Antique Bayliss & Co 19th Century English Brass Apothecary Counter Scale Balance

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"An antique 4lb. mercantile balance by Bayliss & Co of Birmingham, England. Features a twisted iron stand and brass balance … Read more "An antique 4lb. mercantile balance by Bayliss & Co of Birmingham, England. Features a twisted iron stand and brass balance with tray and scoop. Makers mark engraved along top arm

The antique apothecary scale is a meaningful symbol that has been depicted by a vast array of different cultures, countries, and creeds. From Egyptian mythology to Lady Justice, scales have become associated with accountability, and this iconography's popularity has made it a lasting collector's item for hundreds of years.

Unsurprisingly, balance scales have been around since antiquity and have been used for a variety of functional purposes for thousands of years. At its root, the balance scale has been used as a tool to measure the unknown weight of an item (like food, medicine, herbs, and so on) against a set of known weights. Thus, as a person adds known weights in calculated increments, they can determine the exact weight of an item by seeing how much it takes for the pan full of the item in question to become level with the weighted pan." See less