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

Place: United States

Handheld Electronic Calculator Prototype - Texas Instruments Cal Tech

This prototype handheld electronic calculator was built in the Semiconductor Research and Development Laboratory at Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas, by a team led by Jack Kilby (1923–2005), co-inventor of the integrated circuit.
Description
This prototype handheld electronic calculator was built in the Semiconductor Research and Development Laboratory at Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas, by a team led by Jack Kilby (1923–2005), co-inventor of the integrated circuit. By the mid-1960s, TI was building microchips for industrial and military applications. The company president, Pat Haggerty, sought a consumer product that would use chips, just as earlier TI transistors had found wide use in transistor radios. Haggerty proposed a variety of possible products, and Kilby and his colleagues settled on making a small electronic calculator. TI had given an earlier development program the code name Project MIT. The calculator work, also confidential, was dubbed Project Cal Tech.
Machines that performed basic arithmetic had sold from the mid-19th century, for use in business and government. Desktop electronic calculators with vacuum tubes sold from 1961, and with transistors from 1964. Kilby envisioned something much smaller that would be roughly the size of a book. This required a smaller keyboard, a new form of display, a portable power supply, and a new memory and central processor. Kilby assigned design of the keyboard to James Van Tassel, and gave work on the memory and processor to Jerry Merryman. He took responsibility for the output and power supply himself.
By September 1967 Kilby, Merryman, and Van Tassel had made enough progress to apply for a patent. The submitted a revised patent in May 1971 and a further revision in December 1972. This final application received U.S. Patent No. 3,819,921 on June 25, 1974.
The prototype resembles the “miniature electronic calculator” shown in the patent drawings. It has a metal case painted black and an array of seventeen keys and a zero bar. In addition to nine digit keys, there are keys for a decimal point, four arithmetic functions, clear (C), error (E), and print (P). The on/off switch is at the back right and a thermal printer with a thin strip of paper at the back left. The power supply plugs into the back of the calculator and into the wall.
An inscription on the front of the calculator reads: THE FIRST CAL TECH (/) PRESENTED TO P. E. HAGGERTY (/) MARCH 29, 1967.
Depressing a button on the front edge of the machine releases the cover and reveals an intricate “integrated circuit array” (to use the terminology of the patent description) and three chips. The array contained four integrated circuits, each the size of a wafer usually made with several chips on it.
Further refinement of the Cal Tech led to the commercial Pocketronic calculator, introduced by Canon in Japan in 1970 and in the United States in 1971. Texas Instruments began selling calculators under its own name in 1972.
References:
Kathy B. Hamrick, “The History of the Hand-Held Electronic Calculator,” American Mathematical Monthly, 102, October 1996, pp. 633–639.
Jack Kilby, Oral History with Arthur L. Norberg, June 21, 1984, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. A transcript is available online. Accessed June 18, 2015.
T. R. Reid, The Chip: How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985.
Jeffrey Zygmont, Microchip: An Idea, Its Genesis, and the Revolution It Created, Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 2003.
date made
1967
maker
Texas Instruments
ID Number
CI.336000
catalog number
336000
accession number
319050

Software, Stellar Wars and Population Simulation

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1979
ID Number
2012.3098.095
catalog number
2012.3098.095
nonaccession number
2012.3098

Press Release, Shugart Associates

This mimeographed press release gives background on Shugart Associates. It includes an image of a Shugart SA800 disk drive.Currently not on view
Description
This mimeographed press release gives background on Shugart Associates. It includes an image of a Shugart SA800 disk drive.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1979
maker
Shugart Associates
ID Number
1980.0612.01.3
catalog number
1980.0612.01.3
accession number
1980.0612

Software, Graphing Package

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1978
ID Number
2012.3098.107
catalog number
2012.3098.107
nonaccession number
2012.3098

