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: Chicago

Comptograph with Typewriter

In the first half of the 20th century, a few companies manufactured accounting machines that could both type text and carry out routine calculations.
Description
In the first half of the 20th century, a few companies manufactured accounting machines that could both type text and carry out routine calculations. This is an experimental combined typewriter and adding machine.
It has a cherrywood case and eight columns of metal key stems, with turquoise and white color-coded discs set in the metal key tops. Digits and complements of digits are shown on the discs. There are nine keys in each column. The cover under the keys consists of metal slats with holes drilled in them. There is one slat for each column of keys. A glass window at the front shows nine metal wheels that record totals. Only eight-digit entries and totals print. On the right side toward the front are a knob and a lever. Depressing the lever allows one to turn the knob and zero the total. Immediately to the right of the keyboard is a small lever that is pushed up to release the keys. Further to the right are two large buttons attached to levers. To the left at the front is another large button on a straight shaft.
Behind and above the keyboard is a typewriter with QWERTY keyboard. The type for the typewriter is below these keys. There is a lever on the upper left side of the typewriter carriage to shift the case of the letters and one on the upper right of the typewriter to slide the carriage left or right. At the back is a wide carriage, the printing mechanism for the adding machine, and a ribbon. There are two bells under the typewriter, one on top of each spool of the ribbon.
According to documentation, this machine was an experimental model of inventor Dorr E. Felt and never led to any patent or product. The coloring of the keys resembles that on Comptometer MA.248688, which dates from 1898 and Comptograph MA.323632, which dates from 1900.
Reference:
Accession Journal, 1991.3107.06.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.323636
catalog number
323636
accession number
250163

Comptometer Section, Model F, 1/6 Fraction

This is an experimental model of a section of a full-keyboard non-listing adding machine. It has one column of five white plastic keys on the right, two partial columns of black keys in the center, and one column of nine black keys on the left.
Description
This is an experimental model of a section of a full-keyboard non-listing adding machine. It has one column of five white plastic keys on the right, two partial columns of black keys in the center, and one column of nine black keys on the left. Complementary digits are indicated. The keys are alternately concave (odd digits) and flat (even digits). There are four numeral dials at the front, a zeroing lever on the right side, and a red button on the right behind the keyboard. The dial in the rightmost position is numbered zero to 5 and is slightly smaller than the others. There are two subtraction levers and no decimal markers. There is no base and no cover.
A mechanism to record fractional sixths or sixtieths, it was built at Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company in Chicago, but not produced. It was in the collections of Felt & Tarrant, and came to the Smithsonian from the successor firm of Victor Comptometer Corporation.
Reference:
Accession Journal 1991.3107.06
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.323637
catalog number
323637
accession number
250163

Comptometer Model C, British Currency Indexer

This full-keyboard non-printing adding machine has a steel frame painted black, a steel mechanism, and eight columns of black and white plastic keys, with complementary digits indicated. The rightmost column has three black keys and indications of quarters from 1/4 to 3/4.
Description
This full-keyboard non-printing adding machine has a steel frame painted black, a steel mechanism, and eight columns of black and white plastic keys, with complementary digits indicated. The rightmost column has three black keys and indications of quarters from 1/4 to 3/4. The second column has eleven white keys. The third column has nine black keys. The fourth column from the right has one black key. The four left columns have nine keys each. The keys are alternately concave (odd digits) and flat (even digits). The machine is designed for calculations involving pounds, shillings, and pence.
Thesubtraction levers are at the front of the columns of keys, decimal indicators in front of these, and nine windows covered with clear plastic that show the result. The wheel in the first position is divided to read eighths. A zeroing lever is on the right side. At the back of the machine is a metal attachment painted black that holds five paper-covered dials. Four of these dials are covered with metal shutters. The shutters are opened manually by pressing down on the key directly below the shutter. The shutter is then locked in position. A release lever on the left side closes the shutter. A knob on the left side manually rotates the dials. The entire instrument is designed to make it easier to multiply units of British currency. The machine has serial number 33077.
A label received with the object indicates that the British Currency Indexer was made approximately in 1914.
Reference:
Felt & Tarrant, Accession Journal, 1991.3107.06.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1909
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.323654
maker number
33077
catalog number
323654
accession number
250163

Macaroni Box Model Comptometer (Replica)

