pocket letter scale
This pocket letter scale was made for the Italian market. The front has the text: PESA LETTERE. This is Italian for letter scale. Also it has engraved No. 161926. I could not figure out whether this is a patent number. Also engraved at the front is: GRAMMI. This is Italian for grams. The indicated weighing values are 0 - 7½ - 10 - 15 - 20 - 30 and 50. The value 40 is only indicated by a stripe. The back of the letter scale is advertising: BOSCA VERMOUTH SPUMANTI.
This letter scale design is also known in France. There the front text is: PESE-LETTRES. Also these French letter scales have the name G. HUND at the front. And the unit of measurement is GRAMMES. Probably G. HUND made the design of this letter scale. There are also versions with a centrally added text: EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE 1867. (Universal Exhibition 1867). Also an even smaller version exists of which the weighing range is up to 30 grams. I have seen another Italian version with a different text at the back: Biscotti GATTI cioccolata Lejet Trieste 3. And yet another Italian letter scale advertising: FARMACEUTICI ITALIA S.A. MILANO. At an American website I saw this letter scale model with at the back: Laboratoire Santos-Buch Santiago de Cuba Habana. At internet auctions an Argentine version is offered regularly. This model is executed exactly the opposite: the engraving and pointer are mounted on the back, and the back has become Argentina's front. The effect is that the model is flipped vertically. The front reads: INDUSTRIA ARGENTINA - MICRO PAT. 5612 and the unit of measure is GRAMOS. This version does not have the reading 7½, it is probably a much later made mirrored copy of the French design. That value 7½ still is on the French letter scales with the
checking the letter scale with a weight
