Science & Mathematics

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.

This paper, brass, and wood cylindrical slide rule has 20 sets of A, B, and C scales, with each set 47 cm in length.
Description
This paper, brass, and wood cylindrical slide rule has 20 sets of A, B, and C scales, with each set 47 cm in length. The scales are printed on paper that is glued around a sliding brass drum (with wooden handles) and on brass slats that are attached to a round brass frame on either end. The frame is screwed to a wooden base. A sheet of instructions for THACHER'S CALCULATING INSTRUMENT is glued along the top front of the base.
The right side of the paper on the drum is marked in italics: Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st 1881. Divided by W. F. Stanley, London, 1882. Made by Keuffel & Esser Co. N.Y. A small silver metal tag affixed to the front right of the base is engraved: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW-YORK (/) 663. Wayne Feely has suggested that K&E began manufacturing (as opposed to simply distributing) Thacher cylindrical slide rules in 1887, indicating 1887 is the earliest date for this example of the instrument. The latest date for the instrument is 1900, because K&E changed the design of the brass frame at that time.
The object is contained in a wooden case that bears no identifying marks. According to the accession file, the rule was found in a Smithsonian collections storage locker in the Arts & Industries Building about 1964.
See also MA.312866.
Reference: Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1887-1900
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
1987.0107.08
catalog number
1987.0107.08
accession number
1987.0107
This ten-inch mahogany linear slide rule is coated with white celluloid on the front and both sides of the slide. The base has A and D scales. The slide has B and C scales on one side and S, L, and T scales on the other.
Description
This ten-inch mahogany linear slide rule is coated with white celluloid on the front and both sides of the slide. The base has A and D scales. The slide has B and C scales on one side and S, L, and T scales on the other. A paper table of equivalents and slide rule settings, based on U. S. Bureau of Standards Circular No. 47, is pasted to the back of the rule. See also 2001.0117.01. According to Eric Marcotte, this circular was in force from 1914 to 1936. Keuffel & Esser included it on slide rules from the 1920s to the 1950s.
The indicator is glass with a plastic frame, of the style used by Keuffel & Esser between 1915 and 1937, based on the patent indicated by the mark on the top edge of the frame: K&E.CO.N.Y. (/) PAT.8.17.15. The top of the base is marked in red: PAT. JUNE 5, 1900; KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. N.Y.; MADE IN U.S.A. For more on this patent, see MA.322761. Four expressions have been scratched into the front of the slide: x = A + B; ÷ = A – B; x – 1; ÷ + 1. The model number is printed at the right end in red: < 4055 >. The left end of the back of the slide and the front left corner of the base are marked with a serial number: 190673.
The rule is in a cardboard case covered with black morocco leather and heavily taped. It is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER (/) FAVORITE (/) SLIDE RULE (/) 4055. It is also marked on the tape near one end: E. HELLER (/) ΣΦΕ. On the other side of that end, it is marked on the tape: PROPERTY OF (/) PETER (/) HELLER. K&E sold model 4055 from 1927 to 1943; the serial number suggests a date closer to 1927, when the instrument sold for $4.00. One owner of this slide rule was the mechanical engineer Edward Lincoln Heller (1912–2007), who received a BSfrom Lehigh University in 1934 and an MBA from Harvard University in 1939. It seems likely that he used the slide rule as a college student.
References: Willie L. E. Keuffel, "Slide-Rule" (U.S. Patent 651,142 issued June 5, 1900); Willie L. E. Keuffel, "Slide-Rule Runner" (U.S. Patent 1,150,771 issued August 17, 1915); Eric Marcotte, "The Evolution of a Slide Rule – The K&E 4053-3," http://www.sliderule.ca/4053.htm; Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4055 Family," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEModels/ke4055family.htm; Ed Chamberlain, "Estimating K&E Slide Rule Dates," 27 December 2000, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/ke/320-k+e_date2.jpg; "Heller, Edward L.," American Men and Women of Science, 12th ed. (New York: J. Cattell Press, 1972), 2620.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1927-1943
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
1984.1068.01
catalog number
1984.1068.01
accession number
1984.1068
This wooden rule has hand-lettered paper labels glued to it. The top of the base has a logarithmic scale for parts per million of sulfur dioxide. The slide has logarithmic scales for pounds of sulfur dioxide and gallons of liquid.
Description
This wooden rule has hand-lettered paper labels glued to it. The top of the base has a logarithmic scale for parts per million of sulfur dioxide. The slide has logarithmic scales for pounds of sulfur dioxide and gallons of liquid. By setting the number of gallons next to the desired number of parts per million, the user may find the weight of sulfur dioxide needed to add to the liquid. The lower part of the base is marked: Directions – Set gallons to treat opposite arrow – Read lbs sulfur Dioxide opposite P.P.M. desired. (/) Copyright 1938 Neil A. Maclean Co. 470 - 8th St. San Francisco. Cal.
The back of the rule is stamped: DEC –5 1938. Over this is stamped: [S]URPLUS (/) DUPLICATE around the logo for the Library of Congress. The back is also marked: ©CI 1 pub. 23866. Neil A. Maclean Company (sometimes called NAMCO) was a California distributor of pesticides and agricultural supplies. It deposited this rule with the Library of Congress as part of its application for copyright (23866 is the copyright number for the device). The Library subsequently transferred the instrument to the Smithsonian. Another sample used to procure a copyright is 1983.3009.02.
NAMCO was still on 8th Street in the 1940s, but according to its trademark records, it moved to Milpitas, Calif., by 1971. Van Waters & Rogers, a multinational pest control and chemical supplier now called Univar, acquired the company sometime between 1974 and 1975.
Reference: Library of Congress Copyright Office, Catalog of Copyright Entries: Part 4, Works of Art, Etc., n.s. 34 (1939): 163.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1938
maker
Neil A. Maclean Co.
ID Number
1983.3009.01
catalog number
1983.3009.01
nonaccession number
1983.3009
In 1982 the government of the Canadian province of Ontario prepared this silver and orange paper linear slide rule for motorists. The front cover is marked: Energy (/) Ontario. It is also marked: fuel (/) economy (/) calculator.
Description
In 1982 the government of the Canadian province of Ontario prepared this silver and orange paper linear slide rule for motorists. The front cover is marked: Energy (/) Ontario. It is also marked: fuel (/) economy (/) calculator. It is also marked: DriveSave (/) Improving the Fuel Economy (/) of Automobiles in Ontario. Inside are instructions for tracking distances driven and fuel purchases on a provided "fuel economy log" and for calculating miles per gallon or liters per 100 kilometers with the provided slide rule.
