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: New Jersey

Keuffel & Esser Linear Planimeter Invented by Frank R. Williams

This German silver instrument consists of three pieces. The first is a seven-inch tracer arm with a tracer point at one end and a measuring wheel with vernier and a peg at the other end.
Description
This German silver instrument consists of three pieces. The first is a seven-inch tracer arm with a tracer point at one end and a measuring wheel with vernier and a peg at the other end. The peg fits into a groove on the second piece, which is a rectangular plate with a removable sliding ruler that is divided on all four sides into 96, 120, 150, and 180 parts. A pivoting rectangular blade is at the right end of the second piece. This piece is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co N.Y. Pat. Dec. 8. 1903 No 7. The third piece is a folding L-shaped ruler. The long arm is graduated to 1/4-inch and numbered from 1 to 5. The short arm is divided to tenths of an inch and numbered from 5 to 20.
A rectangular hardwood case has green velvet lining the supports for the instrument. A small ivory plate screwed inside the lid is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW YORK (/) ST. LOUIS CHICAGO (/) SAN FRANCISCO.
Frederick (Frank) R. Williams of Syracuse, N.Y., patented this planimeter. He may have been a merchant who sold his grocery store in 1906. The instrument was never advertised in Keuffel & Esser catalogs. Since this example was donated by K&E in 1971 and since the serial number is so low (7), perhaps K&E manufactured it as a prototype or for use with its own steam engine indicators, but decided not to offer it for sale to the public. Compare to the linear planimeter invented by John Coffin, MA.323708, 1987.0107.03, MA.323705, and MA.323706.
References: Frank R. Williams, "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 746,427 issued December 8, 1903); "Skaneateles," Syracuse Journal (January 10, 1906), 6, http://fultonhistory.com/newspapers%20Disk3/Syracuse%20NY%20Daily%20Journal/Syracuse%20NY%20Daily%20Journal%201906.pdf/Syracuse%20NY%20Daily%20Journal%201906%20-%200104.PDF; Clark McCoy, ed., "Planimeters and Integrators in K&E Catalogs by Model Number," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/PlanimeterModels.htm; Bob Otnes, "American Planimeters," Journal of the Oughtred Society 11, no. 2 (2002): 59–64; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1903
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.335262
catalog number
335262
accession number
306012

Peerless Calculating Machine

This manually operated, non-printing stepped drum calculating machine has a metal mechanism and exterior, painted black on the outside. It fits snugly in a wooden case, and has a slate on a hinged door to the left of the levers.
Description
This manually operated, non-printing stepped drum calculating machine has a metal mechanism and exterior, painted black on the outside. It fits snugly in a wooden case, and has a slate on a hinged door to the left of the levers. The sides of the case provide the openings for the sliding carriage. The case can be locked, but there is no key.
Eight levers move to set the stepped drums. A row of windows below the levers reveals the number entered. A lever on the left is set for addition and multiplication or subtraction and division. A crank on the right is turned repeatedly to calculate.
The movable carriage has a row of nine small windows at the front that reveal discs of the revolution register. A row of 16 discs behind this records the result. The right side of the carriage has a zeroing lever for the revolution register, and the left side has a zeroing lever for the result register. A metal handle for lifting the carriage is on the left. The left side of the front of the machine has a zeroing handle for the entry levers. A wooden lever hinged along the base of the back of the machine unfolds to serve as a stand, so that the machine slopes toward the operator. A sliding panel in the bottom of the machine opens to reveal the stepped drums. The drums are made from a metal composite, die–cast on brass cylinders.
A mark stamped over a script MB on the front right of the machine reads: Trade Mark (/) PEERLESS. An inscription below the levers at the center front of the machine reads: Keuffel & Esser Co (/) New York. Left of this is the mark: Patents pending. Stamped on the back of the case and scratched on the bottom of the machine (so that it is visible when the wooden panel is open) is the mark: 10083. On the back of the carriage at the left is the serial number 2035.
In about 1904 the German firm of Mathias Bäuerle, a manufacturer of clocks, began making a stepped drum calculating machine on the design of Tobias Bäuerle, a son of the founder of the company. It was dubbed the Peerless. Keuffel & Esser Company, the American manufacturer of drawing instruments, soon offered the Peerless in its catalogs. K&E advertised an earlier version of the Peerless, without the zeroing crank for the levers, in its 1906 catalog (p. 313). This model of the Peerless is shown in the 1909 catalog (pp. 302–303, K&E #4006N). It sold in three capacities (6x7x12, 8x9x16, and 10x11x20) for $250.00, $300.00, and $375.00. By 1913, K&E was offering a Peerless calculating machine with an iron stand rather than a wooden case.
This example is from the collections of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company.
Compare 325564, 326642, and 323628.
References:
Keuffel & Esser, Catalog.
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, pp. 149–151.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
distributor
Keuffel & Esser Co.
maker
Math. Baeuerle
ID Number
MA.323628
catalog number
323628
accession number
250163