Summit SI-90 Handheld Electronic Calculator

This is the most advanced of the Summit scientific handheld calculators in the Smithsonian collections. It has a dark brown and tan plastic case and an array of thirty-six rectangular plastic keys.
Description
This is the most advanced of the Summit scientific handheld calculators in the Smithsonian collections. It has a dark brown and tan plastic case and an array of thirty-six rectangular plastic keys. The lower four rows of keys include ten digit keys, a decimal point key, a pi key, a total key, a memory key, a clear entry key, a clear key, and four arithmetic function keys. Above this are keys for a wide variety of functions, including shifting from degrees to radians, logarithms to the base ten, natural logarithms, exponents, trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions, reciprocals, square roots, powers, parentheses, switching the content of registers, and change sign. Behind the keyboard is a ten-digit display with further lights for sign and two-digit exponent. A jack for a power adapter is at the back. A tag on the front reads: Summit.
A tag on the back of the calculator reads: THE SCIENTIFIC. It also reads: MODEL SI-90 (/) SERIAL NO. 51832 (/) Tm SUMMIT INTERNATIONAL CORP> (/) SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.
The calculator has a black leather zippered, cloth-lined case. It also has a black AC adapter-charger. Both of these are marked: Summit. The instrument is in a foam case that fits in a cardboard box. The price on one tag on the box is $149.95, marked down to $69.95, marked down to $31.99. The price on another tag is $109.95, marked down to $31.98.
References:
[Advertisement], The Daily Herald (Provo, Utah), September 24, 1975, p. 15. Close-out sale on Summit calculators, including SI-90. List price of that model is $99, on sale for $49.
[Advertisement], Desert News, March 3, 1976, p. 20A. Factory closeout sale on the Summit SI90 lists a price of $49.
Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, The Complete Collector’s Guide to Pocket Calculators, Tustin, CA: Wilson/Barnett, 1997, p. 149.
Summit International Corporation, Professional calculator for the scientist, engineer and mathematician: Instruction Manual for: SUMMIT SI90, Salt Lake City, Utah: Summit International, no date. This manual is online at wass.net, accessed November 21, 2014. Summit International is listed here as a subsidy of Trans Atlas Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1974
maker
Summit International Corporation
ID Number
1986.0988.297
catalog number
1986.0988.297
accession number
1986.0988

Altair 8800 Microcomputer Plug-In Card

A computer board for the Altair 8800 microcomputer.Not long after Intel introduced its 8080 microprocessor, a small firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, named MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) announced a computer kit called the Altair, which met the social as well a
Description
A computer board for the Altair 8800 microcomputer.
Not long after Intel introduced its 8080 microprocessor, a small firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, named MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) announced a computer kit called the Altair, which met the social as well as technical requirements for a small personal computer. MITS succeeded where other, more established firms had failed, and it was their machine that inaugurated the personal computer age. MITS got its start in computing in 1971, when it introduced an electronic calculator kit. Several thousand sold before 1974, when the sharp reduction in calculator prices drove the company out of that market.
H. Edward Roberts, the Florida-born former U.S. Air Force officer who headed MITS, decided to design a small, affordable computer around the Intel 8080. His daughter named the new machine after the star Altair. It was the first microcomputer to sell in large numbers. In January 1975, a photograph of the Altair appeared on the cover of the magazine Popular Electronics. The caption read “World's First Minicomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models.” According to the magazine, the machine sold as a kit for $395, and assembled for $498. Roberts had hoped to break even by selling 200 Altairs. Within three months he had a backlog of 4,000 orders.
Enthusiasm for the Altair and other personal computers spawned computer hobbyist clubs, computer stores, newsletters, magazines, and conventions. By 1977, a host of companies, large and small, were producing microcomputers for a mass market. This phenomenon was abetted by a design decision to make the Altair an "open" machine. In other words, it passed data along a channel called a bus, whose specifications were not kept a secret. That way both MITS and other companies could add memory cards, cards to control a printer or other devices as long as they adhered to the published standards.
This particular Altair was collected by the Smithsonian because it documents how hobbyists would outfit the machine with additional parts and components. The user added his own keyboard, monitor, disk drive, and 17 plug-in boards to expand the computer’s capability. Unfortunately, the original owner of the kit is unknown. The computer was donated to the Smithsonian by a second owner, Mark Sienkiewicz, who purchased it as a collectable item and never used it.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975
maker
Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems
ID Number
2007.0032.05.16
catalog number
2007.0032.05.16
accession number
2007.0032

