Ten Keys & Fewer

From the mid-19th century, a few adding machines were built with an array of nine or ten keys for entering digits. The clockmaker Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué patented such a machine in France in 1844. Schilt had worked for Schwilgué before building his machine. He showed the instrument at the Crystal Palace exhibit, a World’s Fair held in London in 1851. Schilt declined to make copies of this machine, and had little immediate influence on the design of adding machines. In the course of the 19th century, inventors like David Carroll of Pennsylvania and the French-born priest Michael Bouchet of Louisville, Kentucky, also proposed adding machines with a limited number of keys. Bouchet seems to have found a handful of customers. Ten-key adding machines devised by rabbi Judah Levin of Detroit and Frank S. Baldwin of New Jersey also found no wide market.

During the 1890s, Albert C. Ludlum of Brooklyn and then Denver, and William W. Hopkins of St. Louis took out patents for a ten-key adding machine that would print results. From 1903 it was manufactured in St. Louis as the Standard adding machine. The Standard was, the first widely distributed ten-key adding machine on which the numbers printed were visible.

The success of the Standard inspired imitators. Inventors at Burroughs Adding Machine Company designed a ten-key adding machine, although it was not marketed. Sydney B. Austin of Baltimore prepared a similar machine. William Hopkins’s younger brother, machinist Hubert Hopkins, patented his own version of a ten-key adding machine. After complex business dealings, including intervention from other adding machine manufacturers, James L. Dalton acquired exclusive rights to manufacture machines under the Hopkins patents. From 1903, a firm soon known as the Dalton Adding Machine Company made the machine in Missouri and then Ohio, until it was acquired by Remington Rand in 1927. Remington Rand would also acquire rights to a lighter ten-key machine, built on patents of Thomas Mehan and originally sold as the Brennan.

Slightly later than Hopkins, Osker Sundstrand of Illinois introduced an adding machine that featured digit keys arranged in a 3 x 3, with a zero bar underneath. This became standard, and would be used not only on adding machines, but on later electronic calculators. In 1926, the Sundstrand Adding Machine Company was acquired by Elliott Fisher, a firm known for its bookkeeping machines. This company, in turn, merged with the Underwood Typewriter Company, which sold the Underwood Sundstrand adding machine for many years. The Italian firm of Olivetti purchased a controlling share of Underwood Corporation in 1959, and soon placed a redesigned ten-key adding machine on the market.

By the mid-20th century, ten-key adding machines took a growing share of the market. Victor Adding Machine Company of Chicago, which had initially sold full-keyboard machines, introduced a ten-key machine in 1939. After World War II, Victor would acquire one of the first manufacturers of full-keyboard machines, Felt & Tarrant. The venerable Burroughs Adding Machine Company also introduced a ten-key machine, patterned on the British Summit. A few ten-key machines were imported from Europe and Japan. Plastic machines with fewer keys and limited capabilities were made in Japan and Hong Kong.

This is one of the oldest surviving key-driven adding machines. Victor Schilt, a little-known clock maker from the Swiss canton of Solothurn, sent it for exhibition at the first of the great world’s fairs, the Crystal Palace Great Exhibition held in London in 1851.
Description
This is one of the oldest surviving key-driven adding machines. Victor Schilt, a little-known clock maker from the Swiss canton of Solothurn, sent it for exhibition at the first of the great world’s fairs, the Crystal Palace Great Exhibition held in London in 1851. The entry received an honorable mention, and Schilt reportedly received an order for 100 machines, which he declined to fill.
The front, top and mechanism of the machine are steel, and the case is wood. The plate and zeroing knobs on the top and the nine digit keys across the front are made of brass. The machine adds numbers up to 299. Only one-digit numbers may be entered. The result is visible in a window in the plate. The plate is marked: V. Schilt (/) Mechaniker in Solothurn.
The Schilt machine closely resembles an adding machine patented in France in 1844 and sold by Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué and his son Charles. Schilt had worked for the elder Schwilgué before building his machine. Schilt’s machine was part of the collection of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company, and was given to the Smithsonian by the successor to that firm, Victor Comptometer Corporation.
References:
J. A. V. Turck, Origin of Modern Calculating Machines, Chicago: Western Society of Engineers, 1921.
Denis Roegel, “An Early (1844) Key-Driven Adding Machine,” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 30 #1 (January-March 2008), pp. 59-65.
Denis Roegel, "An Overview of Schwigué's Patented Adding Machines," Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society, 126 (September 2015), pp. 16-22.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850
maker
Schilt, Victor
ID Number
MA.323660
accession number
250163
catalog number
323660
This is the U.S. Patent Office model for a nine-key non-printing adding machine. The small machine has a wooden case with nine metal keys with wooden key covers, arranged in two rows. There are three wooden numeral wheels visible through a window at the back top.
