Science & Mathematics

Chemical Balance

The Museum's collections hold thousands of objects related to chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, and other sciences. Instruments range from early American telescopes to lasers. Rare glassware and other artifacts from the laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, are among the scientific treasures here. A Gilbert chemistry set of about 1937 and other objects testify to the pleasures of amateur science. Artifacts also help illuminate the social and political history of biology and the roles of women and minorities in science.

The mathematics collection holds artifacts from slide rules and flash cards to code-breaking equipment. More than 1,000 models demonstrate some of the problems and principles of mathematics, and 80 abstract paintings by illustrator and cartoonist Crockett Johnson show his visual interpretations of mathematical theorems.

Topic: Adding Machines

Wooden Box Model Comptometer

This key-driven non-printing adding machine has a wooden case and eight columns of color-coded plastic keys. It is a relatively late example of a Comptometer with a wooden (rather than a metal) case.The key tops are flat and made of plastic.
Description
This key-driven non-printing adding machine has a wooden case and eight columns of color-coded plastic keys. It is a relatively late example of a Comptometer with a wooden (rather than a metal) case.
The key tops are flat and made of plastic. They are colored black and white, with complementary digits indicated in red. There is a spring around each key stem, and the stems become progressively longer as the digits increase. Eight subtraction levers are in front of the keys and eight decimal markers are attached to a metal plate painted black, which is in front of these. A row of nine windows in the plate reveals number wheels which represent totals and differences. The zeroing mechanism is a knob with a release lever on the right side.
The serial number, stamped on the front of the machine under the decimal markers, is 5021. A metal tag screwed to the top of the machine behind the keyboard is marked: TRADE COMPTOMETER MARK (/) PAT’D (/) JUL.19.87 JUN. 11. 89.(/) OCT.11.87 NOV.25.90 (/) JAN.8.89 DEC.15.91. (/) SEP.22.96 (/) Felt & Tarrant Mfg. Co. (/) CHICAGO
According to other records, this machine was sold in 1906 to H. Messersmith Company of Buffalo, New York, and traded in in 1910 for a Model C. The machine became part of the collections of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company and was exhibited at the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago in 1933.
Compare to 1987.0107.04.
Reference:
Felt & Tarrant, Accession Journal 1991.3107.06.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1906
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.323650
maker number
5021
catalog number
323650
accession number
250163

Dalton Super Model Adding Machine

This ten-key printing manual adding machine has a steel frame painted black and ten white plastic number keys in two rows. Complementary red digits on the number keys are for subtraction. Right of the number keys are non-add and multiply keys.
Description
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has a steel frame painted black and ten white plastic number keys in two rows. Complementary red digits on the number keys are for subtraction. Right of the number keys are non-add and multiply keys. To the left are a tabulating key (used for automatic carriage shifting in double column work), a subtract key,and a back space key. Above the keyboard is a place indicator for up to 13 places. Left of this is a correction bar to clear entries. Total, subtotal, and release keys are mounted above and to the right. One lever that may be set on “HAND” or “MOTOR”, another for split or normal addition.
A silver-colored metal window is above the keyboard, with printing mechanism and non-print key behind. The red and black ribbon moves in front of the 9” carriage. This carriage has a bell on the left side. The paper tape holder and paper tape are behind the carriage. The metal handle is on the right. It has a wooden knob once covered with plastic. Metal clips placed in the back of the carriage set the tab stops. One clip has detached from the carriage. Printing is either single or double-spaced.
The machine is marked on the front: DALTON (/) CINCINNATI, OHIO. (/) U.S.A. It is marked on the carriage: Dalton (/) ADDING, (/) LISTING AND (/) CALCULATING MACHINE. The serial number, on a tag on the right side under the handle, is: 2-102212.
Reference:
J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, pp. 40, 536.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1921
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1986.0977.01
maker number
2-102212
accession number
1986.0977
catalog number
1986.0977.01

