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 inexpensive one-sided white plastic slide rule has A, D, and K scales on the base, with S, L, and T scales on one side of the slide and B, CI, and C scales on the other side of the slide. The indicator is clear frameless plastic.
Description
This inexpensive one-sided white plastic slide rule has A, D, and K scales on the base, with S, L, and T scales on one side of the slide and B, CI, and C scales on the other side of the slide. The indicator is clear frameless plastic. The top of the base is marked: SP [inside a circle] PRECISION STERLING SLIDE RULE MADE IN U.S.A. The logo was trademarked by Sterling Plastics Company of Mountainside, N.J., in 1945. A clear plastic case has blue endpieces and is stamped 99¢.
According to Peter M. Hopp, Sterling began making slide rules in 1961. The company ceased producing slide rules around 1972. Since there are only two bridges holding the base together instead of five, Konshak suggests this example was made early in this time period. This example is probably model number 584. The Precision line came in various forms, as other examples have rulers on beveled edges, red scales, or green slides or bases. These were often sold as model number 685. For instructions, see 1988.0807.05. For company history, see 1998.3104.01.
References: Peter M. Hopp, Slide Rules: Their History, Models, and Makers (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 1999), 222; Mike Konshak, "Sterling Plastics," http://sliderulemuseum.com/Sterling.htm.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1961-1972
maker
Sterling Plastics
ID Number
1988.0807.01
accession number
1988.0807
catalog number
1988.0807.01
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
This ten-inch, two-sided bamboo rule is coated on all sides with white plastic and has a plastic indicator with white plastic edges. Metal L-shaped endpieces hold the rule together.
Description
This ten-inch, two-sided bamboo rule is coated on all sides with white plastic and has a plastic indicator with white plastic edges. Metal L-shaped endpieces hold the rule together. On one side, the base has LL/0, L, K, A, D, DI, P, and LL0 scales, with B, S, ST, T, and C scales on the slide. The top left edge of the base has a date stamp: Q.S–3. The right end of the slide is marked: LUTZ (/) NO.151P. It is also marked U.S. The bottom right corner of the base is marked: MADE IN JAPAN.
On the other side, the base has LL/1, LL/2, LL/3, DF, D, LL3, LL2, and LL1 scales, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide. The rule fits in an orange leather case marked on the flap: LUTZ (/) SLIDE RULE. Inside the flap is written in pen: PHIL (/) KRUPEN (/) 9518 SEMINOLE ST (/) SILVER SPRING, MD. The back of the case is marked: MADE IN JAPAN.
The Lutz Company began to manufacture drawing instruments and artists' materials in Guttenberg, N.J., around 1892. After World War II, the firm imported slide rules made in Japan by Ricoh Measuring Instruments (known from 1948 to 1950 as the Nippon Slide Rule Company, from 1950 to 1958 as Relay Industries, and from 1958 to 1963 as San-Ai Measuring Instruments). The letter Q in the date stamp suggests that the slide rule was made in 1968. Compare to 2009.0019.02; unlike this rule, that rule defines the mathematical meaning of each scale.
The physicist Philip Krupen (1915–2001) donated this slide rule to the Smithsonian in 1986. Krupen received his B.S. degree from Brooklyn College in 1935, worked on the development of the proximity fuze during and after World War II, earned a master's degree in physics from George Washington University, and spent a total of 38 years working for the U.S. government before his retirement in 1973.
References: State of New Jersey, Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey (Trenton: T. F. Fitzgerald, 1902), 296–297; Paul Ross, "Relay/Ricoh Slide Rules," Journal of the Oughtred Society 9, no. 2 (2000): 64; "Philip Krupen," Washington Post, February 23, 2001, B07.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968
maker
Ricoh Measuring Instruments
ID Number
1986.0790.04
accession number
1986.0790
catalog number
1986.0790.04
This stapled ten-page leaflet arrived with 1982.0386.02. It is marked "Printed in Japan" and probably dates to the mid-1930s.
Description
This stapled ten-page leaflet arrived with 1982.0386.02. It is marked "Printed in Japan" and probably dates to the mid-1930s. It is titled, Short Directions for the Use of the "Hemmi's" Bamboo Slide Rules, and there are indications throughout the text that its author was not a native speaker of English.