The back cover contains driving and maintenance tips for improving fuel economy. It is marked: Ontario. It is also marked: Ministry of (/) Transportation and (/) Communications (/) Hon. James W. Snow (/) Minister. It is also marked: Ministry (/) of (/) Energy (/) Hon. Robert Welch (/) Minister. DriveSave was located in the Ministry of Transportation offices in Downsview, Ontario. Snow served from 1975 to 1984, and Welch served from 1979 to 1983.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1982
maker
Province of Ontario
ID Number
1988.3078.04
nonaccession number
1988.3078
catalog number
1988.3078.04
The base of this orange, black, and white cardboard circular chart has scales for the number and size of plows and for the size of combines, planters, or harrows. Riveted to the rectangular base is a disc with a scale of tractor speed in miles per hour.
Description
The base of this orange, black, and white cardboard circular chart has scales for the number and size of plows and for the size of combines, planters, or harrows. Riveted to the rectangular base is a disc with a scale of tractor speed in miles per hour. Setting the dial for the appropriate tractor speed opposite the size and type of machinery employed reveals the approximate number of acres worked per day.
According to its markings, Perry Graf Corporation of Maywood, Ill., copyrighted this "Tractor Calculator" in 1938 and made it for the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company's Tractor Division in Milwaukee, Wis. A curator's note indicates the copyright was not issued until November 27, 1941. Perrygraf (spelled variously as "Perrygraf" and "Perry Graf") designed special purpose "slide charts," which were often distributed by manufacturers to their customers.
The back of the calculator contains an advertisement for Allis-Chalmers, titled: WORK-PER-DAY THE A-C WAY. For other rules distributed by Perrygraf, see 1983.3009.06 and 1996.3029.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1941
maker
Perry Graf Corporation
ID Number
1983.3009.04
catalog number
1983.3009.04
nonaccession number
1983.3009
This blue, tan, and white cardboard rule consists of an envelope held together by six metal rivets and a paper slide.
Description
This blue, tan, and white cardboard rule consists of an envelope held together by six metal rivets and a paper slide. The rule calculates the weight of an enamel coating, given the area of a metal sample; the surface area of metal, given its thickness and weight; and the weight of enamel per square foot of surface coated, given the weight of enamel used, the thickness of the metal sample, and the weight of the metal.
Perrygraf Corporation of Maywood, Ill., made this instrument (copyrighted in 1941) for the American Rolling Mill Company of Middletown, Ohio. ARMCO produced and enameled coils of sheet steel at plants in Middletown and Ashland, Ky. Since 1999, the company has been part of AK Steel. For more on Perrygraf, see 1979.3074.03.
Reference: "American Rolling Mill Company," Ohio History Central: An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History, July 1, 2005, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=840.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1941
maker
Perry Graf Corporation
ID Number
1983.3009.05
catalog number
1983.3009.05
nonaccession number
1983.3009
This five-inch solid Xylonite (celluloid) slide rule is one of several "Ever-There" pocket slide rules made by Keuffel & Esser. This line was noted for its light weight and small size.
Description
This five-inch solid Xylonite (celluloid) slide rule is one of several "Ever-There" pocket slide rules made by Keuffel & Esser. This line was noted for its light weight and small size. There are A, D, and K scales on the base, with B, CI, and C scales on one side of the slide and S, L, and T scales on the other side of the slide. The glass indicator has a metal frame, plastic edges, and metal screws. The top of the base is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. N.Y.; PAT. 1,875,927; MADE IN U.S.A. The right end of the slide is marked: < 4097C >.
The back of the slide rule has a scale of 5 inches divided to sixteenths of an inch and a scale of 13 centimeters divided to millimeters. The left ends of the back of the rule and of the back of the slide are marked with a serial number: 38642. The rule fits in a leather sheath marked: K&ECO.
After Adolf Keuffel applied for a patent on what became the Ever-There product line on October 29, 1930, K&E introduced this version of slide rule as model 4098 in 1931. It was renamed model 4097C in 1936 and was discontinued around 1951. With a case, it cost $4.15 in 1936 and $5.75 in 1949. By 1959, it was replaced by model 4153-1. Compare to 1981.0933.05 and 1981.0922.08. An instruction booklet, received separately, is 1981.0933.09.
This example was given to the museum by Myron R. Smith (1911–2007), an electronics engineer who used it in a long career at Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids, Ia., then at Honeywell in Minneapolis, and then at Honeywell in Seattle. Smith used the rule to solve problems relating to the testing of broadcast equipment, the design of electronic temperature controls, the design of power transformers, and corporate management.
References: Adolf W. Keuffel, "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 1,875,927 issued September 6, 1932); Bob Otnes, "Adolf Keuffel and the Later K&E Slide Rules," Journal of the Oughtred Society 8, no. 1 (1999): 37–38; K&E Slide Rules and Calculating Instruments (New York, 1931), 17; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 324; K&E Price List Applying to the 41st Edition Catalog (New York, 1949), 32; K&E Price List Applying to the 41st Edition Catalog (New York, 1951), 35; K&E Price List Applying to the 42nd Edition Catalog (New York, 1959), 73; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936-1949
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
1989.0325.06
accession number
1989.0325
catalog number
1989.0325.06
This is the U.S. patent model for a cylindrical slide rule invented by George Fuller (1829–1907), a British civil engineer and professor of engineering at Queen's College, Belfast. Fuller received patents in Great Britain (no. 1044) in 1878 and in the United States in 1879. W.
Description
This is the U.S. patent model for a cylindrical slide rule invented by George Fuller (1829–1907), a British civil engineer and professor of engineering at Queen's College, Belfast. Fuller received patents in Great Britain (no. 1044) in 1878 and in the United States in 1879. W. F. Stanley of London manufactured the rule from 1879 until 1975, and it was marketed in the United States by Keuffel & Esser, Dietzgen, and other dealers.
The model has a wooden handle and shaft, with a wooden cylinder that slides up and down the shaft. A paper covered with scales fits around the cylinder. The lower edge of the cylinder has a scale of equal parts. The remainder bears a spiral scale divided logarithmically. A rectangular clear plastic pointer has broken from its attachment on the handle and is tucked into a red ribbon tied around the cylinder. A paper patent tag is marked: No. 291.246; 1879 (/) G. Fuller. (/) Calculators. (/) Patented Sept 2. (/) 1879. A printed description from the patent application of April 16, 1878, is glued to the back of the tag. The tag is attached to the handle with a red ribbon.
L. Leland Locke, a New York mathematics teacher and historian of mathematics, collected this patent model and intended it for the Museums of the Peaceful Arts in New York City. When that institution encountered financial difficulties in 1940, Locke gave a collection of objects, including this model, to the Smithsonian Institution.
For production models of this instrument, see 313751, 316575, and 1998.0046.01.