This is a replica of the prototype for the Comptometer, a key-driven adding machine invented by Dorr E. Felt of Chicago. It is an open wooden box (originally used to store macaroni) with one row of "key stems" across the top.
Description
This is a replica of the prototype for the Comptometer, a key-driven adding machine invented by Dorr E. Felt of Chicago. It is an open wooden box (originally used to store macaroni) with one row of "key stems" across the top. There are five skewers in the row, although there are holes for nine of them. Beneath this are five wooden levers and then five levers with rows of wooden discs on them. Further mechanism at the front of the machine incorporates both corks and metal gears and discs. Rubber bands, used to set the levers to accept the next keystroke, are missing.
Compare the original, which has catalog number MA.311192.
Reference:
J. A. V. Turck, Origin of Modern Calculating Machines, Chicago: Western Society of Engineers, 1921, pp. 52-56.
date made
ca 1933
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.323646
catalog number
323646
accession number
250163

Turck Model 510 Comptometer

In the early 20th century, inventors strove to adapt a variety of adding machines to electrical power sources.
Description
In the early 20th century, inventors strove to adapt a variety of adding machines to electrical power sources. This experimental model represents an early attempt of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company to do this for the Comptometer.
This full-keyboard non-printing adding machine has a metal case, painted black. It has seven columns of digit keys and eight recording wheels for results. A single column of nine blue plastic keys is on the left. Complementary digits are indicated on the keys. The keys are alternately concave (odd digits) and flat (even digits). Subtraction levers are just in front of the keys, then a row of seven decimal markers, and, in front of these, a row of eight windows. An “ADD. / MULT.” lever is at the back left of the machine. A zeroing lever is on the right side, and a crank at the back is used to provide power.
When the machine is set on “mult.,” one presses a number to be multiplied on the black and white keys, and the digit by which it is to be multiplied, on the blue keys. One then turns the crank at the back a number of times equal to the multiplier (alternately, this crank could be turned by an outside motor). When one has completed the sequence, all the keys pop up. In adding, one presses down a number to be added, turns the crank at the back entering the number, presses down another number, and turns the crank to complete the addition (again, the turning of the crank could be replaced by the action of a motor). This machine was never produced, although the “rock frame” was used in the Model H Comptometer and became a standard feature of later Comptometers.
The model was in the collections of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company and donated to the Smithsonian by the successor firm of Victor Comptometer Corporation.
References:
Felt & Tarrant, Accession Journal 1991.3107.06. The machine is Catalogue No. 75.
U.S. Patent 1371954, granted to J. A. V. Turck on March 15, 1921.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1916
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.323645
catalog number
323645
accession number
250163

Comptometer Model F

This full-keyboard non-printing adding machine has a copper-colored steel case. The keys are in ten columns, colored according to the place value of the digit entered. Complementary digits are indicated on them.
Description
This full-keyboard non-printing adding machine has a copper-colored steel case. The keys are in ten columns, colored according to the place value of the digit entered. Complementary digits are indicated on them. The keys are alternately concave (odd digits) and flat (even digits). At the front are subtraction levers and numbered decimal markers. In front of these are eleven windows, covered with clear plastic, which reveal the result on the number wheels. A zeroing lever is on the right side. This is the last of the Comptometers to be designed by Dorr E. Felt. After this, the firm of Felt & Tarrant relied on the work of other inventors.
The machine has serial number 130780, which is indicated to the left of the keyboard. A metal plate screwed to the top of the machine in back of the keyboard is marked: TRADE COMPTOMETER MARK (/) PAT’D [. . .] (/) Felt & Tarrant Mfg. Co. (/) CHICAGO. The last patent date listed on the plate is: SEP.15.14
A Model F Comptometer with serial number 100,346 was produced in May, 1915, hence this machine is somewhat later. The model H succeeded the model F in 1920.
This machine was a gift of John T. Cheney of Washington, D.C.
Reference:
Felt & Tarrant, Accession Journal 1991.3107.06
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1917
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.333576
maker number
130780
catalog number
333576
accession number
299951

Pamphlet, Rapid Mechanical Calculation

This illustrated pamphlet describes the advantages of using the duplex Comptometer in the modern business world..For a related letter, see MA.304826.060. The document was received with a later model of the Comptometer (see MA.335357).Reference:P. A.
Description
This illustrated pamphlet describes the advantages of using the duplex Comptometer in the modern business world..
For a related letter, see MA.304826.060. The document was received with a later model of the Comptometer (see MA.335357).
Reference:
P. A. Kidwell, “American Scientists and Calculating Machines: From Novelty to Commonplace,” Annals of the History of Computing, 12, 1990, pp. 31-40.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1904
ca 1905
1905
maker
Felt & Tarrant Mfg. Co.
ID Number
MA.304826.64
accession number
304826
catalog number
304826.64