Description
This is the U.S. Patent Office model for a nine-key non-printing adding machine. The small machine has a wooden case with nine metal keys with wooden key covers, arranged in two rows. There are three wooden numeral wheels visible through a window at the back top. The machine apparently is designed to add single digits up to 999. No numbers are visible on the key tops. The keys in each row presently appear to operate [no effect] 4 6 8 (/) [no effect] 2 3 5 7. The patent drawing indicates that the keys are arranged 2 4 6 8 (/) 4 5 5 7 9. The effect of the keys is determined by adjusting screws on the underside of the machine. The four registering wheels to the left have on their left side a ring of ten equidistant pins that are used in carrying. There is a lever at the top of the machine that can be adjusted to release the number wheels so that they can be turned back to zero using a button on the left. The device was patented by David Carroll of Spring Creek, Pennsylvania. Carroll took out other U.S. patents for ship’s logs (197995, granted in 1877; also 303115, granted in 1884), and a stump extractor (64628, granted in 1867, reissued in 1879).
References:
David Carroll, “Improvement in Adding Machines,” U.S. Patent #176,833, May 2, 1876.
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, p. 75.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1876
patentee
Carroll, David
maker
Carroll, David
ID Number
MA.308949
accession number
89797
catalog number
308949
This model of a ten-key non-printing manually operated adding machine is an open wooden box that contains a metal mechanism driven by nine keys along the front. When a key is pushed down, it pushes a lever and ultimately turns gears.
Description
This model of a ten-key non-printing manually operated adding machine is an open wooden box that contains a metal mechanism driven by nine keys along the front. When a key is pushed down, it pushes a lever and ultimately turns gears. The object is a rough model, not a production machine. A loose piece may be part of the machine.
This may be an incomplete model of the adding machine patented by David Marion Rush of Louisburg, Missouri. Rush applied for a patent July 25, 1883 and was granted it January 22, 1884. This model corresponds to the patent description of Rush’s machine as it was used to enter numbers. The mechanism for recording totals, as well as the upper cover of the instrument, is lacking.
David Marion Rush was born in 1849 in Barren County, Kentucky, and moved with his family to Polk County, Missouri, in 1852. He studied in the public schools and then, for three years beginning in 1871, at a private school in Urbana, Missouri. After teaching from 1874 to 1884, he entered the patent rights business. He received two patents of his own, one for a washing machine and the other for an adding machine. From 1886 until at least 1889, he was county collector in Wright County, Missouri.
References:
David Rush. “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 292256, January 22, 1884.
History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps & Dent Counties, Missouri, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1889. p. 965.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
ID Number
1983.3003.056
nonaccession number
1983.3003
catalog number
1983.3003.056
This is the second form of key-driven adding machine patented by Michael Bouchet (1827-1903), a French-born Catholic priest who came to the United States in 1853 and worked in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1860.Bouchet was of an inventive turn of mind, devising automatic snakes to f
Description
This is the second form of key-driven adding machine patented by Michael Bouchet (1827-1903), a French-born Catholic priest who came to the United States in 1853 and worked in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1860.
Bouchet was of an inventive turn of mind, devising automatic snakes to frighten his acolytes, and a folding bed and fire escape for his own use. He had considerable responsibility for the financial affairs of his diocese and, according to his biographer, as early as the 1860s invented an adding machine to assist in keeping these accounts. Of these devices, Bouchet patented only later versions of the adding machine, taking out patents in 1882 and in 1885.
His machine was used to add single columns of digits. Depressing a key depressed a lever and raised a curved bar with teeth on the inside of it. The teeth on the bar engaged a toothed pinion at the back of the machine, rotating it forward in proportion to the digit entered. A wheel at the left end of the roller turned forward, recording the entry. A pawl and spring then disengaged the curved bar, preventing the roller and recording bar from turning back again once the key was released. Two additional wheels to the left of the first one were used in carrying to the tens and hundreds places, so that the machine could record totals up to 99. Left of the wheels was a lever-driven tack and pinion zeroing mechanism.
This silver-colored example of Bouchet’s machine has a brass base and nine keys with plastic key covers (two of the key covers are missing), arranged in two rows. It is from the collection of computing devices assembled by Dorr E. Felt in the early 20th century It has serial number 229. Compare to 310230.
References:
Michael Bouchet, “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 251823, January 3, 1882.
Michael Bouchet, “ “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 314561, March 31, 1885.
Dan Walsh, Jr., The Stranger in the City, Louisville, Ky.: Hammer Printing Co., 1913, esp. pp. 49-70.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885
maker
Bouchet, Michael
ID Number
MA.323630
maker number
229
accession number
250163
catalog number
323630
This is the second form of the key-driven adding machine patented by Michael Bouchet (1827-1903), a French-born Catholic priest who came to the United states in 1853 and worked in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1860.
