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.

Date: 1880s

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - Parallel Lines (Given a Plane and a Line Parallel to the Plane, Construct the Parallel Plane Containing the Line)

Plane APA’ (right construction) and line through (m, m’) parallel to the plane and to line cd’ on the plane are given (red strings). Then the plane BQB’ parallel to plane APA’ is constructed.For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.Currently not on view
Description
Plane APA’ (right construction) and line through (m, m’) parallel to the plane and to line cd’ on the plane are given (red strings). Then the plane BQB’ parallel to plane APA’ is constructed.
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.06
catalog number
1986.0885.01.06
accession number
1986.0885

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - Angle of a Plane with Planes of Projection

Given plane APA’, c’ is a point on the intersection line of the plane with the vertical plane. Point b on the horizontal intersection of the plane is chosen so it that bc’ is perpendicular to PA. Connect b and c’ to from the red string.
Description
Given plane APA’, c’ is a point on the intersection line of the plane with the vertical plane. Point b on the horizontal intersection of the plane is chosen so it that bc’ is perpendicular to PA. Connect b and c’ to from the red string. The horizontal projection of bc’ is bc and the vertical projection is cc’. By rotating bc’ about bc to the horizontal, point C1 is found. Now angle cbC1 is the angle of the plane with the horizontal plane. Similarly, the angle bC1C is the angle with the vertical plane.
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.24
catalog number
1986.0885.01.24
accession number
1986.0885

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - Through a Given Point Construct a Plane Parallel to Two Given Lines

The point (m, m’) on the left side of the relief is given. On the left side, two lines are given: ab’ depicted by the black string, and dc’ (black string missing).
Description
The point (m, m’) on the left side of the relief is given. On the left side, two lines are given: ab’ depicted by the black string, and dc’ (black string missing). By constructing the red lines hg’ and ef’ parallel to lines dc’ and ab’ respectively, the plane PQP’ containing the point (m, m’) is formed parallel to the two given lines.
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.20
catalog number
1986.0885.01.20
accession number
1986.0885

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - Angle between Two Lines

The given lines are the black strings: ab’ and dc’. They intersect at (m, m’). Segment ad on the horizontal plane creates a triangle with the given lines as sides. Point n on the horizontal plane is perpendicular to ad through point (m, 0).
Description
The given lines are the black strings: ab’ and dc’. They intersect at (m, m’). Segment ad on the horizontal plane creates a triangle with the given lines as sides. Point n on the horizontal plane is perpendicular to ad through point (m, 0). By rotating the triangle about line ab onto the horizontal plane, point (m, m’) maps to point M2. Angle aM2d is the angle between the two given lines.
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.25
catalog number
1986.0885.01.25
accession number
1986.0885

Geometric Model by J. Schroeder, 19, Regular Tetrahedron

This wooden model of a regular tetrahedron has four equilateral triangles for sides.The model is part of a series of models sold by J. Schroeder of Darmstadt.
Description
This wooden model of a regular tetrahedron has four equilateral triangles for sides.
The model is part of a series of models sold by J. Schroeder of Darmstadt. The identity of the maker has been deduced from the similarity of the numbers stamped on models 1982.0795.39, 1982.0795.40, and 1982.0795.41 through 1982.0795.44 with the numbers of the Schroeder models of simple solids listed in the Johns Hopkins University Circular for January, 1885, p. 36. This list includes 41 wood models of simple solids and 10 wood models of quadric surfaces, and states that all were made by Schroeder. It also notes that Schroeder's agent in the U.S. was James W. Queen Company of Philadelphia. An 1884 catalog of Queen Company indicates that they sold three sets of Schroeder models of "simple solids", one with twelve pieces, one with forty pieces, and the third with 118 pieces. J. Schroeder was in business in Darmstadt from at least 1844 until at least 1893.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1889
ID Number
1982.0795.39
catalog number
1982.0795.39
accession number
1982.0795

Geometric Model, Octant of a Wave Surface for Refraction in a Negative Biaxial Crystal, L. Brill or M. Schilling Ser.6 No.4 (Part), D41,4

