In the 19th century a popular thing for your desk would be a postal scale, after dealing with your correspondence you could pop your mail onto these small scale to establish the weight, and then place the appropriate stamps on the letter, this way when a member of staff took the mail to the postoffice there would be no need to carry money.
 
A brass bilatreral postal scale on a smart black glass base.
 
Condition is good with slight tarnish to brass, no chips or cracks
 
Dimensions ; 11cm x 6.5cm x 15cm high