Science & Mathematics

Chemical Balance

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

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

Place: Michigan

Burroughs Adding Machine

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

Burroughs Class 5 Adding Machine

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

Burroughs Simplex P601

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

Burroughs Sample Calculator, Sterling Pence

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

Teachers Manual for Standard Practice Tests in Arithmetic

Just before World War I, Stuart A. Courtis, a teacher at a private school for girls in Detroit, Michigan, developed the first widely available standardized tests of arithmetic.
Description
Just before World War I, Stuart A. Courtis, a teacher at a private school for girls in Detroit, Michigan, developed the first widely available standardized tests of arithmetic. His goal was to measure the efficiency of entire schools, not the intellectual ability of a few students.
Courtis went on to become supervisor of educational research in the Detroit public schools. There he developed a set of lesson cards in arithmetic for students in the third through eighth grades. The tests were originally published under his name by World Book Company.
This is a teacher’s manual for a later edition of the drill cards. Courtis’s name does not appear. Courtis withdrew his arithmetic tests from the market in 1938 because he had come to doubt their validity.
The manual was the property of Brooklyn school teacher L. Leland Locke.
Reference:
Kidwell, P.A., A. Ackerberg-Hastings and D. L. Roberts, Tools of American Mathematics Teaching, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, pp. 43–46.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
maker
Detroit Public Schools
ID Number
2011.3051.01
nonaccession number
2011.3051
catalog number
2011.3051.01

Burroughs Class 3 Adding Machine

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

Burroughs Passbook Machine #1

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

Burroughs Machine for Vote Tabulation

In 1932 Hans Jurgensen, who had been active in Democratic Party politics in Queens, New York, was appointed a tally clerk for the United States House of Representatives.
Description
In 1932 Hans Jurgensen, who had been active in Democratic Party politics in Queens, New York, was appointed a tally clerk for the United States House of Representatives. He and his assistants kept records on how individual members voted on roll call votes for publication in The Congressional Record. They stamped the information by hand, making about 500,000 registrations per year. Jurgensen concluded that a machine could do the work more efficiently, and ordered this modified bookkeeping machine from the Burroughs Adding Machine Company of Detroit.
The machine has eight columns of metal bars that are painted black; each bar covers two key stems. Each column has seven bars labeled: “NVF” (not voting for), “NVA” (not voting against), “NV” (not voting), “AB” (absent), “PR”(present), “NAY”, and “YEA”. A column of keys is labeled the same way. At the top is a row of 17 red zeroing keys. Repeat and error keys are on the right and an operating bar right of them. At the back is a rubber platen and metal carriage. A motor and cord are under the machine.
The machine sits on a black metal stand that fits on a wooden dolly that is painted green and gold. Attached to the stand is a piece of black cloth with snaps. With the wooden kick stand up, it measures: 95 cm. w. x 74 cm. d. x 106 cm. h.
Marks on the back of paper feed, on the kick stand, and on front of machine read: Burroughs. A mark on the front reads: 1A136058.
References:
“Hans Jurgensen, 51, Congressional Aide,” New York Times, June 29, 1945, p. 15. This obituary mentions Jurgensen’s work on the technology of vote tabulation.
“New time saving voting machine designed to [sic] U. S. Capitol Employee,” Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress. The Library of Congress dates this photograph to 1938. (http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/hec2009015711/).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1978.2371.01
accession number
1978.2371
catalog number
1978.2371.01

