S/4541 Antique Victorian Salter Spring Balance

An unusual heavy duty Victorian Salter spring balance, having a brass face inscribed Salter's Imperial Spring Balance Warranted. It weighs up to 112 lbs (51 kilos), which is the heaviest we have ever come across. The spring is housed in a cast iron case, with a hanging ring to the top and a substantial hook to the base.

A spring scale, spring balance or newton meter is a type of weighing scale. It is made up of a spring fixed at one end with a hook to attach the item to be weighed at the other. It works by Hooke's Law, which states that the force needed to extend a spring is proportional to the distance that the spring is extended from its rest position. This is why the scale markings are equally spaced on the spring balance. It can only measure the weight and not the mass.

The first spring balance in the Britain was made around 1770 by Richard Salter of Bilston, near Wolverhampton. He founded the firm of George Salter and Co. with his nephews, John and George, and it is still producing scales and balances. The Spring balance was patented by them in 1838. They also used the spring balance method to replace the dead weight valves principle in locomotives.

Sold 2¾ in. (7 cm.) Wide
2 in. (5 cm.) Deep
23¾ in. (60.5 cm.) High
English Circa 1860