Computers & Business Machines

Apple II Personal Computer

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

Date: 1950s

National Cash Register, Model 1544 (4D-1)

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

Mainframe Computer Model, Remington Rand Univac 1103 or 1103A

This portion of a model of a Univac computer includes four wooden, paper and cloth pieces painted gray, namely:1. input/output units on desk, including paper tape units and Flexowriter2. adding machine and other units on desk.3. Uniservo tape drive4.
Description
This portion of a model of a Univac computer includes four wooden, paper and cloth pieces painted gray, namely:
1. input/output units on desk, including paper tape units and Flexowriter
2. adding machine and other units on desk.
3. Uniservo tape drive
4. another computer peripheral, possibly a card reader
Engineering Research Associates began development of its 1103 in 1949 and introduced the first copy of the machine in 1953, the year after the firm was acquired by Remington Rand.
There is a plastic covering on the bottom of some pieces.
Reference:
Remington Rand Univac, Univac model 1103A Computer Scientific Programming Manual.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1953
maker
Remington Rand Inc.
ID Number
2013.3049.01
nonaccession number
2013.3049
catalog number
2013.3049.01

BP-16309 BSC Punch Cards for AFL-CIO Publications

Punched cards were used not only in government, business, and universities, but by labor unions. These white, eighty-column punch cards are printed in gray. They have spaces for the name, address, local number and ledger id number of member of the AFL-CIO.
Description
Punched cards were used not only in government, business, and universities, but by labor unions. These white, eighty-column punch cards are printed in gray. They have spaces for the name, address, local number and ledger id number of member of the AFL-CIO. A mark along the left edge reads: AFL-CIO PUBLICATIONS. A mark on the right edge reads: BP-16309 BSC. The cards were received in a tabulating machine (reproducer) with catalog number 336301.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
ID Number
MA.305981.08
accession number
305981
catalog number
305981.08

Graduate Record Examination Punch Cards

The Carnegie Foundation, and later the Educational Testing Service, used several forms of punched card in compiling and reporting information on the tests it administered. Three types are included here. All relate to Graduate Record Examination Individual Report Cards.
Description
The Carnegie Foundation, and later the Educational Testing Service, used several forms of punched card in compiling and reporting information on the tests it administered. Three types are included here. All relate to Graduate Record Examination Individual Report Cards. One has the number IBM 138707 (four examples), one IBM 140086 (eleven examples), and another IBM 140088 (three examples). One card is punched.
The cards were produced under U.S. Patent 1,772.492, taken out by Clair D. Lake in 1930 and assigned to IBM. The Graduate Record Examination was first administered in 1937 and kept the New York City address shown on the cards through at least 1951.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
IBM
ID Number
1995.3080.03
nonaccession number
1995.3080
catalog number
1995.3080.03

Mainframe Computer Model, IBM 1401

This is a wooden plexiglass and paper model of an IBM 1401 computer system. Model pieces include:1. The IBM 1401 central processing unit with control panel.2. A disc storage unit.3. Dual IBM 729 magnetic tape unit (two tape drives - possibly two units)4.
Description
This is a wooden plexiglass and paper model of an IBM 1401 computer system. Model pieces include:
1. The IBM 1401 central processing unit with control panel.
2. A disc storage unit.
3. Dual IBM 729 magnetic tape unit (two tape drives - possibly two units)
4. A shorter IBM 7330 magnetic tape unit with one tape drive
5. A yet shorter tape unit (for paper tape? might be IBM 1101)
6. IBM 1406 added memory
7. an IBM 1402 card read-punch
8. an IBM 1403 printer with paper.
Dimensions given are for system arranged compactly.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1959
maker
IBM
ID Number
2013.0129.01
accession number
2013.0129
catalog number
2013.0129.01

Remington Rand Univac Minimum Latency Calculator Slide Rule

This circular device was an aid to programming the UNIVAC solid state computer. It consists of a paper disc, with equal divisions running from 1 to 200 near the edge, and a clear plastic rotating disc. These are pivoted together at the center.
Description
This circular device was an aid to programming the UNIVAC solid state computer. It consists of a paper disc, with equal divisions running from 1 to 200 near the edge, and a clear plastic rotating disc. These are pivoted together at the center. The upper disc is marked in red with two perpendicular diameters. The lower disc is marked: MINIMUM LATENCY CALCULATOR FOR THE UNIVAC SOLID-STATE COMPUTER. The UNIVAC had a magnetic storage drum on which locations were specified numerically. The latency calculator allowed programmers to write code for the machine to make the most efficient possible use of the drum memory.
The back of the instrument gives a list of instruction codes and corresponding execution times for words. It is marked: Remington Rand Univac. It is also marked: U1767 Rev. 1 PRINTED (/) IN (/) U.S.A. The rule was received in a paper bag.
Reference: Sperry Rand Corporation, Simple Transition to Electronic Processing, UNIVAC Solid-State 80, (1960), 18–26.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1950
maker
Remington Rand Univac
ID Number
2005.0271.01
accession number
2005.0271
catalog number
2005.0271.01