The leaflet explains what a slide rule is. There are sections for Hemmi Normal Slide Rules, the Electro Slide Rule with Log Log Scale, and the Improved Slide Rule. The leaflet also contains an illustration of reading graduations on the scales, an explanation of Hemmi's construction techniques, and various technical problems that could be solved with slide rules. ID number 1982.0386.02 resembles the slide rule illustrated on p. 1, although the drawing shows a ruler in inches on the top edge and depicts PATENT No 58115 as written on the indicator. The example in the collections lacks the ruler and the reference to what is presumably a Japanese patent.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1931-1939
maker
SUN HEMMI JAPAN CF
ID Number
1982.0386.03
accession number
1982.0386
catalog number
1982.0386.03
This five-inch, one-sided white molded plastic slide rule has K, A, D, and L scales on the base. B, CI, and C scales are on one side of the slide, and S, S&T, and T scales are on the other side, which is marked at the left end: Diwa (/) DENMARK.
Description
This five-inch, one-sided white molded plastic slide rule has K, A, D, and L scales on the base. B, CI, and C scales are on one side of the slide, and S, S&T, and T scales are on the other side, which is marked at the left end: Diwa (/) DENMARK. The top edge is beveled and has a scale of inches in red and a scale of centimeters in black. A glass indicator has a hairline and metal edges. A notch covered with clear plastic is on the right end of the base. The right end of the back is marked: No. 601 (/) MADE IN DENMARK. The back is also marked: COOPER-SIMON & CO., INC. (/) TECHNICAL SALES • FIELD ENGINEERS (/) Lehigh 5-2900 (/) 400 EAST 79th STREET • NEW YORK 21, N. Y. A brown leather sleeve has been scratched: PHIL KRUPEN. The previous owner's name is also written inside the case. Compare to 1992.0433.03.
Cooper-Simon, a distributor of ACME electric transformers, Chester cables, AEMCO relays, and various resistance products, presumably handed out this rule to advertise its firm. The Danish slide rule manufacturer, DIWA, was established in 1924 and prospered after World War II. During the postwar era, it often sold model 601 to companies for use as a promotional item. Krupen (1915–2001) was a physicist who graduated B.S. from Brooklyn College in 1935, worked on the development of the proximity fuse during and after World War II, earned a master's degree in physics from George Washington University, and spent a total of 38 years working for the U.S. government before he retired in 1973.
References: Dieter von Jezierski, Slide Rules: A Journey Through Three Centuries, trans. Rodger Shepherd (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2000), 77; International Slide Rule Museum, "Miscellaneous Europe," http://sliderulemuseum.com/, with instructions under the directory SR_Library_Europe.htm; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Diwa Manufacturing Co.
ID Number
1986.0790.05
catalog number
1986.0790.05
accession number
1986.0790
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
In the 17th century, the British author Henry Coggeshall published a pamphlet describing a linear rule especially for calculations relating to timber.
Description
In the 17th century, the British author Henry Coggeshall published a pamphlet describing a linear rule especially for calculations relating to timber. As one of the major early exports of the British colonies in North America and later the United States was timber, it is not surprising that a form of Coggeshall’s rule, called the carpenter’s rule, came to be one of the first slide rules used and sold in this country. The carpenter’s rule was made from two wooden one-foot rules that were held together at one end by a metal joint. Unfolded, one side became a simple two-foot measuring rule. The upper part of the other side contained a groove that held a brass slide, with logarithmic scales on the upper and lower edges of both the slide and the adjacent parts of the groove. The outer edges and lower part of this side commonly were marked with other scales of use to carpenters and spar-makers.
This boxwood carpenter’s rule has a brass joint, a brass cap at the end of one arm, and a brass slide. The cap and part of the wood have worn away at the end of the upper arm, which has the slider. The slide has two identical logarithmic scales labeled B and C. Above it is an identical logarithmic scale on the arm; this scale is labeled A. All three of these scales have a double cycle of logarithms. Below the C scale on the arm is a scale labeled D and also GIRT LINE, which is divided logarithmically and runs from 4 to 40 (in other words, this is not the D or principal scale of modern Mannheim slide rules). The girt line can be used in conjunction with other scales to estimate the volume of timber available from a log. The rule is marked: T. BRADBURN & SON MAKERS WARRANTED BEST BOX.
The lower arm contains scales for making scale drawings that are 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, and 1 inch to the foot. The other side has a scale of 24 inches along one edge, divided to sixteenths of an inch for 6 inches and to eighths of an inch for the rest of the scale. One arm has a scale numbered by twos from 46 to zero and labeled SQUARE LINE M. The other arm has a scale labeled by twos from 36 to zero and marked E. The M and E scales were used while cutting polygonal sections of wood. The outside edge has two scales, each dividing one foot into 100 parts. All of the scales are crudely divided.
