Antique Smalley Manufacturing Scales from Chicago USA check out these hand painted sides to this set of scales. A true patriotic set of store sales from the foundation times of USA
Smalley Manufacturing Co. — Antique Scales & History
About Smalley Manufacturing Co.
- Smalley Manufacturing Co. was an American maker whose name appears on old general store counter scales and similar weighing equipment. Some antique scales show a brass nameplate reading “Smalley Manufacturing Co., 21–59 Albert Street, Chicago”, identifying them as original Chicago-made pieces.
What They Made
- Scales bearing the Smalley Manufacturing name are typically:
- Cast iron counter or merchant scales with brass dial faces.
- General-store or commercial weighing scales used in retail stores, produce markets, pharmacies, etc.
- Often found with markers showing the maker and Chicago address, dating to the late-19th to early-20th century era of American industrial scale production.
Historical Context
- Chicago was a major hub for scale and weighing equipment manufacturing in the early 20th century, with many companies (e.g., Pelouze, Triner, Hanson, Fairbanks dealers) producing spring scales, postal scales, family/kitchen scales, and merchant scales.
- While Smalley isn’t as widely documented as Pelouze or Fairbanks, surviving pieces with Smalley Manufacturing Co. branding confirm it was active as a scale maker or at least an assembler/marketer of scales in that Chicago industrial ecosystem