Unityper II, Data Entry Device for the Univac Computer

The Unityper II, a modified Remington electric typewriter, was equipped with electronic circuits that converted type strokes into pulse patterns and recorded them on magnetic tape. The tape housing is located slightly above and behind the typewriter carriage.
Description
The Unityper II, a modified Remington electric typewriter, was equipped with electronic circuits that converted type strokes into pulse patterns and recorded them on magnetic tape. The tape housing is located slightly above and behind the typewriter carriage. The coded tapes were used as input for UNIVAC computers.
Reference: Remington Rand Univac, "Operator’s Manual Unityper II," 1955.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1957
maker
Remington Rand Univac. Division of Sperry Rand Corporation
ID Number
1982.0638.02
accession number
1982.0638
catalog number
1982.0638.02

IBM Machine Load Computer Slide Rule

This plastic rectangular instrument calculated the time required for different types of IBM punched card equipment to process given numbers of cards. The black side is for accounting machines, sorters, and collators.
Description
This plastic rectangular instrument calculated the time required for different types of IBM punched card equipment to process given numbers of cards. The black side is for accounting machines, sorters, and collators. The white side is for card punches, verifiers, and auxiliary machines. These machines were in use from roughly 1953 through 1959. The white side is marked: IBM; International Business Machines Corp. (/) 590 Madison Ave. New York 22, N.Y. (/) Patent Applied For. It is also marked THINK and MADE IN U.S.A. An instruction card is provided. A tan envelope is marked: IBM (/) MACHINE LOAD COMPUTER (/) AND DESCRIPTIVE FOLDER (/) Form 20-8704-1. No patent record was located.
Benjamin S. Mulitz, the donor, worked with punched card equipment and then with computers from 1940 until 1985. He used both Remington Rand and IBM products. He was employed by the U.S. government and then in the wholesale drug industry.
Reference: accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1953-1959
maker
International Business Machines Corporation
ID Number
2006.0174.02
accession number
2006.0174
catalog number
2006.0174.02

UNIVAC Punch Cards for the AFL-CIO

Punched cards were used not only in government, business, and universities, but by labor unions. These ninety-column paper punch cards are pink, green and white, and white with a green stripe. The first pink card is marked: FIELD ENGINEERING SERVICE REPORT.
Description
Punched cards were used not only in government, business, and universities, but by labor unions. These ninety-column paper punch cards are pink, green and white, and white with a green stripe. The first pink card is marked: FIELD ENGINEERING SERVICE REPORT. The green and white cards are marked: CUSTOMER ENGINEERING SERVICE REPORT. The white card with one green stripe is marked: AFL-CIO PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS, indicating the user. The last pink card is marked: UNIVAC P-11782
The cards were received in a Remington Rand interpreter with catalog number 336300 (305981.03).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
ID Number
MA.305981.09
accession number
305981
catalog number
305981.09

The Punched Card: Embodying Punched Card Operations in all types of Business and Industry

This paperback book has a yellow and turquoise cover. It was published in 1952 by the Punched Card Publishing Company of Detroit, Michigan.
Description
This paperback book has a yellow and turquoise cover. It was published in 1952 by the Punched Card Publishing Company of Detroit, Michigan. The punch card was an early means of date storage that could be read by computers or sorted and calculated by fields by specialized machines. By the 1950s the punched card had moved beyond merely recording census data, and was across the corporate landscape for billing, transportation schedules, libraries, payroll, and inventory management. This book served as a trade publication for the Punched Card Publishing Company, illustrating better business practices and new uses of punch cards and devices for reading them.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1952
ID Number
2013.3049.03
nonaccession number
2013.3049
catalog number
2013.3049.03

Newspaper Article on Samuel Alexander, Uncle Sam's Brainkeeper

This article by Emile C. Schurmacher describes Samuel Alexander and the SEAC. It ran in The Los Angeles Times on October 26, 1952. The object is glued to paper sheet. It is associated with Margaret Fox.Currently not on view
Description
This article by Emile C. Schurmacher describes Samuel Alexander and the SEAC. It ran in The Los Angeles Times on October 26, 1952. The object is glued to paper sheet. It is associated with Margaret Fox.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1952
maker
National Bureau of Standards
ID Number
2013.3034.28
nonaccession number
2013.3034
catalog number
2013.3034.28

