Mitsche Le Mans - Balance or scale - oak - Antique scale, 1880

Antique Mitsche professional balance – Le Mans – Oak and brass – France – Late 19th century
Important and rare French professional bench scale, made by the Mitsche Manufacture d'Instruments de Pesage of Le Mans, specialized in producing professional weighing instruments.
The piece retains on the vertical panel the beautiful original oval brass plaque bearing the inscription:
“MANUFACTURE D'INSTRUMENTS DE PESAGE – MITSCHE – AU MANS”
The manufactory is historically documented in Le Mans, in the Sarthe department (France). Specialized sources record Mitsche et Anfray among the makers of balanciers and balances-bascules active in Le Mans from 1873 to at least 1914. The activity of the Mitsche & Anfray factory in Le Mans is also documented in 1891.
In terms of construction features, materials, woodworking of the wooden frame, and the type of the complex weighing mechanism, the piece is attributable to the late 19th century, roughly 1880–1900.
The balance is built with a sturdy solid-oak frame, a large weighing platform, and a complex iron mechanism, with graduated rods and movable brass sliders/weights. The mechanical system uses a coordinated series of levers and pivots connected to the load platform.
Particularly interesting is the possibility to observe the complex mechanical structure even from the lower part, a testament to the high manufacturing quality of French professional weighing instruments from the second half of the nineteenth century.
The balance is complete and perfectly functional.
It retains a beautiful antique patina, with wear, oxidation, scratches and traces of use compatible with its age and original professional purpose. These characteristics have been intentionally preserved and contribute to the historic character of the balance.
A particularly significant comparison is provided by another known Mitsche historical balance, with a capacity of 100 kg, on which there is a brass plaque bearing the same inscription “Manufacture d'Instruments de Pesage – Mitsche – Au Mans.”
Manufacturer: Mitsche / Mitsche et Anfray
Place of production: Le Mans, Sarthe, France
Proposed period: late 19th century, circa 1880–1900
Materials: solid oak, iron/steel and brass
Dimensions: 62 × 47 × H 30 cm
Weight: approximately 15 kg
Condition: good overall condition compatible with age; signs, scratches, oxidation and wear due to use
Operation.
The balance thus constitutes an interesting example of French commercial and metrological instrumentation from the industrial era, today appreciated both as a historical technical instrument and as an important decorative collectible object.