Altair 8800 Microcomputer Plug-In Card

A computer board for the Altair 8800 microcomputer.Not long after Intel introduced its 8080 microprocessor, a small firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, named MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) announced a computer kit called the Altair, which met the social as well a
Description
A computer board for the Altair 8800 microcomputer.
Not long after Intel introduced its 8080 microprocessor, a small firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, named MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) announced a computer kit called the Altair, which met the social as well as technical requirements for a small personal computer. MITS succeeded where other, more established firms had failed, and it was their machine that inaugurated the personal computer age. MITS got its start in computing in 1971, when it introduced an electronic calculator kit. Several thousand sold before 1974, when the sharp reduction in calculator prices drove the company out of that market.
H. Edward Roberts, the Florida-born former U.S. Air Force officer who headed MITS, decided to design a small, affordable computer around the Intel 8080. His daughter named the new machine after the star Altair. It was the first microcomputer to sell in large numbers. In January 1975, a photograph of the Altair appeared on the cover of the magazine Popular Electronics. The caption read “World's First Minicomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models.” According to the magazine, the machine sold as a kit for $395, and assembled for $498. Roberts had hoped to break even by selling 200 Altairs. Within three months he had a backlog of 4,000 orders.
Enthusiasm for the Altair and other personal computers spawned computer hobbyist clubs, computer stores, newsletters, magazines, and conventions. By 1977, a host of companies, large and small, were producing microcomputers for a mass market. This phenomenon was abetted by a design decision to make the Altair an "open" machine. In other words, it passed data along a channel called a bus, whose specifications were not kept a secret. That way both MITS and other companies could add memory cards, cards to control a printer or other devices as long as they adhered to the published standards.
This particular Altair was collected by the Smithsonian because it documents how hobbyists would outfit the machine with additional parts and components. The user added his own keyboard, monitor, disk drive, and 17 plug-in boards to expand the computer’s capability. Unfortunately, the original owner of the kit is unknown. The computer was donated to the Smithsonian by a second owner, Mark Sienkiewicz, who purchased it as a collectable item and never used it.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975
maker
Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems
ID Number
2007.0032.05.10
catalog number
2007.0032.05.10
accession number
2007.0032

Documentation, Spiral Bound Book Entitled The Second Book of Machine Language

This paperback book by Richard Mansfield describes machine language programming for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari, Apple, and PET/CBM microcomputers. It has some annotations.
Description
This paperback book by Richard Mansfield describes machine language programming for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari, Apple, and PET/CBM microcomputers. It has some annotations. The price listed on the front cover is $14.95.
The book was received with a VIC 20 microcomputer, 1987.0249.02.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1984
maker
Compute! Publications, Inc.
ID Number
1987.3049.09
catalog number
1987.3049.09
nonaccession number
1987.3049

Mainframe Computer Component, Connectors

These four wooden rods are painted black. Each has one metal cover at one end and two metal pieces, separated by a short length of the rod, at the other. The rods are color-coded as follows:1. long rod - brown and red stripes near end with one metal piece.
Description
These four wooden rods are painted black. Each has one metal cover at one end and two metal pieces, separated by a short length of the rod, at the other. The rods are color-coded as follows:
1. long rod - brown and red stripes near end with one metal piece. Brown and two red strips near end with two metal pieces.
2. long rod - cream colored and black stripes near end with one metal piece. Yellow, black and brown stripes near end with two metal pieces.
3. shorter rod - red and orange stripes near end with one metal piece. Brown, black and lighter brown stripes near end with two metal pieces.
4. shorter rod - no color-coded stripes - exposed gold section near end with two pieces and near other end - this rod has a maker's mark.
These objects are associated with Margaret Fox and may come from the SEAC computer.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2013.3034.13
catalog number
2013.3034.13
nonaccession number
2013.3034

Commodore Minuteman 6 Handheld Electronic Calculator

This small four-function calculator is wedge-shaped, inclining toward the front. It has fourteen oval keys and an oval zero bar. In addition to the ten digits, these allow for the four arithmetic operations and clearing (but not clear entry).
Description
This small four-function calculator is wedge-shaped, inclining toward the front. It has fourteen oval keys and an oval zero bar. In addition to the ten digits, these allow for the four arithmetic operations and clearing (but not clear entry). Each arithmetic function key serves as an enter key for the corresponding operation (e.g. pushing the appropriate key gives the product, result, difference, quotient, or sum). The calculator has a six-digit red LED display.
A mark between the keyboard and the display reads: commodore. A switch on the back edge allows one to set the display to read dollars and cents (there is no decimal point key).
The battery compartment at the top of the back would hold a nine-volt battery. A sticker in front of it reads: MINUTEMAN * 6 (/) VOLTAGE 9V CURRENT 0.08A (/) SERIAL NO. 377139 (/) MADE IN U.S.A.
References:
Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, The Complete Collector’s Guide to Pocket Calculators, Tustin, CA: Wilson/Barnett, 1997, p. 58.
Washington Post, April 14, 1974, p. C8. Advertised as a “basic low-priced machine.” Sold for $19.95.
Chicago Tribune, February 2, 1975, p. 35. Advertised as selling for $12.88, value $19.95.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1974-1975
maker
Commodore Business Machines, Inc.
ID Number
1986.0988.313
catalog number
1986.0988.313
accession number
1986.0988