This is a white plaster model of an octant of a Fresnel wave surface for refraction in a biaxial crystal. It is bounded by part of a sphere on the outside and part of an ellipsoid on the inside. A grid of lines is indicated on both the inside and the outside.
Description
This is a white plaster model of an octant of a Fresnel wave surface for refraction in a biaxial crystal. It is bounded by part of a sphere on the outside and part of an ellipsoid on the inside. A grid of lines is indicated on both the inside and the outside. A tag on the model reads: D41,4. The model is the mirror image of 1982.0795.19.
These two models form Series 6, No. 4 in the series of models produced by L. Brill and later M. Schilling. They are Brill's model 162 and Schilling's model 360.
The model is part of a series designed under the direction of Alexander Brill at the technical high school in Munich and first published in Darmstadt in 1880.
The Regents Reports of the University of Michigan (which have been digitized and are online) report that in 1887 the Regents approved the request of newly appointed mathematics Professor W.W. Beman to spend $500 on the purchase of "a full collection of models for teaching purposes, similar to those possessed by Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, Wellesley College, and other institutions. All the schools mentioned by name had models mad by Ludwig Brill of Darmstadt in Germany. Records of the Treasurer of the University of Michigan listing the property of the "Mathematics Laboratory" in the early 1900s indicate that on February 9, 1889, the University spent $414.55 on an order to L. Brill of Darmstadt. Further additions to the laboratory (with no vendor listed) took place in 1892-1893 (for $286) and the academic year ending June 30, 1900 ($275). These sums may cover further purchases from Brill and his successor F. Schilling. They also might represent sums spent on models of J. Schroeder (distributed in the U.S. by James W. Queen of Philadelphia) and C. Eberbach, a German-born instrument maker who immigrated to Ann Arbor and did extensive work for the scientific and medical laboratories of the university.
References:
University of Michigan, Proceedings of the Board of Regents 1886-1891, p. 189, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Treasurer of the University of Michigan, vol. 79, p. 163, BImuB8 Oversize, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
L. Brill, Catalog, 1892, p. 13, 87.
Francis A. Jenkins and Harvey E. White, Fundamentals of Optics, New York: McGraw Hill, 1976, pp. 553-555
M. Schilling, Catalog, 1911, p. 13, 168.
For another example of the model, with a reference to a related publication, see the Goettingen collection of mathematical models, model number 287.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1889
ID Number
1982.0795.18
catalog number
1982.0795.18
accession number
1982.0795

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - Horizontal Line to a Plane (Construct a Line Parallel to a Given Plane through a Point)

Plane APA’ is given. The line shown by the wire through (m, m’) and (c, c’) is constructed parallel to both the plane APA’ and the horizontal plane.For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.Currently not on view
Description
Plane APA’ is given. The line shown by the wire through (m, m’) and (c, c’) is constructed parallel to both the plane APA’ and the horizontal plane.
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.08
catalog number
1986.0885.01.08
accession number
1986.0885

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - General Construction of the Intersection of a Line and a Plane

The plane APA’ is intersected by line bc’ represented by the black string. The red string represents a line on the plane which bc’ intersects at point (m, m’).
Description
The plane APA’ is intersected by line bc’ represented by the black string. The red string represents a line on the plane which bc’ intersects at point (m, m’). Horizontal and vertical projections of these lines are shown.
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.17
catalog number
1986.0885.01.17
accession number
1986.0885

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - Intersection of Two Planes Parallel to a Line on the Ground (The x-axis)

Planes CDD’C’ and ABB’A’ are both parallel to the x-axis (crease in the card). They intersect in line (e, e’)-(f, f’) (wire) which is also parallel to the x-axis. The planes can be visualize by imagining both red strings extending left and right.
Description
Planes CDD’C’ and ABB’A’ are both parallel to the x-axis (crease in the card). They intersect in line (e, e’)-(f, f’) (wire) which is also parallel to the x-axis. The planes can be visualize by imagining both red strings extending left and right. Both projections of this intersection are shown as well as the rotation of it about the horizontal line perpendicular to the x-axis PA.
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.16
catalog number
1986.0885.01.16
accession number
1986.0885

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - Representation of a Line (Special Cases)

This relief shows four more special cases of lines. It is one of two reliefs that are about twice as long as the rest. The wires and strings are missing, so it is difficult to visualize the representations.
Description
This relief shows four more special cases of lines. It is one of two reliefs that are about twice as long as the rest. The wires and strings are missing, so it is difficult to visualize the representations. (Note that the wire coming out of the horizontal plane on the far right is not correct, it is in fact one of the support pieces. This is how the relief was configured when it arrived at the Smithsonian.)
Figure 1 on the left shows the vertical and horizontal projections of two lines as well as the intersection of the two lines projected onto the vertical plane.
Figure 2 shows the angle of inclination of the line with the horizontal plane by rotating it down onto the horizontal plane.
Figure 3 shows the angle of a line coming up through the horizontal plane with the vertical, again by rotating it onto the horizontal.
Figure 4 shows the vertical projection of a line and the horizontal projection of its vertical component.
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.04
catalog number
1986.0885.01.04
accession number
1986.0885