Description
This is the second form of the key-driven adding machine patented by Michael Bouchet (1827-1903), a French-born Catholic priest who came to the United states in 1853 and worked in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1860. Bouchet was of an inventive turn of mind, devising automatic snakes to frighten his acolytes, and a folding bed and fire escape for his own use. He had considerable responsibility for the financial affairs of his diocese and, according to his biographer, as early as the 1860s invented an adding machine to assist in keeping these accounts. Of these devices, Bouchet patented only later versions of the adding machine, taking out patents in 1882 and in 1885.
The machine added single columns of digits. Depressing a key depressed a lever and raised a curved bar with teeth on the inside of it. The teeth on the bar engaged a toothed pinion at the back of the machine, rotating it forward in proportion to the digit entered. A wheel at the left end of the roller turned forward, recording the entry. A pawl and spring then disengaged the curved bar, preventing the roller and recording bar from turning back again once the key was released. Two additional wheels to the left of the first one were used in carrying to the tens and hundreds places, so that the machine could record totals up to 99. Left of the wheels was a lever-driven tack and pinion zeroing mechanism.
This example of the machine has a tin cover and a brass base and nine key stems arranged in two rows (the keys are missing). It was the gift of Mrs. Joseph S. McCoy, widow of Joseph S. McCoy, Actuary of the U.S. Treasury from 1889 until his death in 1931. McCoy and his predecessor, Ezekial Brown Elliott, were most open to inventions in adding machines. According to one of McCoy’s colleagues, the Bouchet machine was left in the office by the inventor in the year 1890 or thereabouts to be tried out. Bouchet did not return.
This machine has serial number 960. Compare to 323620.
References:
Michael Bouchet, “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 251823, January 3, 1882.
Michael Bouchet, “ “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 314561, March 31, 1885.
Dan Walsh, Jr., The Stranger in the City, Louisville, Ky.: Hammer Printing Co., 1913, esp. pp. 49-70.
Accession File.
“Joseph Sylvester McCoy,” National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 24: p. 382.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885
maker
Bouchet, Michael
ID Number
MA.310230
maker number
960
accession number
113246
catalog number
316230
This model of a nine-key non-printing adding machine has a wooden base, plastic sides, and a metal mechanism and keys.
Description
This model of a nine-key non-printing adding machine has a wooden base, plastic sides, and a metal mechanism and keys. A bar across the back is moved in differing amounts according to the key pressed (the nine keys across the front are depressed in slots of varying length and hence rotate the bar varying amounts). The bar, in turn, rotates a numeral wheel with the numbers 0 to 99 on it. There is a one-digit carry. Keys are marked with the digits from 1 to 9 (the 5 key is missing). There is no 0 key.
The arrangement of the result wheels is somewhat similar to that on the ten-key machine invented by Peter Lindholm and patented in 1886. However, the number of keys and arrangement of the keyboard is different. The plastic sides also mitigate against a 19th century origin. No patent model was made for this patent, although there were production models.
Reference:
Peter Lindholm, “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 343770, June 14, 1886.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
1983.3003.057
nonaccession number
1983.3003
catalog number
1983.3003.057
This nine-key manual non-printing adding machine has an iron case painted black, and nine white number keys arranged in two rows. It adds one digit at a time, up to and including 500.
Description
This nine-key manual non-printing adding machine has an iron case painted black, and nine white number keys arranged in two rows. It adds one digit at a time, up to and including 500. The digits of the result appear in three windows on the face of the machine, which is in the shape of an alarm clock. A zeroing knob is in the center of this face, and the result windows are above the knob. There is no maker’s mark on the machine.
The machine is identified as a Centigraph Adder in the accession file, although it differs from other machines with this name in having nine rather than five keys, in having a case, in the placement of the result windows, and in having paper and plastic rather than plastic key covers. Moreover it has a mechanical carry, unlike the Centigraph described in the patent. Two screws on back allow one to remove front cover. The mechanism appears to be steel, and quite different from A.E.Shattuck’s 1891 patent for the Centigraph.
References:
Arthur E. Shattuck, “Adding-Machine,” U.S. Patent 453,778, June 9, 1891.
Accession File.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
MA.323611
accession number
250163
catalog number
323611
In the late 19th century, Wiliam Seward Burroughs of St. Louis pioneered in the introduction of key-set printing adding machines, designed especially to assist banks in keeping track of accounts. The Burroughs Registering Accountant found a considerable market.
Description
In the late 19th century, Wiliam Seward Burroughs of St. Louis pioneered in the introduction of key-set printing adding machines, designed especially to assist banks in keeping track of accounts. The Burroughs Registering Accountant found a considerable market. In August of 1902, calculating machine inventor Frank S. Baldwin proposed this form of a key-set, printing adding machine. It has only one set of keys (the 3 key cover is missing), arranged in the order of a modern telephone touch pad.
A small, unmarked key is to the left of, and above, the “1” key. To the right of the "3" key stem is a threaded metal protrusion. Above the keys is a semicylindrical carriage with a row of nine numeral wheels that indicate the total. At the base of the carriage is a saw toothed bar. A metal arrow points up from the bar as a place marker. A triangular protrusion from the machine surface holds the bar. At the end of the carriage is a screw, perhaps for zeroing. A small lever attached to the bottom left of the carriage may release it to move left or right.