Burroughs Class 8 Adding Machine Model

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

Lufkin 651B Folding Rule

This four-fold boxwood rule has a brass round joint at the center and two brass hinges. It is two feet long when unfolded. One side has a scale of inches divided to 1/8" and numbered by ones from 23 to 1. One arm is marked: No 651B LUFKIN RULE CO.
Description
This four-fold boxwood rule has a brass round joint at the center and two brass hinges. It is two feet long when unfolded. One side has a scale of inches divided to 1/8" and numbered by ones from 23 to 1. One arm is marked: No 651B LUFKIN RULE CO. The other arm is marked: 1681 MADE IN U.S.A. PAT'D 12–3–18.
The other side has a scale of inches divided to 1/16" and numbered by ones from 23 to 1. One arm is marked: WARRANTED BOXWOOD. The other arm is marked: N.Y.C. APP. TYPE 352 SERIAL E 2.
Initially a manufacturer of boards for measuring timber and then of steel measuring tapes, the Lufkin Rule Company took that name in 1885 and moved from Cleveland, Ohio, to Saginaw, Mich., in 1895. By 1903 Lufkin was the largest manufacturer of steel measuring tapes in the United States. Around 1915 the firm began importing boxwood folding rules from central Europe and made the rules itself once World War I cut off its supplies. While Lufkin had a model 651 (formerly 68) that it advertised from the early 20th century into the 1950s, model 651B only began to appear in 1916 and disappeared by 1925. Twelve of these rules sold for $2.50 in 1916.
Lufkin president Fred Buck received the patent noted on the instrument for an improvement to the joint. Thus, this rule dates between 1918 and 1925. Cooper Industries purchased the company in 1967, closing its factories but preserving Lufkin as a brand name. An earlier Lufkin rule is 1985.0817.01.
References: Lufkin Rule Company, Measuring Tapes and Rules, cat. no. 9 (Saginaw, [1916]), 77; Fred Buck, "Joint for Folding Rules" (U.S. Patent 1,286,525 issued December 3, 1918); Lufkin Rule Company, Measuring Tapes, Rules, and Machine Tools, cat. no. 11 (Saginaw, [about 1925]), 120; David N. Keller, "The Lufkin Rule Company," in A Source Book for Rule Collectors, ed. Philip E. Stanley (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2003), 81–86.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918–ca 1925
Maker
Lufkin Rule Company
ID Number
MA.335275
accession number
314637
catalog number
335275

Tri-Nim Game

This game, named on the case “tri-nim: THE GAME for COMPLEAT STRATEGYSTS,” was developed by brothers Bruce L. and Hervey C. Hicks. Hervey C. Hicks was a mathematics professor who, before his death in 1944, developed an early version of this game. Bruce L.
Description
This game, named on the case “tri-nim: THE GAME for COMPLEAT STRATEGYSTS,” was developed by brothers Bruce L. and Hervey C. Hicks. Hervey C. Hicks was a mathematics professor who, before his death in 1944, developed an early version of this game. Bruce L. Hicks, an applied physicist who was also interested in games, taught at the University of Illinois and in 1967 was appointed Research Professor in their Computer-Based Education Research Laboratory. TRI-NIM is based on one of many variants of an old game that was described by Harvard mathematics professor Charles L. Bouton in a 1901 article “Nim, A Game with a Complete Mathematical Theory” in the Annals of Mathematics.
Nim usually starts with piles of objects; players take turns removing objects from one of the piles with the aim of being the player who takes the last remaining object. Since the strategy for playing Nim involves binary arithmetic, it was among the first mathematical games to be played on dedicated machines and on computers. TRI-NIM is played on a board and introduces rules of movement to the basic idea of just removing objects in Nim.
The red plastic TRI-NIM game box contains a rectangular cardboard game-board cut like a jigsaw puzzle into four pieces. On the game-board there is an equilateral triangle cut into thirty-six small equilateral triangles. The three small corner triangles are white with “6 goal” in blue. Proceeding from the corners toward the center, the triangles are blue and are marked 5, 4, 3, 2, or 2’ in white. The center nine triangles form an equilateral triangle with the corners red and marked with 1 in white, and the remaining triangles are white and each is marked with a red 0. In addition to the game-board, the game box contains forty-five plastic chips—thirty-six are red and there are three each of blue, green, and yellow. The box also includes instructions for playing a basic game and three variations of it.
In TRI-NIM, the chips are placed on the triangles marked 0 in the center. The players take turns moving chips out from the center heading toward one of the three triangles marked: GOAL. While there are no restrictions on the number of chips to be placed on any pile at the start of the game, there are restrictions in how chips are moved. The strategies involved in this game relate to both the original placement of the chips and the moves made after that.
Over the years the name and location of the distributor of TRI-NIM changed, although the phrase “Games For Thinkers” has been associated with it from the start. Price lists in the WFF ‘N PROOF Newsletters (part of the documentation in accession 317891) indicate that at first the set of puzzles was distributed by WFF ‘N PROOF in New Haven, Connecticut, and sold for $3.50. In 1970 the price was raised to $4.50 and in 1971 the game was distributed by WFF ‘N PROOF through Maple Packers in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania. A firm called Learning Game Associates of Ann Arbor later took over distribution and donated this example to the Smithsonian in 1975. The Accelerated Learning Foundation of Fairfield, Iowa, then became the distributor.
Reference:
Games For Thinkers Website.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970-1975
developer
Hicks, Bruce
Hicks, Hervey
maker
Learning Games Associates
ID Number
MA.335313
catalog number
335313
accession number
317891