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - Intersection of Two Planes with Parallel Horizontal Projections

Planes APA’ and BQB’ are parallel in the horizontal plane (see their respective horizontal projections AP and BQ) and intersect along line (o, c’)-(d, d’) (wire).
Description
Planes APA’ and BQB’ are parallel in the horizontal plane (see their respective horizontal projections AP and BQ) and intersect along line (o, c’)-(d, d’) (wire). This intersection is also parallel to the horizontal projections of the two planes (observe that cd is also parallel in the horizontal plane).
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.15
catalog number
1986.0885.01.15
accession number
1986.0885

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - Rotation of a Point about an Axis in the Horizontal Plane

Point (m, m’) is rotated about line ab. Point n on the horizontal plane is the foot of the perpendicular from the point to line ab.
Description
Point (m, m’) is rotated about line ab. Point n on the horizontal plane is the foot of the perpendicular from the point to line ab. Point M1 is the result of rotation of the point about line nm; M2 is the result of rotation about line ab.
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.11
catalog number
1986.0885.01.11
accession number
1986.0885

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - Rotation of a Point about a Vertical or Horizontal Line

Figure 1 shows the rotation and projections of point (m, m’) about a horizontal line perpendicular to the vertical plane through point a’.
Description
Figure 1 shows the rotation and projections of point (m, m’) about a horizontal line perpendicular to the vertical plane through point a’. Figure 2 shows the rotation and projections of point (m, m’) about the vertical line perpendicular to the horizontal at point a.
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.10
catalog number
1986.0885.01.10
accession number
1986.0885

Haff Game Counter, U.S. Patent Office Model

This small and incomplete model from the U.S. Patent Office well illustrates the technology used to store information about patent models. Attached to the knob by red tape are two labels. The smaller tag records the entry of the model into the office on March 17, 1881.
Description
This small and incomplete model from the U.S. Patent Office well illustrates the technology used to store information about patent models. Attached to the knob by red tape are two labels. The smaller tag records the entry of the model into the office on March 17, 1881. It indicates in pen the name of the inventor, Leroy B. Haff, the type of the invention (a game counter) and the date received. The front of the tag also is marked in pencil “issued.” The back of this tag also has the pen marks S 28482, 23 Div, and 84/1044.
A second tag, attached to the model by the same piece of red tape, is the patent tag. It has what appears to be a form number, as well as space for the patent number (242635), the patentee (here spelled Le Roy B. Haff), the subject of the patent (Game-Counter), and the date patented (June 7, 1881). Glued to the back of the tag is a printed summary of the drawing and claims. This is heavily damaged.
Haff’s invention was a small counter that recorded both points scored in a card game such as whist and the number of games won. Only the upper part of the model has survived.
The inventor, Leroy (or Le Roy) B. Haff of Englewood, N.J., was no doubt the silversmith Leroy B. Haff (1841-1893) who lived in Engelwood and was a partner in the New York firm of silversmiths, Dominick & Haff. He also took out a patent for a corkscrew in 1889.
References:
Le Roy B. Haff, “Game-Counter,” U. S. Patent 242,635, June 7, 1881.
Le Roy B. Haff, “Pocket-Corkscrew,” U S. Patent 356936, February 1, 1887.
U. S. Census, 1880.
“The Death of Leroy B. Haff,” The Jeweler’s Circular and Horological Review, vol. 22, #9, September 27, 1893, p. 13.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1881
patentee
Haff, Le Roy B.
maker
Haff, Le Roy B.
ID Number
1987.0107.02
accession number
1987.0107
catalog number
1987.0107.02

Geometric Model by J. Schroeder, 21, Triangular Pyramid

This wooden model of a regular triangular pyramid has an equilateral triangle on the base and three isoceles triangles for sides. A mark incised on it reads: 21. For further information about these models, see 1982.0795.39.Currently not on view
Description
This wooden model of a regular triangular pyramid has an equilateral triangle on the base and three isoceles triangles for sides. A mark incised on it reads: 21. For further information about these models, see 1982.0795.39.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1889
ID Number
1982.0795.40
catalog number
1982.0795.40
accession number
1982.0795