Dial-A-Matic Adding Machine

The front of this instrument is a six-wheeled stylus-operated plastic adding machine. Each wheel has a ring of ten holes. The holes are numbered from 0 to 9 counter-clockwise around the outside and from 0 to 9 clockwise around the inside.
Description
The front of this instrument is a six-wheeled stylus-operated plastic adding machine. Each wheel has a ring of ten holes. The holes are numbered from 0 to 9 counter-clockwise around the outside and from 0 to 9 clockwise around the inside. Outer digits are for addition, and inner ones are for subtraction. Square windows above the wheels show the result. A zeroing bar is on the right and a short aluminum stylus is on the left. The instrument is mounted on a piece of fiberboard. Behind it, mounted on a piece of wood on the fiberboard, are two rods, with five dials on each rod. Each dial has the digits from 0 to 9 around the outside. Each rod and its mounting slide along a track at the top of the instrument. These rods and dials were added by the donor, the inventor Waldemar Ayres (b. 1909).
The instrument is marked on the front: Dial-A-Matic ADDING MACHINE. It is also marked there: SP (/) STERLING. The letters “SP” are in a circle. The New Jersey firm of Sterling Plastics used the trademark of SP in a circle with a clear background from 1945, registered this as a trademark in 1953, and renewed the trademark in 1973. The company first used the term Dial-A-Matic in commerce in 1954, registered it as a trademark in 1955, and renewed the trademark in 1975. The device is based on a patent taken out by Otto Lehre of Springfield, New Jersey. Lehre applied for a patent April 30, 1954 and received it in 1957. The object came to the Museum in 1974. Hence it was created between 1955 and 1974. It seems likely that it dates from about 1960.
Reference:
Otto Lehre, "Calculator," U. S. Patent 2,797,047, June 25, 1957.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
maker
Sterling Plastics
ID Number
MA.335327
accession number
310129
catalog number
335327

Keuffel & Esser 68-1400 Analon Simplex Slide Rule

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

Rule Advertising Monroe Calculators

This promotional white plastic six-inch ruler is divided along the top edge to sixteenths of an inch and numbered by fourths from 1 to 6. The ruler is marked: MONROE CALCULATING MACHINE COMPANY, INC.
Description
This promotional white plastic six-inch ruler is divided along the top edge to sixteenths of an inch and numbered by fourths from 1 to 6. The ruler is marked: MONROE CALCULATING MACHINE COMPANY, INC. (/) CALCULATING • ADDING • ACCOUNTING • BOOKKEEPING • CHECK WRITING MACHINES (/) J. C. Fleming, Representative 1320 Eighteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., COlumbia 5-1222. A list of decimal equivalents of fractions is on the back of the ruler. Below the list is the Monroe logo and the words: MADE IN U.S.A.
In 1912, Jay Randolph Monroe purchased a factory in Orange, N.J., to manufacture mechanical calculators on a design by Frank Stephen Baldwin. The Monroe Calculating Machine Company quickly became a leader in its field, opening sales offices around the world and building additional factories in Virginia and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Litton Industries purchased the firm in 1958, changed its name to Monroe Systems for Business in 1980, and sold it in 1984 to Jeffry M. Picower.
The company refocused on calculators in 1998 and was purchased by Carolina Wholesale Office Machine Company in 2001. J. C. Fleming was presumably the Monroe sales agent for Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian collections include 25 Monroe calculating machines and over 30 pieces of related documentation. For promotional rulers by Monroe's chief competitors, see MA.293320.2811, MA.293320.2813, and MA.293320.2816. Large American cities used postal zone numbers from 1943 to 1963, hence the dating of the object.
References: Frank S. Baldwin, "Calculating and Recording Machine" (U.S. Patent 890,888 issued June 16, 1908); John Wolff, "The Monroe Calculating Machine Company," May 27, 2012, John Wolff's Web Museum, http://home.vicnet.net.au/~wolff/calculators/Monroe/Monroe.htm; Monroe Systems for Business, "History," http://www.monroe-systems.com/history/.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943–1963
distributor
Monroe Calculating Machine Company
maker
Monroe Calculating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.293320.2812
catalog number
293320.2812
accession number
293320

Baldwin Adding Machine

In the late 19th century, Wiliam Seward Burroughs of St. Louis pioneered in the introduction of key-set printing adding machines, designed especially to assist banks in keeping track of accounts. The Burroughs Registering Accountant found a considerable market.
Description
In the late 19th century, Wiliam Seward Burroughs of St. Louis pioneered in the introduction of key-set printing adding machines, designed especially to assist banks in keeping track of accounts. The Burroughs Registering Accountant found a considerable market. In August of 1902, calculating machine inventor Frank S. Baldwin proposed this form of a key-set, printing adding machine. It has only one set of keys (the 3 key cover is missing), arranged in the order of a modern telephone touch pad.
A small, unmarked key is to the left of, and above, the “1” key. To the right of the "3" key stem is a threaded metal protrusion. Above the keys is a semicylindrical carriage with a row of nine numeral wheels that indicate the total. At the base of the carriage is a saw toothed bar. A metal arrow points up from the bar as a place marker. A triangular protrusion from the machine surface holds the bar. At the end of the carriage is a screw, perhaps for zeroing. A small lever attached to the bottom left of the carriage may release it to move left or right.
Behind the carriage is a printing mechanism that prints up to nine digits. It is driven by a crank on the right. Reels for the paper tape are behind the mechanism. The wooden knob on the crank folds inward so that the lid of the mahogany box closes. A loose metal handle fits into a hole in the right side of the machine.
A mark on the case of the machine reads: 27-86. No serial number found.
This machine is from the collection of L. Leland Locke, and was once at the Museums of the Peaceful Arts in New York City.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1903
maker
Baldwin, Frank S.
ID Number
MA.311955
accession number
155183
catalog number
311955

Wessmann Game Counter, U.S. Patent Office Model

This U.S. patent model for a board for keeping score in the game of cribbage has a wooden base, with six small brass plates attached along each of the sides. Each plate has two rows of five holes.
Description
This U.S. patent model for a board for keeping score in the game of cribbage has a wooden base, with six small brass plates attached along each of the sides. Each plate has two rows of five holes. These two sets of sixty holes are used for keeping score in a single game between two players.
At each end of the base is a smaller plate with four holes. These holes might be used in keeping track of game points in a match of five games. Four brass pins that fit in the holes in the plates are stored behind the brass plates at each end of the base.
At the center are two discs, which represent the patented part of the board. One is numbered clockwise from 0 to 9, the other is numbered counterclockwise. Both rotate counterclockwise. A brass pointer reaches across both discs to point to a digit on each one. The discs are used to keep track of games won. One is probably mounted incorrectly.
Charles B. Wessmann of Newbridge, N.J., patented the invention. U.S. Census records do not list someone by that name living in New Jersey near the time of the patent. There was a Charles B. Wessmann (1843-1888) who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., lived there for much of his life, and worked as a brass finisher. He committed suicide May 31, 1888. Whether this is the same Charles B. Wessmann who took out the patent is unclear.
References:
Charles B. Wessmann, “Improvement in Game-Counters,” U.S. Patent 204404, May 28, 1878. The patent shows both number wheels mounted with digits increasing clockwise.
New York Times, June 1, 1888, p. 1.
U.S. Census records for 1880.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1878
patentee
Wessmann, Charles B.
maker
Wessmann, Charles B.
ID Number
MA.309333
accession number
89797
catalog number
309333