Burroughs Calculator Sample, Elapsed Day And Month

In 1911 the Burroughs Adding Machine Company introduced a key-driven adding machine much like the Comptometer made by Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company. The Burroughs calculator, as the new machine was called, performed ordinary decimal arithmetic.
Description
In 1911 the Burroughs Adding Machine Company introduced a key-driven adding machine much like the Comptometer made by Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company. The Burroughs calculator, as the new machine was called, performed ordinary decimal arithmetic. Burroughs inventors soon designed special versions of the calculator to solve other problems. This is the model or sample for one of them, designed to measure elapsed days and months.
This machine has a black metal cover and five columns of plastic keys. The leftmost column has black keys numbered from 1 to 9. The second column has nine red keys on which months are indicated. The adjacent middle column has two additional months noted (there is no “JAN” key). There also are three numeral keys in this column. The two rightmost columns have numeral keys running from 1 to 9. Complementary numbers and months are indicated. Six windows at the front of the machine display results. The a metal and wooden handle is on the right side. The cloth cover is painted black.
A red paper tag attached to the machine reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #231. The machine is marked on the front: Burroughs. A white tag attached to the machine is marked in part: Elapsed day & month. A metal tag attached to the object reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation.
Objects 1982.0794.47, 1982.0794.48,1987.0794.49, and 1982.0794.89 are all from Burroughs Patent Department Model 231.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.48
catalog number
1982.0794.48
accession number
1982.0794

Burroughs Class 7 Bookkeeping Machine

This billing machine is an example of the type introduced by Burroughs Adding Machine Company in 1922. The large, printing, electric machine has a metal frame painted black and dark green.
Description
This billing machine is an example of the type introduced by Burroughs Adding Machine Company in 1922. The large, printing, electric machine has a metal frame painted black and dark green. Two rows of keys, which have two sets of digit keys on them, are at the front, and control the computing mechanism. One set is used to set up amounts entered into the registers and the other to actuate the multiplier.
Behind these rows of keys are four rows of typewriter keys, used to type text. The letters are arranged as on a QWERTY keyboard, but all letters are typed in uppercase and the second symbols indicated on some keys are quite different from a conventional keyboard. All of the keys are covered with what appears to be rubber. A lever on the right above the keyboard can be set for any of three registers. The wide carriage is above and behind the keyboards, and further mechanism behind it.
The red and black ribbon would be enclosed if the case had all its side panels. The machine lacks a stand, but has a motor below. Loose in the case is a flat metal piece and two pieces that fit across the carriage, as well as six smaller pieces – one is a plastic button and five others are metal screws and tacks.
A red paper tag attached to the object reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #202. The case of the machine is marked above the keyboard: Burroughs. A white tag attached to the machine reads: A213160 (/) TRADE (/) IN. This object was model 202 in the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
Compare Burroughs Moon-Hopkins billing machine (MA.308347) and 1982.0794.01.
Reference:
J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, pp. 427–432.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1937
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.37
catalog number
1982.0794.37
accession number
1982.0794