Pamphlet, Type 705 Practice Problems

This document is a set of practice problems for an IBM electronic data processing machine.Currently not on view
Description
This document is a set of practice problems for an IBM electronic data processing machine.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1955
maker
IBM
ID Number
1995.3080.04.17
nonaccession number
1995.3080
catalog number
1995.3080.04.17

Mainframe Computer Component, Capacitor Bank Delay Line

This metal frame contains a cylindrical metal rod with nineteen red and orange tiles soldered to it. The tiles each have an array of six colored circles on them.The object is associated with Margaret Fox. May come from the SEAC computer.Currently not on view
Description
This metal frame contains a cylindrical metal rod with nineteen red and orange tiles soldered to it. The tiles each have an array of six colored circles on them.
The object is associated with Margaret Fox. May come from the SEAC computer.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1955
ID Number
2013.3034.08
catalog number
2013.3034.08
nonaccession number
2013.3034

Card Showing Images of Remington Rand Univac Punched Cards

This wallet-sized card shows punched cards on both sides. One is a ninety-column card with round holes, the other an eighty-column card with rectangular holes. The image of the ninety-column card has text along the left side that reads: Printed in U. S. A. REMINGTON RAND.
Description
This wallet-sized card shows punched cards on both sides. One is a ninety-column card with round holes, the other an eighty-column card with rectangular holes. The image of the ninety-column card has text along the left side that reads: Printed in U. S. A. REMINGTON RAND. The image of the eighty-column card has text along the left side that reads: Printed in U. S. A. REMINGTON RAND U-2173.
Remington Rand tabulating machines had used ninety-column punched cards. By 1959, Remington Rand computers could use either ninety-column punched cards, punched with round holes, or eighty-column cards, punched with rectangular holes. The latter form of card had been introduced by IBM. This small card shows the choices.
Reference:
Gille Associates, Inc., The Punched Card Data Processing Annual, 1, 1959, pp. 43-47.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
ca 1959
author
Remington Rand Univac. Division of Sperry Rand
ID Number
1997.3012.04.06
nonaccession number
1997.3012
catalog number
1997.3012.04.06

Leaflet, UNIVAC 60 Computer Simplifies Order Filling and Accounting for Wholesale Drug Firm

This leaflet presents an account of the installation of a Univac 60 computer at the Walker Drug Company, a wholesaler in Birmingham, Alabama. The document has Remington Rand Univac form number U3212.Currently not on view
Description
This leaflet presents an account of the installation of a Univac 60 computer at the Walker Drug Company, a wholesaler in Birmingham, Alabama. The document has Remington Rand Univac form number U3212.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
ca 1957
author
Remington Rand Univac. Division of Sperry Rand
ID Number
1997.3012.04.24
catalog number
1997.3012.04.24
nonaccession number
1997.3012

IBM 827213 Punch Cards for the Electronic Computer Project at Princeton University

Two IBM 80-column punch cards, tan. One card has nothing written on the front but the back has a drawing of a circuit, the date FEB 13 1958, and the words Bias Supplies; Wm Pulser; Arithmetic.
Description
Two IBM 80-column punch cards, tan. One card has nothing written on the front but the back has a drawing of a circuit, the date FEB 13 1958, and the words Bias Supplies; Wm Pulser; Arithmetic. The second card has a 5 column, 2 row table drawn in pencil on the front and circuit drawings in pencil on the back.
These two cards were made by IBM for the Electronic Computer Project at Princeton, NJ. This project made the IAS computer, considered by some to be the first American computer (it had stored programs, which the ENIAC did not). These cards may represent the first punch cards used with an American electronic computer.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
ca 1955
maker
IBM
ID Number
CI.320250.05
accession number
1958.220575
catalog number
320250.05

Punch Card Probe

This cylindrical metal stainless steel rod is about 8" long and resembles a crochet hook. The metal is serrated along the middle part of the rod. One end is hooked, the other is flattened and U-shaped.
Description
This cylindrical metal stainless steel rod is about 8" long and resembles a crochet hook. The metal is serrated along the middle part of the rod. One end is hooked, the other is flattened and U-shaped. The donor worked with tabulating machines and then computer equipment from the 1940s into at least the 1960s.
Reportedly the hook was used to line up punched cards and the flattened end to complete holes that had not punched properly.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
1950, roughly
ID Number
2006.3088.01
nonaccession number
2006.3088
catalog number
2006.3088.01