Bouchet Adding Machine

This is the second form of the key-driven adding machine patented by Michael Bouchet (1827-1903), a French-born Catholic priest who came to the United states in 1853 and worked in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1860.
Description
This is the second form of the key-driven adding machine patented by Michael Bouchet (1827-1903), a French-born Catholic priest who came to the United states in 1853 and worked in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1860. Bouchet was of an inventive turn of mind, devising automatic snakes to frighten his acolytes, and a folding bed and fire escape for his own use. He had considerable responsibility for the financial affairs of his diocese and, according to his biographer, as early as the 1860s invented an adding machine to assist in keeping these accounts. Of these devices, Bouchet patented only later versions of the adding machine, taking out patents in 1882 and in 1885.
The machine added single columns of digits. Depressing a key depressed a lever and raised a curved bar with teeth on the inside of it. The teeth on the bar engaged a toothed pinion at the back of the machine, rotating it forward in proportion to the digit entered. A wheel at the left end of the roller turned forward, recording the entry. A pawl and spring then disengaged the curved bar, preventing the roller and recording bar from turning back again once the key was released. Two additional wheels to the left of the first one were used in carrying to the tens and hundreds places, so that the machine could record totals up to 99. Left of the wheels was a lever-driven tack and pinion zeroing mechanism.
This example of the machine has a tin cover and a brass base and nine key stems arranged in two rows (the keys are missing). It was the gift of Mrs. Joseph S. McCoy, widow of Joseph S. McCoy, Actuary of the U.S. Treasury from 1889 until his death in 1931. McCoy and his predecessor, Ezekial Brown Elliott, were most open to inventions in adding machines. According to one of McCoy’s colleagues, the Bouchet machine was left in the office by the inventor in the year 1890 or thereabouts to be tried out. Bouchet did not return.
This machine has serial number 960. Compare to 323620.
References:
Michael Bouchet, “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 251823, January 3, 1882.
Michael Bouchet, “ “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 314561, March 31, 1885.
Dan Walsh, Jr., The Stranger in the City, Louisville, Ky.: Hammer Printing Co., 1913, esp. pp. 49-70.
Accession File.
“Joseph Sylvester McCoy,” National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 24: p. 382.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885
maker
Bouchet, Michael
ID Number
MA.310230
maker number
960
accession number
113246
catalog number
316230

Calcumeter

This eight-wheeled stylus operated non-printing adding machine has wheels of brass and copper and a steel frame. Two metal supports on the back can be lowered so that the machine is at an angle rather than lying flat. The machine is marked on the front: THE CALCUMETER.
Description
This eight-wheeled stylus operated non-printing adding machine has wheels of brass and copper and a steel frame. Two metal supports on the back can be lowered so that the machine is at an angle rather than lying flat. The machine is marked on the front: THE CALCUMETER. It is marked on the right side: H.N.MORSE (/) TRENTON,N.J. It is marked on the left: 18143 (/) PAT’D DEC 17 ‘01. This is number 38 in the Felt & Tarrant collection.
The Calcumeter was invented by James J. Walsh of Elizabeth, N.J. who applied for a patent January 16, 1901, and was granted it December 17, 1901 (U.S. Patent 689,225). Walsh went on to patent a resetting device for the machine on September 1, 1908 (U.S. Patent #897,688). This example of the machine does not have that mechanism. The instrument was first manufactured by Morse & Walsh Company in 1903 and 1904, but by 1906 was produced by Herbert North Morse of Trenton. Morse was a native of New Jersey who attended the South Jersey Institute in Bridgeton, N.J. and then spent a year at Harvard College. By 1916, he not only owned the Calcumeter adding machine business, but was assistant commissioner of education for the state of New Jersey.
Compare MA.335352.
Reference:
Harvard College Class of 1896, "Report V," June, 1916, Norwood, Massachusetts: Plimpton Press, p. 192.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1901
maker
Morse, H. N.
ID Number
MA.323622
accession number
250163
catalog number
323622

Burroughs Adding Machine

This full-keyboard printing electric adding machine adds numbers with as many as 13 digits and prints 13-digit results. It is tan and brown and has 13 columns of square plastic digit keys, with nine keys in each column.
Description
This full-keyboard printing electric adding machine adds numbers with as many as 13 digits and prints 13-digit results. It is tan and brown and has 13 columns of square plastic digit keys, with nine keys in each column. There also are five function keys and bars labeled “+” and “-”. The sides, front, and back of the case are missing. A narrow printing mechanism at the top of the machine has a ribbon and paper tape. It has 15 type bars. The first two print special characters and the rest print digits.
The machine is marked: Burroughs P 402 Elec. (/) A9103-20 (/) Date-Count-Normal (/) Rack #E Shelf 2. It is model #282 from the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.74
catalog number
1982.0794.74
accession number
1982.0794