Software and Documentation, PRO-PaDS by Misosys

This software and documentation was published by Misosys of Virginia in 1982. PRO-PaDS, developed by Roy Soltoff, was a partitioned data set utility program for LDOS/TRSDOS version 6.References:An interview with Roy Soltoff conducted by Smithsonian curator Dr.
Description
This software and documentation was published by Misosys of Virginia in 1982. PRO-PaDS, developed by Roy Soltoff, was a partitioned data set utility program for LDOS/TRSDOS version 6.
References:
An interview with Roy Soltoff conducted by Smithsonian curator Dr. Jon Eklund, is in the NMAH Archives Center.
http://www.tim-mann.org/misosys.html
[Last accessed 6/12/2019]
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1982
ID Number
2012.3098.042
catalog number
2012.3098.042
nonaccession number
2012.3098
serial number
220045

Altair 8800 Microcomputer Plug-In Card

A computer board for the Altair 8800 microcomputer.Not long after Intel introduced its 8080 microprocessor, a small firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, named MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) announced a computer kit called the Altair, which met the social as well a
Description
A computer board for the Altair 8800 microcomputer.
Not long after Intel introduced its 8080 microprocessor, a small firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, named MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) announced a computer kit called the Altair, which met the social as well as technical requirements for a small personal computer. MITS succeeded where other, more established firms had failed, and it was their machine that inaugurated the personal computer age. MITS got its start in computing in 1971, when it introduced an electronic calculator kit. Several thousand sold before 1974, when the sharp reduction in calculator prices drove the company out of that market.
H. Edward Roberts, the Florida-born former U.S. Air Force officer who headed MITS, decided to design a small, affordable computer around the Intel 8080. His daughter named the new machine after the star Altair. It was the first microcomputer to sell in large numbers. In January 1975, a photograph of the Altair appeared on the cover of the magazine Popular Electronics. The caption read “World's First Minicomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models.” According to the magazine, the machine sold as a kit for $395, and assembled for $498. Roberts had hoped to break even by selling 200 Altairs. Within three months he had a backlog of 4,000 orders.
Enthusiasm for the Altair and other personal computers spawned computer hobbyist clubs, computer stores, newsletters, magazines, and conventions. By 1977, a host of companies, large and small, were producing microcomputers for a mass market. This phenomenon was abetted by a design decision to make the Altair an "open" machine. In other words, it passed data along a channel called a bus, whose specifications were not kept a secret. That way both MITS and other companies could add memory cards, cards to control a printer or other devices as long as they adhered to the published standards.
This particular Altair was collected by the Smithsonian because it documents how hobbyists would outfit the machine with additional parts and components. The user added his own keyboard, monitor, disk drive, and 17 plug-in boards to expand the computer’s capability. Unfortunately, the original owner of the kit is unknown. The computer was donated to the Smithsonian by a second owner, Mark Sienkiewicz, who purchased it as a collectable item and never used it.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975
maker
Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems
ID Number
2007.0032.05.04
catalog number
2007.0032.05.04
accession number
2007.0032

National Semiconductor Novus 831 Handheld Electronic Calculator

This handheld electronic calculator has a tan plastic case with a tan and brown keyboard. Its capabilities are suited to student use, including not only the four functions of arithmetic but square roots, squares, and percentages.
Description
This handheld electronic calculator has a tan plastic case with a tan and brown keyboard. Its capabilities are suited to student use, including not only the four functions of arithmetic but square roots, squares, and percentages. In addition to keys for these, the calculator has ten rectangular digit keys, a clear entry/clear key, a decimal point key, and a total key. The on/off switch is above these keys. Text above this reads: 831 NOVUS. Behind this is an eight-digit LED display. A jack for a power adapter is on the left side.
The battery compartment opens from the back.
Advertisements for the Novus 831 give a list price of $10.88 and a sale price of $9.44.
References:
[Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, April 4, 1976, Novus 831 calculator sold for $9.44.
[Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, September 19, 1976, p. L16. Novus 831 calculator sold for $9.44, regularly $10.88.
[Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, December 19, 1976, p. O4. Novus 831 calculator sold for $6.88, regularly $9.88.
[Advertisement], Ogden Standard-Examiner, June 14, 1977, p. 3. Novus 831 offered as giveaway for bank depositors.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976-1977
maker
National Semiconductor Corporation
ID Number
1986.0988.226
catalog number
1986.0988.226
accession number
1986.0988

