Computers & Business Machines

Imagine the loss, 100 years from now, if museums hadn't begun preserving the artifacts of the computer age. The last few decades offer proof positive of why museums must collect continuously—to document technological and social transformations already underway.

The museum's collections contain mainframes, minicomputers, microcomputers, and handheld devices. Computers range from the pioneering ENIAC to microcomputers like the Altair and the Apple I. A Cray2 supercomputer is part of the collections, along with one of the towers of IBM's Deep Blue, the computer that defeated reigning champion Garry Kasparov in a chess match in 1997. Computer components and peripherals, games, software, manuals, and other documents are part of the collections. Some of the instruments of business include adding machines, calculators, typewriters, dictating machines, fax machines, cash registers, and photocopiers

This beige electronic cash register has a printing mechanism, an LED display, and a separate, locked cash drawer with a broken key. The interior of the register is accessible and includes a number of circuit boards, the printer mechanism, wires, and fuses.
Description
This beige electronic cash register has a printing mechanism, an LED display, and a separate, locked cash drawer with a broken key. The interior of the register is accessible and includes a number of circuit boards, the printer mechanism, wires, and fuses. Two circuit boards are covered in plastic and one had double-stick tape and foam attached to it to block the heat of the power source. A disintegrating foam panel is in the front of the unit. Paper and a print cartridge are still in the machine.
A tag on the top front of the machine reads: MKDBantam. A Hayman Cash Register Co. sticker is below this. The register has serial number 940561.
MKD Corporation, formed in 1972, sold both point-of-sale terminals and low-cost electronic cash registers.
Reference:
Creative Strategies International, Retail Automation to 1983, San Jose: Creative Strategies International, 1980, esp. p. 111.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1975
maker
MKD Corporation
ID Number
2002.0281.02
accession number
2002.0281
catalog number
2002.0281.02
The Regitel is an early point-of-sale (POS) electronic cash register.
Description
The Regitel is an early point-of-sale (POS) electronic cash register. Such terminals capture information about sales for computer processing.
The device was made by the American Regitel Corporation and installed as a part of a networked system in department stores across the nation. The networks communicated over telephone systems at 9600 baud, which was extremely fast for the time period.
A mark on the front reads: REGITEL. A mark on tape on the bottom of the machine reads: Theresa 3-22-71.
For related documentation, see 2002.0091.02 through 2002.0091.06.
American Regitel Corporation was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1968. The firm was acquired by Motorola in 1970.
References:
Accession file.
Auerbach Publishers, Snapshot of Point-of-Sale Systems, Pennsauken, N.J.: Auerbach Publishers, 1978, p. 11.
Creative Strategies Internaional, Retail Automation to 1983, San Jose: Creative Strategies International, 1980, esp. p. 109.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1970
maker
American Regitel Corporation
ID Number
2002.0091.01
accession number
2002.0091
catalog number
2002.0091.01
This large cash register has a wood and metal exterior painted black, and five columns of keys. The keys in the leftmost column indicate the type of transaction.
Description
This large cash register has a wood and metal exterior painted black, and five columns of keys. The keys in the leftmost column indicate the type of transaction. Right of these keys are four columns of 9 keys, the leftmost for $90 down to $10, the next for $9 to $1, the next for 90 cents to 10 cents, and the last for 9 cents to 1 cent. Hence the machine can have purchases entered of up to $99.99. It is a National model 1852-E, made by National Cash Register Company of Dayton, Ohio. It has serial number 2925055 and dates from 1929.
The paper tape for dispensing receipts is on the left. Above the keys are indicators showing the type of transaction and the amount. A wide cash drawer is at the bottom of the machine. The machine is electrically operated, but there is a place for an operating crank on the right side.
According to the donor, the register was used at Mosely's Jewelry Store on U Street in Washington, D.C. It has an indentation from a 32-caliber bullet, produced in one of the many times the store was robbed. The base price for this machine new was $350.00 in 1927.
References:
Equipment Research Corporation, Business Machines and Equipment Digest, 1928, vol. 1, section 10–1, p. 18.
Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1929
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
1986.0899.01
catalog number
1986.0899.01
accession number
1986.0899
maker number
2925055
This machine has four wooden drawers arranged in a single column in a wooden case. The register, in a brown metal case, sits atop the drawers. It has four columns of digit keys (red for dollars, black for cents, with a red five-cent key).
Description
This machine has four wooden drawers arranged in a single column in a wooden case. The register, in a brown metal case, sits atop the drawers. It has four columns of digit keys (red for dollars, black for cents, with a red five-cent key). Right of these is a column with keys marked A, B, D, E. Right of these is a lever now broken, a motor bar, and a section for the paper tape. The indicators are above the keys. The machine is electric. It has serial number 3672484 and model number 1544-(4D-1).
The machine was used at the Lansburgh Department Store in downtown Washington, D.C. When City Stores Company purchased Lansburgh, they gave the machine to the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1937
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
MA.334907
maker number
3672484
accession number
314157
catalog number
334907
This machine has eight cash drawers, arranged in two columns of four drawers each. The register, with its brown metal case, sits atop these. It has four columns of digit keys (red for dollars, white for cents, and a red 5-cent key).