Remington Rand Adding Machine

This printing adding machine has a metal case painted black. Ten black numeral keys are arranged in a block (i.e. 7 8 9 (/) 4 5 6 (/) 1 2 3 (/) 0). These have metal key stems with plastic key covers.
Description
This printing adding machine has a metal case painted black. Ten black numeral keys are arranged in a block (i.e. 7 8 9 (/) 4 5 6 (/) 1 2 3 (/) 0). These have metal key stems with plastic key covers. A metal operating handle with a wooden knob is on the right, and a paper tape at the back. There are red SUB(/)TOTAL, TOTAL, and MULTIPLY keys. In the front is a COLUMN INDICATOR lever. Numbers up to seven digits long may be entered, with eight-digit totals.
The machine has four rubber feet. It is marked on the top: Remington. It is marked on the left side: Remington Rand (/) BRANCHES EVERYWHERE. A metal tag glued to the bottom has the serial number M25250.
Compare to Brennan adding machine with catalog number 1999.0297.01. The rights to the Brennan adding machine were acquired by Remington Rand by 1932.
References:
Typewriter Topics, vol. 71, January,1929, pp. 40-41, 92.
Typewriter Topics, vol. 72, May, 1929, p. 65.
Typewriter Topics, vol. 74, Mar, 1930, p. 61.
Ernst Martin, Die Rechenmaschinen und ihre Entwicklungsgeschichte, [1925 edition with later supplement], p. 447.
American Office Machines Research Services, III, 3.21, May, 1938.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
maker
Remington Rand
ID Number
MA.335204
maker number
M25250
accession number
314592
catalog number
335204

Dalton Adding Machine

This ten-key printing manual adding machine has an black iron and glass frame with a steel keyboard painted green. Two rows of white plastic number keys are marked with digits and their complements (complements are in red).
Description
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has an black iron and glass frame with a steel keyboard painted green. Two rows of white plastic number keys are marked with digits and their complements (complements are in red). One could punch the digits of a number without setting the place of the first digit. Numbers with up to nine digits could be entered. The five red function keys read designate, eliminate, repeat, total, and correction. A place for a crank is on the right side, but no crank. The printing mechanism, with two-colored ribbon, is on the top of the machine. Apparently the machine does not print symbols. Nine-digit totals could be printed. The “nine-inch” movable carriage has a paper tape dispenser behind it, but no paper tape. The serrated edge above the platen for tears the paper tape.
A mark on the front reads: Dalton. A mark on a brass tag attached at the bottom front reads: Dalton (/) ADDING (/) MACHINE (/) CO. (/) POPLAR BLUFF,MO.U.S.A. This tag also reads: PAT. AUG. 1, 1899 NO. 630053 (/) REISSUE DEC. 27. ‘04 No. 12286 (/) PAT. SEPT. 24, 1912 NO. 1039130 (/) PAT. DEC. 31, 1912 NO. 1049057 (/) PAT. DEC. 31, 1912 NO. 1049093 (/) OTHER PATENTS PENDING. A metal tag attached at the bottom on the back reads: NO 17946.
The Dalton adding machine grew out of patents of Indiana-born St. Louis machinist Hubert Hopkins (b. 1859) and Chicago inventor Harry H. Helmick. Attempts to patent and manufacture a machine began in St. Louis in 1902. After complex business dealings, including intervention from other adding machine manufacturers, James L. Dalton (1866-1926) acquired exclusive rights to manufacture machines under the Hopkins patents. In late 1903 Dalton and his associates founded the Adding Typewriter Company of St. Louis (later the Dalton Adding Machine Company). By 1912 the firm was established in Dalton’s home town of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. This machine was made there. In 1914, the company moved to Norwood, Ohio, near Cincinnati.
Reference:
P. A. Kidwell, “The Adding Machine Fraternity at St. Louis: Creating a Center of Invention, 1880-1920.” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 22 #2 (April-June 2000): pp. 14-15.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.323589
accession number
250163
maker number
17946
catalog number
323589