References: George Fuller, "Improvement in Calculators" (U.S. Patent 219,246 issued September 2, 1879); The Report of the President of Queen's College, Belfast, for the Year Ending October, 1876 (Dublin, 1877), 9, 29–30, 107–110; James J. Fenton, "Fuller's Calculating Slide-Rule," Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 22 (1886): 57–61; Dieter von Jezierski, Slide Rules: A Journey Through Three Centuries, trans. Rodger Shepherd (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2000), 42–43.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1878
patentee
Fuller, George
maker
Fuller, George
ID Number
MA.311958
accession number
155183
catalog number
311958
This eight-inch wooden Mannheim linear slide rule is coated with white celluloid and has a brass indicator in the single chisel style. It has no endpieces. The top edge is beveled and has a scale of 20 centimeters, divided to millimeters.
Description
This eight-inch wooden Mannheim linear slide rule is coated with white celluloid and has a brass indicator in the single chisel style. It has no endpieces. The top edge is beveled and has a scale of 20 centimeters, divided to millimeters. A 20-centimeter scale, divided to millimeters, is on the front edge. A third 20-centimeter scale under the slide is numbered from 22 to 41.
The top of the base has a scale divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 twice. The bottom of the base has a scale divided logarithmically from 1 to 10. These are the usual A and D scales, although they are not lettered. One side of the slide has the same two scales (the usual B and C scales, although they are not lettered). The other side of the slide has a scale of tangents that runs from 0 to 45 degrees and is lettered T; a scale of equal parts that runs from 0 to 10 and divides every two centimeters into 50 increments; and a scale of sines that runs from 70 to 0 and is lettered S. Compare to MA.318474. There is a place on the back of the instrument for a table of physical constants, but there is no table.
The top of the base is marked: TAVERNIER-GRAVET. The bottom of the base is marked: RUE MAYET 19.PARIS. It is also marked there: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co NEW-YORK & CHICAGO. The back is marked: MÉDAILLES D'OR 1878 ET 1889.
The British engineer's rule was brought to France by Edme-François Jomard in 1815, and by around 1820 Paul-Etienne Lenoir was manufacturing them in Paris. Lenoir's firm was succeeded by Gravet-Lenoir and later Tavernier-Gravet. From about 1851, Tavernier-Gravet manufactured a slide rule on the design of Amédéé Mannheim; this is such a slide rule. It was made after Tavernier-Gravet was awarded gold medals at world's fairs held in Paris in 1878 and 1889.
Before Keuffel & Esser manufactured its own rules around the turn of the 20th century, the company sold slide rules from Tavernier-Gravet and from Dennert & Pape of Germany. (Additional company history is provided with MA.318477, MA.318478, and MA.326613.) Although the scales and indicator resemble the ten-inch model 479–2 (subsequently numbered 1746N and 1746), a rule of this length (scales about 8" long) is not listed in K&E catalogs. The ten-inch version with brass indicator cost $4.50 between 1883 and 1890. In 1892 the single-chisel indicator was replaced with a double-chisel indicator.
References: Florian Cajori, A History of the Logarithmic Slide Rule and Allied Instruments (New York: Engineering News Publishing Company, 1909), 55–58, 80–81; M. Jomard, "The Slide Rule in France—1815," trans. Francis Wells, Journal of the Oughtred Society 8, no. 2 (1999): 11–16; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 17th ed. (New York, 1883), 93; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 20th ed. (New York, 1887), 129; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, (New York, 1890), 131.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1889-1892
maker
Tavernier-Gravet
ID Number
MA.318473
accession number
235479
catalog number
318473
This desktop slide rule is in a mahogany case. It has a cylindrical brass drum covered with paper printed with forty A scales. A wooden handle is fastened to each end of the drum. The drum fits in an open rotating brass frame; twenty brass slats span the frame.
Description
This desktop slide rule is in a mahogany case. It has a cylindrical brass drum covered with paper printed with forty A scales. A wooden handle is fastened to each end of the drum. The drum fits in an open rotating brass frame; twenty brass slats span the frame. The right side of the paper on the drum is printed in italics: Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st 1881. Divided by W. F. Stanley, London, 1882. Made by Keuffel & Esser Co. N.Y.
The slats are lined with cloth and covered with paper. Each slat is printed with two B and two C scales. The first A scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first B scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first C scale runs from 100 to 334; the fortieth runs from 308 to 305.
The front of the frame is spanned by a brass pyramidal bar. A brass and metal mount with three thumbscrews is attached to the bar. A magnifying glass found within the case may be positioned on the mount. The mount may be adjusted by height, and it slides along the bar.
The frame is screwed to a mahogany base. A paper with instructions is glued to the top front of the base. The top back of the base is engraved: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co (encircling N.Y.); 4013 (/) 2151; TRADE MARK (below the K&E lion logo). A paper K&E label loose inside the case is also stamped: No. 4013 (/) Serial 2151. A plastic label inside the case lid is imprinted: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW YORK (/) ST. LOUIS CHICAGO (/) SAN FRANCISCO. An index card with the letter V and a rectangle drawn in red pencil is also loose inside the case.
The model number and shape of the frame indicate this instrument was manufactured after 1900. The serial number and evidence that Stanley was still dividing the scales for K&E suggest a manufacturing date before 1910–1915. (K&E began to divide and print its own scales in the 1910s and subsequently dropped the reference to Stanley from the drum.) In 1906, the model 4013 Thacher cylindrical slide rule sold for $45.00.
The object was received with MA.271855.01.03, Directions for Using Thacher's Calculating Instrument (1907), which is a reprint of a booklet Edwin Thacher first published in 1884. The object was also received with a cardboard exhibit label, MA.271855.01.02, indicating that the Armour Institute of Technology donated the object to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, which in turn donated it to the Smithsonian in 1966 with a large supply of electrical apparatus. In Chicago, according to pencil markings on the case, label, and booklet, the object's museum catalogue number was 39.168.
See also MA.315663.
References: Edwin Thacher, Thacher's Calculating Instrument or Cylindrical Slide-Rule (New York: Van Nostrand, 1884); Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser (New York, 1906), 314.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900-1910
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.327886
accession number
271855
catalog number
327886
This desktop slide rule is in a mahogany case. It has a cylindrical brass drum covered with paper printed with forty A scales. A wooden handle is fastened to each end of the drum. The drum fits in an open rotating brass frame; twenty brass slats span the frame.
Description
This desktop slide rule is in a mahogany case. It has a cylindrical brass drum covered with paper printed with forty A scales. A wooden handle is fastened to each end of the drum. The drum fits in an open rotating brass frame; twenty brass slats span the frame. The right side of the paper on the drum is printed in italics: Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st 1881. Made by Keuffel & Esser Co. N.Y.
The slats are lined with cloth and covered with paper. Each slat is printed with two B and two C scales. The first A scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first B scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first C scale runs from 100 to 334; the fortieth runs from 308 to 305.