Description
This machine has eight cash drawers, arranged in two columns of four drawers each. The register, with its brown metal case, sits atop these. It has four columns of digit keys (red for dollars, white for cents, and a red 5-cent key). Right of these are eight letter keys (A, B, D, E, H, K, L, and M) and a total key. Right of these is a lever which can be set at the desired operation, and a motor bar. The machine also has an operating handle. The paper tape is on the left and the glass-covered indicators are at the top.
The machine has serial number 390234. It also is marked: X 094(4) RS-8C.
This cash register was used at the Lansburgh department store in downtown Washington, D.C. When City Stores Company purchased Lansburgh, they gave the machine to the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1939
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
MA.334909
maker number
3848004
accession number
314157
catalog number
334909
This cash register has a wooden frame covered with brass and a metal mechanism. It has four columns of keys for entering amounts, an operating button, five function keys, a paper tape, a cash drawer, and pop-up indicators.Above the keys is a locked door.
Description
This cash register has a wooden frame covered with brass and a metal mechanism. It has four columns of keys for entering amounts, an operating button, five function keys, a paper tape, a cash drawer, and pop-up indicators.
Above the keys is a locked door. Lifting it reveals counters for numbers of customers and amounts spent. This is National Cash Register Company’s model 1054X-6, with serial number 1703570. It dates from 1919.
date made
1919
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
MA.319500
accession number
238759
catalog number
319500
This large, nickel-plated, manually operated cash register is an NCR Model 79. It has three columns of keys for entering numbers, and a fourth column of function keys. The operating crank is on the right side, the cash drawer is below, and a receipt dispenser on the left side.
Description
This large, nickel-plated, manually operated cash register is an NCR Model 79. It has three columns of keys for entering numbers, and a fourth column of function keys. The operating crank is on the right side, the cash drawer is below, and a receipt dispenser on the left side. Pop-up indicators above the keys indicate the total purchase. The Model 79 was introduced by NCR in 1892, this example dates from 1894. Principles introduced with this cash register would prove important on numerous later NCR cash registers. For a model of part of the mechanism of this machine, see MA.316703.
Reference:
Richard R. Crandall and Sam Robins, The Incorruptible Cashier, vol. 2, Vestal, N.Y.: Vestal Press (1990), pp. 157–169.
date made
1894
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
MA.316701
accession number
225455
catalog number
316701
After the Civil War, as American cities and businesses grew, business owners increasingly hired strangers to assist customers. At the time, it was all too easy for clerks and barkeepers to keep part of the money they received.
Description
After the Civil War, as American cities and businesses grew, business owners increasingly hired strangers to assist customers. At the time, it was all too easy for clerks and barkeepers to keep part of the money they received. The cash register, invented by the Ritty brothers of Dayton, Ohio, had a large display to indicate the sums customers paid. It also had a locked compartment that tallied total receipts. This is the Rittys' first machine, or an early replica of it. It was the basis for a commercial product called "Ritty's Incorruptible Cashier."
By 1884 the Rittys were out of business, but their patents were purchased by the National Cash Register Company. NCR made and sold much improved cash registers. By 1904, they were ready to convey the history of their company by showing this model at the St. Louis World's Fair. NCR went on to successfully make not only cash registers and accounting machines but electronic computers.
date made
ca 1904
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
MA.316700
accession number
225455
catalog number
316700
In the 1950s Americans increasingly bought groceries in supermarkets, which served large numbers of customers. Consumers selected their own goods, and took them to a clerk who rang up sales.
Description
In the 1950s Americans increasingly bought groceries in supermarkets, which served large numbers of customers. Consumers selected their own goods, and took them to a clerk who rang up sales. To make transactions as efficient as possible, the National Cash Register Company introduced machines that dispensed coins automatically, avoiding time and errors associated with making change. This change-making cash register went on the market in 1954, with a new model in 1958. This example was given to the Smithsonian by NCR in 1959, on the occasion of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the company.
Reference:
Accession file.
date made
1959
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
MA.316702
accession number
225455
catalog number
316702
This machine has a metal case painted brown, and sits on top of eight cash drawers arranged in two columns of four drawers. It has four columns of plastic keys for registering dollars and cents ($10 to $90, $1 to $9, 10 cents to 90 cents, and 1cent to 9 cents).
Description
This machine has a metal case painted brown, and sits on top of eight cash drawers arranged in two columns of four drawers. It has four columns of plastic keys for registering dollars and cents ($10 to $90, $1 to $9, 10 cents to 90 cents, and 1cent to 9 cents). A column right of the number keys keys lettered A, B, D, E, H, K, L and M. A keyhole is right of each of the lettered keys. Right of these is a lever for setting the operation to be carried out and the motor bar.
Left of the keyboard are registers marked with the same letters as those in the column of lettered keys. Left of this is the space for the paper tape. The machine has serial number 390234. It also is marked: X 094(4) RS-8C.
