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1850 NEW MEXICO TERRITORY – COLORADO TERRITORY –
PIKE’S PEAK WOOD CASED POCKET GOLD FIELD SCALES –
IDENTIFIED TO AN IMMIGRANT FROM CONNECTICUT IN
ALBUQUERQUE: This is a great little set of
mid-19TH Century Gold Field Miner’s Pocket
Scales, identified to Rufus Pierpont, a merchant from
Connecticut who was traveling through Albuquerque, New
Mexico Territory in 1850, on his way to Pike’s Peak in
the Colorado Territory, and he commemorated his trip on
the label he glued to the inside cover of the scale
case.
Rufus Pierpont was born in New Haven, Connecticut in
1818 into a family of merchants. Pierpont died at home
in New Haven in 1855 at the age of 37, and his widow
never remarried, living out her life and raising their
children in the family home until her passing in New
Haven in 1917 at the age of 93. That she stayed in the
same home, in the same community probably accounts for
how this set of scales, a keep sake of her husband’s
adventure out west, survived to be acquired by a modern
collector. The set was purchased in the 1970’s from an
estate sale in the Hartford, Connecticut area.
No record of Pierpont’s journey through the west has
been found. Given the times, and that he was traveling
and not a permanent resident of Albuquerque, or the New
Mexico or Colorado Territories, that he left no record
of his passage through that part of the frontier is not
particularly surprising. However, the birth records of
his immediate family does identify the window of
opportunity during which he was able to make his
journey.
Pierpont married Harriet Richards on September 14,
1847. Their first child, Elias was born in New Haven on
November 28, 1849, indicating the child was conceived in
February of 1849. Elias died of complications related
to the birth in January of 1850. Whether Pierpont was
still home for the birth of the child or at the time of
his passing is unknown. Their second child was born on
May 8, 1851 – also in New Haven - which indicates
Pierpont had returned home for the conception by
September of 1850. Their third and forth children were
born at regular intervals in 1853 and 1854, and Pierpont
fell ill in July of 1855, dying within a few days from
unexplained hemorrhaging from his lungs. The period
between the conception of the two children – February of
1849 and September of 1850 – allows ample time for
Pierpont’s journey through the west when he would have
had this set of cased scales and recorded his passage
through Albuquerque and his intent to travel “ON TO
PIKE’S PEAK” on the label applied to the inside of
the case cover.
This set consists of a case made of oak, measuring 5 ¾”
long, 2 ¾” wide and just over 1” deep, the full set of
scales, and two natural, presumably gold nuggets. I
have not had them tested, but they have all the
appearance of real gold.
The wooden case is full form with no cracks or splits,
has tight joints, and it still retains the original
simple iron wire hinges and the brass hook and eye
closure. The label is full form with no surface or edge
loss, is still completely sealed to the inside of the
case lid, and all of the inked, hand written inscription
and decorative drawing is fully legible.
The scales consist of a delicately formed 5” long iron
balance bar, top loop, and balance indicator, from which
two matching brass pans measuring 2” in diameter are
suspended by the original twisted cotton cords. A loop
of the same twisted cotton cord is attached to the top
of the top loop of the balance bar for suspending the
scales in use. Overall, this is a very attractive, and
notably complete, set of mid-19TH scales as
were carried into the gold fields by prospectors.
While these sets of scales appear on the market from
time to time, rarely do they survive with the case
intact, and almost never are they identified with the
name of the adventurous soul who entered the mountains
in search of his fortune, or the date of his journey.
This set has it all, and it is dated in the high point
of the Gold Fever which pulled so many men into the gold
fields of the American West.
SOLD
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