Keuffel & Esser Slide Rule Display

This display of steps in the manufacture of slide rules also demonstrates the capability of dividing engines.
Description
This display of steps in the manufacture of slide rules also demonstrates the capability of dividing engines. It may have been assembled by Keuffel & Esser executives when the company donated two of its early 20th-century linear dividing engines (335265 and 335266) to the Smithsonian in March 1971. The exhibit consists of a large dark green pegboard, to which slide rule components are fastened with wires and labels are attached with tacks.
The left panel displays the raw materials of slide rule manufacture: a rough mahogany slab, a planed mahogany slab, white xylonite (celluloid) to face the front and back of the wood, and a toothplaned mahogany slab. Each slab is approximately two feet long.
The middle panel shows the xylonite glued to a toothplaned mahogany slab, which is then depicted as cut in half to make two ten-inch slide rule forms. The forms are cut lengthwise in thirds, and then the edges are grooved so that the middle part slides between the two parts of the base. Next, a blank slide rule is machine divided.
The right panel displays slide rules that have been numbered and blackened, numbered and reddened, and ready to be assembled with L-shaped metal end pieces and screws. The assembled slide rule has been removed. Another example with front and back views of a completed model 4081-3, Log Log Duplex Decitrig, slide rule is missing the slide in the back view. Finally, the parts of an indicator are mounted on a card: two pieces of glass, two pieces of metal frame, one of the two plastic edges, and four screws. Compare the completed example to 318482, 334387, and 1990.0687.01.
References: Accession file; Michael P. O'Leary, "The Keuffel & Esser Logarithmic Dividing Engine," Journal of the Oughtred Society 11, no. 2 (2002): 35–40; Bob Otnes, "An Interview with Jack Burton and Gordon Anthony: The End of the Slide Rule Era at Keuffel & Esser," Journal of the Oughtred Society 7, no. 2 (1998): 18–24, 8, no. 1 (1999): 18–23, and 8, no. 2 (1999): 27–31.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1971
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.335264
accession number
306012
catalog number
335264

Pike Style E Adding Machine

This full-keyboard printing manually operated adding machine has eight columns of black and white color-coded keys. In back of each column of digit keys is a red key, which may be intended for zeroing the column.
Description
This full-keyboard printing manually operated adding machine has eight columns of black and white color-coded keys. In back of each column of digit keys is a red key, which may be intended for zeroing the column. The machine has a metal case painted black, and is painted green under the keyboard. The total, which may have as many as nine digits, appears in a row of number dials at the front of the machine. Above the keyboard is a dial that records the number of items added. Behind the dial is the printing mechanism and a 30 cm. carriage (dimension without handles). Also present are a total key and various other unmarked levers and function keys. The operating crank is missing from the right side.
The dial above the keyboard reads: PIKE ADDING MACHINE CO. ORANGE, N.J. A brass plaque on the back of the machine reads: MADE BY (/) PIKE ADDING MACHINE CO. (/) ORANGE, N.J., U.S.A. (/) STYLE E No. 2359. A brass plaque in front of the keyboard reads: PIKE ADDING MACHINERY ORANGE N.J. U.S.A. (/) CONCESSIONNAIRE EXCLUSIVE (/) STE. AN. DES APPAREILS DE CONTROLE ET DE COMPTE AUTOMATIQUE (/) AU CAPITAL DE [...] (/) 78 RUE REAUMUR PARIS.
The Pike adding machine was first manufactured in 1904. In 1909 Burroughs Adding Machine Company purchased the company, and developed the machine into the Burroughs Class 3 and then the Class 300. Compare 1986.0192.01.
According to Pike patents of 1903 and early 1904, the company was in St. Louis. Later in 1904, Pike Adding Machine Company is listed as in Orange, New Jersey.
References:
J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, p. 539.
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), p. 152.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1905-1909
maker
Pike Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.323588
catalog number
323588
accession number
250163

Ellis Adding-Typewriter

Several prominent inventors of adding machines had associations with St. Louis.Two of them were patent attorney Halcolm Ellis and mechanical engineer Nathan W. Perkins Jr. In 1902 they took out a patent for an adding machine.
Description
Several prominent inventors of adding machines had associations with St. Louis.Two of them were patent attorney Halcolm Ellis and mechanical engineer Nathan W. Perkins Jr. In 1902 they took out a patent for an adding machine. Although this machine apparently was never produced, Ellis then patented a combination adding machine and typewriter, and tried to manufacture it in Massachusetts. When his funds dried up, Eillis returned to St. Louis and organized the Ellis Adding-Typewriter Company. The firm soon moved to New Jersey, with Perkins managing the engineering division of the company. By 1911 a modified, electrically powered Ellis adding typewriter was tried at four banks
This is a slightly later machine. It has a metal frame and glass sides. The typewriter keyboard is at the front, with a full-keyboard, nine-column adding machine at the middle. Both the typewriter and the adding machine have plastic keys. The typewriter has no “1” key. The keyboard under the adding machine is covered with green felt. Four function keys are to the left of the adding machine keyboard.
Behind is a wide carriage with two-colored ribbon. The spools for the ribbon are uncovered. The crank for operating the adding machine is on the right side and has an ivory handle. The machine was used in the office at the Ellis Plant in Newark, N.J.
By 1929, Ellis was in financial difficulties. The assets of the company were acquired by National Cash Register Company, and the typing feature of Ellis machines was incorporated into the NCR 3000 accounting machine.
References:
Halcolm Ellis, “The Process of Assembling a Small and Intricate Machine,” Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 33 (1911), pp. 211–231.
McCarthy, American Digest of Business Machines, pp. 477–478.
Accession file.
P. A. Kidwell, “The Adding Machine Fraternity at St. Louis: Creating a Center of Invention, 1880-1920,” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 22, 2 (April-June 2000), pp. 4–21.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Ellis Adding-Typewriter Company
ID Number
MA.323497
catalog number
323497
accession number
252308