According to Gloria Clifton, George Thomas Bradburn made rules in Birmingham, England, from 1841 to 1852. According to W. L.Goodman, Thomas Bradburn was in business making rules in Birmingham from 1839 to 1870. Thomas Bradburn & Son was in business in Birmingham from 1863 to 1876. Hence, this carpenter’s rule would seem to date from the period 1863–1876. This instrument resembles a carpenter’s rule sold in the United States by S. A. Jones & Co. of Hartford, Conn. (2003.0216.01).
References: Gloria Clifton, Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers, 1550–1851 (London: National Maritime Museum, 1995), 36; W. L. Goodman, British Planemakers from 1700 (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 1993), 185–186; Bruce Babcock, "A Guided Tour of an 18th-Century Carpenter's Rule," Journal of the Oughtred Society 3, no. 1 (1994): 26–34.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1863-1876
maker
T. Bradburn & Son
ID Number
1987.0777.01
accession number
1987.0777
catalog number
1987.0777.01
By the mid-1890s, some American technical publications sold special purpose slide rules to advertise their publications. For example, in 1897 the journal Railway and Locomotive Engineering published this advertisement for Cox’s Train Resistance Computer.
Description
By the mid-1890s, some American technical publications sold special purpose slide rules to advertise their publications. For example, in 1897 the journal Railway and Locomotive Engineering published this advertisement for Cox’s Train Resistance Computer. The circular slide rule allowed one to calculate “What a locomotive of known draw-bar pull can haul on any grade at any speed.” The name of the journal featured prominently at the center of the instrument. The device was the idea of slide rule designer William Cox. A second circular slide rule designed by Cox, called the “Locomotive Tractive Power Computer” and also advertising Locomotive Engineering, is shown on the following page of the journal. For other examples of circular slide rules associated with Cox, see 1987.0221.01 and 1987.0221.02.
Reference:
[Advertisement], Railway and Locomotive Engineering, 12, 1897, pp. 200-201.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1897
ID Number
1988.3078.06
catalog number
1988.3078.06
nonaccession number
1988.3078
The Commonwealth Plastics Corporation of Leominster, Mass., a manufacturer of plastic toys, dolls, and other goods, made this one-sided, six-inch inexpensive white molded plastic slide rule with a clear plastic frameless indicator.
Description
The Commonwealth Plastics Corporation of Leominster, Mass., a manufacturer of plastic toys, dolls, and other goods, made this one-sided, six-inch inexpensive white molded plastic slide rule with a clear plastic frameless indicator. The base has A and D scales, with B, CI, and C scales on the slide. The slide also has linear scales along its edges, inches divided to sixteenths of an inch and centimeters divided to millimeters. The back of the rule has a table of equivalents and abbreviations. The back is marked in script: Admiration. It is also marked: U.S.A. The rule fits into two slots in a yellow card. The front of the paper holder is marked: Instructions for use (/) on back of card; Admiration (/) PROFESSIONAL SLIDE RULE; EASY TO USE (/) No. 581. The back of the card gives directions and examples for reading the scales, locating the decimal point, multiplication, division, squares, square roots, and cubes. The card and rule are in a plastic bag stamped: 30¢.
Commonwealth Plastics was founded around 1923 and remained in business at 98 Adams Street until at least 1960. It was not a major manufacturer of slide rules.
References: "William Morris Lester (1908–2005)," The Plastics Collection, Syracuse University Library Special Collections Research Center, http://scrc.syr.edu:8080/content/lester_wm.php; Karen Nugent, "A City in the Making, from Pianos to Plastics: Industrial Past Spotlighted for Tour," Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass., May 27, 2010; ad for Extrusion Supervisor, The Telegraph, Nashua, N.H., February 12, 1960, 10.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950s
maker
Commonwealth Plastics Corporation
ID Number
1988.0807.03
accession number
1988.0807
catalog number
1988.0807.03
This book explains the application of the plane and hyperbolic trigonometric scales in slide rule calculations using vectors. It was received with two Keuffel & Esser slide rules, neither of them a model 4083.Currently not on view
Description
This book explains the application of the plane and hyperbolic trigonometric scales in slide rule calculations using vectors. It was received with two Keuffel & Esser slide rules, neither of them a model 4083.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1939
Maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
1986.0790.09
accession number
1986.0790
catalog number
1986.0790.09
This linear slide rule reflects changes that occurred in the materials of American manufacturing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The instrument itself has a pyroxylin (celluloid) envelope with a paper slide. There is no indicator.