Software and Documentation, Framework by Ashton-Tate

This software and documentation, Framework II, released in 1985 for IBM PCs and compatibles, was an updated version of the integrated software package by Ashton-Tate.
Description
This software and documentation, Framework II, released in 1985 for IBM PCs and compatibles, was an updated version of the integrated software package by Ashton-Tate. Framework II enhancements included increased speed; improved use of random-access memory, communications functions, overall operations; and the addition of a spell checker and dictionaries.
The original box contains six 5.25" disks, three user guides Getting Started Framework II, Learning Framework II, Using Framework II, and Advanced Topics Framework II; Customer Support Guide, Software License Agreement, three keyboard templates with a Keyboard Template guide, six labels for backup disks, and instructions for Framework Replacement Diskettes.
Reference:
“InfoWorld,” December 9, 1985.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1985
maker
Ashton-Tate
ID Number
2012.3098.011
catalog number
2012.3098.011
nonaccession number
2012.3098

Software, Teacher and Teacher Data Transfer

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1979
ID Number
2012.3098.098
catalog number
2012.3098.098
nonaccession number
2012.3098

Printout from COBOL Program Run at RCA in August 1960

This is one of the first successful printouts of a program written in the computer programming language COBOL. After COBOL was proposed and described in 1959, programmers at Remington Rand Univac and at RCA wrote compilers that translated COBOL commands into machine language.
Description
This is one of the first successful printouts of a program written in the computer programming language COBOL. After COBOL was proposed and described in 1959, programmers at Remington Rand Univac and at RCA wrote compilers that translated COBOL commands into machine language. They also wrote test programs to demonstrate the language. Like later COBOL programs , this one was divided into four sections.
The first identified the program and gave the name of the programmer. The second section, called the environment division, presented information about the specific machine used, such as the computer model, and locations to be used for different files. The third, or procedure, division was independent of the computer. It gave a series of statements about what the machine was to do. Although commands resemble ordinary English, the words used had very specific definitions and equations could be written using mathematical symbols. Finally, the data division defined the information to be processed. This data was entered so that it could be used in several programs, as in later database management systems. Successfully compiling a program produced a printout with each of these sections, as well as a listing of the desired results.
This printout of the first successful COBOL compilation at RCA relates to inventory control. One page is marked in ink: Good output – 8/17/60 (/) (isn’t it beautiful) (/) not really [the not really is crossed out] (/) well almost.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1960
maker
RCA Corporation
ID Number
2010.3050.1
catalog number
2010.3050.1
nonaccession number
2010.3050

Slide Rule, Minimum Latency Calculator for the UNIVAC Solid-State Computer

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 that 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 that are pivoted together at the center. The upper disc is marked in red with two perpendicular diameters. The solid state computer 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 word times. Recieved in bag. Reference: Sperry Rand Corporation, Programming: Simple Transition to Electronic Processing UNIVAC Solid-State 80, 18-26.
Compare 2005.0271.01. Date based on date of documents 2015.3097.03 and 2015.3097.04.
According to Kirk Lubbes, who programmed the Univac Solid State Computer:
"The SS90 had a drum memory, i.e. memory was not random accessible. One had slow memory and fast memory. The slow memory had only a single read/write head per track on the drum and fast memory had four read/write heads spaced at 90 degrees, so therefore the drum had to rotate a full revolution to access a memory word in slow memory and only a quarter turn to access fast memory.
The trick in programming the SS90 was to have the instruction and its operand accessible at an optimal time so that the instruction could access its operand without waiting for the drum very far. As one started a program, this was not much a problem. The programmer new how much time that a given instruction would take to execute and the speed of the drum. Therefore, he calculated the position of the next instruction, based these two parameters. The minimum latency calculator was a mechanical device to help in this calculation. The problem was that as the programmer progressed, collisions occurred, i.e. the optimal location of an instruction or an operand was already taken by a previous instruction or operand. Since the drum was arranged in bands and the read/write heads were at the same location on each band, if one had a collision, you could put the necessary instruction or operand in a parallel band at the same position. This worked the bands all filled up.
The basic approach was to get a program working using the best latency that you could. Then the programmer would go back and start rearranging instructions and operand locations to achieve minimum latency. In those early times, machine time was expensive and memory severely limited. So it was important that production programs were efficient."
Reference:
Nonccession file 2015.3097.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
maker
Remington Rand Univac
ID Number
2015.3097.01
nonaccession number
2015.3097
catalog number
2015.3097.01