The front of the frame is spanned by a brass pyramidal bar. A brass and metal mount with three thumbscrews is attached to the bar. The mount may be adjusted by height, and it slides along the bar. A magnifying glass was supposed to be positioned on the mount. A brass handle is in the case, but the round glass part is missing.
The frame is screwed to a mahogany base. A paper with instructions is glued to the top front of the base. The top back of the base is engraved: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co (encircling N.Y.); 4013 (/) 3419; TRADE MARK (below the K&E lion logo). A square off-white label inside the lid is printed: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW YORK HOBOKEN, N.J. (/) CHICAGO ST. LOUIS SAN FRANCISCO MONTREAL (/) DRAWING MATERIALS, SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS (/) MEASURING TAPES (/) No. 4013 (/) SERIAL 3419. Writing on masking tape attached to the top and the front of the case has been covered with black marker. This writing may read in part 6825 and represent the inventory number at the Interstate Commerce Commission, which transferred the object to the Smithsonian in 1962. The Smithsonian catalog number is written on the top of the case in black marker: 321-789.
Keuffel & Esser Company of New York sold versions of the Thacher cylindrical slide rule from about 1883 until about 1950. There were two models, one with a magnifying glass (K&E model 1741 before 1900, K&E model 4013 after) and one without (K&E model 1740 before 1900, K&E model 4012 after). This is a model 4013; the serial number suggests it was manufactured around 1915. The marking on the core also no longer references W. F. Stanley, the English firm that originally manufactured the instrument for sale by K&E. Stanley continued to provide the engine-divided scales after K&E began making the rest of the instrument in 1887. K&E took over printing the scales in the 1910s. Model 4013 sold for $45.00 in 1913.
Compare markings on the core to MA.315663. See also MA.327886 and 1996.3079.01.
References: Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co. (New York, 1913), 294.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1915
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.321789
accession number
246883
catalog number
321789
In 1881, Edwin Thacher, a "computing engineer" for the Keystone Bridge Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received a patent for an improvement in slide rules. Thacher was a graduate of Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute who spent much of his career designing railway bridges.
Description
In 1881, Edwin Thacher, a "computing engineer" for the Keystone Bridge Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received a patent for an improvement in slide rules. Thacher was a graduate of Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute who spent much of his career designing railway bridges. To assist in his calculations, he designed a cylindrical slide rule. Thacher's rule, though it fit on a desk, was equivalent to a conventional slide rule over 59 feet long. It had scales for multiplication and division and another scale, with divisions twice as large, for use in finding squares and square roots. But it had no trigonometric scales.
To produce his "calculating instrument," Thacher turned to the London firm of W. F. Stanley. The company even designed a special dividing engine for preparing the scales for the instrument. These were printed on paper sheets, which were pasted to the drum and the slats. In this example, the paper is also printed in italics on the right side: Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st 1881. Divided by W. F. Stanley, London, 1882.
The drum is rotated with wooden handles. The cylinder of slats is held in place with a brass frame, which is affixed to a wooden base. A paper of DIRECTIONS AND RULES FOR OPERATING is lacquered to the front of the base. The rear of the base bears a small silver metal label engraved: Keuffel & Esser (/) New York. F. F. NICKEL is painted underneath the base.
Keuffel & Esser Company of New York sold versions of the Thacher cylindrical slide rule from at least 1883 until about 1950. There were two models, one with a magnifying glass (K&E model 1741, later K&E model 4013), and one without (K&E model 1740, later K&E 4012). This is a model 1740. The front right corner of the instrument's metal frame is engraved with the number 107. A paper K&E label on the inside lid of the instrument's mahogany case is marked in ink: 1740/661 (/) Thachers (/) Calculating (/)Instr. The top front of the bottom of the case is also carved with 661. In 1887, the model 1740 sold for $30.00.
Frank Ferdinand Nickel purchased this example around 1883 and donated it to the Smithsonian in 1945, through his son, Henry W. Nickel. The elder Nickel was born in Hanau, Germany, in 1857. He came to the United States around 1883 and worked as a mechanical engineer in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. He also taught at Columbia University in the 1910s. He wrote Direct-Acting Steam Pumps (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1915).
See also 1987.0107.08 and 1987.0808.01.
References: Edwin Thacher, "Slide-Rule" (U.S. Patent 249,117 issued November 1, 1881); "Thacher's Calculating Instrument or Cylindrical Slide Rule," Engineering News 16 (18 December 1886): 410; Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127; Wilfred Scott Downs, ed., "Nickel, Frank F.," Who's Who in Engineering, vol. 3 (New York, 1931), 957; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser (New York, 1887), 128. This was the first K&E catalog to list the model 1740.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1883
maker
Stanley, William Ford
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.312866
accession number
169701
catalog number
312866
This one-sided linear slide rule is made of white Ivorite (plastic) with a plastic indicator and brass-colored endpieces holding the parts together. A triangle and an A are stamped on the back of both of the endpieces.
Description
This one-sided linear slide rule is made of white Ivorite (plastic) with a plastic indicator and brass-colored endpieces holding the parts together. A triangle and an A are stamped on the back of both of the endpieces. The top of the base has V squared, square root of V, and A scales; B, square root of U, U inverse, U, and C scales are on the slide; and D, V, and V inverse scales are on the lower part of the base. The right end of the rule is marked: ANALON (/) 68 1400; K+E; © 1966 (/) KEUFFEL & ESSER CO.; MADE IN U.S.A.
The back of the slide has a table for the dimensional analysis of 30 quantities used in physics, including acceleration, magnetic induction, and capacitance. The top back of the base is marked: ANALON ENGINEERING-SCIENCE ANALYSIS SLIDE RULE; MKS SYSTEM; 536. ("MKS" indicates meters, kilograms, and seconds.) The back of the slide is marked with the K+E logo at the left and the serial number 009536 at the right. The lower part of the back of the base is marked: NUMERICAL FACTORS ARE OMITTED IN DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS; KEUFFEL & ESSER CO.; 536. The rule has an orange leather case, stamped K+E on the flap and ANALON on the front. For related documentation, see 304347.02.
The instrument was only listed in K&E's 1967 catalog. It suffered from production problems, and buyers often found the instruction manual to be incomprehensible. According to former curator Uta Merzbach, the ANALON slide rule was the last model manufactured by Keuffel & Esser at its plant in Hoboken, N.J., which closed in 1970. The company donated this example to the Smithsonian in 1973.
References: Keuffel & Esser Co., Catalog 8—Slide Rules, rev. ed. ([New York], 1967), 10, 18; Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the AnaLon Slide Rule," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEModels/ke68-1400family.htm.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1970
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.333923
accession number
304347
catalog number
333923
This 20-inch mahogany duplex slide rule is coated with white celluloid and held together with metal end pieces. On one side, the base has LL02, LL03, DF, D, LL3, and LL2 scales, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide.