Mathematical Table, Pierson Machine For Calculating Interest

In the nineteenth century, several American inventors devised moving tables that allowed one to calculate interest. This is the U.S.
Description
In the nineteenth century, several American inventors devised moving tables that allowed one to calculate interest. This is the U.S. Patent Office model for a device designed to calculate the amount of interest upon any amount less than one thousand dollars for any number of days less than eighty-five at two rates, six and seven percent. It was invented by Albert C. Pierson of Rahway, New Jersey.
The instrument has three ten-sided rotating prisms, with the sides of each prism marked at the top with the digits from 0 through 9. The rightmost prism represents units, the middle one tens, and the leftmost hundreds in the amount of money borrowed or lent. Each side of each prism has two columns of 84 numbers, corresponding to interest charges for 1 to 84 days. The left column has interest charged at 6%, the right at 7%. Setting the prisms to the correct amount and then summing the numbers on the three prisms for the appropriate number of days gives the interest. A rotating strip on the left allows one to determine the number of days between two dates of the year.
This is the model for the first of two patents taken out by Albert C. Pierson (probably 1836–1870). Both relate to calculation.
Reference:
A. C. Pierson, “Improvement in Calculating Machines,” U.S. Patent 62,882, March 12, 1867 (the machine illustrated by this model).
A. C. Pierson, “Improvement in Calculating Machines,” U.S. Patent 73,995, February 4, 1868.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1867
patentee
Pierson, Albert C.
maker
Pierson, Albert C.
ID Number
MA.252689
catalog number
252689
accession number
49064

Keuffel & Esser 4071 Duplex Slide Rule

This ten-inch mahogany duplex linear slide rule is coated with celluloid on the front and back only; the edges are bare. The indicator is glass with metal screws and plastic sides. On both sides, there is an A scale on the top of the base and a D scale on the bottom of the base.
Description
This ten-inch mahogany duplex linear slide rule is coated with celluloid on the front and back only; the edges are bare. The indicator is glass with metal screws and plastic sides. On both sides, there is an A scale on the top of the base and a D scale on the bottom of the base. One side of the slide has B and C scales; there are BI and CI scales on the other side.
On the front (CD) side, the bottom of the base is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. N.Y.; PAT. JUNE 5. '00 DEC. 22. '08. The slide is marked on the left side: < 4071 >. The top edge of the indicator is marked: K&E.CO.N.Y. (/) PAT.8.17.15. The back of the rule is not marked.
Keuffel & Esser of New York sold this model of slide rule from 1901 to 1917. Head of manufacturing Willie Keuffel took out patents for improving the ability to adjust duplex slide rules in 1900 and 1908. The "frameless" style of indicator found on this example was introduced in 1915, after Keuffel's patent for that improvement was granted on August 15 of that year. Assuming that the indicator is original, the rule dates from 1915–1917. It sold for $5.00. Compare this example, donated to the Smithsonian by K&E in 1961, to the earlier versions MA.318477 and MA.326613.
References: Willie L. E. Keuffel, "Slide-Rule" (U.S. Patent 651,142 issued June 5, 1900); Willie L. E. Keuffel, "Slide-Rule" (U.S. Patent 907,373 issued December 22, 1908); Willie L. E. Keuffel, "Slide-Rule Runner" (U.S. Patent 1,150,771 issued August 17, 1915); Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 35th ed. (New York, 1915), 302–303.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915-1917
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.318475
catalog number
318475
accession number
235479

Baldwin Calculator

In 1875 Frank S. Baldwin of St. Louis patented a pinwheel calculating machine. He manufactured a few of these machines, but they did not sell well. Baldwin went on to take out a number of other patents.
Description
In 1875 Frank S. Baldwin of St. Louis patented a pinwheel calculating machine. He manufactured a few of these machines, but they did not sell well. Baldwin went on to take out a number of other patents. By 1901 he had moved to Newark, New Jersey, where he designed an improved pinwheel machine. He obtained a patent the following year. This is an early example of that machine.
The lever-set, non-printing machine has eight rings at the front that rotate forward to release pins and enter numbers. A zeroing bar for the rings is at the front, and an operating crank to the right. The crank turns clockwise for addition and multiplication and counterclockwise for subtraction and division. Behind the rings is a movable carriage with a row of 16 result windows and, behind this, a second row of nine windows for the revolution register. Both these registers have zeroing cranks. Both also have a thin metal rod below them that moves to serve as a decimal marker.
Pulling forward a lever on the left allows one to shift the carriage. A bell rings when the result changes sign (negative to positive or positive to negative). The entire machine sits in a wooden case with a missing lid.
Compare MA.311954.
A mark stamped on the front reads: No 50.
The donor dated this machine to 1902.
References:
Accession file.
Frank S. Baldwin, “Calculating-Machine,” U.S. Patent 706375, August 5, 1902.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1902
maker
Baldwin, Frank S.
ID Number
MA.307384
catalog number
307384
accession number
67982
maker number
50