Description
This linear slide rule reflects changes that occurred in the materials of American manufacturing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The instrument itself has a pyroxylin (celluloid) envelope with a paper slide. There is no indicator. It was designed for use in computing the properties of belting used in industrial processes. At that time, such belting was typically made from one of three materials: canvas saturated with a liquid, leather, or rubber. The Boston chemical firm of J. A. and W. Bird and Company developed a new material that they called "Bird's Bull's Eye Belting," which consisted of canvas plies stitched together, with a gum base pressed around each cotton fiber. The maker claimed that this belting did not dry out (as the usual form of canvas belting did), resisted damage from fumes or humidity, and maintained its tension.
This instrument has two sides. The front, or "Computer for Belting," allows the user to find the revolutions per minute of a pulley, the speed of the belt in feet per minute, and the proper belt width for the horsepower, given the diameter of the matched pulley and its revolutions per minute. The back, or "Computer for Shafting" side, allows calculation of the horsepower a shaft can communicate, given the shaft's diameter and revolutions per minute. The calculation is made using Thurston's formula, which states that the horsepower equals the cube of the shaft diameter times the number of times it revolves per minute divided by a constant dependent on the nature of the shaft.
The instrument is marked on the front: COPYRIGHTED 1908 (/) BY J.A. & W. BIRD & CO. (/) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BOSTON, MASS. On the back, it is marked near the left center in very small letters: PAT. JUNE 6, 1905. (/) THE WHITEHEAD & HOAG CO. NEWARK, N.J. Whitehead & Hoag manufactured a variety of plastic products including slide rules; see 1984.1080.01, 1987.0221.02, and 1988.0350.01 (which is also a belting computer).
References: Richard E. Roehm, "Process of Printing upon Pyroxylin Materials" (U.S. Patent 791,503 issued June 6, 1905); J. A. & W. Bird & Co., Belt Talks (Boston, 1909), 18. According to this publication, customers could receive one rule by sending 10 cents in stamps. A second rule cost 25 cents.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1908
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
1988.0323.02
accession number
1988.0323
catalog number
1988.0323.02
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 pamphlet folds out to eight pages and was printed on light green paper by Carbic Limited, the British manufacturer of Otis King's Pocket Calculator, a cylindrical slide rule.
Description
This pamphlet folds out to eight pages and was printed on light green paper by Carbic Limited, the British manufacturer of Otis King's Pocket Calculator, a cylindrical slide rule. Carbic's address on the pamphlet—171, Seymour Place, London, W.I.—is scratched out and reprinted as 54, Dundonald Road, London, S.W.19. Dundonald Road was the last known location for Carbic, and the company was there by 1959. The calculator was available by mail order in 1960 for 62s. 6d. (roughly $175.00).
The pamphlet provides details of the scales on the Model K (which performed multiplication and division) and the Model L (which also provided readings of logarithms for determining roots and powers). The examples also include problems of proportion, percentages, constant factors, and calculations in pounds sterling (before decimalization of British currency). The last three pages provide instructions for operating the instrument.
See also 1987.0788.01 and 1987.0788.07.
Reference: "Finding the Answer is Simplicity Itself," advertisement for the Otis King Pocket Calculator, The New Scientist 5, no. 121 (March 12, 1959): 548 and 8, no. 213 (December 15, 1960): 1568.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960-1962
maker
Carbic Limited
ID Number
1987.0788.06
accession number
1987.0788
catalog number
1987.0788.06
This inexpensive five-inch white plastic rule has A and D scales on the front of the base; B, CI, and C scales on the front of the slide; and S, L, and T scales on the back of the base. The indicator is clear plastic. Underneath the slide is a table of equivalents and settings.
