Adders - Notched Band Adders
Building on ideas of Perrault and de Caze, in 1842 the Russian E. Kummer replaced the wooden rods on an adder with metal bands notched on each side. Kummer’s idea was adopted by the Frenchman Troncet, who published what he called an Arithmographe in the 1890s. Adders with notched bands became the most common form of the instrument sold in the United States in the 20th century.
These stylus-operated instruments generally had a crook at the top of each column, to allow one to move adjacent bands in carrying (or, in some cases, borrowing) a digit. They were manufactured around the world. Occasionally, notched band adders were combined with a slide rule, to ease multiplication and division. A special form of the instrument, designed for computer programmers, aided calculations in base 60 rather than usual decimal arithmetic.
"Adders - Notched Band Adders" showing 20 items.
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Troncet Arithmographe
- Description
- Louis-J. Troncet patented this instrument in his native France in 1889, and it was published by Larousse. The American scientist Daniel Draper purchased this example in 1895 for $2.50. It came in a small notebook with a set of multiplication tables.
- The Troncet arithmographe, like an instrument issued by the Russian E. Kummer in the 1840s, used flat metal bands with notched edges to represent digits. These bands were moved with the stylus to enter numbers. The instrument has seven crook-shaped columns that reveal the edges of eight notched bands. The crook at the top of each groove is designed to ease carrying or borrowing.
- Eight holes below the columns, labeled “ADDITION”, show the results of addition problems. Eight holes above the columns, labeled “SOUSTRACTION,” show the results of subtraction problems. There is no zeroing mechanism. Troncet’s design was widely adopted by later manufacturers.
- References: Mareschal, G., “Calculateur mecanique instante,” La Nature, 18 annee, 1890, pp. 307-308.
- P. Kidwell, “Scientists and Calculating Machines,” Annals of the History of Computing, 12 (1990): 31-40.
- P. Kidwell, "Adders Made and Used in the United States," Rittenhouse, 1994, 8:78-96.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1895
- maker
- Librairie Larousse
- ID Number
- MA*335348
- catalog number
- 335348
- accession number
- 304826
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Ve-Po-Ad Adder
- Description
- This black and gold notched band adder comes in a maroon cloth-covered cardboard notebook with a rusting stylus. It has eight columns of digits, and nine windows for displaying results. The narrow zeroing rod is at the top. With the object is a piece of the wrapping in which the adder was sent, showing the postage and date mailed.
- With MA*323626, this object is F&T 43 (1&2) from the collection of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company.
- The VE-PO-AD (Vest Pocket Adder) was sold by Reliable Typewriter and Adding Machine Corporation of Chicago from at least 1924 through at least 1940.
- References: Typewriter Topics, 57 (July 1924) p. 80.
- Popular Science Monthly, 126 (January 1933) p. 107.
- Popular Mechanics, 73 (January 1940) p. 127A, (February 1940) p. 151A, (March, 1940) p. 123A.
- P. Kidwell, "Adders Made and Used in the United States," Rittenhouse, 1994, 8:78-96.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1937
- distributor
- Reliable Typewriter & Adding Machine Corporation
- maker
- Reliable Typewriter & Adding Machine Corporation
- ID Number
- MA*323627
- catalog number
- 323627
- accession number
- 250163
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
TASCO Adder
- Description
- This stylus-operated notched band adder has eight columns. A sliding plate atop the machine allows one to adjust the columns for subtraction. A blue-black plastic case holds a metal stylus. Accompanying the instrument are “Instructions for Operating the Pocket Arithmometer.”
- The TASCO pocket arithmometer closely resembles an adder sold by the Gray Arithmometer Company of Ithaca, New York, in the early 20th century. It was distributed by the Morse Chain Company of Ithaca in the 1920s. In 1929, the Morse Chain Company became part of Borg-Warner Corporation. Distribution of the adder soon shifted to the Tavella Sales Company of New York City.
- Compare to 1986.0663.01.