This particular cash register was used at Lansburgh Department Store in downtown Washington, D.C. When City Stores Company purchased Lansburgh, they gave the machine to the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
MA.334908
maker number
3905234
accession number
314157
catalog number
334908
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 1913 National Cash Register Company cash register has an ornate brass exterior with a marble plate above the cash drawer. In addition to the wooden cash drawer and pop-up indicators at the top, the machine had two rows of keys.
Description
This 1913 National Cash Register Company cash register has an ornate brass exterior with a marble plate above the cash drawer. In addition to the wooden cash drawer and pop-up indicators at the top, the machine had two rows of keys. Keys in the top row are numbered 90, 70, 50, 35, 25, 15,and 5 (the rightmost key is missing a label). Keys in the bottom row are labeled $1, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20, 10 (the rightmost key is missing a label). Inside a locked compartment above the keys is a register that reads dollars and cents up to $9999.99, a four-digit customer counter, and a two-digit no sale counter. The machine has no mechanism to assist the clerk in adding up totals for individual sales and no paper tape to serve as a receipt. It has serial number 1265603.
By this time, aggressive sales tactics, numerous acquisitions, and frequent lawsuits had won NCR dominance in the cash register market. The firm also trained numerous young executives, including Thomas J. Watson. When the U.S. government found NCR in violation of antitrust law, several of these executives, including Watson, were fired. Watson was soon hired by the Computing Tabulating Machine Company of Endicott, New York, becoming the president of a firm that soon was known as IBM.
References:
Cortada, James. Before the Computer: IBM, NCR, Burroughs, and Remington Rand and the Industry They Created. 1865-1956, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.
Crandall, Robert L. and Sam Robins. The Incorruptible Cashier, vol. II, Vestal, N.Y.: The Vestal Press, 1990.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
MA.333754
accession number
302254
catalog number
333754
This NCR cash register has four drawers in two columns. It has four columns of plastic digit keys, white for dollars, tens of dollars, and 5 cents, and black for cents. A column of four keys right of the number keys has keys labeled A1, 6, B2 and B2.
Description
This NCR cash register has four drawers in two columns. It has four columns of plastic digit keys, white for dollars, tens of dollars, and 5 cents, and black for cents. A column of four keys right of the number keys has keys labeled A1, 6, B2 and B2. Right of these is a lever, which can be set on the operation desired, and a motor bar. The paper tape holder is on the right side, the indicators are above the keyboard, and the electric cord is at the back. The serial number is 4931871, the model number 1544 (4D-1).
The machine was used at Lansburgh department store in downtown Washington, D.C. When City Stores Company purchased Lansburgh, they gave the machine to the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1952
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
MA.334906
maker number
4931871
accession number
314157
catalog number
334906
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
This gray-green machine has metal exterior and mechanism, and a black plastic plate above the cash drawer, plastic keys and a plastic window.
Description
This gray-green machine has metal exterior and mechanism, and a black plastic plate above the cash drawer, plastic keys and a plastic window. Four columns with nine digit keys each are on the right front and then five columns, each with nine keys, for entering amounts from hundreds of dollars down to cents. Right of these keys are keys indicating types of transactions, as well as TOTAL and SUBTOTAL keys. Right of these is a column of keys labeled with Roman numerals from I to VIII. Next to this are eight windows in a column. Right of these is the operating bar. Indicators are at the top. A space at the front may be meant for a paper tape. The machine has an electric cord, whose measurements are not included in the dimensions. The paper tape is missing.
The machine was made by the National Cash Register Company of Dayton, Ohio in 1943. It is a size 211 (1) and has serial number 4060872. According to a label on the bottom of the cash drawer, it was made for the Mary Webb Beauty Salon on Orange Street in Wilmington, Delaware.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
1987.0734.01
accession number
1987.0734
catalog number
1987.0734.01
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
This yellow-tinted electronic cash register sits atop an off-white cash drawer. It has black keyboard keys, a printer for receipts, and a red digital display. The key that opens the cash drawer is missing.A mark on the left front reads: CHECK-A-TRON.
Description
This yellow-tinted electronic cash register sits atop an off-white cash drawer. It has black keyboard keys, a printer for receipts, and a red digital display. The key that opens the cash drawer is missing.
A mark on the left front reads: CHECK-A-TRON. The machine has serial number 4500032. Stanley Hayman Business Machines stickers are on the front and the back.
Check-A-Tron began selling an American-built electronic cash register in 1975. In 1977 it introduced the MICROS electronic cash register/point-of-sale terminal. The firm also distributed Sanyo cash registers made in Japan. According to a mark on this machine, it was assembled in the United States. By 1983 Check-A-Tron Corporation was out of the cash register business entirely.
Reference:
Creative Strategies Internaional, Retail Automation to 1983, San Jose: Creative Strategies International, 1980, esp. p. 116.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1975
maker
Check-A-Tron Corporation
ID Number
2002.0281.03
accession number
2002.0281
catalog number
2002.0281.03

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