Description
This 20-inch mahogany duplex slide rule is coated with white celluloid and held together with metal end pieces. On one side, the base has LL02, LL03, DF, D, LL3, and LL2 scales, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide. The right end of the slide is marked in red: © (/) K + E. On the other side, the base has Sh1, Sh2, Th, A, D, DI, LL01, and LL1 scales, with B, T, SRT, and S scales on the slide. The first three scales are hypobolic scales. The trigonometric scales are divided into degrees and into decimals. The left end of the slide has a serial number: 640023. The left ends of both parts of the base are marked: 023. A glass indicator has plastic edges and metal screws. Compare to MA.318481
The top edge of the rule is marked: PATS. PEND. MADE IN U.S.A. 4083-5 LOG LOG DUPLEX VECTOR ® COPYRIGHT 1947 BY KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. PATS. 2,500,460 2,168,056 2,170,144 2,285,722 2,422,649. See 2007.0181.01 for a description of these patents. There is a green leather case with metal inlays on the holder for the flap. One of the inlays is marked: PAT. 2,000,337. The flap is marked: K + E. Adolf W. Keuffel applied to patent his method for securing a slide rule case on November 1, 1932, and received the patent on May 7, 1935.
Keuffel & Esser of New York used this set of scales on this model number from 1955 to 1962. The serial number is consistent with a date later in this time frame. The rule sold with the leather case for $56.50 in the 1950s.
References: Adolf W. Keuffel, "Slide Rule Case" (U.S. Patent 2,000,337 issued May 7, 1935); K + E Catalog, 42nd ed. (New York: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1954), 280–281; Keuffel & Esser Co., "Price List Applying to the 42nd Edition Catalog" (New York, June 1, 1956), 43; Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4083-3 Family of Slide Rules," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEModels/ke4083-3family.htm; Ed Chamberlain, "Estimating K&E Slide Rule Dates," 27 December 2000, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/ke/320-k+e_date2.jpg.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1955-1962
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.335483
accession number
321673
catalog number
335483
This one-sided, ten-inch wooden rule has a layer of white celluloid on the front side. It has unlettered A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on one side of the slide. The other side of the slide has lettered S, L, and T scales.
Description
This one-sided, ten-inch wooden rule has a layer of white celluloid on the front side. It has unlettered A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on one side of the slide. The other side of the slide has lettered S, L, and T scales. The bottom left corner is marked: QUOTIENT (/) +1. The bottom right corner is marked: PRODUCT (/) –1. The indicator is glass in a metal frame, with a circular scale and pointer on the right side of the frame for registering digits to be added or subtracted during the calculation. The top edge is beveled and has a 25-centimeter scale, divided to millimeters. A second scale, 27 centimeters in length, is on the front edge. Underneath the slide is a third centimeter scale, numbered from 30 to 55.
The bottom of the base is marked in gold: A. W. FABER. D.R.G.M. 98350 & 116832. A set of tables of equivalent measures printed in German on paper is glued to the back of the instrument. The rule is in a cardboard case covered with black leather. The case is marked: Rechenstab (/) von (/) A. W. Faber. Inside the case is written in pencil: Mit Anlistz (/) [illegible] 10 (/) R. C. Archibald. On the back of the inside is written in pencil: RCA.
A. W. Faber was a German company that began manufacturing slide rules in 1882 and introduced this form of instrument around 1894. German patent 116832 was issued to A. W. Faber in June 1899. The digit-registering cursor was added in 1905. Although there is no model number on this rule, it was sold as model 367 from 1905 to 1913. The firm was renamed Faber-Castell in 1905, although instruments continued to be marked "A. W. Faber" as late as 1913.
This slide rule reflects the rich intermixture of cultures that characterizes the American mathematical community. It was owned by Raymond C. Archibald (1875–1955), a Canadian born in Nova Scotia. He began his college education in Canada and completed a bachelor's and a master's degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Then, like several other late 19th- and early 20th-century North American mathematicians, Archibald traveled to Germany, spending the academic year 1898–1899 at the University of Berlin and 1899–1900 at the University of Strasbourg. He obtained his Ph.D. in Strasbourg in 1900 and may have purchased this slide rule near the end of this European sojourn. Archibald then returned to Canada, where he taught for several years before joining the faculty of Brown University in Providence, R.I., in 1908. He remained at Brown for the rest of his academic career. Archibald's wide ranging interests included the history of mathematics, the computation of mathematical tables and the development of computing tools. In 1943, he became the founding editor of the journal Mathematical Tables and Other Aids to Computation, a publication that included some of the first articles published about electronic computers.
References: Peter M. Hopp, Slide Rules: Their History, Models, and Makers (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 1999), 25–26, 41; Dieter von Jezierski, Slide Rules: A Journey Through Three Centuries, trans. Rodger Shepherd (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2000), 24; George Sarton, "Raymond Clare Archibald," Osiris 12 (1956): 4–34; Charles N. Pickworth, Instructions for the Use of A. W. Faber's Improved Calculating Rule (New York: A. W. Faber, [after 1900]), 36–40. This work is undated, but it refers to a prize awarded to Faber at the Exposition universelle held in Paris in 1900. The pages cited describe "a new form of A. W. Faber's calculating rule," the form of the slide rule catalogued here.
date made
1900-1908
maker
Faber, A. W.
ID Number
MA.304722.02
accession number
304722
catalog number
304722.02
This rule consists of an outer wooden cylinder that both slides up and down and rotates. Two brass rings lined with felt are inside this cylinder.
Description
This rule consists of an outer wooden cylinder that both slides up and down and rotates. Two brass rings lined with felt are inside this cylinder. The cylinder is covered with paper marked with a single spiral logarithmic scale graduated into 7,250 parts and having a length, according to the maker, of 500 inches (nearly 42 feet). Inside the outer cylinder is a longer wooden cylinder, covered with paper marked with decimal, conversion, and sine tables, and half-lined with felt. A solid mahogany handle is at one end. A brass index is screwed to the top of the handle. A second, longer brass index is screwed to the mahogany base and marked with a scale of equal parts used in finding logarithms. A third and removable brass cylinder is inside the instrument and attached to the base.
The tables on the middle cylinder include: decimal equivalents of feet and inches in feet; decimal equivalents of quarter weights and pounds in hundredweights; decimal equivalents of ounces and pounds in fractions of a pound; decimal equivalents of pounds, shillings, and pence in fractions of a pound; decimal equivalents of pence in shillings; days of the year as a fraction of the year; decimal equivalents of subunits of an acre; properties of various metals and woods; decimal equivalents of minutes of a degree in degrees; the Birmingham wire gauge; various conversion factors (mostly for weights and measures); and natural sines.
The outer, sliding cylinder is marked near the top: FULLERS SPIRAL SLIDE RULE. Near the bottom is marked: ENTD. STATS. HALL; STANLEY, Maker, LONDON. The bottom of the outer cylinder and the top of the long brass index are stamped: 858. According to Wayne Feely, the serial number 858 dates this instrument to 1895 or 1896.
