Other Mechanical Cash Registers

Although NCR dominated the market for cash registers, other firms offered their own forms of the machine. Some of these looked quite different from common images of a cash register. A few manufacturers, such as Brandt, competed successfully by making machines with a somewhat different function.

This is the patent model for U.S. patent 350,986, for a cash register. It has a pine box for a base and a wooden case that covers the mechanism and the back part of the box.
Description
This is the patent model for U.S. patent 350,986, for a cash register. It has a pine box for a base and a wooden case that covers the mechanism and the back part of the box. Four notched metal wheels, mounted vertically, represent tens of dollars, dollars, tens of cents, and cents. Rotating the wheels forward enters digits, which appear in windows to the left of the wheels.
Moving a knob on the front of the machine raises the case, which is hinged to the box at the back. This reveals the cash register mechanism, including a bell. It also shows the inside of the box, which contains several loose parts. One of these is a broken wooden disc that has a paper disc pasted to it with 26 letters around the edge (not in alphabetical order). The digits from 0 to 9 are listed next to 10 of the letters. This wheel may well not be part of the model. The patent tag with drawing and description is attached to the cash register.
William C. McGill (1812–1890) was born in Berks County, Pa., and spent his early years at sea. He went to California at the time of the Gold Rush, then to Australia, and then to St. Louis. In 1860, he moved to Cincinnati, and soon was assisting in organizing the first company of military volunteers in that city. After the Civil War, he was a guard at the District of Columbia jail until he resigned in 1882 because of poor health. He reportedly was the first patentee of the bell punch and devoted most of his later years to his inventions.
References:
W. C. McGill, "Cash Register," U.S. Patent 350,986, October 19, 1886.
Washington Post, August 23, 1890 (obituary).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1886
patentee
McGill, William C.
maker
McGill, William C.
ID Number
MA.309344
accession number
89797
catalog number
309344
This device consists of a wooden cash register between two wooden and glass display cases. Amounts are entered by dropping balls into holes for 1, 2, 5,10, 25, and 50 cents, and 1 and 5 dollars. Another hole is labeled "Ticket".
Description
This device consists of a wooden cash register between two wooden and glass display cases. Amounts are entered by dropping balls into holes for 1, 2, 5,10, 25, and 50 cents, and 1 and 5 dollars. Another hole is labeled "Ticket". From these holes at the back of the machine, the balls slide forward and accumulate in slots on top of the cash drawer. Pop-up numbers above the holes rise up when a ball is dropped. Neither these numbers nor for the slots have any cover.
This object resembles several devices manufactured in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Greenfield, Ohio. It is quite similar to a “cash indicator and register” patented by J. H Schnarrenberger of Greenfield in 1891 (U.S. patent 465732). These cash registers were manufactured by firms associated with John M. Waddel (also spelled John M. Waddell), whose primary business was in the building of display cases and other business furniture.
Compare to the description of the Waddel, Simplex, and Sun cash registers given in Crandall. Papers of the Waddell Company are at the Ohio Historical Society. By 1929, the Waddell Company was selling a combination of three adjacent display cases, with a money drawer under the shallower middle case. There was no cash register in this later item.
References:
Richard L. Crandall, The Incorruptible Cashier, Vestal, N.Y.: Vestal Press, 1988, vol. 1, pp. 133–147.
Waddell Company, Show Cases, Store Furniture Catalogue No. 109, Greenfield, OH: Waddell Co., Inc., 1929, pp. 10–11.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1895
ID Number
MA.325694
accession number
256655
catalog number
325694
This cash register has a wooden case with glass-covered pop-up indicator numbers at the back. A metal lever that moves laterally across the front of the machine points to multiples of 5 from 5 to 95.
Description
This cash register has a wooden case with glass-covered pop-up indicator numbers at the back. A metal lever that moves laterally across the front of the machine points to multiples of 5 from 5 to 95. On the right is an auxiliary lever for indicating amounts from 0 cents to 4 cents. On the left is another auxiliary lever for indicating 0, 1, or 2 dollars, hence the cash register indicates amounts up to $2.99. When the pointer-lever is depressed, the dollar, multiple of 5 cents, and 0 cent to 4 cent amounts are indicated on separate indicators at the back of the machine.
A window in the front of the machine is above the scale for the pointer. It is supposed to be covered with a shutter which can be opened only with a lock and key, keeping a secure record of transactions. No lock or key is evident.
The wooden cash drawer has six compartments for coins and three for paper bills. A spring at the back of the drawer keeps it in place.
The Model 106 is not listed in McCarthy in 1924, although other St. Louis cash registers are. The company is not mentioned in the 1928 edition of the book.
References:
Richard R. Crandell and Sam Robbins, The Incorruptible Cashier, vol. 2, Vestal, N.Y.: Vestal Press Ltd., 1990, pp. 80–84, 319, 320.
James H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago, 1924, pp.160–162, 585.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1915
maker
St. Louis Cash Register Company, Inc.
ID Number
1982.0735.01
catalog number
1982.0735.01
accession number
1982.0735
By the late 19th century, many American workers were paid in cash. Putting together packets with precisely the right bills and coins was a tedious task. In the 1890s, Edward J.
Description
By the late 19th century, many American workers were paid in cash. Putting together packets with precisely the right bills and coins was a tedious task. In the 1890s, Edward J. Brandt, a cashier at the Bank of Watertown in Watertown, Wisconsin, invented a machine that could dispense change automatically.