Model for Descriptive Geometry by A. Jullien - Through a Given Point Construct a Plane Perpendicular to a Given Line

The black string represents the given line bc’, while the point (a, a’) at the bend of the wire represents the given point. The horizontal line coming out of the vertical plane denoted cd’ is perpendicular to line bc’.
Description
The black string represents the given line bc’, while the point (a, a’) at the bend of the wire represents the given point. The horizontal line coming out of the vertical plane denoted cd’ is perpendicular to line bc’. Point P is the intersection of the vertical and horizontal projections of the wire with the x-axis. It follows that plane FPF’ which contains the line (c,0)-(0,d’) (wire) is also perpendicular to line bc’.
For more details, see COLL.1986.0885 and 1986.0885.01.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
maker
Jullien, A.
ID Number
1986.0885.01.21
catalog number
1986.0885.01.21
accession number
1986.0885

Hollerith Punch Card for Use in the Baltimore Census of Mortality

By the late 19th century, the U.S. government no longer could compile all the statistics it needed by hand. The engineer Herman Hollerith designed a tabulating machine to count Americans by machine.
Description
By the late 19th century, the U.S. government no longer could compile all the statistics it needed by hand. The engineer Herman Hollerith designed a tabulating machine to count Americans by machine. Hollerith tried out his machine by compiling mortality statistics for the city of Baltimore on cards like this one. When this trial was successful, a modified form of Hollerith's card was used for the 1890 Census.
This card has 32 rows of three circular punch positions along both of its long edges. It could be punched with holes using a punch like that used by a railroad conductor. It is intended for compiling the vital statistics for the city of Baltimore. It includes fields relating to place of origin (United States or Foreign and, once this choice was made, region or country of origin), cause of death, occupation (and possibly spouse's occupation), race, sex, and marital status. Four rows of holes, numbered from 1 to 12, may refer to the month of death, two columns numbered from 0 to 9 may refer to the day of death, and two columns with the numbers from 1 to 11 and 0. This is the earliest punch card of which Truesdell had a specific record.
References:
G. D. Austrian, Herman Hollerith: Forgotten Pioneer of Information Processing, New York: Columbia University Press, 1982, pp. 39–40.
L. E. Truesdell, The Development of Punch Card Tabulation in the Bureau of the Census, pp. 38–39.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1887
maker
Hollerith, Herman
ID Number
MA.317982.02
accession number
317982
catalog number
317982.02

Comptometer, Wooden Box Model

By the 1880s, American business and government used reams of figures to track how they were doing. The Comptometer, invented in Chicago by Dorr E. Felt in the mid-1880s, was one of the first machines that sold successfully to help with this work.
Description
By the 1880s, American business and government used reams of figures to track how they were doing. The Comptometer, invented in Chicago by Dorr E. Felt in the mid-1880s, was one of the first machines that sold successfully to help with this work. This key-driven machine is one of the first eight Felt built for customers. It has eight columns of metal keys with nine keys in each column. The keys are stamped with the digits from 1 to 9. The case is of cherry, with a metal plate at the front. Nine windows in this metal plate reveal digits on nine number wheels that indicate the total. A zeroing lever and knob are on the left side of the machine.
This particular Comptometer was used for many years by Joseph S. McCoy, Actuary of the U.S. Treasury. Felt and his associates would greatly improve the machine, and sell it successfully throughout much of the world.
References:
U.S. Patent 366945, (Application July 6, 1887, granted July 19, 1887); U.S. Patent 371496 (application March, 1887, granted October 11, 1887).
Accession Journal 1991.3107.06.
J. A. V. Turck, Origin of Modern Calculating Machines, Chicago: Western Society of Engineers, 1921.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1886
maker
Felt, Dorr E.
ID Number
MA.273035
catalog number
273035
accession number
54244