Austin Adding Machine

This adding machine has an iron frame with glass sides, back, and top. Across the front are ten plastic-covered keys. The operating crank is on the right side. The number entered appears in one window under the glass, and the total in another window.
Description
This adding machine has an iron frame with glass sides, back, and top. Across the front are ten plastic-covered keys. The operating crank is on the right side. The number entered appears in one window under the glass, and the total in another window. Decimal points and commas are represented by painted arrows. There is a zeroing lever on the left side. The machine does not print. The machine is marked: AUSTIN. It is also marked: Austin Adding Machine (/) Baltimore. U.S.A. A tag attached to the base on the inside of the machine toward the back is stamped with the serial number: A-1224.
The donor acquired this machine in the early 1960s from a veterinarian’s office, where it had remained after the doctor passed away in the early 1930s.
References:
Sydney B. Austin, “Adding, Subtracting and Multiplying Machine,” US Patent 1,034565, August 6, 1912.
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, p. 267.
Accession File.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1912
maker
Austin Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.333895
accession number
304348
catalog number
333895

Burroughs Class 5 Adding Machine

This full keyboard non-printing manual adding machine is painted black with a green keyboard. It has black and white octagonal plastic keys. The nine columns of keys have nine keys in each column. Odd-numbered keys are concave, even-numbered ones flat.
Description
This full keyboard non-printing manual adding machine is painted black with a green keyboard. It has black and white octagonal plastic keys. The nine columns of keys have nine keys in each column. Odd-numbered keys are concave, even-numbered ones flat. Complementary digits are indicated as well as numbers. Ten windows at the front show the sum of numbers as the numbers are entered. A single key in the upper left corner controls the numeral wheel seen through the tenth window. The machine has two legs at the back which hold it up at an angle. There is a black plastic cover. Compare to Burroughs calculator.
The Burroughs calculator was sold as the Burroughs Class 5 from 1918 into the 1960s.
Reference:
American Digest of Business Machines, 1924, pp. 70-71.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1934
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1986.3039.01
catalog number
1986.3039.01
nonaccession number
1986.3039

Webb Adder

This two-wheeled stylus-operated non-printing adding machine is made of silver-colored metal. It has one large wheel with the numbers from 00 to 99 stamped around the edge. The second, smaller wheel has the numbers from 0 to 49 stamped evenly around its edge.
Description
This two-wheeled stylus-operated non-printing adding machine is made of silver-colored metal. It has one large wheel with the numbers from 00 to 99 stamped around the edge. The second, smaller wheel has the numbers from 0 to 49 stamped evenly around its edge. A ring of holes is just inside each ring of numbers. A metal frame and plate cover the back and outer edges of the two wheels, revealing numbers in a small window between the wheels. Numbers are added by rotation of the wheels, up to sums of 4999. The frame is serrated around the edge. There is no stylus. The large wheel is marked: The Adder (/) C.H. WEBB. The plate is marked: PAT’D NOV 5TH 12TH 1889. The serial number stamped on the back is: 5136.
Charles Henry Webb of New York first patented an adding machine in 1868. This improved version of the device is described in a patent he took out on November 12, 1889, and in one obtained by Lester C. Smith on November 5 of that year. This example was used by the civil engineer Chauncey B. Schmeltzer who taught at the University of Illinois.
References:
C. H. Webb, “Adding-Machine,” U.S. Patent 414959, November 12, 1889.
Lester C. Smith, “Adding-Machine,” U.S. Patent 414335, November 5, 1889.
P. Kidwell, “The Webb Adder,” Rittenhouse, 1 (1986) 12-18
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, p. 63.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
patentee
Webb, Charles H.
ID Number
MA.317925.01
accession number
317925
catalog number
317925.01

Comptometer Model W.M.