Burroughs Class 1 Adding Machine Section

This model consists of one column of a Burroughs Class 1 adding machine. Of nine key stems, seven have black plastic keys. The keyboard is covered with green felt. The frame of the machine is open and there is no glass.
Description
This model consists of one column of a Burroughs Class 1 adding machine. Of nine key stems, seven have black plastic keys. The keyboard is covered with green felt. The frame of the machine is open and there is no glass. The key stems are bent, perhaps causing malfunction of the model. Part of a carriage, one set of printing types, and a wide ribbon are all behind the keys. A curious cylindrical device is on the left side. The model has a metal handle with a wooden knob. It can be displayed on a wooden stand, which has a steel support.
This is model #247 from the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation. A metal tag attached to the object reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1895
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.55
catalog number
1982.0794.55
accession number
1982.0794

Burroughs Series M Bookkeeping Machine

This relatively late Burroughs bookkeeping machine has a gray metal cover. In the front are two sets of digit keys, one white and one black, as well as various functions keys. In front of these are space return, motor tab, and full cents bars, as well an an unlabeled bar.
Description
This relatively late Burroughs bookkeeping machine has a gray metal cover. In the front are two sets of digit keys, one white and one black, as well as various functions keys. In front of these are space return, motor tab, and full cents bars, as well an an unlabeled bar. Behind the two rows of digit keys is a QWERTY keyboard with four rows of keys. Symbols indicated on some of these keys are unconventional. A lever at the right sets the machine for different registers. A wide carriage is behind the keyboard. The machine has an electric motor.
A mark on the front reads: Burroughs. A mark on a red paper tag attached to the machine reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #212. A metal tag screwed to the front of the machine reads: A3451.
The Burroughs Series M was introduced in 1951. This example was in the collections of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
Reference:
Burroughs Corporation Papers, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1951
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.41
catalog number
1982.0794.41
accession number
1982.0794

Burroughs Payroll Segregator

In the first half of the 20th century, many workers were paid in cash. Businessmen needed to know the coins and bills they would need to meet their payroll. This device, invented by John Magnus of Burroughs, was designed to carry out such calculations.
Description
In the first half of the 20th century, many workers were paid in cash. Businessmen needed to know the coins and bills they would need to meet their payroll. This device, invented by John Magnus of Burroughs, was designed to carry out such calculations. It has seven columns of black and white color-coded plastic keys. The keys in each column are numbered from 1 to 9. The front of the machine has ten sets of numeral wheels labeled with denominations of money from 1 cent to $10. Knobs on the right zero the wheels.
A red paper tag attached to the object is marked: PATENT DEPT. (/) #45. The machine is marked on the front: BURROUGHS (/) PAY ROLL (/) SEGREGATOR. A metal tag attached to the base of the keyboard reads: B.A.M.CO. (/) MODEL (/) NO. 401.
Compare to 1982.0194.12.
According to the accession file, “This is the original model of Payroll Segregator from which the patent drawings were prepared . . .” The object was model #45 in the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
Reference:
John Magnus, “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 1,699,540, filed January 21, 1921, issued January 22, 1929.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.11
catalog number
1982.0794.11
accession number
1982.0794

Burroughs Style No. 1 Adding Machine

This manually operated full keyboard printing adding machine has a metal mechanism. The metal case is painted black and has glass sides. In addition to nine columns of black and white plastic keys, the machine has a repeat key on the right and a total key on the left.
Description
This manually operated full keyboard printing adding machine has a metal mechanism. The metal case is painted black and has glass sides. In addition to nine columns of black and white plastic keys, the machine has a repeat key on the right and a total key on the left. Nine numeral wheels are in front. The narrow carriage with paper tape is not visible from the front (e.g. not visible printing). The glass plate is missing from the front of the machine.
The machine is marked at the top: Style No 1. It is marked at the front: BURROUGHS ADDING MACHINE CO. (/) DETROIT, U.S.A. Below this a list of seven patents with dates ranging from August 21, 1888, to December 13, 1898. It is marked on a metal tag attached to the front: No. 798-S. It was model #89 in the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
The Burroughs Style No. 1 adding machine (later called the Model No. 1) was manufactured with serial numbers less than 2254 from 1895 to 1908. In January 1905, the American Arithmometer Company took the name Burroughs Adding Machine Company. Hence this machine appears to date from about 1905.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1905
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.17
accession number
1982.0794
catalog number
1982.0794.17