Calcumeter

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

Peerless Calculating Machine

This manually operated, non-printing stepped drum calculating machine has a metal mechanism and an exterior painted black. It fits closely in a wooden case, with a slate to the left of the levers. Eight levers move to set stepped drums.
Description
This manually operated, non-printing stepped drum calculating machine has a metal mechanism and an exterior painted black. It fits closely in a wooden case, with a slate to the left of the levers. Eight levers move to set stepped drums. A row of windows below the levers shows the number entered. A lever on the left is set for addition and multiplication or subtraction and division. The operating crank is on the right.
The movable carriage has a row of nine small windows at the front that reveal discs of the revolution register. A row of 16 discs behind this records the result. A zeroing lever for the revolution register is on the right side of the carriage, and one for the result register on the left. A metal handle for lifting the carriage is on the left. The zeroing handle for the stepped drums is on the left front of the machine.
A wooden rectangle hinged to the back of the case opens to serve as a stand, so that the machine slopes toward the operator. A sliding panel in the bottom of the machine opens to reveal the eight stepped drums. The drums are made from a gray metal composite, die–cast on brass cylinders. The teeth are not sharply pointed.
Tacked inside the lid of the case is a 1938 table of International Atomic Weights, updated and corrected for 1942. Another card has a handwritten table of difference factors for Ca-3, dated 1939.
The machine is marked: Keuffel & Esser Co. (/) New York. A mark stamped over a script MB on the front right of the machine reads: PEERLESS. Stamped on the back of the carriage at the left end is the serial number 2033. Stamped on the back rim of the case, behind the carriage, are the marks B. S. 5473 and 10081.
In about 1904, the German firm of Mathias Bäuerle, a manufacturer of clocks, began making a stepped drum calculating machine on the design of Tobias Bäuerle, a son of the founder of the company. It was dubbed the Peerless. Keuffel & Esser Company, an American manufacturer of drawing instruments, soon offered the Peerless in its catalogs. K&E advertised an earlier version of the Peerless, without the zeroing crank for the levers, in its 1906 catalog (p. 313). This model of the Peerless is shown in the 1909 catalog (pp. 302–303, K&E #4006N). It sold in three capacities (6x7x12, 8x9x16, and 10x11x20) for $250.00, $300.00, and $375.00. By 1913, K&E was offering a Peerless calculating machine with an iron stand rather than a wooden case.
This example was purchase by and used at the U. S. National Bureau of Standards.
Compare MA.325564, MA.326642, and MA.323628.
References:
Keuffel & Esser, Catalog.
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, pp. 149–151.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
distributor
Keuffel & Esser Co.
retailer
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.326642
catalog number
326642
accession number
261654

Keuffel & Esser N4053-5 Polyphase Mannheim Simplex Slide Rule

This 20-inch mahogany one-sided slide rule is coated with white celluloid. The top edge is beveled and has a simply divided scale 20 inches long that is divided to sixteenths of an inch. The base has A, D, and K scales.
Description
This 20-inch mahogany one-sided slide rule is coated with white celluloid. The top edge is beveled and has a simply divided scale 20 inches long that is divided to sixteenths of an inch. The base has A, D, and K scales. One side of the slide has B, CI, and C scales; S, L, and T scales are on the other side. The A and B scales are divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 twice in the usual manner. The C and D scales are divided logarithmically once from 1 to 10 in the length of the scales in the usual manner. The CI scale is divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 the length of the scale, going in the opposite direction from the other scales. The K scale is divided logarithmically three times in the length of the scale, for use in finding cubes and cube roots. The S scale gives the sines of angles from less than 40 minutes to 90 degrees. The L scale is a scale of equal parts running from 0 to 10. The T scale gives tangents of angles from somewhat less than 6 degrees to 45 degrees.
The front edge has a simply divided scale 50 centimeters long that is divided to millimeters. The indicator is of the "frameless" glass style with plastic edge pieces and metal screws. 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 1981.0933.05 and 1999.0254.01. The instrument fits in a cardboard case covered with black leather that fastens with a snap.
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 has the model number in red: < N4053-5 >. The left end of the other side of the slide and the scale in centimeters are marked with a serial number: 295836. The bottom edge of the indicator is marked: K&E.CO.N.Y. (/) PAT.8.17.15. The flap of the case is marked: K & E (/) POLYPHASE (/) SLIDE RULE (/) 4053–5. The snap on the case is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW YORK.
Keuffel & Esser sold an earlier form of this slide rule, with no beveled edge at the top, from 1913 through 1922. The new form of the instrument—with the beveled edge, the K scale on the base instead of on the bottom edge, and the centimeter scale on the bottom edge—sold from 1923 to 1953. The style of the indicator on this slide rule was in use from 1915 through 1934. Illustrations of the 4053 line of slide rules in K&E catalogs depict the patent date of June 5, 1900, from 1925 through 1934. Thus, this example likely dates to 1925–1934; the serial number suggests a date around 1930. Compare also to 1981.0922.05. For documentation, see MA.304213.05. The Interstate Commerce Commission discarded this rule as surplus material in 1963.
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); Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 34th ed. (New York, 1913), 300; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 35th ed. (New York, 1915), 300; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules & Calculating Instruments (New York, 1925), 6; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules & Calculating Instruments (New York, 1934), 6; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 312; 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
1925-1934
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.321780
catalog number
321780
accession number
246883

Monroe Calculating Machine (Model K-16?)