This full-keyboard non-printing adding machine is a relatively late example of the products of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company of Chicago.
Description
This full-keyboard non-printing adding machine is a relatively late example of the products of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company of Chicago. It has a gray-green metal case, a metal mechanism, and plastic keys.
The ten columns of color-coded green and white octagonal plastic keys have nine keys in each column. Complementary digits are indicated and the keys are alternately concave (odd digits) and flat (even digits). The key stems are flat and have no springs around them. The case slopes up toward the back, so that the amount of key stem that protrudes is the same for all digits. A row of subtraction buttons is below the number keys and a row of decimal markers is in front of it. Digits in the running total appear in a set of 11 windows in front of the keys. Digits in the total under columns of white keys are black, while result digits under columns of green keys are red. A red correction key to the right of the keyboard that releases the keyboard after a partial keystroke error has been corrected. A a metal zeroing lever also is right of the keyboard.
The serial number, stamped on the keyboard on the right at the front, is: W.M. (/) 446522. The front and back sides are marked: COMPTOMETER. Several dates are marked on the bottom of the machine with various initials. They include 8/17/45 and12-12-50. A metal plate attached to the bottom of the machine lists 33 patent numbers. Behind the keyboard is the mark: FELT & TARRANT MANUFACTURING CO. CHICAGO, USA.
The model M Comptometer was introduced in October of 1939, starting with serial number 400,001. By March 1947 some 64,500 of these machines had sold. The WM was a “War Model,” adjusted to conserve materials.
This example is from the collection of calculating machines assembled by Myron R. Smith.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1945
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1989.0325.04
maker number
W.M. 446522
catalog number
1989.0325.04
accession number
1989.0325

Burroughs Simplex P601

This full-keyboard printing adding machine has a gray metal case and the following columns of square tan and brown keys starting from the left:1. column of 12 month keys2. two columns of number keys, ranging from 1 to 93. column of keys with abbreviated financial terms4.
Description
This full-keyboard printing adding machine has a gray metal case and the following columns of square tan and brown keys starting from the left:
1. column of 12 month keys
2. two columns of number keys, ranging from 1 to 9
3. column of keys with abbreviated financial terms
4. nine columns of number keys, each column ranging from 1 to 9.
5. two columns of function keys.
The carriage and electrical cord are missing. The 14 type bars include one for months, two for digits, one for the type of transaction, nine for the result, and one for special characters (indicating sum, subtotal, etc.)
A red tag attached to the object reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #263. The machine is marked across the front above the keyboard: Burroughs. It is marked on the bottom: A7075. It is marked on the back on the inside of the case: 397.
This object was model #263 in the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950-1960
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.64
catalog number
1982.0794.64
accession number
1982.0794

Burroughs Sample Calculator, Sterling Pence

In 1911 the Burroughs Adding Machine Company introduced a key-driven adding machine much like the Comptometer made by Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company. The Burroughs calculator, as the new machine was called, performed ordinary decimal arithmetic.
Description
In 1911 the Burroughs Adding Machine Company introduced a key-driven adding machine much like the Comptometer made by Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company. The Burroughs calculator, as the new machine was called, performed ordinary decimal arithmetic. Burroughs inventors soon designed special versions of the calculator to solve other problems. This is the model or sample for a machine for British currency.
This machine has six columns of keys with nine octagonal plastic keys in each column. Odd keys are convex and even keys, flat. The rightmost column of keys is numbered from 1 to 9, with complementary numbers so that the numbers on one key add up to 11 (e.g., 4 and 7). These keys are black . To the left of this is a column of white keys, with the usual complementary digits. Left of this is another column of white keys, all numbered 1 with 0. Left of this column are two columns of black keys, numbered from 1 to 9 with the usual complements. The leftmost column has black keys, numbered 1 to 9 with complements so that the total of numbers on any one key is 11 (e.g. 4 and 7).
The total appears in a row of number wheels at the front which are visible through windows in the case. The cloth cover is painted black.
A metal tag attached to the object reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation.
Models 1982.0794.44, 1982.0794.45, and 1982.0792.46 are all from model 230 in the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.46
catalog number
1982.0794.46
accession number
1982.0794

