Description

Metal advertising ruler with black and red markings. It has a scale of inches along the top edge, divided to 1/32" and numbered by ones from 1 to 6. The center of the rule is marked on the front with “‘It's always a good rule to call on us for answers to your metal questions’” in a red band and "Made of Duranickel. Whitehead Metal Products Company, Inc. // 303 West 10th Street New York 14, New York // Baltimore - Buffalo - Cambridge - Harrison - New Haven - Philadelphia - Syracuse" in black. The back has a scale of centimeters along the bottom edge, divided to millimeters and numbered by ones from 1 to 15, and a table of decimal equivalents.

In the late 19th century, American companies began to give away rulers are promotional items. Measuring, these companies realized, was a near universal activity by the 19th century and these rulers would remind customers of their company’s services. Often, these promotional rules also included tables or conversion charts that were relevant to their industry, like this table of decimal equivalents.

Type

marking