Behind the carriage is a printing mechanism that prints up to nine digits. It is driven by a crank on the right. Reels for the paper tape are behind the mechanism. The wooden knob on the crank folds inward so that the lid of the mahogany box closes. A loose metal handle fits into a hole in the right side of the machine.
A mark on the case of the machine reads: 27-86. No serial number found.
This machine is from the collection of L. Leland Locke, and was once at the Museums of the Peaceful Arts in New York City.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1903
maker
Baldwin, Frank S.
ID Number
MA.311955
accession number
155183
catalog number
311955
This ten-key non-printing manually operated adding machine has a steel and iron frame. The ten digit keys are arranged in two columns on the left side. Two rows of nine keys across the top indicate the place number of the digit entered.
Description
This ten-key non-printing manually operated adding machine has a steel and iron frame. The ten digit keys are arranged in two columns on the left side. Two rows of nine keys across the top indicate the place number of the digit entered. The front row is for addition and the other is for subtraction. To enter a number, both the digit key and the place key were depressed. Numbers through 9,999,999 can be indicated. The metal keys have plastic and paper key tops. The space under the keyboard is covered with green velvet. The result is indicated on a row of red number wheels below these two rows of keys. The machine is stored in a small black suitcase covered with leather, lined with cloth, and provided with a metal handle on top.
Compare to U.S. patent 815,542, dated March 20, 1906. Other Levin patents are 706,000, July 29, 1902,and 727,392, May 5, 1903.
Judah Levin, the inventor of this adding machine, was an Orthodox rabbi in Detroit.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1906
maker
Levin, Judah L.
ID Number
MA.311442
accession number
147976
catalog number
311442
This ten-key printing adding machine has a cast-iron frame painted black, with ten black plastic numeral keys across the front (two of these keys are missing) and nine red and white plastic unmarked order keys behind these.
Description
This ten-key printing adding machine has a cast-iron frame painted black, with ten black plastic numeral keys across the front (two of these keys are missing) and nine red and white plastic unmarked order keys behind these. There is a large metal key on the left side, and a key stem (without cover) below. The paper tape holder is behind the keys (there is no paper tape), the printing mechanism behind it, and the adding mechanism behind this. Missing front and two sides, crank, three key covers, ribbon. The machine has serial number 6044. It was transferred to the Smithsonian from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The machine is marked on a tag screwed to the top: No. 6044 (/) STANDARD ADDING MACHINE Co (/)] ST LOUIS, Mo U.S.A. (/) PATENTED MAR. 3’ 1891 (/) MAR. 27’ 1894 (/) OTHER PATENTS PENDING. It is marked on the back: ACCURACY (/) SUPREMACY; PATENTED (/) MARCH 3rd 1891 (/) MARCH 27th 1894 (/) OCTOBER 8th 1901 (/) OTHER PATENTS PENDING. Patantee William W. Hopkins had a considerable career as a minister in the Christian Church.
References:
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, pp. 143,144; Brunsviga catalog Zaz 1903-1 (No. 5828).
A. C. Ludlam, “Adding and Writing Machine,” U.S. Patent 384372, June 12, 1888 - reissue March 3, 1891.) and 517383 William W. Hopkins, “Adding, Subtracting, and Recording Machine,” U.S. Patent 517383, March 27, 1894 - assigned to Standard Adding Machine Co. of St. Louis at time of issue.
P.A. Kidwell, "The Adding Machine Fraternity at St. Louis: Creating a Center of Invention, 1880-1920" IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 22 #2, Apr-Jun 2000, pp. 4-21.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1907
maker
Standard Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1979.0806.01
maker number
6044
accession number
1979.0806
catalog number
1979.0806.01
The Burroughs Adding Machine Company made most of its profits on adding machines that had one column of nine keys for each digit of a number (these are called full-keyboard adding machines).
Description
The Burroughs Adding Machine Company made most of its profits on adding machines that had one column of nine keys for each digit of a number (these are called full-keyboard adding machines). Members of the Patent Department also experimented with machines having only ten keys for entering numbers. This is an example of such an experiment.
The manually operated printing adding machine allows one to enter numbers with up to nine digits and print nine-digit results. It has an additional column of symbol keys in the output. The frame of the case is metal painted black, the sides are of glass. One of these sides is missing. Ten black numeral keys are arranged in two rows. The six white function keys are for subtotal, non-add, backspace, non-print, repeat and error (a seventh function key has key stem only). A row of numeral wheels above indicates the sum. The keyboard is covered with green felt. A dial-shaped place indicator is on the right front. The machine has a 10 3/8”- wide carriage. There is a paper tape, but no ribbon was located. A metal handle with wooden knob painted black is on the right.
The machine is marked on the front: BURROUGHS. It is marked on a metal tag above the keyboard: B.A.M.CO. (/) MODEL (/) NO. 106. A metal tag attached to the object reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation.