Monroe Model 213-11-011 Adding Machine

This machine incorporates ideas of Purdue University graduate Clyde Gardner (1881-1923) who had a long career in the adding machine industry. He began as a draftsman at the Pike Adding Machine Company in 1903.
Description
This machine incorporates ideas of Purdue University graduate Clyde Gardner (1881-1923) who had a long career in the adding machine industry. He began as a draftsman at the Pike Adding Machine Company in 1903. By 1909, when Pike was acquired by the Burroughs Adding Machine Company, Gardner was chief engineer. He moved with the Pike plant to Detroit, where he worked as an engineer and patent expert at Burroughs.
In 1919 Gardner left Burroughs to work on his own design for an adding machine. On April 19, 1923, the Gardner Calculator Company was established in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. Gardner died only two days later. His patents eventurally were acquired by the Monroe Calculating Machine Company, which manufactured this printing adding machine to complement its line of calculating machines.
The object has a green-black steel frame, a green keyboard, and 13 columns of black and white color-coded plastic number keys. To the right of the keyboard are total, error, and subtotal keys, and subtraction and addition bars. A non-add key is to the left of the keyboard. In back of the keyboard is a printing mechanism and a fixed carriage for the three-inch paper tape. The machine prints results of up to 14 digits. An asterisk printed next to a number indicates that it is a total. There is a black rubber-covered cord that plugs into the back.
The machine is marked on the front: MONROE (/) REGISTERED TRADE MARK. It is marked on a white sticker on the bottom of the machine: DATE (/) INSTALLED 10/Apr/57. It is marked on a gold sticker on the bottom of the machine: Licensed under Gubelman Patents. It is also marked there: 213-11-011-D (/) # 15128. According to the National Office Machine Blue Book, the serial number dates a Monroe machine to about 1932.
References:
American Office Machines Service vol. 3, 1937, 3.21. According to this source, the machine was introduced as the Gardner adding machine in 1924.
National Office Machine Blue Book, May, 1975, as compiled by Office Machine Americana, January 2002.
John E. Gable, History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Topeka, Kansas: Historical Publishing Company, 1926, pp. 781-782.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1937
maker
Monroe Calculating Machine Company
ID Number
1987.0403.01
catalog number
1987.0403.01
accession number
1987.0403

Sheets, Directions for and Receipt for an Addometer

These sheets are a receipt for an Addometer sold to Frederick Mathesius of Stamford, Connecticut, as well as directions for its use.
Description
These sheets are a receipt for an Addometer sold to Frederick Mathesius of Stamford, Connecticut, as well as directions for its use. He bought the device from H & M Button Company of Rochester, New York, on September 19, 1951.
For the actual adding machine, see 1996.0220.01.
There was an achitect named Frederick Mathesius (1880-1963) who was living in Stamford, Connecticut at this time.
Reference:
"F. Mathesius Dead: Retired Architect," New York Times, October 24, 1963, p.33.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1951
ID Number
1996.0220.01.01
catalog number
1996.0220.01.01
accession number
1996.0220

Comptometer Model K

This full keyboard non-printing adding machine has a brown metal frame and mechanism with plastic keys. The eight columns of color-coded green and white octagonal keys include nine keys in each column. Odd-numbered keys are concave, even-numbered ones flat.
Description
This full keyboard non-printing adding machine has a brown metal frame and mechanism with plastic keys. The eight columns of color-coded green and white octagonal keys include nine keys in each column. Odd-numbered keys are concave, even-numbered ones flat. Complementary digits are indicated. A row of subtraction levers is below the number keys. Digits in the running total appear in a set of nine windows in front of the keys. A red button is to the right of the keyboard releases the keyboard afer a partial keystroke error has been corrected. A metal zeroing lever is on the right side. A rubber cord attaches to the back. The on/off switch is on the front at the top right.
The machine is marked on the left corner of the top of the case: K350690. It is marked on the front and back sides: Comptometer.
According to “Date of Manufacturing by Serial Number. . .,” Lewiston, Idaho: Office Machine Americana, 2002 (relying on the NOMDA “Blue Book” for May, 1975), Felt & Tarrant introduced the Model K with serial number 350000 in 1934.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1934
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1989.0325.03
maker number
K350690
catalog number
1989.0325.03
accession number
1989.0325

Comptograph Model 3A

This full keyboard printing manually operated adding machine has a metal case painted black, and nine columns of black and white plastic keys, colored to represent cents, dollars up to 999 dollars, thousands of dollars up to 999,0000 dollars, and millions of dollars.
Description
This full keyboard printing manually operated adding machine has a metal case painted black, and nine columns of black and white plastic keys, colored to represent cents, dollars up to 999 dollars, thousands of dollars up to 999,0000 dollars, and millions of dollars. Complementary digits are indicated on the keys. A red button is at the base of each column of keys. In front of the keyboard is a row of nine number dials, covered with glass. At the front of the machine is a row of eight metal levers that may relate to subtraction. The total/error/normal, subtotal, and carriage lock levers are along the right of the machine, somewhat below the keyboard. A crank on the right operates the machine. The printing mechanism, wide black metal carriage, and serrated edge for tearing a paper tape are at the back. The machine is extremely heavy.
The machine is marked on the front: Comptograph (/) Co. (/) CHICAGO, U.S.A. It is marked on the back: MODEL 3A (/) PATENTED (/) NOV. 25. 1890. It is also marked there: NOV. 2. 1909. These are the first and last patent dates listed. It also is marked there: OTHER PATENTS PENDING. It is also marked there: PATTERN NO 16.
This model is from the collection of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1910
maker
Comptograph Company
ID Number
MA.323635
catalog number
323635
accession number
250163

