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Smithsonian sunburst Smithsonian National Postal Museum
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    street map of Postal museum

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  • Sav-A-Stamp postal scale
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Sav-A-Stamp postal scale

Object Details

Description
The Sav-A-Stamp pendulum balance type scale features a clip to hold letters and small mail items to determine postage required by weight. The black, metal scale weighs items up to four ounces. The ring allows the user to hold or hang the scale while measuring the mail piece suspended from the clip. The mail piece is counter balanced by the rectangular-shaped plate that also serves two additional purposes: it is marked for the dial to indicate weight in half-ounce increments from zero to four and provides postage rate information. The plate has no markings on the reverse side.
The postage rate chart indicates that the scale was produced within the relatively brief window when the airmail rate was at eight cents per ounce, between March 26, 1944 and September 30, 1946. Small hanging scales such as this were common for household use, and this piece was most likely used for personal letters by its original owners, a couple from Long Beach, California employed as a baker and housewife.
The patent number 2060064 dates from November 10, 1936. The scale is marked A. Browne Company of Pasadena, California.
References:
United States Post Office Department. United States Domestic Postage Rates, 1789 to 1956. Washington DC, 1956.
Diane Sandison, e-mail messages to Lynn Heidelbaugh, August 28, 2008.
Data Source
National Postal Museum
Date
1944-1946
Object number
2008.2023.1
Type
Commercial Products
Medium
metal; paint
Dimensions
Height x Width: 6 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (15.88 x 12.07 cm)
Place
California
See more items in
National Postal Museum Collection
Topic
Customers & Commerce
Record ID
npm_2008.2023.1
Usage
CC0
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8a215a7ef-58c5-4263-a6e5-6c18cff8bbd7
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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HomeSmithsonian National Postal Museum

Visit »

Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Admission is always free!

2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20002

The museum's main entrance is located on the corner of First Street and Massachusetts Avenue NE. Other entrances have variable hours.

street map of Postal museum

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Owney, the Railway Mail Service Mascot

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