Triangular Scale Signed W. Metcalf

On one face this 12" steel triangular rule has scales for 3/16" and 3/8" to the foot. Between these scales is a scale divided to 3/32", numbered from left to right by twos from 0 to 62, and numbered from right to left by fours from 4 to [1]24.
Description
On one face this 12" steel triangular rule has scales for 3/16" and 3/8" to the foot. Between these scales is a scale divided to 3/32", numbered from left to right by twos from 0 to 62, and numbered from right to left by fours from 4 to [1]24. The second face has a scale of inches numbered by ones from 1 to 12. The first two inches are divided to 1/128"; the next two inches are divided to 1/64"; inches 4–6 are divided to 1/32"; inches 6–8 are divided to 1/16"; and inches 8–12 are divided to 1/8".
The third face also has a scale of inches numbered by ones from 1 to 12. The first two inches are divided to 1/100"; the next two inches are divided to 1/50"; inches 4–6 are divided to 1/20"; inches 6–8 are divided to 1/96"; inches 8–10 are divided to 1/48"; and inches 10–12 are divided to 1/24". This side is marked: W. Metcalf 1882.
Sisters Elizabeth Henshaw Metcalf (1852–1925) and Sarah Spathding Metcalf (1858–1939) donated this rule to the Smithsonian in 1931, within several containers of materials sent from the family home in Worcester, Mass. The bulk of the materials were ethnographic specimens collected by the women as they visited and lived in the Philippines at various times between 1905 and their deaths. The name on the rule probably refers to their brother, Wallace Metcalf (1854–1904). He graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1873, lived with his sisters for many years, and worked in Worcester as a civil engineer.
References: Cherubim A. Quizon, "Two Yankee Women at the St. Louis Fair: The Metcalf Sisters and their Bagobo Sojourn in Mindanao," Philippine Studies 52, no. 4 (2004): 527–555; "Alumni Notes," The Journal of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute 7, no. 4 (May 1904): 355; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1882
owner
Metcalf, W.
ID Number
MA.362778
accession number
114868
catalog number
362778

Lead Screw from Rowland's Ruling Engine

This is one of two steel screws from the first ruling engine built at Johns Hopkins University under the direction of Henry A. Rowland.
Description
This is one of two steel screws from the first ruling engine built at Johns Hopkins University under the direction of Henry A. Rowland. The screws were damaged by fire and damp, but restored for exhibition purposes.
Compare MA.315229 and MA.315230.
On Rowland and his ruling engines, see MA.333877.
Reference:
Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1882
maker
Rowland, Henry A.
ID Number
MA.315230
catalog number
315230
accession number
218478

Webb Adder

This two-wheeled stylus-operated non-printing adding machine is in a wooden frame. The large brass wheel has a ring of holes and the numbers 00 to 99 stamped around the edge. The numbers 0 to 99 also are stamped around the window for the larger wheel.
Description
This two-wheeled stylus-operated non-printing adding machine is in a wooden frame. The large brass wheel has a ring of holes and the numbers 00 to 99 stamped around the edge. The numbers 0 to 99 also are stamped around the window for the larger wheel. Numbers are added by rotation of the wheels. Answers are recorded on a pedometer-like dial that has separate windows for ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands. The frame is screwed to the cover plate. There is a stylus. The large wheel is marked: C.H.WEBB. N.Y. It is also marked: “THE ADDER" PATD MARCH 10TH 1868. The back has the serial number: C1053. The dial is a modification of the instrument. It is marked on paper attached over the small wheel: N.Y.STANDARD WATCH COMPANY.
Charles Henry Webb (1834-1905) was a journalist, playwright, poet, and roamer. He patented a second version of this device in 1889. This example was owned by the Draper family of New York.
References:
C. H. Webb, “Improvement in Adding Machines,” U.S. Patent 75322, March 10, 1868.
“Machine for Addition,” Journal of the Franklin Institute, 60 (1870): pp. 8-9.
P. A. Kidwell, “The Webb Adder,” Rittenhouse, 1 (1986), pp. 12-18.
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, p. 63.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1868-1889
patentee
Webb, Charles H.
maker
Webb, Charles H.
ID Number
MA.335359
accession number
304826
catalog number
335359

