation case.” The list price for the Peerless Letter Scale was fifty cents and the price for the case twenty-five cents. The catalog listing also indicated that the scale could be purchased with two different bases -- with the Japanned metal base, the scale sold for one dollar, and with the low tile base, $1.25.

The Cross Pen Company, founded in Boston in 1881, manufactured stylographic pens, nib fountain pens, and other related stationary and office materials. It had limited connection to the A.T. Cross Company of Providence, Rhode Island.

References:

NARA RG 28 Entry A1/282 Artifacts Relating to Postal History, n.d.; Box 1; file “Peerless Letter Scale” Michael Fultz, “Cross Letter/Parcel Scale?” and “History of A. T. Cross,”

http://www.penbid.com/Auction/showarticle.asp?art_id=60

Lambert, Barbara. 150 Years of the A.T. Cross Company. Lincoln, RI: Cross Company, 1996.

The museum's own record (Smithsonian, National Postal Museum)