Burroughs Experimental Adding Machine

This model for a ten-key printing electric adding machine has a metal mechanism with tan and dark tan plastic keys and a rubber carriage and rubber feet. It adds eight digit numbers, and has a 10-column printout (one column may be of symbols).
Description
This model for a ten-key printing electric adding machine has a metal mechanism with tan and dark tan plastic keys and a rubber carriage and rubber feet. It adds eight digit numbers, and has a 10-column printout (one column may be of symbols). There is a block of nine gray plastic number keys with a 0 bar below. Two dark brown, square function keys to the left of the digit keys are marked “C” and “X.” Three similar keys rightt of the digit keys are marked “ST”, “*(/)TOT”, and “-.” A fourth function key on the right is unmarked. There is a place indicator, a 2-1/4” carriage, and a black ribbon. No cover or cord.
A red tag attached to the machine reads: PATENT DEPARTMENT (/) #161. A metal tag on the left side reads: 31794A.
This model, along with 1982.0794.28, was #161 in the collections of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation. The accession file suggests that this was the invention of Althans, presumably Emile H. Althans of Burroughs.
Reference:
Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.27
maker number
31794A?
accession number
1982.0794
catalog number
1982.0794.27

Burroughs Style P401 Adding Machine, 1/8 Fraction

This full-keyboard printing electric machine has a tan metal case and tan, brown and black keys.
Description
This full-keyboard printing electric machine has a tan metal case and tan, brown and black keys. There are nine columns of keys with nine keys in each column, one column of seven keys (eighth fraction keys), one column of five function keys and two levers, and one column with addition and subtraction bars. A narrow carriage behind the keyboard has a plastic serrated edge for tearing the paper tape. The top lifts off for access to the ribbon and the printing mechanism. The machine has four rubber feet, and no cord.
The machine is marked above the keyboard: Burroughs. It is marked on a metal tag attached to the bottom: B3595. A red tag attached to it reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #262. A metal tag attached to the object reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation.
This is model #262 from the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
The Burroughs series P400 adding machine was introduced in 1952.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1952
maker
Burroughs
ID Number
1982.0794.63
catalog number
1982.0794.63
accession number
1982.0794

Racz Tally Roll Adding Machine Carriage

This object is a gray metal model of the carriage and paper holder for an adding machine. There is a black ribbon, but no printing mechanism. There are two loose pieces.The model is marked on a red paper tag attached to the machine: PATENT DEPT. (/) #172.
Description
This object is a gray metal model of the carriage and paper holder for an adding machine. There is a black ribbon, but no printing mechanism. There are two loose pieces.
The model is marked on a red paper tag attached to the machine: PATENT DEPT. (/) #172. It is marked on a metal tag screwed to the plate: B.A.M.CO. (/) MODEL (/) NO 1017. A metal tag attached to the object reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation. It was model #172 in the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
Between 1927 and 1942, Burroughs Adding Machine Company inventor Ernst Racz filed several patent applications for improvements in the printing and arrangement of paper tapes and receipts on adding machines. This is one of them.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1927-1942
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.29
catalog number
1982.0794.29
accession number
1982.0794

Adding Machine Section, Burroughs Model 534

This is one of a series of adding machines and adding machine models prepared by the Patent Department of the Burroughs Adding Machine Company. It is is a model for a key lock full stroke device for a key-driven adding machine.
Description
This is one of a series of adding machines and adding machine models prepared by the Patent Department of the Burroughs Adding Machine Company. It is is a model for a key lock full stroke device for a key-driven adding machine. It is a steel mechanism with octagonal white plastic keys and two numeral wheels rimmed with black plastic. Keys for odd digits are concave, those for even digits are flat. Complementary digits are indicated on the keys. There are nine key stems and eight keys (the “9” key is missing).
A red tag attached to the object reads: PATENT (/) MODEL (/) No. 534. A metal tag on the side reads: B.A.M.CO. (/) MODEL (/) NO. 534
Objects 1982.0794.04 through 1982.0794.10 were received together as Burroughs Patent model 42. This object is described in accession file as an invention of Walter J. Pasinski of Burroughs. Pasinski and other Burroughs inventors filed several patents for key-driven adding machines between 1911 and 1929.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.05
accession number
1982.0794
catalog number
1982.0794.05