Description
This inexpensive five-inch white plastic rule has A and D scales on the front of the base; B, CI, and C scales on the front of the slide; and S, L, and T scales on the back of the base. The indicator is clear plastic. Underneath the slide is a table of equivalents and settings. The front of the slide also has a scale of six inches, divided to sixteenths of an inch, and a scale of 15.3 centimeters, divided to millimeters. The back of the slide has a table of decimal equivalents from 1/64 to 63/64. A brown imitation leather sheath is marked: POCKET SLIDE RULE MADE IN U.S.A. No. 27. For instructions, see 1988.0807.06. The postal code on the instructions indicates a date between 1943 and 1963. According to this sheet, the C-Thru Ruler Company of Hartford, Conn., made this rule. This firm, established in 1939 by teacher Jennie Zachs and acquired by Acme United Corporation in 2012, continues to make transparent drafting tools and drawing instruments.
References: Brian Dowling, "Acme United Acquires Bloomfield's C-Thru Ruler," Hartford Courant, June 11, 2012; "About Us," C-Thru Ruler Company, http://www.cthruruler.com/.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943-1963
maker
C-Thru Ruler Company
ID Number
1988.0807.02
accession number
1988.0807
catalog number
1988.0807.02
Some slide rules were used to do calculations relating to industrial safety. The Carborundum Company, a manufacturer of abrasives founded in Pennsylvania in 1890 and moved in 1895 to Niagara Falls, N.Y., distributed this instrument.
Description
Some slide rules were used to do calculations relating to industrial safety. The Carborundum Company, a manufacturer of abrasives founded in Pennsylvania in 1890 and moved in 1895 to Niagara Falls, N.Y., distributed this instrument. It consists of a tan and black plastic envelope and a paper slide colored green, red, and tan. The rule has scales for the diameter of the grinding wheel in inches, the angular velocity in revolutions per minute, and surface feet per minute (a measurement combining diameter and velocity). Knowing two of these variables, one can find the third. At the same time, a table under the scales lists types of wheels according to their size, shape, and type of bond holding an abrasive to the wheel. If the surface feet or number of revolutions per minute becomes too large for a type of wheel to operate safely, a hole in the envelope shows red.
Grit and grade scales on the reverse side of the slide indicate the uses appropriate for various granularities and hardnesses of abrasives and bonding agents. The back of the instrument shows the Carborundum Company main office and factory in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
The front of the rule is marked: GRINDING WHEEL (/) SPEED AND SAFETY INDICATOR (/) PATENT APPLIED FOR (/) THE CARBORUNDUM COMPARNY, NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (/) REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. The front of the slide is marked (between logos for Bastian Bros. and the International Photo-Engravers' Union of North America): BASTIAN BROS. CO. ROCHESTER, N. Y. The slide is also marked: COPYRIGHT 1939 BY (/) THE CARBORUNDUM COMPANY.
Bastian Bros., a maker of plastic objects and memorabilia, was an early firm to unionize. For other slide rules by this company, see 1987.0183.01 and 1998.3050.02. Harrison Bucklin (b. 1881 or 1882), a resident of Rochester, N.Y., received at least three patents between 1914 and 1942. He applied for a patent on this device in 1940 and assigned it to Carborundum after it was granted.
References: Library of Congress Copyright Office, Catalog of Copyright Entries: Part 1, Books, Group 2, Pamphlets, Etc., n.s. 37 (1940): 920; Harrison Bucklin, "Indicating Device" (U.S. Patent 2,303,018 issued November 24, 1942); "Bastian Company Profile," http://www.bastiancompany.com/about.shtml; Carborundum Abrasives Products, "More Than a Century of Pacesetting Innovation," http://www.carborundumabrasives.com/aboutCarborundum.aspx.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940-1941
maker
Bastian Brothers Company
ID Number
1988.0323.03
accession number
1988.0323
catalog number
1988.0323.03
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 two-sided white plastic circular slide rule helped railroad procurement officers determine the amount and cost of coal or oil needed to efficiently operate the boiler of a train engine.
Description
This two-sided white plastic circular slide rule helped railroad procurement officers determine the amount and cost of coal or oil needed to efficiently operate the boiler of a train engine. It consists of three concentric discs, with the two smaller discs on the front and back and one large disc in the middle. The metal fastener holding the discs together is tarnished. On the front, the outer edge of the large disc bears an evenly-divided scale for "Fuel Cost per Million Btu's and Steam Cost per 1000 lbs." The smaller disc has scales for coal cost per ton/oil cost per gallon, BTUs per pound, and evaporation for a high viscosity of fuel. A bell-shaped indicator has a scale for the weight of oil in pounds per gallon.