National Semiconductor Novus 6030 Handheld Electronic Calculator, Statistician

In 1975, Novus, the Consumer Products branch of National Semiconductor Corporation, introduced a series of handheld electronic calculators known as the “Professionals.” As a June 1975 advertisement in the Chicago Tribune put it, these were designed to fill the gap between “very e
Description
In 1975, Novus, the Consumer Products branch of National Semiconductor Corporation, introduced a series of handheld electronic calculators known as the “Professionals.” As a June 1975 advertisement in the Chicago Tribune put it, these were designed to fill the gap between “very expensive calculators offering every feature in the book” and “‘Mickey Mouse’ models which were much less costly, but which just didn’t have what it takes to do the job.” The least expensive of these calculators was The Mathematician, which initially sold for $69.95. Others in the series included the Programmable Mathematician, The Financier, The Programmable Financier, The Statistician, The Programmable Statistician, and The International Computer (later sold as The International Converter). By 1976, Novus had also introduced The Scientist and The Programmable Scientist.
This is an example of the Novus Statistician. The calculator has a tan plastic case, thirty-two rectangular plastic keys, and a plastic display cover. At the bottom of the keyboard are ten digit keys, a decimal point key, and a clear key. To the right of these is a column of four arithmetic function keys. The function of these keys is marked on the keys themselves.
Above these keys are a total key and a variety of function keys and a clear all key. The function of all but the total key is indicated on the keyboard. A mark above the keyboard reads: Statistician. Behind the keyboard is an eight-digit red LED display. A mark above this reads: NOVUS. The jack for a power adapter is along the back edge and a power switch is on the left edge.
A battery compartment opens on the back of the calculator. A sticker on the compartment cover reads in part: BATTERY/ADAPTER (/) INSTRUCTIONS. It also reads in part: NOVUS – Consumer Products (/) National Semiconductor Corp. (/) Made in U.S.A. A second sticker on the back gives operating instructions. It reads in part: NOVUS 6030. It also reads in part: Serial No. 1020564.
The object comes with a brown leather felt-lined zippered pouch. A mark on the pouch reads: NOVUS. It contains a plastic card with “statistical key callouts” for the calculator.
References:
[Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1975, p. D4. Novus Statistician advertised as costing $99.95, Novus Financier $99.95.
[Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, June 1, 1975, p. A16. Novus Statistician advertised for $99.95.
[Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, April 17, 1976, p. C5. Novus Statistician advertised as on sale for $39.95.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975-1977
maker
National Semiconductor Corporation
ID Number
1987.0435.24
accession number
1987.0435
catalog number
1987.0435.24

Texas Instruments SR-11 Handheld Electronic Calculator

This is an example of an early scientific calculator marketed by Texas Instruments. Building on the success of the SR-10, TI introduced it in 1973.
Description
This is an example of an early scientific calculator marketed by Texas Instruments. Building on the success of the SR-10, TI introduced it in 1973. The handheld electronic calculator has a black- and ivory-colored plastic case with an array of twenty-four small rectangular plastic keys. In addition to ten digit keys, a decimal point key, a change sign key, a total key, and four arithmetic function keys, the calculator has a reciprocal key, a square key, a square root key, a pi key, an enter exponent key, a clear key, and a clear display key. Text on the keyboard, just above the keys and two the left, reads: SR-11. A constant switch is to the right of this. Behind the keyboard is a twelve-digit LED display. A mark behind the display reads: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS. The on/off switch is right and slightly above this mark.
The back edge of the calculator has a jack for a recharger/adapter. A sticker on the back gives extensive instructions. It also gives the serial number SR-11 277378. A small sticker above this reads: INSPECTED (/) BY (/) J-01.
Unscrewing screws near the top and bottom of the back reveals the workings of the calculator. It has a total of five chips. The largest of these is marked TMS0602NC (/) 7427. This is a TMS0602 chip, manufactured in mid-1974. Also in the case is space for three AA nickel-cadmium batteries.
The calculator comes in a black plastic zippered case.
Texas Instruments described the SR-11 as an “electronic slide rule calculator,” hence the “SR” in the name. Ball & Flamm indicate that the calculator sold for $66.50 in 1974.
References:
Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, The Complete Collector’s Guide to Pocket Calculators, Tustin, CA: Wilson/Barnett, 1997, p. 153.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1973-1974
maker
Texas Instruments
ID Number
1986.0988.345
catalog number
1986.0988.345
accession number
1986.0988