- References: P. Kidwell, “Adders Made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 8, (1994), pp. 78-96.
- Advertisements in Popular Mechanics 83 (March 1945), p. 178, (April 1945): 180, and (May, 1945), p. 178.
- Popular Science 153 (January 1948), p. 34.
- Utility Supply Company, Office Supply Catalog (Chicago, 1946), p. 285.
- New York Times, October 30, 1949, p. S12.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1945
- distributor
- Tavella Sales Company
- maker
- Borg-Warner Corporation
- ID Number
- MA*313629
- catalog number
- 313629
- accession number
- 189330
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Wizard Calculating Machine
- Description
- This notched band adder has a metal front and a black plastic back. There are eight bracket-shaped columns, nine display windows, a zeroing bar across the top, and a metal stylus that fits in the side (part of the plastic holder has broken off). Between each of the columns there are two rows of numbers, one for addition and the other for subtraction. The adder comes in a blue plastic case.
- According to documentation received with the device, it was distributed by Thoreson, Inc., of New York, N.Y. It is described as “the new 1959 WIZARD with the Magic Reckoner.” The Magic Reckoner was a multiplication table. The machine was made in West Germany.
- This example was given to the Museum by Joan Pearson Watkins, the wife of Smithsonian curator C. Malcolm Watkins. She held various honorary curatorial positions at the National Museum of American History from the 1960s through the 1980s. Compare this object to MA*336448.
- References: “Wizard Calculating machine,” 1987.0787.02.
- Popular Science, vol. 174, February, 1959, p. 18. Not identical to adder shown in that advertisement.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1960
- distributor
- Thorenson, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1980.0787.01
- accession number
- 1980.0787
- catalog number
- 1980.0787.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Magic-Brain Calculator
- Description
- This adder has a red plastic back and a gray steel front. There are six columns for entering numbers with a stylus, and a seventh notched band to record carries to a seventh digit. A set of seven openings above the bracket-shaped columns of the adder displays the result. A zeroing bar is across the top. The plastic is shaped to hold the steel stylus.
- The object is marked: MAGIC-BRAIN [/] CALCULATOR; ADD + [/] SUBTRACT - [/] MULTIPLY X; and: JAPAN. Instructions are stored separately. Compare to 1987.0375.01.
- References: Popular Science, February, 1962, vol. 180, p. 20. This ad indicates that the Magic-Brain Calculator cost $.98 and was distributed from the Sunset Building, Beverly Hills, California.
- P. Kidwell, “Adders Made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 8, (1994): pp. 78-96.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960
- distributor
- Sunset House
- ID Number
- 1993.3058.01
- nonaccession number
- 1993.3058
- catalog number
- 1993.3058.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Magic-Brain Calculator
- Description
- From at least the 19th century, people have been intrigued by the ability of computing devices to assist in mental processes. The name of the “Magic-Brain Calculator” suggests this enthusiasm, although the capabilities of the instrument were quite modest.
- The Japanese-made notched band adder has a red plastic back, a silver-colored metal cover plate, and six fasteners around the edges that hold it together. Six bracket-shaped columns allow for borrowing and carrying. A row of seven holes above the columns shows the result. The bands fit rather loosely in the channels of the plastic back. A zeroing bar runs across the top and a stylus attahes to the side. The object is marked: MAGIC-BRAIN CALCULATOR. On the back It is marked: MADE IN JAPAN. For instructions, see 1987.0375.02.
- References: Popular Science, February, 1962, vol. 180, p. 20. This ad indicates that at that time the Magic-Brain Calculator cost $.98 and was distributed from the Sunset Building, Beverly Hills, California.
- P. Kidwell, “Adders Made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 8, (1994): pp. 78-96.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1962
- date distributed
- 1962
- distributor
- Sunset House
- ID Number
- 1987.0375.01
- catalog number
- 1987.0375.01
- accession number
- 1987.0375
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Machine A Calculer Rebo
- Description
- By the 1920s, companies in the United States, Germany, and France manufactured inexpensive notched band adders. A firm in Marseille, France, under the direction of engineer E. Reybaud, sold this device from 1922 until at least 1930. This example was from the collection of L. Leland Locke.