The rule is in a rectangular mahogany case marked in script on the top: Calculator. A paper Keuffel & Esser label on the inside lid of the instrument's mahogany case is marked in ink: 1742 (/) Fuller's (/) Spiral (/) Slide Rule. Fuller's Spiral Slide Rule was first listed in Keuffel & Esser's 1895 catalog and sold for $28.00.
George Fuller, professor of civil engineering at Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland, patented this instrument in 1878. The Stanley firm made about 14,000 Fuller's spiral slide rules over nearly one hundred years, with K&E distributing a large share of the instruments sold in the United States. The Naval Engineering Division of the U.S. Coast Guard transferred this example to the Smithsonian in 1959. The Coast Guard engineers provided brief instructions:
"To calculate (5 X 6 X 4)/3 turn the outer cylinder until the first factor (5) is opposite the fixed pointer, set the slot in the movable indicator to read (0), turn the outer cylinder until the second factor (6) appears opposite the movable indicator. (The result will be found on the outer cylinder opposite the first indicator.) To multiply by the third factor (4), set the slot in the movable indicator to (0), turn the outer cylinder until the movable indicator indicates the third factor (4); (the result will be found opposite the fixed indicator.) To divide by (3) set the movable indicator to (3), turn outer cylinder until the slot in the movable indicator is (0) on the outer cylinder and the result will be found opposite the fixed pointer."
See also MA.311958, 1998.0046.01, and MA.313751.
References: William Ford Stanley, Surveying and Leveling Instruments, 3rd ed. (London, 1901), 542–543; Wayne E. Feely, "The Fuller Spiral Scale Slide Rule," Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50, no. 3 (1997): 93–98; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser (New York, 1895), 190.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1895-1896
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
Stanley, William Ford
ID Number
MA.316575
accession number
225751
catalog number
316575
The expansion of American engineering in the nineteenth century created a new market for aids to computation.
Description
The expansion of American engineering in the nineteenth century created a new market for aids to computation. The Swedish-born Philadelphia engineer, John William Nystrom (1824–1885), contributed to this movement by inventing a circular slide rule in 1848 and writing a pocket book of mathematical tables that was reprinted at least 21 times between 1854 and 1895.
This is the patent model for Nystrom's calculator. The surface is a brass disc that rests on three wooden feet. It has two graduated brass arms, pivoted about a central spindle, which may be clamped to any desired angular separation and rotated together. Glass magnifiers are attached to both arms. A small dial on the top of the central knob can be moved to record rotations of more than one full circle.
There are four unlabeled circles on the calculating rule, here called a, b, c, and d. They go from the outer rim inward. Circle b is divided into 20 equal parts. Subdivisions of these parts are represented by a series of parallel curves extending between the outer rim and circle b. These, in combination with scales marked on the rim of the arms, allow one to measure subdivisions of the distance between equal parts. The outermost circle (a) is a logarithmic scale ranging from 1 to 10 twice. A series of lines between the two outer circles give intermediate values, which are read from the rotating arms. The circle c, just inside b, is divided from 0 to 90 degrees so that the sine of an angle indicated is given on the outer circle a. The parts of the scale are unequal, with the tens value of degrees from 10 to 49 indicated by large digits. The innermost circle d is divided for finding cosines.
Nystrom promoted the device and solicited a manufacturer in the May 17, 1851, issue of Scientific American. By 1852, he offered the device at three price points, $10.00, $15.00, and $20.00. He was likely making the instrument himself. From 1864 to 1887, the Philadelphia firm established by William J. Young sold Nystrom calculators that were probably handcrafted by George Thorsted. It is unlikely that more than one hundred of these devices ever existed.
References: J. W. Nystrom, "Calculating-Machine" (U.S. Patent 7,961 issued March 4, 1851); Description and Key to Nystrom's Calculator (Philadelphia, 1854), http://history-computer.com/Library/Nystrom's%20Calculator.pdf; "Nystrom's New Calculating Machine," Scientific American 6, no. 35 (May 17, 1851): 273; "Nystrom's Calculating Machine," Scientific American 7, no. 36 (May 22, 1852): 284; John W. Nystrom, Pocket-Book of Mechanics and Engineering, 10th ed. (Philadelphia, 1867); Robert C. Miller, "Nystrom's Calculator," Journal of the Oughtred Society 4, no. 2 (1995): 7–13; Peggy A. Kidwell, "Nystrom's Calculating Rule," Rittenhouse 1 (1987): 102–105.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1851
patentee
Nystrom, John William
maker
Nystrom, John William
ID Number
MA.252682
catalog number
252682
accession number
49064
This rule consists of an outer wooden cylinder that both slides up and down and rotates. Two brass rings lined with felt are inside this cylinder.
Description
This rule consists of an outer wooden cylinder that both slides up and down and rotates. Two brass rings lined with felt are inside this cylinder. The cylinder is covered with paper marked with a single spiral logarithmic scale graduated into 7,250 parts and having a length, according to the maker, of 500 inches (nearly 42 feet). This length permitted computations up to four or five significant digits.
Inside the outer cylinder is a longer wooden cylinder, covered with paper marked with decimal, conversion, and sine tables. A solid mahogany handle is at one end. A brass index is screwed to the top of the handle. A second, longer brass index is screwed to the mahogany base and marked with a scale of equal parts used in finding logarithms. A third, removable, nickel-plated brass cylinder is inside the instrument and attached to the base. There is no case.
The tables on the middle cylinder include: decimal equivalents of feet and inches in feet; decimal equivalents of quarter weights and pounds in hundredweights; decimal equivalents of ounces and pounds in fractions of a pound; decimal equivalents of pounds, shillings, and pence in fractions of a pound; decimal equivalents of pence in shillings; days of the year as a fraction of the year; decimal equivalents of subunits of an acre; properties of various metals and woods; decimal equivalents of minutes of a degree in degrees; the Birmingham wire gauge; various conversion factors (mostly for weights and measures); and natural sines.
The outer, sliding cylinder is marked near the top: FULLERS SPIRAL SLIDE RULE. Near the bottom is marked: ENTD. STATS. HALL; STANLEY, Maker, LONDON. The bottom is stamped: 1389. The top of the long brass index is engraved: 1389 (/) 1901. According to Wayne Feely, these numbers indicate the instrument has serial number 1389 and was made by Stanley in 1901. A white celluloid tag affixed to the handle reads: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) ST. LOUIS. CHICAGO. (/) NEW YORK. (/) U.S.A. In the 1901 Keuffel & Esser catalog, Fuller's Spiral Slide Rule is listed as Model 4015 and priced at $30.00.
See also 311958, 1998.0046.01, and 316575.
