For sale is a stunning APOTHECARY CLASS A PRECISION BALANCE SCALE Style 269 from the Torsion Balance Company. This scale was marketed by the company as the “best and handsomest upright pan balance ever made.” An interior manufacturers plaque on the base of the scale reads “The Torsion Balance Co. New York” with a serial number B104049. The scale has a 120 gram capacity. This scale measures approximately 12 1/2 inches long, 5 inches deep, and 6 1/2 inches tall. The scale has a hinged top. All of the scale except for the balance plates at the top are encased in a plate glass case. The scale’s nickel plate frame and glass are in excellent condition. The scale works as designed but the accuracy of the scale is untested. This scale was probably made prior to the 1920s and would have been used for decades by a local pharmacy. The scale bears an inspection sticker from the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Weights and Measures Division. Screw feet adjust the level of this scientific antique scale and and the pans are removable. A top notch vintage apothecary scale.
In 1897, the Springer Torsion Balance Company was founded but in 1902 was renamed the Torsion Balance Company and incorporated in New York. In 1915, the Torsion Balance Company bought the Christian Becker company and formed a New York corporation called Christian Becker, Inc. which was engaged in the manufacture and sale of analytical balances. This purchase included the right to the use of the trade name “Christian Becker”. The acquisition of Christian Becker offered opportunity for the introduction of the Torsion Balance into laboratories as a balance less sensitive and less expensive than the analytical balance, but one for which there was a need. Retail druggists were the principal buyers of the Torsion Balance Scales who needed a precision weighing device to compound prescriptions under adverse conditions which would quickly ruin balances which relied on knife edges or friction bearing.