Comptometer Model E Section

This is a model of a section of a full-keyboard non-printing adding machine. There are four columns of keys. The rightmost column has nine octagonal white plastic keys. Left of this is a column with white 1, 8, and 9 keys.
Description
This is a model of a section of a full-keyboard non-printing adding machine. There are four columns of keys. The rightmost column has nine octagonal white plastic keys. Left of this is a column with white 1, 8, and 9 keys. Left of this is a column with black plastic 1 and 8 keys. The leftmost column has nine black keys. Keys for odd digits are concave, and those for even digits are flat. The three number wheels are at the front of the model, in front of the three rightmost columns of keys. The machine has a handle on the right.
The machine is stamped on the right side at the back: 54005. A metal tag attached behind the keys reads: TRADE COMPTOMETER MARK. It also reads: OCT.7.13
The sectional Model E Comptometer is made up of regular Model E production parts. It was made to be used to instruct adjusters and assemblers in the factory and servicemen in the Repairmen’s School and Sales Offices throughout the United States.
The machine came to the Smithsonian from the collections of Victor Comptometer Corporation, the successor firm to Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company.
Reference:
Accession Journal 1991.3107.06.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.323641
accession number
250163
catalog number
323641

Burroughs Class 3 Adding Machine

This full keyboard printing manually operated adding machine has a metal frame painted black, a metal keyboard painted green, and seven columns of black and white color-coded plastic keys.
Description
This full keyboard printing manually operated adding machine has a metal frame painted black, a metal keyboard painted green, and seven columns of black and white color-coded plastic keys. A row of eight number wheels is visible at the front of the machine through a glass window. An operating handle that fits on the right side, and three function key stems are on the left. The printing mechanism, with space for ribbon and paper tape, is behind the keyboard. The carriage is 10 cm. (4”) wide, with a serrated edge for tearing the paper tape and a knob on the right to advance the paper. The machine is not entirely assembled and is incomplete. Several spare pieces are present, including a row of red plastic keys like the clearance keys on a Monroe.
The machine is marked on a tag at the front: 3-37428. It is marked behind the keyboard, with a “g” in an unusual font: Burroughs.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1917
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.335030
accession number
312145
maker number
3-37428
catalog number
335030

Dalton Adding Machine

This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine is in a gray steel case. It has ten white plastic number keys in two rows. These keys have complementary numbers for subtraction, and eight brown plastic function keys.
Description
This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine is in a gray steel case. It has ten white plastic number keys in two rows. These keys have complementary numbers for subtraction, and eight brown plastic function keys. The NON (/) ADD and MULTI-(/)PLY keys are left of the number keys, the BACK (/) SPACE and SUB-(/)TRACT keys are right of the number keys. There are TOTAL, RELEASE, and SUB (/) TOTAL keys on the upper right, and a correction bar on the left. There is a NON (/) PRINT key next to the black ribbon.
A place indicator is above the number keys. Above and behind this are the ribbon, 4” carriage, and paper tape holder. There is no paper tape, but there is a serrated edge for tearing the paper tape. The Dalton mark on the back has been painted over. A metal crank with wooden handle is on the right side.
The serial number given under the crank is: NO 174012. A label applied to the front and back of the machine reads: Eastern Typewriter Co. Office & School Supplies 109-111 W. Barnes St. Wilson N.C. Phone 4504.
According to a note in the divisional accession file, the object was salvaged from a garage in Fremont, N.C., about 1968.
Compare to MA.336932 and MA.333874.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1926
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.334402
accession number
314559
maker number
174012
catalog number
334402