The machine dispenses change in amounts between 1 cent and 99 cents. It has eight channels across the front, three for pennies, one for nickels, two for dimes, one for quarters and one for 50-cent pieces. Above and behind the channels is an array of 99 plastic keys, numbered from 1 to 99. Pressing another key, marked "5," releases five pennies. On the right are keys marked 10, 25, 25 and 100 that give change for these amounts. The entire coin holder can be removed from the mechanism for storage of coins. Pushing down a key moves a bar that pushes coins from a channel into a compartment with a trap door at its base. Pushing the trap door back releases change into the hand.
A mark on the front and the back of the machine reads reads: BRANDT AUTOMATIC CASHIER. A mark on a brass plate on the back of the machine reads: PATENTED (/) JULY 11, 1899. . . (/) DEC. 12, 1916 (/) 48184 93421 10014 PATENTS PENDING (/) T.M.Reg.U.S.Pat.Off. (/) Brandt Manufacturing Company (/) WATERTOWN, WISCONSIN. The serial number, marked on the right side at the front, is 22446.
Brandt’s machine received medals at the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris and the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. This example dates from the 1920s.
References:
James H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago, 1924, p. 196–197.
Charles J. Wallman, Edward J. Brandt, Inventor, Watertown, WI: Brandt, Inc., 1984.
Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1925
maker
Brandt Manufacturing Company
ID Number
2001.0011.01
accession number
2001.0011
catalog number
2001.0011.01
This cash register has a metal cash box and case. The wooden cash drawer has a flat black slab above it. The machine has four levers for setting amounts of money to $99.99. A mechanism sets the 2-digit department number, and a lever sets the identity of the clerk.
Description
This cash register has a metal cash box and case. The wooden cash drawer has a flat black slab above it. The machine has four levers for setting amounts of money to $99.99. A mechanism sets the 2-digit department number, and a lever sets the identity of the clerk. The manually operated machine has an operating crank on the right side. It has no paper tape. The machine has indicator dials in a glass case at the top, with totals visible on both sides. On the left side is a window that shows a date of MAY 15. The cash drawer contains a key and a pill bottle.
The machine is marked at the base of the front: OHMER REGISTER CO. (/) DAYTON, OHIO, U.S.A. It is also marked: CLASS 807 (4)R -D3 (/) Serial No. 6056. It is marked on the bottom of the cash drawer: GUARANTEE. . . . OHMER REGISTER COMPANY (/)(Signed) John F. Ohmer (/) President.
Ohmer made the cases for early NCR cash registers. The Ohmer Car Register Company was founded in 1898 to make registers for streetcar, train and bus fares. The Ohmer Register Company was incorporated in 1931 as a distributing agency for the original firm. Cash registers seem to have been made under the Ohmer name from about that time until not long after the sale of the firm to Rockwell Manufacturing Company in 1946. John F. Ohmer died in 1938.
Reference:
“Ohmer, John F.,” National Cyclopedia of American Biography, vol. 33, p. 18.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935
maker
Ohmer Register Company
ID Number
MA.336220
maker number
6056
accession number
312142
catalog number
336220
This manufacturer's model of a cash register has a metal case painted black and four columns of black and white digit keys. To the right of these is an operating bar and various function keys. At the left is a paper tape. At the top are indicator digits in an enclosed case.
Description
This manufacturer's model of a cash register has a metal case painted black and four columns of black and white digit keys. To the right of these is an operating bar and various function keys. At the left is a paper tape. At the top are indicator digits in an enclosed case. At the front are two rows of register wheels. A box below is in the shape of a cash drawer. The clearance key is on the right front.The machine has a black cord.
This example is from the collection of the Patent Department of Burroughs Corporation. According to the accession file, it was an invention of Walter Pasinski. A patent case relating to it was abandoned March 5, 1953.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.19
catalog number
1982.0794.19
accession number
1982.0794
This combination adding machine and a cash drawer (AMOD) was made by Sperry Corporation in Searcy, Arkansas. It has four columns of keys for dollars and cents, three additional columns of digit keys, and three columns of keys with various functions on them.
Description
This combination adding machine and a cash drawer (AMOD) was made by Sperry Corporation in Searcy, Arkansas. It has four columns of keys for dollars and cents, three additional columns of digit keys, and three columns of keys with various functions on them. An addition bar and cancel button are across the base, and a paper tape at the top. Sales are not displayed visually by any indicator. The metal cash drawer has plastic divisions for change and cash. A key received with the machine controls a lever on the left side.
Marks on the front and back read: Sperry Remington. A mark in marker on the underside reads: 686155. A label attached to the underside reads: MANUFACTURED BY (/) REMINGTON RAND (/) OFFICE MACHINES DIVISION (/) MADE IN SEARCY, ARK.. U.S.A. This label also reads: MODEL 146308-10.
The Remington Rand Division of Sperry Rand Corporation began manufacturing cash registers in 1960, when the corporation acquired the adding machine and cash register division of Clary Corporation, including its factory in Searcy. The form of Sperry Remington trademark on the machine is from about 1968. By 1978, the name of Sperry Rand Corporation had changed because of other mergers, and electronic cash registers were becoming common. For these reasons, the approximate date of the machine is 1970.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1970
maker
Sperry Remington
ID Number
2002.0281.01
accession number
2002.0281
catalog number
2002.0281.01

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