This full-keyboard manually operated, non-printing, modified stepped drum calculating machine has a crinkled metal exterior with rounded corners, painted light green. The green paint has worn away in some places to reveal black paint beneath.
Description
This full-keyboard manually operated, non-printing, modified stepped drum calculating machine has a crinkled metal exterior with rounded corners, painted light green. The green paint has worn away in some places to reveal black paint beneath. The steel plate underneath the keys is dark green.
The machine has eight columns of black and white plastic digit keys. Rods between the columns of keys that serve as decimal markers. They are painted white on one side and the same green as the plate under the keyboard on the other. Pushing a red key at the bottom of each column zeros that column of keys. The key stems are of uniform length. A metal lever is to the right of the keyboard and a metal knob to the left. Rotating a crank on the right side clockwise adds numbers entered, moving it counterclockwise subtracts.
The carriage behind the keyboard has a row of 16 numeral dials for recording results. Eight numeral dials in a row behind these serve as a revolution register. Two thin metal rods between the windows carry decimal markers. The crank for shifting the carriage is at the front of the machine. A knob for lifting the carriage is to the right of the result register, and a crank for zeroing dials is on the right side of the carriage. The machine has four rubber feet. To the left of the keyboard is a metal knob with an arrow on it. This knob is painted green.
A mark on the front and back sides reads, in cursive writing, Monroe. The mechanism of the machine, inside the carriage on the right, has the serial number: K66367
Compare MA.334711, MA.307386, 1983.0831.01, and 1982.0682.05.
The date of this machine is a mystery. The model resembles the K-16 described in McCarthy’s 1924 American Digest of Business Machines. The serial number is one the NOMDA blue book would associate with 1926. However, the Monroe logo is of a form introduced in 1940, and the light green color is quite unlike other Monroe machines of the 1920s.
The machine was given to the Smithsonian by David G. Owen, a statistician in the Research Division of the Miami Heart Institute.
References:
National Office Machine Dealer’s Association, Blue Book, May 1975, as compiled by Office Machine Americana, January, 2002.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Registration #522928, Serial #71117235.
Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
maker
Monroe Calculating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.334711
catalog number
334711
maker number
A66367
accession number
311324

Pair of Hinged Parallel Rules Sold by Keuffel & Esser

One rule is 24" long and is held together by corroded brass hinges. The blades may be solid ebony. Small metal buttons in the center of each blade assist with positioning the instrument.
Description
One rule is 24" long and is held together by corroded brass hinges. The blades may be solid ebony. Small metal buttons in the center of each blade assist with positioning the instrument. This rule has no identifying markings.
The second rule is 18" long and is held together by nickel plated brass hinges. The blades are made of ebonized boxwood. Two metal knobs at the center of each blade are used to position the instrument. On the left of the knob on the top blade is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO (/) N.Y. Below the knob is marked: 1784. On the right of the knob is marked: TRADEMARK (below the K&E lion logo). The bottom blade is marked: PAT. JUNE 1, 1915.
By 1880 Keuffel & Esser of New York imported ebony parallel rules with brass hinges and positioning buttons, selling the 24" size as model 706 for $2.00. By 1890 the firm was also making its own version of the rules, since the imported wood, which was often grown in Africa, warped and shrank in the climate of the United States. The imported rules were sold as model numbers 1790 (6", 35¢) through 1795 (24", $1.75). K&E stopped selling imported ebony rules in 1909. Rules manufactured at the company's factory in Hoboken, N.J., from hardwoods stained black were sold as model numbers 1780 through 1785. The 18" model 1784 was priced at $1.25 in 1890 and $1.50 in 1913. The company discontinued this product line after 1936, when model 1784 sold for $2.50.
The first rule thus dates to between 1880 and 1909. Charles Christ Pfeiffer (b. 1874) received the patent mentioned on the second rule, for replacing one of the rivets securing one of the hinges with an adjustable screw. He emigrated from Germany as a child and worked as a cabinetmaker and foreman in Hoboken, possibly for K&E since he assigned the patent to the company. In the 1920s Pfeiffer moved to New London, Conn., where he purchased a farm in the 1930s. The second rule dates to between 1915 and 1936.
References: Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 13th ed. (New York, 1880), 115; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 21st ed. (New York, 1890), 133; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 201, 223; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 34th ed. (New York, 1913), 197; Catalogue and Price List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 36th ed. (New York, 1921), 144; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 228; Charles C. Pfeiffer, "Parallel Ruler" (U.S. Patent 1,141,483 issued June 1, 1915); 1900–1940 U.S. Census records; World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880-1936
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.333946
catalog number
333946
accession number
296611

Replica of German Ell

Laurits Christian Eichner (1894–1967) was a Danish engineer who married an American, Sarah Craven, and settled in Bloomfield, N.J., in 1925.
Description
Laurits Christian Eichner (1894–1967) was a Danish engineer who married an American, Sarah Craven, and settled in Bloomfield, N.J., in 1925. During the Depression, he began marketing his skills as a metal craftsman, eventually branching out from bronze bowls and pewter tableware to replicas of historical scientific instruments and modern precision instruments, such as interferometers, astrophotometers, and telescopes. In the 1950s the Smithsonian hired him to restore and reproduce instruments and machines in preparation for the opening of the Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History).
Eichner's workshop made this octagonal wooden rule from an original at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. The larger end is marked: LCE (/) 1964. An ivory handle around the larger end has black geometric markings. Ivory plates on each side of the rule show the length of the ell, a traditional "arm's length" measurement, in eight German cities. (One plate is broken.) Each side also has rounded notches marking off divisions for each length of ell.
Each city’s lengths are as follows: Bobwische 20.3, 40.3, 60.4, 70.3, 80.2 cm; Nurmberger (Nuremberg) 16.5, 32.7, 49.2, 57.3, 65.4 cm; Inspriger 20.6, 40.6, 60.7, 70.7, 80.7 cm; [. . .]rger 15.2, 30.2, 45.2, 52.7, 60.3 cm; Bayrisch (Bayreuth) 20.9, 41.4, 62.2, 72.6, 62.7 cm; Augsburger Wullin 14.6, 29.2, 43.9, 51.2, 58.3 cm; Wiener (Vienna) 19.3, 38.5, 57.9, 67.7, 77.2 cm; Brabondische 17.7, 34.4, 51.8, 60.6, 69.0 cm.
Reference: Robert P. Multhauf, Laurits Christian Eichner, Craftsman (Washington, D.C., 1971).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1964
date received
1964
maker
L. C. Eichner Instruments
ID Number
MA.325631
accession number
262287
catalog number
325631