Altair 8800 Microcomputer Plug-In Card

A computer board for the Altair 8800 microcomputer.Not long after Intel introduced its 8080 microprocessor, a small firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, named MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) announced a computer kit called the Altair, which met the social as well a
Description
A computer board for the Altair 8800 microcomputer.
Not long after Intel introduced its 8080 microprocessor, a small firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, named MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) announced a computer kit called the Altair, which met the social as well as technical requirements for a small personal computer. MITS succeeded where other, more established firms had failed, and it was their machine that inaugurated the personal computer age. MITS got its start in computing in 1971, when it introduced an electronic calculator kit. Several thousand sold before 1974, when the sharp reduction in calculator prices drove the company out of that market.
H. Edward Roberts, the Florida-born former U.S. Air Force officer who headed MITS, decided to design a small, affordable computer around the Intel 8080. His daughter named the new machine after the star Altair. It was the first microcomputer to sell in large numbers. In January 1975, a photograph of the Altair appeared on the cover of the magazine Popular Electronics. The caption read “World's First Minicomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models.” According to the magazine, the machine sold as a kit for $395, and assembled for $498. Roberts had hoped to break even by selling 200 Altairs. Within three months he had a backlog of 4,000 orders.
Enthusiasm for the Altair and other personal computers spawned computer hobbyist clubs, computer stores, newsletters, magazines, and conventions. By 1977, a host of companies, large and small, were producing microcomputers for a mass market. This phenomenon was abetted by a design decision to make the Altair an "open" machine. In other words, it passed data along a channel called a bus, whose specifications were not kept a secret. That way both MITS and other companies could add memory cards, cards to control a printer or other devices as long as they adhered to the published standards.
This particular Altair was collected by the Smithsonian because it documents how hobbyists would outfit the machine with additional parts and components. The user added his own keyboard, monitor, disk drive, and 17 plug-in boards to expand the computer’s capability. Unfortunately, the original owner of the kit is unknown. The computer was donated to the Smithsonian by a second owner, Mark Sienkiewicz, who purchased it as a collectable item and never used it.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975
maker
Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems
ID Number
2007.0032.05.07
catalog number
2007.0032.05.07
accession number
2007.0032

National Semiconductor Novus 750 Handheld Electronic Calculator

This handheld electronic calculator has a tan plastic case and seventeen rectangular plastic keys. In addition to ten digit keys and a decimal point key, it has a clear entry/clear key, four arithmetic function keys, and a total key.
Description
This handheld electronic calculator has a tan plastic case and seventeen rectangular plastic keys. In addition to ten digit keys and a decimal point key, it has a clear entry/clear key, four arithmetic function keys, and a total key. On the left on the brown and off-white keyboard is an on/off switch. Text above it reads: 750 NOVUS. Behind the keyboard is a six-digit LED display. A compartment for a battery opens on the top of the back.
A jack for a power adapter is on the left side.
Problems are entered using algebraic rather than reverse Polish notation.
Compare to the earlier Novus 650 (1986.988.260 – no floating decimal point, Reverse Polish notation) and to the contemporary Novus 850 (1986.0988.306 – eight-digit display). Also compare to the National Semiconductor 750 (1986.0988.231). Advertised prices for the Novus 750 ranged from $7.66 down to $3.99.
References:
[Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, February 15, 1976, p. P18. Novus 750 selling for $7.66.
[Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, April 4, 1976, p. N19. Novus 750 has regular price of $7.88, on sale for $6.88.
[Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, June 13, 1976, p. S8. Novus 750 has regular price of $7.88, on sale for $5.88.
[Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, August 29, 1976. Novus 750 selling for $7.89.
[Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, January 2, 1977, p. M8. Novus 750, regularly $7.88, selling for $6.00.
[Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, September 27, 1979, p. W_B33. Novus 750, regularly $6.99, selling for $3.99.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976-1979
maker
National Semiconductor Corporation
ID Number
1986.0988.224
catalog number
1986.0988.224
accession number
1986.0988

National Semiconductor Novus Attache Handheld Electronic Calculator

In the mid-1970s, calculator manufacturers envisioned selling calculators in combination with other aids to personal finance.
Description
In the mid-1970s, calculator manufacturers envisioned selling calculators in combination with other aids to personal finance. This handheld electronic calculator is designed to fit in an oversized checkbook case, along with checks and space for a credit card, a pen, and a tablet of paper. This example consists of only the calculator. It has a plastic case with no back other than a circuit board, fifteen rectangular plastic keys, and a plastic display cover. Metallic-looking stickers are on the keyboard and the right edge. The calculator has ten digit keys, four arithmetic function keys (the addition key also serves as an enter key), and a clear key. The on/off switch is above the keyboard on the left. A mark to the right of it reads: Attaché. The six-digit LED display behind this automatically inserts a decimal point in front of the two rightmost digits.
The back of this part of the calculator is a green plastic circuit board. A long battery compartment on the left side has a paper sticker that reads: NOVUS Consumer Products from (/) National Semiconductor (/) Serial No. 139477 Made in U.S.A.
Prices ranged from $29.95 down to $19.96.
Compare Unitrex CB8SL (1986.098.161) and Novus Attache (1986.0988.227).
References:
Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, The Complete Collector’s Guide to Pocket Calculators, Tustin, CA: Wilson/Barnett, 1997, p. 108. Give date of ca. 1975.
[Advertisement], Milwaukee Journal, November 7, 1975, p. 11. Lists this calculator as on sale for $21.88.
[Advertisement], Washington Post, December 3, 1975, p. E3. Advertised at price of $29.95.
[Advertisement], Westfield [N.J.] Leader, December 4, 1975, p. 28. Advertised as “calculator in a wallet.” Calculator sells with space for checkbook, credit card, and pen. Price $29.95.
[Advertisement], Southern Illinoisan, August 9, 1976, p. 30. On sale for $19.96.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975-1976
maker
National Semiconductor Corporation
ID Number
1986.0988.227
catalog number
1986.0988.227
accession number
1986.0988

