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Christian Becker Table Top Analytical Balance Scale,

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Scales Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 800.00 USD
Christian Becker Table Top Analytical Balance Scale,
IMPORTANT NOTE ON BUYERS PREMIUMS:

Lot 100 to 343 have a premium of 15%.

The rest of the sale is 19.5% as noted in the listing.

Lot Pick Up: Holabird-Kagin Americana,
3555 Airway Drive Ste #309,
Reno NV 89511,
Sunday - December 9, 10am-4pm
c1900 - A fine example of a Christian Becker Analytical Balance Scale from the early 1900s. The only contents are three adjustable feet for balancing the device on a flat surface. Other accoutrements, such as the weights and tweezers that typically accompany this sort of scale, are not included here. The company tag/scale is affixed to the front of the central column and reads "Christian Becker/ Successor to/ Becker & Sons & Becker & Bro.s/ New-York". The slide-out storage drawer below the stage features two compartments. Measures 15.5" x 12.5" x 8". All of the glass is original and intact, and the deep mahogany finish on the wooden case is in fine condition, save for a small worn patch on the rear of the case. Brass knobs and fixtures. Records from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, which later became Polytechnic University, show that Christian Becker attended the third grade in 1857-58, was in the senior academic department in 1859 and the junior collegiate department in 1860. There is no evidence from those records that he graduated. He eventually entered his father`s factory, and, one by one, mastered every department and detail of the business, thus becoming a practical workman in the manufacture of scales and balances. In 1884 Christian and Ernst left their father and started their own business as Becker Brothers and Christopher changed the name of his company to Christopher Becker; for a short while there were two Becker companies doing business in the Westchester County area. Boyd`s Westchester County Directory for 1884-85 lists "Christian Becker (Scales NY) with his home on Banks near Prospect and Christopher Becker, scales with his home on Church near Trinity." Christopher Becker continued to be engaged successfully in business until a short time before his death in 1890, when the firm of Christopher Becker ceased to exist. In 1892 Ernst died and the name Becker Brothers was changed to Christian Becker. It continued as such until February 8, 1915 when The Torsion Balance Company bought the company and formed a New York corporation called Christian Becker, Inc. At least at one time during the era of Christian Becker, Inc. a factory was located at 147- 149 Eighth Street, Jersey City, New Jersey, while an office was located at 92 Reade Street, New York, NY. Later the factory address became 147-153 Eighth Street, Jersey City, New Jersey, suggesting a major expansion. Perhaps one of the best known products of the Beckers was the "chain-o-matic" system of weighing. "Christopher A. Becker, son of Christian, was granted in 1915 a patent for the chain-o-matic system. This provides the beam with a special chain attachment by means of which the use of a rider is obviated and permits weights between 0.01 and 0.0001 gram to be rapidly ascertained. -61739