On the back of the instrument, from the outside in, there are scales and windows for reading the feed water temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit), difference in height (in BTUs per pound), steam pressure (in pounds per square inch), boiler efficiency, the heat value of fuel (in BTUs per pound), a boiler at high pressure, the factor of evaporation and equivalent evaporation, saturated steam pressure (in degrees Fahrenheit), and steam pressure (in pounds per square inch). There is a hairline indicator. The instrument fits into a black leather case.
The front of the device is marked: FRED Q. SAUNDERS (/) RICHMOND, VIRGINIA; FUEL-STEAM CALCULATOR; PAT. 2,328,881. The indicator on the front is marked: N & W (/) Ry. (/) CARRIER OF (/) FUEL SATISFACTION. This is the logo for the Norfolk & Western Railway, which transported coal east from the Pocahontas Coal and Coke Company in the Appalachian mountains. N&W was a relatively small railroad with a significant role in American transportation in the 19th and 20th centuries. It expanded into other activities in 1964 by merging with several other railroads; around this time, it also completed the transition from steam-powered to diesel locomotives. In 1998, the company was merged into Norfolk Southern Corporation.
Inside one of the windows on the back of the instrument is marked: 459; WHITEHEAD-HOAG, NEWARK, N.J. Founded in 1892 and in business until 1959, Whitehead and Hoag was a major producer of paper and plastic advertising novelties. Headquartered in Newark, it had branch offices in about thirty cities around the world. For other slide rules made by this company, see 1987.0221.02 and those described by the MIT Museum and Dick Rose's Catalog for Vintage Instruments (October 2000) at their web sites.
Besides his patent on this device, Fred Q. Saunders of Richmond, Va., copyrighted a "Fuel Steam Calculator Manual" on July 2, 1945 (cit. no. 21463). In 1952, he received patent no. 2,763,873 for a portable, collapsible bath tub to be used on hospital beds.
References: Fred Q. Saunders, "Fuel Engineer's Calculator" (U.S. Patent 2,328,881 issued September 7, 1943); Library of Congress Copyright Office, Catalog of Copyright Entries: Part 1, Books, Group 2, Pamphlets, Etc., new ser. 42 (1945): 397; Mason Y. Cooper, "An Introduction to the Norfolk & Western Railway," Norfolk & Western Historical Society, http://www.nwhs.org/about_nw.html; Thomas W. Dixon, Jr., Appalachian Coal Mines & Railroads (Lynchburg, Va.: TLC Publishing, Inc., 1994); Joseph T. Lambie, From Mine to Market: The History of Coal Transportation on the Norfolk and Western Railway (New York: New York University Press, 1954); "Whitehead and Hoag Collection," Nehushtan Antiques, http://www.nehushtanantiques.com/whitehead_and_hoag.html.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943-1959
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
1984.1080.01
accession number
1984.1080
catalog number
1984.1080.01
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 cardboard sheet describes a Thacher cylindrical slide rule with a magnifying glass that was manufactured and sold by Keuffel & Esser of New York in the early 20th century as model 4013.
Description
This cardboard sheet describes a Thacher cylindrical slide rule with a magnifying glass that was manufactured and sold by Keuffel & Esser of New York in the early 20th century as model 4013. (In the late 19th century, K&E numbered the instrument as 1741.) It apparently was used as an exhibit label around 1966 at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago, the previous owner of the related instrument.
See also MA.327886.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1966
maker
Museum of Science and Industry
ID Number
MA.271855.01.02
accession number
271855
catalog number
271855.01.02
This fourteen-inch boxwood Mannheim linear slide rule has a brass indicator in the single chisel style with an open interior. There are no endpieces. The top edge is beveled and has a scale of 35 centimeters, divided to millimeters.
Description
This fourteen-inch boxwood Mannheim linear slide rule has a brass indicator in the single chisel style with an open interior. There are no endpieces. The top edge is beveled and has a scale of 35 centimeters, divided to millimeters. The top of the base has a scale divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 twice, and 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 1,000; and a scale of sines that runs from 80 to 0 and is lettered S. Compare to MA.318474. A paper table glued to the back gives geometric formulae, physical constants for the latitude of Paris, units of measure in France and in England, rates of exchange for common currencies, specific gravities, expansion coefficients of various gases, temperatures of melting and boiling for various solids and liquids, and similar data.
