Description
Smalley Manufacturing Co. — Antique Scales & History
About Smalley Manufacturing Co.
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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
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Scales bearing the Smalley Manufacturing name are typically:
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Cast iron counter or merchant scales with brass dial faces.
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General-store or commercial weighing scales used in retail stores, produce markets, pharmacies, etc.
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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.
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Historical Context
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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.
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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.