- The metal adder and stylus fit into a red paper container. The adder has nine columns of digits and a zeroing bar at the top. Instructions indicate that the device came in two models that sold for 25 and 40 francs. This was sufficiently inexpensive that every member of a commercial firm could have such an adder.
- Reference: “The Register,” Typewriter Topics, vol. 76 (September 1930), p.14.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1925
- maker
- Reybaud, E.
- ID Number
- MA*155183.25
- catalog number
- 155183.25
- accession number
- 155183
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Pro Calculo! Adder
- Description
- Adders like this one were designed to help consumers with addition, but did not actually add automatically. The surface of the metal instrument has seven slots that reveal part of seven flat notched metal bands below. To enter a digit, one pulls down a band with the metal stylus. The hooked shape of the slots exposed a notch in an adjacent band, making it possible to carry or to borrow digits. This adder also has a zeroing bar at the base. It fits into a dark brown paper case.
- Instruments of this type appeared as early as the 1600s, and sold commercially from the 1890s into the 1970s. They sold in Germany from the invention of the “Trick” in 1911. Otto Meuter patented a variation on this device that sold as the Arithma from 1920. Meuter received a fixed fee for each Arithma produced. With inflation, this sum soon was minute.
- Meuter decided to form another company with J. Bergmann and to market adders known as the Pro Calculo! and the Correntator. These sold widely in the 1920s. For example, the trade magazine Typewriter Topics reported that 15,000 ProCalculo! adders sold in 1926. In 1928, the product was renamed the Produx.
- References: Typewriter Topics, 59, February, 1925, p. 84. One model, offered by Pittsburgh Typewriter & Supply, sold for $3.00.
- Typewriter Topics, 67 (November, 1927), p. 50-51. New style adders introduced.
- Martin Reese, Historische Buerowelt, 43 (September 1995).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1925
- maker
- Pittsburgh Typewriter and Supply Company
- ID Number
- MA*155183.26
- catalog number
- 155183.26
- accession number
- 155183
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baby Calculator Adder
- Description
- The orange, black, and tan paper box contains a black and gold-colored metal instrument, instructions on pink paper, and a metal stylus. The device has seven columns for addition.
- The Baby Calculator was a handheld adder manufactured by the Calculator Machine Company of Chicago from at least 1925 into the 1940s. The Tavella Sales Company of New York City distributed this example. According to the box, it sold for $2.50 in the United States and $3.00 in Canada and other foreign countries. It has hooks at the top of each column for carrying in addition, but none at the bottom to assist in borrowing in subtraction.
- References: Typewriter Topics (March 1925), 59:76.
- Popular Mechanics (January, 1935), p. 128A; vol. 73 (March, 1940), p. 143A; vol. 83 (February, 1945), p. 192. A new design was introduced in 1945. See Popular Mechanics, April, 1945, p. 202.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1925
- distributor
- Tavella Sales Company
- maker
- Calculator Machine Company
- ID Number
- MA*155183.27
- catalog number
- 155183.27
- accession number
- 155183
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
The Little Adding Wonder
- Description
- This notched band adder has a wooden framework. Six paper bands move in six columns, showing the result in six windows. A paper sheet glued to the front has numerals and the name of the device, as well as cutouts to create the columns. A sheet glued to the back gives instructions. The columns widen at the top for carrying in addition and at the bottom for borrowing in subtraction. The object came to the Smithsonian from the collection of Felt and Tarrant Manufacturing Company. The date assigned is quite arbitrary.
- Reference: P. Kidwell, “Adders Made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 1994, 8:78-96.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1925
- distributor
- Adding Wonder Manufacturers
- maker
- Adding Wonder Manufacturers
- ID Number
- MA*323626
- catalog number
- 323626
- accession number
- 250163
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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