This machine resembles the drawing in A. A. Horton’s United States patent 1,323,475, but is not precisely the same. Horton applied for the patent in 1911 and was granted it in 1919. According to a note with the patent application, a patent originally was applied for July 31, 1911. It was allowed May 19, 1917, but forfeited to prevent publicity of the invention in view of wartime conditions that prevented filing a patent application in Germany. The application was renewed May 15, 1919, and issued December 21, 1919.
The machine is from the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1911
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.13
accession number
1982.0794
catalog number
1982.0794.13
This adding machine has an iron frame with glass sides, back, and top. Across the front are ten plastic-covered keys. The operating crank is on the right side. The number entered appears in one window under the glass, and the total in another window.
Description
This adding machine has an iron frame with glass sides, back, and top. Across the front are ten plastic-covered keys. The operating crank is on the right side. The number entered appears in one window under the glass, and the total in another window. Decimal points and commas are represented by painted arrows. There is a zeroing lever on the left side. The machine does not print. The machine is marked: AUSTIN. It is also marked: Austin Adding Machine (/) Baltimore. U.S.A. A tag attached to the base on the inside of the machine toward the back is stamped with the serial number: A-1224.
The donor acquired this machine in the early 1960s from a veterinarian’s office, where it had remained after the doctor passed away in the early 1930s.
References:
Sydney B. Austin, “Adding, Subtracting and Multiplying Machine,” US Patent 1,034565, August 6, 1912.
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, p. 267.
Accession File.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1912
maker
Austin Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.333895
accession number
304348
catalog number
333895
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has an black iron and glass frame with a steel keyboard painted green. Two rows of white plastic number keys are marked with digits and their complements (complements are in red).
Description
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has an black iron and glass frame with a steel keyboard painted green. Two rows of white plastic number keys are marked with digits and their complements (complements are in red). One could punch the digits of a number without setting the place of the first digit. Numbers with up to nine digits could be entered. The five red function keys read designate, eliminate, repeat, total, and correction. A place for a crank is on the right side, but no crank. The printing mechanism, with two-colored ribbon, is on the top of the machine. Apparently the machine does not print symbols. Nine-digit totals could be printed. The “nine-inch” movable carriage has a paper tape dispenser behind it, but no paper tape. The serrated edge above the platen for tears the paper tape.
A mark on the front reads: Dalton. A mark on a brass tag attached at the bottom front reads: Dalton (/) ADDING (/) MACHINE (/) CO. (/) POPLAR BLUFF,MO.U.S.A. This tag also reads: PAT. AUG. 1, 1899 NO. 630053 (/) REISSUE DEC. 27. ‘04 No. 12286 (/) PAT. SEPT. 24, 1912 NO. 1039130 (/) PAT. DEC. 31, 1912 NO. 1049057 (/) PAT. DEC. 31, 1912 NO. 1049093 (/) OTHER PATENTS PENDING. A metal tag attached at the bottom on the back reads: NO 17946.
The Dalton adding machine grew out of patents of Indiana-born St. Louis machinist Hubert Hopkins (b. 1859) and Chicago inventor Harry H. Helmick. Attempts to patent and manufacture a machine began in St. Louis in 1902. After complex business dealings, including intervention from other adding machine manufacturers, James L. Dalton (1866-1926) acquired exclusive rights to manufacture machines under the Hopkins patents. In late 1903 Dalton and his associates founded the Adding Typewriter Company of St. Louis (later the Dalton Adding Machine Company). By 1912 the firm was established in Dalton’s home town of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. This machine was made there. In 1914, the company moved to Norwood, Ohio, near Cincinnati.
Reference:
P. A. Kidwell, “The Adding Machine Fraternity at St. Louis: Creating a Center of Invention, 1880-1920.” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 22 #2 (April-June 2000): pp. 14-15.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.323589
accession number
250163
maker number
17946
catalog number
323589
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has an aluminum frame painted black with a steel keyboard painted green. The digit keys, which include complementary digits in red, are arranged in two rows.. On the right are plastic repeat and total keys.
Description
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has an aluminum frame painted black with a steel keyboard painted green. The digit keys, which include complementary digits in red, are arranged in two rows.. On the right are plastic repeat and total keys. On the left is another key stem, with no key cover. There is no place indicator. The metal crank with wooden handle is on the right side. The printing mechanism is behind this, with a 2-5/8" carriage apparently designed for a 2-1/2” paper tape. There is no paper tape. The ribbon prints in both black and red. Apparently the machine does not print symbols.
The machine is marked on a metal tag attached to the front: THE (/) DALTON (/) ADDING (/) MACHINE (/) CO. (/) REG.U.S.PAT.OFF. It is also marked there: PAT. SEPT. 24, 1912, No. 1039130 (/) PAT. DEC. 31, 1912, No. 1049057 (/) PAT. DEC. 31. 1912, No. 1049093 (/) OTHER PATENTS PENDING (/) CINCINNATI, OHIO(EAST NORWOOD). It is marked on the back: NO28554.