Burroughs Class 3 Adding Machine

This full keyboard printing manually operated machine has a metal frame painted black, with the area under the keyboard green. Each of the nine columns of color-coded plastic keys has nine keys. On the left of the number keys are subtotal and total keys.
Description
This full keyboard printing manually operated machine has a metal frame painted black, with the area under the keyboard green. Each of the nine columns of color-coded plastic keys has nine keys. On the left of the number keys are subtotal and total keys. Above these are non-add, non-print, and repeat keys. A crank for operating the machine is on the right side. The sum appears in a row of nine windows at the front of the machine.
At the back is the visible printing mechanism and a 30.8 cm. carriage (this dimension does not include the carriage handles). The carriage can be shifted, is wide enough for single sheets stationery, and has a counter that rings a bell at zero. A serrated edge tears the paper tape. The paper holder presently has no paper. The ribbon is stored in separate canisters.
The machine is marked behind the keyboard: Burroughs. It is marked at the front: 3-899304. It is marked on the back: Burroughs (/) THIS MACHINE PROTECTED BY U.S. AND FOREIGN PATENTS. The date was given by the lender when the machine came to the Smithsonian Institution in 1924, and agrees with other listings. The object recently was donated to the Institution by Unisys Corporation.
Compare MA.335029, MA.335030, and 1986.0192.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.308346
catalog number
308346
maker number
3-899304
accession number
2011.0264

Burroughs Experimental Adding Machine

The Burroughs Adding Machine Company made most of its profits on adding machines that had one column of nine keys for each digit of a number (these are called full-keyboard adding machines).
Description
The Burroughs Adding Machine Company made most of its profits on adding machines that had one column of nine keys for each digit of a number (these are called full-keyboard adding machines). Members of the Patent Department also experimented with machines having only ten keys for entering numbers. This is an example of such an experiment.
The manually operated printing adding machine allows one to enter numbers with up to nine digits and print nine-digit results. It has an additional column of symbol keys in the output. The frame of the case is metal painted black, the sides are of glass. One of these sides is missing. Ten black numeral keys are arranged in two rows. The six white function keys are for subtotal, non-add, backspace, non-print, repeat and error (a seventh function key has key stem only). A row of numeral wheels above indicates the sum. The keyboard is covered with green felt. A dial-shaped place indicator is on the right front. The machine has a 10 3/8”- wide carriage. There is a paper tape, but no ribbon was located. A metal handle with wooden knob painted black is on the right.
The machine is marked on the front: BURROUGHS. It is marked on a metal tag above the keyboard: B.A.M.CO. (/) MODEL (/) NO. 106. A metal tag attached to the object reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation.
This machine resembles the drawing in A. A. Horton’s United States patent 1,323,475, but is not precisely the same. Horton applied for the patent in 1911 and was granted it in 1919. According to a note with the patent application, a patent originally was applied for July 31, 1911. It was allowed May 19, 1917, but forfeited to prevent publicity of the invention in view of wartime conditions that prevented filing a patent application in Germany. The application was renewed May 15, 1919, and issued December 21, 1919.
The machine is from the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1911
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.13
accession number
1982.0794
catalog number
1982.0794.13

Burroughs Class 6 Adding Machine Section

This model of a section of a Burroughs Class 6 adding machine has a steel frame painted black with one glass side and a clear plastic case along the other side. It has a single column of nine round black plastic keys. The mechanism operates.
Description
This model of a section of a Burroughs Class 6 adding machine has a steel frame painted black with one glass side and a clear plastic case along the other side. It has a single column of nine round black plastic keys. The mechanism operates. Two red keys are at the top.
The metal handle is on the right side. The section has a steel support that is glued to a wooden base. The mechanism that holds the paper tape has no paper tape and is detached from the section. Three other loose parts are included. A metal tag attached to the object reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation.
The Burroughs Class 6 was introduced in 1913. This is Model #270 from the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1913
maker
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1982.0794.70
catalog number
1982.0794.70
accession number
1982.0794

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