References: Wayne E. Feely, "The Fuller Spiral Scale Slide Rule," Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50, no. 3 (1997): 93–98; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser (New York, 1901), 290; James J. Fenton, "Fuller's Calculating Slide-Rule," Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 22 (1886): 57–61; Dieter von Jezierski, Slide Rules: A Journey Through Three Centuries, trans. Rodger Shepherd (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2000), 42–43; George Fuller, Instructions for the Use of the Fuller Calculator (London: W. F. Stanley & Co., Ltd., [about 1950]), http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEManuals/4015/4015.htm. An 1879 first edition of the instructions manual was received with the instrument and is stored in the accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1901
inventor
Fuller, George
retailer
Keuffel & Esser Co.
maker
Stanley, William Ford
ID Number
MA.313751
catalog number
313751
maker number
1380/1901
accession number
179682
This desktop slide rule is in a wooden case that is significantly deteriorated on its inside. The rule has a cylindrical brass drum covered with paper printed with forty A scales. A wooden handle is fastened to each end of the drum.
Description
This desktop slide rule is in a wooden case that is significantly deteriorated on its inside. The rule has a cylindrical brass drum covered with paper printed with forty A scales. A wooden handle is fastened to each end of the drum. The drum fits in an open rotating brass frame; twenty brass slats span the frame. The right side of the paper on the drum is printed in italics: Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st 1881. Divided by W. F. Stanley, London, 1882. Made by Keuffel & Esser Co. N.Y.
The slats are lined with cloth and covered with paper. Each slat is printed with two B and two C scales. The first A scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first B scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first C scale runs from 100 to 334; the fortieth runs from 308 to 305.
The frame is screwed to a mahogany base. A paper with instructions is glued to the top front of the base. An ivory label for Keuffel & Esser Co. is screwed to the front right corner. The top back of the base is engraved: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co (encircling N.Y.); 4012 (/) 1689; TRADE MARK (below the K&E lion logo). Another ivory K&E label is fastened inside the lid of the case. A paper K&E label pasted inside the lid is stamped in faded purple ink: No. 4013 (/) Serial 1689. Written in pencil is: Mar 22/07.
The Thacher cylindrical slide rule was sized for a desk, but its scales were equivalent to those on a conventional slide rule over 59 feet long. It had scales for multiplication, division, and squares and square roots. There were no trigonometric scales.
Keuffel & Esser sold model 4012 from 1900 to about 1950. The markings and serial number indicate this example dates to 1907. Model 4012 cost $35.00 in 1909. The U.S. Department of Agriculture transferred this example to the Smithsonian in 1964.
See also MA.312866, MA.326628, and MA.323504.
References: Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 304.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1907
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.322730
accession number
252315
maker number
1689
catalog number
322730
This sixteen-inch one-sided wooden slide rule has scales labeled A and D on the base. There are scales labeled B and C on one side of the slide, with S, L, and T scales on the other side.
Description
This sixteen-inch one-sided wooden slide rule has scales labeled A and D on the base. There are scales labeled B and C on one side of the slide, with S, L, and T scales on the other side. The A and B scales are divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 twice; the C and D scales are divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 once. The S scale runs from 0 to 80 degrees, and the T scale from 0 to 45 degrees. The L scale is divided logarithmically from 0 to 10. A scale of 40 centimeters is divided to millimeters on the front edge. A scale of 16 inches divided to 1/16-inch is on the other, beveled edge. The scales are all on white celluloid. A table of numerical ratios and equivalences is attached to the back of the rule. A frameless glass indicator was received with the instrument and noted during cataloguing around 1965, but it is no longer present.
The top of the base is marked in red: PAT. JUNE 5, 1900; KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. N.Y.; MADE IN U.S.A. The right end of the slide is marked in red: < 4045 >. The left end of the back of the slide and the left end of the centimeter scale on the base are both marked with a serial number: 46538. The file for the instrument records that the indicator was marked with a patent date of 8.17.15. Compare to MA.322761 and 1987.0634.01.
Keuffel & Esser first advertised the model 4045 Mannheim slide rule in 1906 and stopped selling it between 1936 and 1939. The date on the indicator suggests that this example was made after mid-1915. If the accession file is correct, the rule was given to the Smithsonian by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1923. However, the presence of a serial number and the lettering of the A, B, C, and D scales suggest a somewhat later date. (K&E began to assign serial numbers in 1923, and a serial number of 46538 indicates a date around 1925.) Additionally, the accession file records that the slide rule had the Signal Corps type number ML–40. According to the 1920 Storage Catalogue for the Corps, an ML–40 slide rule was a ten-inch polyphase duplex slide rule, graduated on both sides with a frameless glass indicator, specifically "Keuffel & Esser Co.'s No. 4088-3, or equal." Thus, it is possible that this example is not the slide rule received with the 1923 accession. There are no known discrepancies in the files for MA.318480 and MA.321778, the K&E model 4088-3 slide rules acquired by the Smithsonian before 1965, though.
References: Wayne E. Feely, "K & E Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 49, no. 5 (June 1996): 50–52, on 51; Ed Chamberlain, "Estimating K&E Slide Rule Dates," 27 December 2000, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/ke/320-k+e_date2.jpg; Signal Corps, Storage Catalogue (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1920), 29, 575.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1925
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.308201
accession number
70852
catalog number
308201
The brass core of this cylindrical slide rule is covered with paper marked with forty A scales. The core fits in an open rotating frame that holds twenty metal slats; each slat is lined with cloth, covered with paper, and marked with two B and two C scales.
Description
The brass core of this cylindrical slide rule is covered with paper marked with forty A scales. The core fits in an open rotating frame that holds twenty metal slats; each slat is lined with cloth, covered with paper, and marked with two B and two C scales. Wooden knobs on each end of the core rotate the instrument. The frame is attached to a mahogany base.
The first A scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first B scale runs from 100 to 112, the last from 946 to 100 to 105. The first C scale runs from 100 to 334, the last from 308 to 305. The paper covering the core is also printed in italics on the right side: Made by Keuffel & Esser Co., New York; Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st., 1881.
A paper of instructions and rules for operating THACHER'S CALCULATING INSTRUMENT is glued to the top front of the base. The top back of the base is stamped: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (encircling N.Y.); 4012 (/) 4917; TRADEMARK (below the K&E logo of a lion).
The instrument is stored in a mahogany rectangular case. A square off-white label inside the lid is printed: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW YORK HOBOKEN, N.J. (/) CHICAGO ST. LOUIS SAN FRANCISCO MONTREAL (/) DRAWING MATERIALS, SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS (/) MEASURING TAPES (/) No. 4012 (/) SERIAL 4917.