The donor, Bobbie Harvey, was a member of the Smithsonian guard force and donated this machine in 1975. He said it was given to his father by a friend some years previously.
Compare to MA.323329.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1916
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.335299
accession number
317852
maker number
28554
catalog number
335299
This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine is on a stand of tubular steel with antique bronze finish. The machine has a black metal case with ten white plastic number keys arranged in two rows. Complementary digits are indicated on the keys.
Description
This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine is on a stand of tubular steel with antique bronze finish. The machine has a black metal case with ten white plastic number keys arranged in two rows. Complementary digits are indicated on the keys. There also are DESIGNATING, REPEAT, TOTAL, and CORRECTION keys, and a long black unmarked key. One additional key missing. The place indicator is above the keyboard. The printing mechanism, a red and black ribbon, and a wide carriage are behind it. Themachine has a holder for a paper tape, but no paper tape. The handle is on the right side. The cover is in the case. The stand has no wheels. The stand alone measures 54.5 cm. w. x 49 cm. d. x 67 cm. h. The machine alone measures 34.1 cm. w. x 36 cm. d. x 31 cm. h.
The machine is marked on the case: Dalton (/) ADDING, (/) LISTING AND (/) CALCULATING MACHINE. The serial number, given on a tag on the back, is: No. 50995. A metal label attached to the front of the machine reads: Dalton (/) ADDING (/) MACHINE (/) CO., CINCINNATI, OHIO (EAST NORWOOD) Pat. Sept. 24, 1912, No. 1039130. It also reads: Pat. Dec. 31, 1912, No. 1049057; Pat. Dec. 31, 1912, No. 1049093. It also reads: OTHER PATENTS ISSUED and PENDING.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1919
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.328426
accession number
272529
maker number
50995
catalog number
328426
This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine has an black aluminum frame with a steel keyboard painted green. The white plastic digit keys are arranged in two rows and marked with digits and their complements (complements are in red).
Description
This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine has an black aluminum frame with a steel keyboard painted green. The white plastic digit keys are arranged in two rows and marked with digits and their complements (complements are in red). The three red function keys are makred repeat, total, and correction. The metal crank with handle is on the right side. The color-coded place indicator is above the keyboard. One may enter numbers up to nine digits long and print up to nine digit results. The printing mechanism, which held a two-colored ribbon, is on the top of the machine. The “four-inch” carriage has a paper tape dispenser behind it, but no paper tape. Above the platen is a serrated edge for tearing the paper tape. The machine has four rubber feet.
A mark on the front reads: Dalton (/) ADDING, (/) LISTING AND (/) CALCULATING MACHINE. Another mark there reads: STOCKWELL & BINNEY. A brass tag attached at the bottom front reads: Dalton (/) ADDING (/) MACHINE (/) CO. (/) REG. U.S. OFF. It also reads: PAT. SEPT. 24, 1912 NO. 1039130 (/) PAT. DEC. 31, 1912 NO. 1049057 (/) PAT. DEC. 31, 1912 NO. 1049093 (/) OTHER PATENTS ISSUED AND PENDING (/) CINCINNATI,OHIO(EAST NORWOOD). A metal tag attached at the bottom on the back gives the serial number: NO 73430.
The machine was transferred to the Smithsonian collections from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Table Mountain, California. Stockwell & Binney is the name of a California chain of stationery stores.
Compare to MA.335299 (that machine lacks a place indicator).
Reference:
J. H. McCarthy, American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, p. 536.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.323329
accession number
251557
maker number
73430
catalog number
323329
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has a steel frame painted black and ten white plastic number keys in two rows. Complementary red digits on the number keys are for subtraction. Right of the number keys are non-add and multiply keys.
Description
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has a steel frame painted black and ten white plastic number keys in two rows. Complementary red digits on the number keys are for subtraction. Right of the number keys are non-add and multiply keys. To the left are a tabulating key (used for automatic carriage shifting in double column work), a subtract key,and a back space key. Above the keyboard is a place indicator for up to 13 places. Left of this is a correction bar to clear entries. Total, subtotal, and release keys are mounted above and to the right. One lever that may be set on “HAND” or “MOTOR”, another for split or normal addition.
A silver-colored metal window is above the keyboard, with printing mechanism and non-print key behind. The red and black ribbon moves in front of the 9” carriage. This carriage has a bell on the left side. The paper tape holder and paper tape are behind the carriage. The metal handle is on the right. It has a wooden knob once covered with plastic. Metal clips placed in the back of the carriage set the tab stops. One clip has detached from the carriage. Printing is either single or double-spaced.
The machine is marked on the front: DALTON (/) CINCINNATI, OHIO. (/) U.S.A. It is marked on the carriage: Dalton (/) ADDING, (/) LISTING AND (/) CALCULATING MACHINE. The serial number, on a tag on the right side under the handle, is: 2-102212.
