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platform balance
platform balance

platform balance

Datecirca 1860
Inventory Number1998-1-0449
ClassificationBalance
Subject
    Maker Becker & Sons 1855 - 1884
    Cultural Region
      Place of Origin
        Dimensions19.8 x 34 x 14 cm (7 13/16 x 13 3/8 x 5 1/2 in.)
        Material
          DescriptionA rather luxurious balance of the inverted kind, with the trays above the beam instead of hanging from it. The mechanism itself is concealed inside a wooden box that has a marble top with small holes through which the tray holders connect to the balance. The tray holders are a fine brass with a cast shape of arrows pointing at one another indicating when the system is balanced. The trays were originally brass and its user nickel-plated them. The whole tray area is enclosed by a glass cover with a wooden frame that opens towards the back. There is one dial on the frontal side presumably to adjust the balance, and a drawer below it, probably to store the standard weights.
          Signedon lid: BECKER & SONS / NEW YORK
          Curatorial RemarksUsed by Dr. Adams 1865-70, who also nickel-plated the brass pans.
          FunctionThis balance does not differ much in its operation from others, but its design is inverted in that the trays are above the beam instead of hanging from it. One would place the item to be weighed on one tray and the standard weights on the other, which were probably kept in the drawer at the bottom. One could close the lid to let the system come to rest, but even when it remained open, the balance was relatively insulated from outside interference as its mechanism remained enclosed.
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