POSTAL BALANCE

maker: unknown, Germany bruine lijn

postal balance/letter scale from Germany

This is an old balance type that can be found in catalogs by Philipp Jakob Maul in Germany, but also by Testut in France. A similar balance on a brass base was previously shown, see this balance marked Soennecken. There is also some more information. The set of weights does not appear to be original and is certainly incomplete. They are weights of 120 grm, 60 grm, 30 grm, and 20 grm. Weights of 120 grams (grm) are listed in the export catalog of Ph.J. Maul from ±1910 on page 11. The sets mentioned are 1 - 2 - 2 - 5 - 10 - 20 - 30 - 60 - 120 - 250 -500. Depending on the chosen version of the balance. The balances were available in four weighing ranges: 125g, 250g, 500g and 1000g. In the 1909 catalog of Ph.J. Maul is on page 22 of this set: 1 - 2 - 2 - 5 - 10 - 15 - 30 - 60 - 125 - 250 -500. The 15g and 125g therefore appear to have been replaced by 20g and 120g as of 1910. This is also the case in 1912.

back of the postal balance

The wooden base measures 18 x 11 x 1.1 centimeters, the letter plate with dimensions 8.5 x 6.2 cm is 9 cm high and is bevelled at the corners. The corners of the Soennecken balance are rounded. The weight platform is 5.0 cm round. A cone point on the mounting strip is a target point for the pointer.
Below are some more images of this postal balance/letter scale.

side view

the weights in front of the balance

side view

detail of the unique connection	detail of the unique connection and just visible the cone tip	detail of the unique connection
from above	from below	the bottom
the front	in equilibrium	the front
image from the Export catalog of circa 1910 by Philipp Jakob Maul from Hamburg showing an similar balance mechanism with the same stabilizer strip	at the top is the exposed stabilizer strip [from above] below as lying in the fixed part of the letter balance [from above] at the bottom the stabilizer strip keeps the platform supports vertical [from the front] [source: Equilibrium 1992 No.4, p.1628. part of figure 3]	side view of a part of the balance with the unique stabilizer strip [source: Equilibrium 1992 No.4, p.1628. part of figure 3]

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version: August 16, 2024