Reference:
J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, pp. 40, 536.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1921
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1986.0977.01
maker number
2-102212
accession number
1986.0977
catalog number
1986.0977.01
This ten-key listing electric adding machine has a metal frame painted black. There are two rows of white number keys, with the complements of numbers indicated. aanon-add, multiply, backspace, and subtract keys are around the sides of the number keys.
Description
This ten-key listing electric adding machine has a metal frame painted black. There are two rows of white number keys, with the complements of numbers indicated. aanon-add, multiply, backspace, and subtract keys are around the sides of the number keys. A correction bar and place indicator are above the keyboard. Total and subtotal keys are to the right of a silver-colored window above the keyboard. Behind are the printing mechanism and a wide carriage. At presnt, the machine lacks a ribbon, but there is residue of a two-color ribbon. The operating crank is on the right side, and the motor below. One may enter numbers up to nine digits long.
The machine is marked on the carriage: Dalton (/) ADDING, (/) LISTING AND (/) CALCULATING MACHINE. It is marked at the front: Dalton (/) CINCINNATI, OHIO. (/) U.S.A. The serial number under the crank is: NO107591.
The machine sits on a black base (1984.0492.02), which is on a metal stand with a wooden drop leaf. The stand has museum number 1984.0492.03 and serial number 815667. Dimensions for machine, base, and stand are 60 cm. w. x 57 cm. d. x 110.5 cm. h. Dimensions of stand with kick stand down are 59 cm. w. x 48.5 cm. d. x 80 cm. h. The stand has four rubber wheels.
Compare 1986.0977.01.
Reference:
J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, p. 536.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1921 or 1922
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1984.0492.01
accession number
1984.0492
maker number
107591
catalog number
1984.0492.01
This ten-key printing manual machine has a steel frame painted black, a metal mechanism, and ten white plastic numeral keys in two rows. Complementary digits on the keys are in red. Numbers up to seven digits long may be entered.
Description
This ten-key printing manual machine has a steel frame painted black, a metal mechanism, and ten white plastic numeral keys in two rows. Complementary digits on the keys are in red. Numbers up to seven digits long may be entered. There are black plastic non-add, multiply, back space, subtract, total, and subtotal keys, and a metal correction bar. Above the number keys is a place indicator. The printing mechanism has a black tape and a non-print key. Behind it is a 6 inch carriage, with paper tape. Results up to seven digits long may be printed. A serrated edge above the platen is for tearing off the paper tape. The handles of the carriage and crank are of a red substance that is corroding. There are four rubber feet.
The machine is marked on the front: Dalton (/) CINCINNATI, OHIO. (/) U.S.A. It is marked under the crank: NO124864. It is marked on the back: DALTON (/) ADDING-CALCULATING MACHINE (/) PATENTED.
According to the accession file, the machine was purchased secondhand in about 1938 for use in the Partello construction business. It was used until the owners retired in 1960.
Reference:
J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, pp. 536.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1988.3122.01
nonaccession number
1988.3122
maker number
124864
catalog number
1988.3122.01
This gray-green manually operated ten-key printing adding machine has two rows of white plastic number keys, including complementary numbers for subtraction.
Description
This gray-green manually operated ten-key printing adding machine has two rows of white plastic number keys, including complementary numbers for subtraction. There are multiply and non-add keys on the left, and backspace and subtract keys on the right.
The multiply key acts like a repeat key - multiplication is strictly by repeated addition. The place indicator is above the keyboard, with a metal correction key to the left of it. Above and to the right are release, total, and subtotal keys. The printing mechanism and “4”” carriage are toward the back. The ribbon is black. The non-print key is next to the ribbon.
There is a place for a 2-1/2” paper tape, but no paper tape. Above the platen is a serrated edge to tear the paper. A zero value appears before a total. The metal crank with wooden handle is on the right. There are metal feet, but no evidence of any rubber padding.
The machine is marked on the front: Dalton (/) ADDING, (/) LISTING AND (/) CALCULATING MACHINE. The serial number below the crank is: NO170913.
This example came to the Smithsonian from Immaculata School in Washington, D. C.
Compare to MA.333874 and MA.333402.
This closely resembles the Model 181-4 machine described in The Business Machines and Equipment Digest, about. 1928, Sec 3-1, p. 14, 19. This was the “Special $100 Machine.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1925
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1978.2479.04
maker number
170913
accession number
1978.2479
catalog number
336932
This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine is in a gray steel case. It has ten white plastic number keys in two rows. These keys have complementary numbers for subtraction, and eight brown plastic function keys.
Description
This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine is in a gray steel case. It has ten white plastic number keys in two rows. These keys have complementary numbers for subtraction, and eight brown plastic function keys. The NON (/) ADD and MULTI-(/)PLY keys are left of the number keys, the BACK (/) SPACE and SUB-(/)TRACT keys are right of the number keys. There are TOTAL, RELEASE, and SUB (/) TOTAL keys on the upper right, and a correction bar on the left. There is a NON (/) PRINT key next to the black ribbon.
