Keuffel & Esser 1419W Chain Scale

The front of this white and green plastic rule with beveled edges has a scale divided to 1/10" and numbered by ones from 0 to 6 along its top edge. The bottom edge has a scale for 1/4" to the foot, divided to 1/40" and numbered by twos from 0 to 24. The rule is marked: K+E 1419W KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. The back has scales for 3/8" to the foot, divided to 1/50" and numbered by twos from 0 to 30, and for 5/16" to the foot, divided to 1/30" and numbered by twos from 0 to 18. A brown leather sheath holds the rule. Compare to 1981.0933.14 and 1998.0032.09.

Keuffel & Esser began offering model 1419 in plastic in 1949. At $1.80, the instrument represented a significant savings over the $4.20 price for the boxwood version of model 1419. The trade-off was that the marks were not engine-divided. The firm changed its model numbers in 1962. According to the donor, the instrument was used by her husband, the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993).

References: Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 41st ed. (New York, 1949), 153, 159; Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Andrew Alpern Collection of Drawing Instruments (Columbia University, 2007), 105, http://www.columbiauniversity.org/cu/lweb/img/assets/8897/alpern.pdf; accession file.

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