Mechanism from National Cash Register

By 1959 the mechanism for accumulating totals on NCR cash registers had become relatively compact. This cash register component from that period has the counters needed to represent eight totals along one shaft.
Description
By 1959 the mechanism for accumulating totals on NCR cash registers had become relatively compact. This cash register component from that period has the counters needed to represent eight totals along one shaft. It is somewhat smaller than the mechanism for a single total used in 1894. This smaller mechanism was used in cash register MA.316702.
Reference:
Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1959
maker
National Cash Register Company
ID Number
MA.316704
accession number
225455
catalog number
316704

"Welcome To IBM" Packet

This packet of materials was provided to the donor when he took a course on the use of tabulating equipment at IBM in Endicott, New York, in the 1950s. Included are a name tag, a punch card, three postcards, two leaflets, and an envelope.
Description
This packet of materials was provided to the donor when he took a course on the use of tabulating equipment at IBM in Endicott, New York, in the 1950s. Included are a name tag, a punch card, three postcards, two leaflets, and an envelope.
date made
1950s
maker
IBM
ID Number
1995.3080.05
nonaccession number
1995.3080
catalog number
1995.3080.05

Photograph of Ralph Slutz in His Office at the National Bureau of Standards

In this small color image a message on the blackboard behind Slutz reads: DEAR (/) RALPH (/) I'm going away to Calif. (/) Pleas don't neglect (/) the plants until I come back. (/) Love ISR. This may be a message from collegue Ida S.
Description
In this small color image a message on the blackboard behind Slutz reads: DEAR (/) RALPH (/) I'm going away to Calif. (/) Pleas don't neglect (/) the plants until I come back. (/) Love ISR. This may be a message from collegue Ida S. Rhodes.
The photograph is laminated with plastic on front and back. It may have a paper core.
The object is associated with Margaret Fox.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early 1950s
maker
National Bureau of Standards
ID Number
2013.3034.23
nonaccession number
2013.3034
catalog number
2013.3034.23

IAS Computer

The IAS Computer was named for the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. The computer was built from 1946 to 1951 at the Institute under the direction of John von Neumann, a mathematics professor at both Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study.
Description
The IAS Computer was named for the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. The computer was built from 1946 to 1951 at the Institute under the direction of John von Neumann, a mathematics professor at both Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study. Funds for the computer came from the Institute, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and several military agencies of the U.S. Government. It cost several hundred thousand dollars. The goal of developing the IAS was to make digital computer designs more practical and efficient.
For further information about the computer, see Willis H. Ware. The History and Development of the Electronic Computer Project at the Institute for Advanced Study (1953). This is available online.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1946-1951
director
von Neumann, John
previous owner
Institute for Advanced Study
maker
von Neumann, John
Institute for Advanced Study
ID Number
CI.320250.01
catalog number
320250
accession number
220575

Book, Methods of Operations Research

This pioneering textbook on operations research was coauthored by Philip M. Morse (1903-1985), a professor of physics at M.I.T., and quantum chemist George E. Kimball (1906-1967), who also was on the faculty there. During World War II the two men worked for the U.S.
Description
This pioneering textbook on operations research was coauthored by Philip M. Morse (1903-1985), a professor of physics at M.I.T., and quantum chemist George E. Kimball (1906-1967), who also was on the faculty there. During World War II the two men worked for the U.S. Navy on a project relating to the mathematical analysis of Nazi U--boat operations. After the war, they envisioned a more general theory of mathematical analysis of industrial, governmental, and military operations, which is presented here.
This copy of the book is from the personal library of William F. Eberth (1905-1976), who spent fifteen years of his career with the Atomic Energy Commission working in South Africa. The copy is not annotated.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1951
maker
Morse , Philip M.
Kimball, George E.
ID Number
MA.319872.10
accession number
1975319872
catalog number
319872.10

IBM 417110 Punch Card with Bell Telephone Laboratories Logo

This yellow paper eighty-column punch catd has rounded corners, with the uppler left corner truncated. The Bell Telephone Laboratories logo is at the center. A mark on the card reads: GENERAL APPLICATIONS CARD (/) BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES, INCORPORATED.
Description
This yellow paper eighty-column punch catd has rounded corners, with the uppler left corner truncated. The Bell Telephone Laboratories logo is at the center. A mark on the card reads: GENERAL APPLICATIONS CARD (/) BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES, INCORPORATED. Another mark reads: MILITARY MANUFACTURING INFORMATION DEPT. Another mark reads: IBM 417110. A final mark reads: E7583-E(7-57).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1957
maker
IBM
ID Number
1996.0142.03
catalog number
1996.0142.03
accession number
1996.0142

Pamphlet,705 Autocoder System Manual of Information

This manual replaces the first version of 1956.Currently not on view
Description
This manual replaces the first version of 1956.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1957
maker
IBM
ID Number
1995.3080.04.20
nonaccession number
1995.3080
catalog number
1995.3080.04.20

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