A place indicator is above the number keys. Above and behind this are the ribbon, 4” carriage, and paper tape holder. There is no paper tape, but there is a serrated edge for tearing the paper tape. The Dalton mark on the back has been painted over. A metal crank with wooden handle is on the right side.
The serial number given under the crank is: NO 174012. A label applied to the front and back of the machine reads: Eastern Typewriter Co. Office & School Supplies 109-111 W. Barnes St. Wilson N.C. Phone 4504.
According to a note in the divisional accession file, the object was salvaged from a garage in Fremont, N.C., about 1968.
Compare to MA.336932 and MA.333874.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1926
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.334402
accession number
314559
maker number
174012
catalog number
334402
This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine allows one to enter numbers and record totals up to ten digits. It has a dark brown metal body with two rows of white plastic number keys. Both numbers and their complements are indicated.
Description
This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine allows one to enter numbers and record totals up to ten digits. It has a dark brown metal body with two rows of white plastic number keys. Both numbers and their complements are indicated. The handle, mechanism, and stand are metal, with a wooden knob on the handle and carriage handles covered with decaying rubber. In addition to number keys, there are backspace, subtract, non-add and multiply keys on the keyboard. A hand-motor lever is to the right of these. Above it are release, total, and subtotal keys.
Directly above the number keys is a place indicator. To its left is the correction bar. Above these is the printing mechanism (with a two-color ribbon) and carriage (about 10” wide), and a paper tape. On the right is the crank. The machine is on a metal base, with a metal stand with wooden kick stand. There is no motor or cord. The stand has one wheel at the center of the back and two wheels at the front.
The machine is marked above the number keys: Dalton (/) CINCINNATI, OHIO. It is marked on the carriage: Dalton (/) ADDING, (/) LISTING AND (/) CALCULATING MACHINE. It is marked under the handle: NO203986. The underside of the base is marked: 0100. It is also marked: 0230A .
Reference:
Office Machines Research Inc., section 3.21, 1937.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1927
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.334914
accession number
313270
maker number
203986
catalog number
334914
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has a brown case and two rows of white plastic keys with digits and complementary numbers for subtraction. Multiply and non-add keys are on the left, and backspace and subtract keys on the right.
Description
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has a brown case and two rows of white plastic keys with digits and complementary numbers for subtraction. Multiply and non-add keys are on the left, and backspace and subtract keys on the right. The place indicator is above the keyboard, with a metal correction key to the left of it. Above and to the right are release, total, and subtotal keys. The printing mechanism and narrow carriage are toward the back; the ribbon prints in both red and black. In addition to entries and totals, the machine prints symbols that indicate totals and subtotals. The non-print key is next to the ribbon. A 2-1/2” paper tape is in place. A serrated edge above the platen is used to tear the paper tape. The metal crank with wooden handle is on the right. The handle is covered with a brown cracking substance. There are four rubber feet. The machine accepts entries of up to eight digits and prints results of up to eight digits.
The machine is marked on the front: Dalton (/) CINCINNATI, OHIO. (/) U.S.A. It is marked below the crank with the serial number: NO209439. It is marked on the place indicator with the model number: 181. It is marked on the inside of the cover: 9-7-64.
This closely resembles the Model 181-4 machine described in The Business Machines and Equipment Digest, ca. 1928, Sec 3-1, pp. 14, 19. This was the “Special $100 Machine.”
Compare to MA.336932 and MA.334402.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1928
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1990.0316.03
accession number
1990.0316
maker number
209439
catalog number
333874
This is an example of an experimental machine made in the Patent Department at Burroughs Adding Machine Company but not developed into a product. It is a manually operated ten-key printing adding machine with a metal frame painted black.
Description
This is an example of an experimental machine made in the Patent Department at Burroughs Adding Machine Company but not developed into a product. It is a manually operated ten-key printing adding machine with a metal frame painted black. The round black plastic number keys are in two rows, with function keys arranged on either side. Below the keyboard, at the front of the machine, is a set of ten number wheels covered by a glass window. The number showing in the window is the result. There is no place indicator. A wide carriage and a black ribbon are at the back. The two metal handles on the right side, one next to the number keys and the other near the carriage, have wooden knobs. There are three disjoint pieces.
This is Burroughs Corporation Patent Division model #68. It is marked in the front and behind the carriage: BURROUGHS. It is marked on a metal tag below the number wheels: B.A.M.CO. (/) MODEL (/) NO. 501A .
Pasinski submitted patent department model number 545 in 1928. However, Burroughs also did considerable work on ten-key adding machines in a decade earlier, and the object may date from that time. hence the date range might be 1915 to 1928.
A metal tag attached to the object reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1925
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.14
accession number
1982.0794
catalog number
1982.0794.14

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