Payen Arithmometer

This stepped drum manual non-printing calculating machine has a brass and steel mechanism that fits snugly in a wooden case. Six levers, each with a stepped drum beneath it, move back to set digits.
Description
This stepped drum manual non-printing calculating machine has a brass and steel mechanism that fits snugly in a wooden case. Six levers, each with a stepped drum beneath it, move back to set digits. The brass plate that covers the drums and the top of the machine has slits in it to allow these and other parts to move. The edges of the slits next to digit levers are numbered from 0 to 9 to indicate the digit entered. A lever to the left of these is either pushed back for addition and multiplication or forward for subtraction and division. Further to the left is a glass-covered compartment. Right of the digit levers is the operating crank. It has an ivory handle, which bends down so that the lid would close. The lid is missing.
Behind the levers is a movable carriage that can be set in seven different positions. It has seven windows for the revolution register and 12 windows for the result register. The revolution counter register turns clockwise for subtraction and division and counterclockwise for addition and multiplication. Rotating a black knob on the right of the carriage zeros the revolution register, and rotating a knob on the left zeros the result register. Turning the thumbscrews enters numbers in both the revolution and the result registers. Between the windows are holes for decimal markers, although there are no markers. The bottom of the case is covered with red felt. Holes in the sides of the case permit motion of the zeroing mechanisms in the carriage.
A mark on the center front reads: ARITHMOMETRE (/) No 2345 (/) L. PAYEN (/) PARIS (/) 44, RUE DE CHATEAUDUN, 44. A mark to the left of this reads: 16. A tag on the inside of the bottom of the case reads: G.F. REDFERN (/) SOLE AGENT FOR (/) ENGLAND,AMERICA (/) AND THE (/) COLONIES (/) SOUTH ST FINSBURY LONDON.
Charles Xavier Thomas first envisioned a calculating machine in the 1820s, and by the mid-19th century was manufacturing commercial products. When Thomas died in 1870, his business was taken over by his longtime associate L. Payen. Payen continued to sell arithmometers under Thomas’s name until the mid-1880s. This is a relatively early example of a machine manufactured by Payen under his own name. Payen later introduced a rather different form of stepped drum machine.
This example was part of the collections of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company of Chicago and its successor firm, Victor Comptometer Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1887
maker
L. Payen
Payen, L.
ID Number
MA.323656
catalog number
323656
accession number
250163
maker number
2345

Counter for Magnetic Coils

As the eminent British physicist James Clerk Maxwell pointed out in his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, it was important for 19th century scientists to count the number of turns of wire laid down in constructing galvanometer coils and similar electrical instruments.
Description
As the eminent British physicist James Clerk Maxwell pointed out in his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, it was important for 19th century scientists to count the number of turns of wire laid down in constructing galvanometer coils and similar electrical instruments. To do this, Maxwell used a string attached to a shaft turned by the same lathe that held the wheel on which the wire of the coil was wound. Nails helped count the turns of the shaft marked by the string. A device linked to the wheel measured the wire as it turned on the wheel to form the coil, detecting changes in circumference.
This instrument has a brass wheel 18 cm. in diameter. The wheel turns in a steel yoke with a wooden handle. According to the accession file, it was designed by James Clerk Maxwell for measuring the wire in a coil. It lacks a counting element and has no maker’s marks.
References:
Accession File 218174.
James Clerk Maxwell, A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, 2, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1873, p. 314. Subsequent editions of the book contained the same image.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
ID Number
MA.315174
catalog number
315174
accession number
219145

Comptograph

Not long after inventing the Comptometer, Dorr E. Felt of Chicago proposed a machine that would print the results of computations.
Description
Not long after inventing the Comptometer, Dorr E. Felt of Chicago proposed a machine that would print the results of computations. This is an example of that machine, the Comptograph.
The full keyboard printing manual adding machine has a case made out of cherrywood and eight columns of metal keys with white discs in the metal key tops. Digits and complements of digits are indicated on the discs. There are nine keys in each of the eight columns. A spring surrounds each key stem. The cover under the keys is made up of wooden slats with holes drilled in them, with one slat for each column of keys. Slats are alternately of cherry and a lighter-colored wood (possibly beech). In front of the keyboard is a shaped tin plate with 9 windows cut in it to reveal 9 metal wheels that record totals. A row of eight levers above the dials provides decimal markers.
On the right side of the machine toward the front are a knob and a small lever. Depressing the lever allows one to turn the knob and zero the total wheels. To the right of the keyboard is a large button that advances the paper tape and ribbon. This tape and the mechanisms for printing the numbers entered and the totals are behind the keyboard. It appears that only eight-digit totals are printed. The paper tape is set inside a cherrywood lid that folds down when the machine is not in use. A knob on the right side at the back advances the carriage when loading paper. Compare to MA.323633.
According to J. A. V. Turck, a machine of this type was at the National Museum in Washington in 1921. It seems likely that this is the machine he refers to, although the machine pictured by Turck more closely resembles MA.323633, which arrived later.
Reference:
J. A. V. Turck, Origin of Modern Calculating Machines, Chicago: Western Society of Engineers, 1921, pp. 116-120.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1889
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.322454
catalog number
322454
maker number
38
accession number
247834

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