Baldwin Calculator

In 1875 Frank S. Baldwin of St. Louis patented a pinwheel calculating machine. He manufactured a few of these machines, but they did not sell well. Baldwin went on to take out a number of other patents.
Description
In 1875 Frank S. Baldwin of St. Louis patented a pinwheel calculating machine. He manufactured a few of these machines, but they did not sell well. Baldwin went on to take out a number of other patents. By 1901, he had moved to Newark, New Jersey, where he designed an improved pinwheel machine. He obtained a patent the following year, Baldwin went on to invent other calculating machines, most notably those manufactured by the Monroe Calculating Machine Company.
This non-printing machine has eight rings at the front that may be rotated forward to release pins and enter numbers. The zeroing bar for the rings is at the front and the operating crank to the right. The crank turns clockwise for addition and multiplication and counterclockwise for subtraction and division. Behind the rings is a movable carriage with a row of 16 result windows and a second row of nine windows for the revolution register behind this. Both of these registers have zeroing cranks and thin metal rods below them that move to serve as decimal markers. Lifting a metal hook on the left allows one to shift the carriage. The entire machine sits in a wooden case with lid with handle.
A mark scratched on the front of the machine reads: 150. The museum number assigned by the Museum of the Peaceful Arts is: 27-94. A metal tag on the lid of the machine reads: BALDWIN (/) CALCULATOR (/) 150 (/) PAT. AUG. 5. 1902. Another metal tag in the same place reads: THE SPECTATOR CO (/) AGENTS (/) 95 WILLIAM ST. (/) NEW YORK.
This example is from the collection of L. Leland Locke and was once in on deposit at the Museums of the Peaceful Arts in New York City.
The Spectator Company of New York sold Baldwin’s calculator from at least 1903 through at least 1907. Their advertisements boasted of the reliability of the machine and its American manufacture. It cost $250.
Compare MA.307384.
References:
Frank S. Baldwin, “Calculating-Machine,” U.S. Patent 706375, August 5, 1902.
Advertisement, The Spectator, vol. 76 #3 (Feb 1, 1904), p. 66.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1905
distributor
The Spectator Company
maker
Baldwin, Frank S.
ID Number
MA.311954
catalog number
311954
accession number
155183

Whitehead & Hoag Ruler Advertising E. Machlett & Son

This white plastic advertising rule has a scale of inches along the top edge, divided to 1/16" and numbered by ones from 1 to 6, and a scale of centimeters along the bottom edge, divided to millimeters and numbered by ones from 1 to 15.
Description
This white plastic advertising rule has a scale of inches along the top edge, divided to 1/16" and numbered by ones from 1 to 6, and a scale of centimeters along the bottom edge, divided to millimeters and numbered by ones from 1 to 15. A list of equivalent measures is at the right end. The center of the rule is marked: E. MACHLETT & SON (/) 22 E. 23rd Street NEW YORK 10, N.Y. (/) Laboratory APPARATUS & CHEMICALS (/) ESTABLISHED 1897. The left end is marked: PHONE (/) LEXINGTON 2-1313 (/) BELL TELETYPE (/) N. Y. 1-2444.
The back of the rule has scales for converting between Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures and for measuring the size of a cork. A table of diameters and weights of rubber stoppers is in the lower right corner. The center of the rule is marked: MACHLETT. The right end is marked in very small type: WHITEHEAD-HOAG NEWARK N J.
Founded in 1892 and in business until 1959, Whitehead & Hoag was a major producer of paper and plastic advertising novelties. It was headquartered in Newark but had branch offices in about thirty cities around the world. For other mathematical objects made by this company, see 1984.1080.01, 1987.0221.02, 1988.0323.01, 1988.0350.01, and 2004.010.0170. Items made by Whitehead & Hoag are also found in several other Museum collections, including numismatics, political history, and medicine.
E. Machlett & Son began making glass laboratory apparatus in New York City in 1897. Fisher Scientific acquired the firm in 1957. The U.S. Post Office Department began using two-digit postal codes in 1943, so that must be the earliest date for the instrument.
References: "Whitehead and Hoag Collection," Nehushtan Antiques, http://www.nehushtanantiques.com/whitehead_and_hoag.html; Laine Farley, "Whitehead & Hoag Celluloid Bookmarks," http://www.bibliobuffet.com/on-marking-books-columns-195/archive-index-on-marking-books/1039-whitehead-a-hoag-celluloid-bookmarks-053109; Machlett advertisement, Analytical Chemistry 25, no. 4 (1953): 15A.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943–1957
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
MA.335274
accession number
314637
catalog number
335274