The bottom of the base is marked: TAVERNIER – GRAVET; RUE MAET 19.PARIS. The back is marked: MÉDAILLES D'OR 1878 ET 1889. Keuffel & Esser donated this rule to the Smithsonian. As with MA.318473, K&E imported it to sell while the company developed the ability to manufacture its own slide rules. Also like MA.318473, the scales and indicator resemble the ten-inch model 479–2 (subsequently numbered 1746N and 1746), but a rule of this length (scales about 14" 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; Francis Wells and Tom Wyman, "La Règle à Calcul: Lenoir, Gravet-Lenoir, and Tavernier-Gravet Slide Rules," Journal of the Oughtred Society 11, no. 1 (2002): 23–27; Bob Otnes, "Keuffel & Esser — 1880 to 1899," Journal of the Oughtred Society 10, no. 1 (2001): 18–28; 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.318474
catalog number
318474
accession number
235479
This instrument consists of a wooden cylinder covered with paper scales, wooden handles at the ends of the cylinder, and a metal sleeve lined with felt. The sleeve, which is painted maroon, holds the cylinder.
Description
This instrument consists of a wooden cylinder covered with paper scales, wooden handles at the ends of the cylinder, and a metal sleeve lined with felt. The sleeve, which is painted maroon, holds the cylinder. Running the length of the sleeve are a slot 1.5 cm wide and a paper scale.
The instrument is marked on the paper covering the cylinder: “WEBB’S STADIA SLIDE RULE”, (/) DESIGNED BY WALTER LORING WEBB, C. E. (/) MANUFACTURED BY KEUFFEL & ESSER CO., N.Y. It also is marked there: DIRECTIONS. SLIDE THE CYLINDER UNTIL ONE END OF THE CYLINDER IS SET AT THE DISTANCE MARK ON THE SCALE AND SO THAT THE GIVEN ANGLE OF ELEVATION ALSO COMES TO SOME PART OF THE SCALE. THE REQUIRED QUANTITY IS 1/10 (1/100 or 1/1000, AS SHOWN BY THE MARK ON CYLINDER) OF THE SCALE READING AT THAT ANGLE MARK.
The stadia slide rule was used in topographical surveying to determine the elevation and geographical position of points and objects. Initially, a chain and compass or transit had been used to determine geographical position, with a level employed to obtain relative elevations. Greater efficiency in these measurements was then found by using a plane-table.
In about 1864, the U.S. Lake Survey adopted a third system, first used in Italy about 1820. A stadia rod was placed at the point of interest and sighted through the telescope of a transit. The distance to this point was found by observing the portion of the graduated rod shown between certain cross-hairs of the telescope. To find the elevation of the point, one examined the vertical angle on the vertical circle of the transit when the telescope was aimed at a point on the stadia rod that was the same height off the ground as the telescope. A stadia slide rule was then used for data reduction.
Keuffel & Esser of New York introduced a 20-inch linear stadia slide rule in 1895. It sold under various model numbers (1749, 4101, N-4101) until 1952. In 1897, the firm introduced a 50-inch linear stadia slide rule designed by Branch H. Colby of St. Louis. Colby's stadia slide rule (model number 1749-3, later 4125) sold until 1903. Textbook authors such as John Butler Johnson endorsed the rule, but it was awkward to carry in the field.
Walter Loring Webb (1863–1941), a civil engineer who graduated from Cornell University and taught there and at the University of Pennsylvania, proposed a rule that had parallel scales arranged on a cylinder, reducing the length of the instrument to about 16 inches. K&E sold Webb's stadia slide rule for $5.00 from 1903 to 1923.
One end of the sleeve is painted: 1803. This may be an inventory number from the University of Missouri's Department of Civil Engineering, which donated the instrument in 1972. The university began teaching civil engineering in 1859, and its School of Engineering was renamed the College of Engineering in 1877.
See also 1983.0472.01. For circular stadia slide rules, see MA.336425, 1987.0221.01, and 2002.0282.01.
References: John Butler Johnson, The Theory and Practice of Surveying, 16th ed. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1908), 237ff; Walter Loring Webb, Railroad Construction: Theory and Practice, 7th ed. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1922), 22–23; Wayne E. Feely, "K & E Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 49, no. 5 (1996): 50–52; Catalogue and Price List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 31st ed. (New York, 1903), 308; Mark C. Meade, "A History of the College of Engineering at the University of Missouri – Columbia," Archives of the University of Missouri, http://muarchives.missouri.edu/c-rg9-eng.html.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1903-1923
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.333636
accession number
300659
catalog number
333636
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

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