Montgomery Ward P50 Handheld Electronic Calculator (Model No. DNS-8660A)

This handheld electronic calculator has a tan plastic case and seventeen rectangular plastic keys. In addition to ten digit keys and a decimal point key, it has a clear entry/clear key, four arithmetic function keys, and a total key.
Description
This handheld electronic calculator has a tan plastic case and seventeen rectangular plastic keys. In addition to ten digit keys and a decimal point key, it has a clear entry/clear key, four arithmetic function keys, and a total key. On the left on the copper-colored keyboard is an on/off switch. Text next to the switch reads: MONTGOMERY (/) WARD. Behind the keyboard is an eight-digit LED display. A compartment for a battery opens on the top of the back.
A jack for a power adapter is on the left side.
A sticker on the back gives instructions. Text at the top reads: WARDS P-50. Text at the bottom reads: Distributed by Montgomery Ward & Co., Inc. (/) Chicago, Illinois 60607 (/) Model No. DNS-8660A (/) Made in U.S.A. Serial No. 57X-152856.
Compare Novus 850 (1986.0988.306). The calculator was made for Montgomery Ward by National Semiconductor Corporation.
References:
Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, The Complete Collector’s Guide to Pocket Calculators, Tustin, CA: Wilson/Barnett, 1997, p. 102.
Online Datamath Calculator Museum, accessed August 29, 2014.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976-1977
maker
National Semiconductor Corporation
ID Number
1986.0988.248
catalog number
1986.0988.248
accession number
1986.0988

Texas Instruments SR-10 Handheld Electronic Calculator

This is an example of the first model of a scientific calculator marketed by Texas Instruments. The handheld electronic calculator has a black- and ivory-colored plastic case with an array of twenty-three plastic keys.
Description
This is an example of the first model of a scientific calculator marketed by Texas Instruments. The handheld electronic calculator has a black- and ivory-colored plastic case with an array of twenty-three plastic keys. Twenty-one of these are square; the 0 and the total keys are rectangular. In addition to ten digit keys, a decimal point key, a total key, and four arithmetic function keys, the calculator has a reciprocal key, a square key, a square root key, a change sign key, an enter exponent key, a clear key, and a clear display key. Text on the keyboard, above the keys and to the left, reads: SR-10. Behind the keyboard is a twelve-digit LED display. Numbers larger than eight digits are displayed in scientific notation. A mark behind the display reads: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS. An on/off switch is right and slightly above this.
The back edge of the calculator has a jack for a recharger/adapter. A sticker on the back gives extensive instructions. It also gives the serial number SR10 794630. A small round sticker above the large sticker reads: INSPECTED (/) BY L-01.
Unscrewing screws near the top and bottom of the back reveals the workings of the calculator. It has a total of five chips. The largest of these is marked TMS0120NC (/) C7421. This is a TMS0120 chip, manufactured in mid-1974. Also in the case is space for three AA nickel-cadmium batteries.
The leather zippered case has both a loop and a hook for attaching the calculator to a belt.
Texas Instruments described the SR-10 as an “electronic slide rule calculator,” hence the “SR” in the name. The first version of the device, introduced in 1972, did not have the mark SR-10 on the keyboard. The second version (introduced in 1973) and the third (introduced in 1975) did. This is an example of the second version.
Compare 1986.0988.351, 1986.0988.354, and 1986.0988.356.
References:
Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, The Complete Collector’s Guide to Pocket Calculators, Tustin, CA: Wilson/Barnett, 1997, p. 153.
The online Datamath Museum includes versions of the SR-10 from 1972, 1973, and 1975.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1974
maker
Texas Instruments
ID Number
1986.0988.351
catalog number
1986.0988.351
accession number
1986.0988

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