Burroughs Passbook Machine #1

This full-keyboard printing electric adding machine has a steel mechanism, a carriage, a keyboard with red, black and white plastic keys, a handle, and a paper tape holder.
Description
This full-keyboard printing electric adding machine has a steel mechanism, a carriage, a keyboard with red, black and white plastic keys, a handle, and a paper tape holder. It is the model for a machine used to enter dates and numbers into a bank passbook.
There is no outer casing. There are nine columns of round, color-coded black and white keys numbered from 1 up to 9 in each column. Right of the number keys is a column of keys for subtotal, total, number, repeat, and error. Left of the number keys is a column of red keys that indicates the type of transaction. The machine has a wide carriage (12 inches) and 11 type bars in a printing mechanism. Four type wheels which can be set to a month, day, and year. The ribbon is black.
A red paper tag attached to the object reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #70. A metal tag attached to the object reads: B.A.M.CO. (/) MODEL (/) N0899. The machine was model #70 in the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.15
accession number
1982.0794
catalog number
1982.0794.15

Underwood Sundstrand 8120P Adding Machine

This ten-key printing electric adding machine has a gray metal case with ten white plastic number keys arranged in a block. Left of the number keys are CORRECTION, B’K (/) SPACE, and REPEAT keys. Right of the number keys are SUB- (/) TRACT, ADD and N.ADD (/) TOTAL keys.
Description
This ten-key printing electric adding machine has a gray metal case with ten white plastic number keys arranged in a block. Left of the number keys are CORRECTION, B’K (/) SPACE, and REPEAT keys. Right of the number keys are SUB- (/) TRACT, ADD and N.ADD (/) TOTAL keys. Above the keyboard is a place indicator for up to eight places, which moves from left to right as up to eight digits are entered. The 2-3/8” (6 cm.) paper tape is in the back, A black ribbon is underneath a metal plate held down by thumbscrews. The machine prints up to eight digits, and the rightmost type bar prints symbols. One lever on the top right releases the position of the carriage and the second releases tension on the platen. The motor is on the left.
Gustav David Sundstrand, the son of Swedish immigrants to the United States and a resident of Rockford, Illinois, applied for a patent for an adding machine in 1912, and was granted it in 1920 (U.S. Patent 1,329,028). He applied for a second patent in 1914, which was granted in 1916 (U.S. Patent 1,198,487). The Sundstrand originally was produced by the Rockford Milling Machine Company - by 1920 it was a product of Sundstrand Corporation, a closely related firm. Oscar Sundstrand, a brother of Gustav David, took over primary responsibility in improvements in the adding machine. During the 1920s, several business machine companies consolidated. The Elliott-Fisher Company acquired rights to the Sundstrand adding machine in 1926, and soon merged with the Underwood Typewriter Company. Hence the adding machine was renamed the Underwood Sundstrand.
This example is from considerably later in the history of the machine. The “8” in the model number indicates that the machine has a capacity of listing eight-digit totals, while the “P” signifies a portable electric machine with “Multiflex” control, allowing more rapid repeat addition and subtraction. According to the accession file, the donor acquired this machine secondhand in about 1953.
References:
American Office Machines Research Service, III.
Fédération Nationale des Chambres Syndicales de la Mécanographie, Fédération de Reprise officielle des Machines à Ecrire, Machines à Calculer . . ., Lyon, 1970, p. 86.
Underwood Sundstrand, “Underwood Sundstrand presents the right machine with the right keyboard . . . The only complete line of ten key adding machines,” [no date], 1990.3188.07.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940
maker
Underwood Elliot Fisher Company
ID Number
1985.0655.01
maker number
336139
accession number
1985.0655
catalog number
1985.0655.01

Pamphlet, Operating Instructions Dalton Super Model Machines

These instructions were received with adding machine 334914.Currently not on view
Description
These instructions were received with adding machine 334914.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.313270.02
accession number
313270
catalog number
313270.02

Burroughs Class 8 Adding Machine Model

This model includes one column of nine round brown plastic numeral keys. To the right of this is a second column of five function keys, four tan and one dark brown. Also present are a container for one spool of a ribbon, part of a carriage, and part of a paper tape holder.
Description
This model includes one column of nine round brown plastic numeral keys. To the right of this is a second column of five function keys, four tan and one dark brown. Also present are a container for one spool of a ribbon, part of a carriage, and part of a paper tape holder. It has no handle. The case is of brown metal and clear plexiglass. The section can be displayed on a steel support that holds it on a wooden stand.
A metal tag reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation.
This is model #265 from the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation. The Burroughs Class 8 adding machine was introduced in 1925.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1925
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.65
catalog number
1982.0794.65
accession number
1982.0794

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