Description

A watt hour meter consisting of a metal instrument mounted on a circular wood board with a glass cylindrical case over the instrument. The top of the watt hour meter has an instrument dial with a pointer and a scale that goes from 0 to 100. Four smaller instrument dials are mounted on the main dial. These are labeled 1,000,000, 100,000, 10,000, and 1,000. Serial number 16839924.

In the late 1800s, inventors developed various ways to try to accurately track electrical consumption to allow electric companies to measure (and charge for) electricity. Induction meters like these, which used a magnetic field to rotate a cylinder, which in turn was counted on a dial on the instrument, became the standard for registering energy usage.