Keuffel & Esser sold versions of the Thacher cylindrical slide rule from about 1883 until about 1950. There were two models, one with a magnifying glass (K&E model 1741 before 1900, K&E model 4013 after) and one without (K&E model 1740 before 1900, K&E model 4012 after). This is a model 4012; the serial number suggests it was manufactured around 1920. Model 4012 sold for $35.00 in 1916, $60.00 in 1922, and $70.00 in 1927.
The National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) declared this object excess property and transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1965. In 1968, the Department of Commerce borrowed the slide rule to exhibit in the U.S. Pavilion at HemisFair, an international exposition held in San Antonio, Tex. According to the accession file, a staffer replaced four missing screws on the base before returning the rule.
See also MA.312866; MA.323504; and MA.322730.
References: Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules and Calculating Instruments (New York, 1916), 22; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules and Calculating Instruments (New York, 1922), 21; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules and Calculating Instruments (New York, 1927), 20.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.326628
accession number
261654
maker number
4917
catalog number
326628
This sixteen-inch instrument has a wooden core coated with white celluloid. There are A and D scales on the base, with B and C scales on one side of the slide; the scales are not labeled with letters.
Description
This sixteen-inch instrument has a wooden core coated with white celluloid. There are A and D scales on the base, with B and C scales on one side of the slide; the scales are not labeled with letters. The reverse of the slide has S, T, and L scales, which are labeled with these letters. The top edge is beveled and has a scale of inches, divided to sixteenths of an inch. The front edge has a scale of centimeters, divided to millimeters. A table of numerical ratios and equivalences is pasted to the back of the rule. A glass "frameless" indicator has plastic edges.
The base is marked in red: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. N.Y.; PAT. JUNE 5, 1900. K&E head of manufacturing Willie L. E. Keuffel received this patent for a method of adjusting a slide rule, accomplished with four screws on the back of the instrument. The left end of the slide is marked in red: < 4045 >. K&E first advertised model 4045 in 1906. The edge of the indicator is marked: K&E.CO.N.Y. (/) PAT.8.17.15. Keuffel also took out this patent, for the design of the frameless indicator. Since the plastic on the indicator is the same color as the rule and thus probably original to the instrument, this example was likely made after 1915. The indicator was changed again in 1936, and K&E no longer made this model by 1939.
The rule is in a cardboard box faced with dark brown leather. The box is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co. (/) MANNHEIM (/) SLIDE RULE. The instrument was found in a Smithsonian storage court and catalogued in 1963. The indicator was broken in 2005 and is now stored in a separate bag. Compare this example to 1987.0634.01 and MA.308201.
References: Willie L. E. Keuffel, "Slide-Rule" (U.S. Patent 651,142 issued June 5, 1900); Willie L. E. Keuffel, "Slide-Rule Runner" (U.S. Patent 1,150,771 issued August 17, 1915); Wayne E. Feely, "K & E Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 49, no. 5 (June 1996): 50–52; Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4041 Family," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEModels/ke4041family.htm; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 32th ed. (New York, 1906), 322; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 35th ed. (New York, 1915), 299; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 311.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915-1936
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.322761
accession number
251560
catalog number
322761
This five-inch, one-sided cardboard linear slide rule has a metal cursor in the double-chisel style. (Compare to MA.318477 and 1977.0370.01.) There are A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on the slide. The A and B scales are divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 twice.
Description
This five-inch, one-sided cardboard linear slide rule has a metal cursor in the double-chisel style. (Compare to MA.318477 and 1977.0370.01.) There are A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on the slide. The A and B scales are divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 twice. The C and D scales are divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 once. A figure holding a club is shown in the lower left corner. A dark brown case of coated paper is included.
The figure on the slide rule was used by Gebr. Wichmann (Wichmann Brothers) in Berlin, a company founded in 1873. In materials, size, and scales, this instrument closely resembles model 466, shown in the 1910 catalog. However, the illustration in the catalog indicates that the maker's name, place of manufacture, model number, and price are printed on the front of the rule. This instrument does not have these marks, so it may have been made before 1910. The No. 466 slide rule sold for 0.75 marks and was one of the least expensive slide rules listed in the catalog. (Only model 469, with a C scale that began at pi, sold for the same price.)
This instrument is signed on the back: W. F. Meggers. William F. Meggers (1888–1966) was a spectroscopist long associated with the U.S. National Bureau of Standards. He received his B.A. in physics from Ripon College in 1910, his M.A. in physics from the University of Wisconsin in 1916, and his Ph.D. in physics, mathematics, and astronomy from Johns Hopkins University in 1917. If he used this rule, it seems likely that he acquired it as a student. For a slide rule apparently acquired by Meggers in 1907 that was considerably more precise and more costly, see MA.335270.
References: Gebr. Wichmann, Anleitung zum Gebrauch des Rechenstabes (Berlin, 1910), 21; "Dr. Meggers Dies at 78," The NBS Standard 11, no. 9 (December 1966): 2–3.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1910
maker
Gebr. Wichmann
ID Number
MA.293320.2820
accession number
293320
catalog number
293320.2820
This one-sided, ten-inch wooden rule has a layer of yellowed white celluloid on the front side. It has unlettered A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on one side of the slide. The other side of the slide has S, L, and T scales. The indicator is glass in a metal frame.
Description
This one-sided, ten-inch wooden rule has a layer of yellowed white celluloid on the front side. It has unlettered A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on one side of the slide. The other side of the slide has S, L, and T scales. The indicator is glass in a metal frame. The top edge is beveled and has a 25-centimeter scale, divided to millimeters. A second scale, 26 centimeters in length, is on the front edge. Underneath the slide is a third centimeter scale, numbered from 27 to 51.
The bottom of the base is marked in gold: A. W. FABER. Tables of equivalent measures and lists of constants (in German) are printed on paper glued to the back of the instrument. The rule is in a cardboard case covered with black leather, which is in excellent condition. The case is marked: Rechenstab (/) von (/) A. W. Faber. The back of the case is signed illegibly in pencil.
A. W. Faber began manufacturing wooden slide rules in 1882 and added celluloid facings in 1887. From about 1888 to 1900, the rules were often marked not only "A. W. FABER" but "Made in Germany." The metal indicator with a glass window was introduced in 1889. Although there is no model number on this rule, in the 1910s this combination of scales and indicator was sold as model 360. See MA.304722.02 for a later version of this rule, which mentions an 1899 patent and has a digit registering indicator introduced in 1905.
Reference: Dieter von Jezierski, Slide Rules: A Journey Through Three Centuries, trans. Rodger Shepherd (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2000), 54, 90; Trevor Catlow, "Suggestions for Dating pre-1920 Faber Castell Slide Rules," Journal of the Oughtred Society 18, no. 2 (2009): 46–53; "Time Line for A. W. Faber and Faber-Castell," http://sliderulemuseum.com/SR_Dates.htm#Faber.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
about 1890
maker
Faber, A. W.
ID Number
MA.314793
catalog number
314793
accession number
210147

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