I have recently had contact with Nicola Williams founder of the
Oertling History Project – Southern Hemisphere.
You may wonder what an ‘Oertling’ is. It is the manufacturer’s name for a style of scales.
The firm of L Oertling was the biggest and most famous maker of precision balances/scales in Great Britain. Oertling became part of the Avery group of companies, and from 1968 onwards Stanton Instruments were merged into this conglomerate.
Nicola is attempting to find and record all locations of Oertling Scales in the Southern Hemisphere. This is what she says:
I’m very pleased to introduce you to our society of Oertling – hunters!
We have quite a number from Kalgoorlie, and one from Coolgardie, I expect there could be more there. I have two from Leonora, one from Southern Cross, even one, most unexpectedly, from the Broome Pearling Museum. Perth Mint also has a wonderful collection. Any small museums are likely to have balances, also banks, antique shops, etc. And of course relatives of ex-assayers, miners, etc. Just ask everyone!
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Moya Sharp
I have an Oertling sovereign scale. Two Becker scales Oertling’s associate in America. I have 8 sets of weights over a period 1880 to 1940. I have collected over a period of about 10 years.