Gunter's Scales, Group of 2

These two 2' boxwood rules are identical to each other and to MA.319077 and MA.318174. The top of one side has a scale of inches, divided to tenths of an inch and numbered by ones from 23 to 1.
Description
These two 2' boxwood rules are identical to each other and to MA.319077 and MA.318174. The top of one side has a scale of inches, divided to tenths of an inch and numbered by ones from 23 to 1. On the left are 10" and 9" (divided to 1/2") plotting scales with diagonal scales at each end. In the middle are scales for rhumbs, chords, sines, tangents, and semi-tangents. On the right are scales for leagues, rhumbs, miles of longitude, and chords. Brass pins at the zero and 60° marks reduce wear from the points of dividers, which were used to transfer measurements between the scale and the user's drawing.
The other side has logarithmic scales: sines of rhumbs, tangents of rhumbs, line of numbers, sines of degrees, versines of degrees, and tangent of degrees. At the bottom edge are a meridional line and a scale of equal parts that divides 23" into 17 sections. The sections are numbered by tens from 60 to 10 and from 100 to 0.
The first rule is marked on the first side in the lower right corner: BELCHER BROS. & Co. NEW – YORK. Thomas Belcher began making rules in New York in 1821 and was joined by his brother, William, in 1825. Around 1831 another brother, Charles, joined the firm, and the company's name was changed from T. & W. Belcher to Belcher Brothers. Around 1843 manufacturing of rules moved to New Jersey and the firm went by the name Belcher & Bros. Around 1853 some of the men's sons joined the firm, and the name was changed to Belcher Bros. & Co. The first rule dates to this period. The company had become the largest American manufacturer of rules, but it was surpassed by Stanley in the second half of the 19th century. Belcher stopped manufacturing rules around 1877.
The second rule is unmarked. Key points around the scales are marked with suns, unlike the asterisks on the first rule; the abbreviations for the scale labels are different; and the bottom edge is beveled at a sharper angle than the bottom edge of the first rule. These differences indicate that the second rule was manufactured by a different firm. This rule also has pencil marks on the top and bottom edges.
References: Otto van Poelje, "Gunter Rules in Navigation," Journal of the Oughtred Society 13, no. 1 (2004): 11–22; Belcher Bros. & Co.'s Price List of Boxwood & Ivory Rules (New York, 1860; reprint, Fitzwilliam, N.H.: Ken Roberts Publishing Co., 1982); Philip A. Cannon II, "The Makers and Markers of Gauges, Rules, Squares, and Tapes," http://www.pactu.com/makers.htm.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1853–1877
maker
Belcher Brothers
ID Number
MA.333945
accession number
296611
catalog number
333945

Monroe Model CSA8 Calculating Machine

This is a very late example of a product of the Monroe Calculating Machine Company of New Jersey, made when the firm was still an independent company.The compact non-printing, full keyboard, electric modified stepped drum calculating machine has a gray steel case and eight column
Description
This is a very late example of a product of the Monroe Calculating Machine Company of New Jersey, made when the firm was still an independent company.
The compact non-printing, full keyboard, electric modified stepped drum calculating machine has a gray steel case and eight columns of gray and light gray oblong plastic color-coded number keys, with a zeroing key of the same color at the bottom of each column. Between the columns of keys, and under the light gray plate, are metal rods (visible through windows in the plate) that serve as decimal markers. These are painted red on one side and the same light gray as the plate on the other. To the right of and below the number keys are a variety of function keys, including addition and subtraction bars, keys for moving the carriage, an enter key, a repeat and a non-repeat button, and diverse other keys for division and multiplication.
Behind the keyboard is a carriage with a row of eight dials to show a number set up for multiplication, a row of 16 dials to show the result, and a row of eight revolution register dials. These are visible through windows in the carriage. The set up dials for multiplication have a metal frame that slides over them to indicate the position of the decimal point and two digits to the right of the decimal point. It can be placed in seven different positions. A gray plastic knob is at the back on the right side.
A mark on the front and back of the machine reads: MONROE. On the back, it is a trademark registered by Monroe in 1956. A mark on the right and left sides reads: MONROmatic. A paper tag glued to the bottom of the machine reads: MONROE (/) CALCULATING MACHINE (/) COMPANY, INC. (/) ORANGE, N.J. U.S.A.; It also has several patent numbers, the largest of which is 2,931,569, the number of a 1955 patent. A metal tag attached to the bottom reads: MODEL CSA 8 (/) SERIAL B930371. In 1958 Monroe became a subsidy of Litton Industries. Many Monroe calculating machines with serial numbers beginning in B date from the 1960s.
Reference:
Documentation received with the machine, with museum numbers MA.318943.02 through MA.318943.06. This includes an invoice, indicating that it was repaired in 1970.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1957
maker
Monroe International Corporation, a Division of Litton Business Systems
Monroe Calculating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.335384
catalog number
335384
maker number
B930371
accession number
318943

The Calcumeter

This five-wheeled stylus-operated adding machine has wheels of German silver (for ones and tens) and brass (for higher decimal places), with a blackened brass frame and sliding brass decimal marker. Each wheel has ten indentations.
Description
This five-wheeled stylus-operated adding machine has wheels of German silver (for ones and tens) and brass (for higher decimal places), with a blackened brass frame and sliding brass decimal marker. Each wheel has ten indentations. These are labeled in red on the wheel from 0 to 9. One of these ten digits is visible at any time. The digits from 1 to 9 are also stamped on the top of the frame around the opening for each wheel. Using the digits on the frame to indicate the placement of the stylus and rotating, the sum appears in the red digits on the wheels. No stylus survives. Apparently the machine doesn’t subtract. Small levers attached to the back of the machine can be adjusted to prop it up.
The machine is marked on the front: THE CALCUMETER. It is marked on the back: 911 (/) PAT’D DEC.17’01. It is also marked there: D.Draper (/) April 2nd 1904. It is marked on the end: MORSE&WALSH CO. (/) TRENTON, N.J.
The Calcumeter was invented by James J. Walsh of Elizabeth, N.J., who received a patent for it December 17, 1901 (U.S. Patent 689,225). The Calcumeter was first manufactured by Morse & Walsh Company in 1903 and 1904, but by 1906 was produced by Herbert North Morse of Trenton. Daniel Draper, who owned this machine, was a meteorologist in New York City.
Compare MA.323622.
Reference:
P. A. Kidwell, “Scientists and Calculating Machines,” Annals of the History of Computing, 12 (1990): pp. 31-40.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1904
maker
Morse & Walsh Company
ID Number
MA.335352
accession number
304826
catalog number
335352

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