Wooden Box Model Comptometer

This key-driven non-printing adding machine has eight columns of metal keys with nine keys in each column. It is an early production model of an adding machine designed by Dorr E.
Description
This key-driven non-printing adding machine has eight columns of metal keys with nine keys in each column. It is an early production model of an adding machine designed by Dorr E. Felt of Chicago.
The keys in each column are stamped with the digits from 1 to 9 and the digits are painted white. No complementary digits are indicated, and the key tops are flat and entirely of metal. There is a spring around each key stem and the key stem passes through the key top. The stems become progressively longer as the digits become larger. The case is of cherry. The lower part of the metal plate on the front side is missing. Nine windows in the upper part of this plate reveal digits on nine number wheels that indicate totals. A zeroing lever and knob are on the right side of the machine. There are no decimal markers or subtraction levers.
A metal tag screwed to the top of the machine behind the keyboard reads: FELT & FOSTER (/) CHICAGO (/) PAT’D JULY 19.87.OCT 11.87. A label received with the machine indicates that it was used by Mr. G. W. Martin in offices of the Chicago Gas Company from 1887 to 1903.
A metal model tag stored with the object reads: 3. Photographs in the Accession Journal of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company indicate that machine #3 in that collection was rather different, resembling more closely a wooden box Comptometer in the Smithsonian collections with catalog number MA.273035.
References: U.S. Patents 366945 and 371496.
Felt & Tarrant, 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
1887
maker
Felt & Foster
ID Number
MA.323648
catalog number
323648
accession number
250163

Comptograph

After inventing the Comptometer, Dorr E. Felt turned his attention to manufacturing a printing adding machine, which he dubbed the Comptograph. This early example is a full keyboard adding machine in a wooden case, with eight columns of metal keys covered with white discs.
Description
After inventing the Comptometer, Dorr E. Felt turned his attention to manufacturing a printing adding machine, which he dubbed the Comptograph. This early example is a full keyboard adding machine in a wooden case, with eight columns of metal keys covered with white discs. Each key stem has spring around it. Digits and complements of digits are indicated on the discs. In front of the keys are nine number wheels, visible through a glass window in a metal plate. The printing mechanism is at the back of the machine. Two large buttons, one on the right of the machine and the other on the left, are depressed to control this mechanism. The right button advances the inked ribbon to the take-up spool. What appears to be a zeroing knob and lever for the numeral wheels is at the front on the right, although it does not function. There is no paper tape. The section at the top of the machine that holds the metal tape folds over to protect the printing mechanism when not in use. A wire tray can be positioned to hold the paper tape.
The machine is marked with the serial number in the middle of the front and on the mechanism in the back right. this is: 209. A metal tag attached to the right side of the object reads: COMPTOGRAPH (/) PATENTED (/) JULY 19. 87. 366,945 (/) OCT. 11. 87 371,495 (/) JAN. 8. 89. 396,034 (/) JUN. [. . .] 89. 405,924 (/) NOV. 25. 90 441,232 (/) 441239 (/) It also reads: FELT & TARRANT MFG. CO. (/) 52 - 56 ILLINOIS ST. (/) CHICAGO. It also reads: COMPTOGRAPH (TRADE MARK).
References:
J. A. V. Turck, Origin of Modern Calculating Machines, Chicago: Western Society of Engineers, 1921, p. 119.
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, p. 104 ff.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.273036
catalog number
273036
maker number
209
accession number
54245

Ve-Po-Ad Adder

This black and gold notched band adder comes in a maroon cloth-covered cardboard notebook with a rusting stylus. It has eight columns of digits, and nine windows for displaying results. The narrow zeroing rod is at the top.
Description
This black and gold notched band adder comes in a maroon cloth-covered cardboard notebook with a rusting stylus. It has eight columns of digits, and nine windows for displaying results. The narrow zeroing rod is at the top. With the object is a piece of the wrapping in which the adder was sent, showing the postage and date mailed.
With MA.323626, this object is F&T 43 (1&2) from the collection of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company.
The VE-PO-AD (Vest Pocket Adder) was sold by Reliable Typewriter and Adding Machine Corporation of Chicago from at least 1924 through at least 1940.
References: Typewriter Topics, 57 (July 1924) p. 80.
Popular Science Monthly, 126 (January 1933) p. 107.
Popular Mechanics, 73 (January 1940) p. 127A, (February 1940) p. 151A, (March, 1940) p. 123A.
P. Kidwell, "Adders Made and Used in the United States," Rittenhouse, 1994, 8:78-96.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1937
distributor
Reliable Typewriter & Adding Machine Corporation
maker
Reliable Typewriter & Adding Machine Corporation
ID Number
MA.323627
catalog number
323627
accession number
250163

Comptometer Model J With Operator's Lock

This full keyboard key-driven non-printing adding machine has eight columns of keys. These are colored white and green, with digits and complementary digits. Keys for odd digits are concave, those for even ones are flat. Key stems become taller going from front to back.
Description
This full keyboard key-driven non-printing adding machine has eight columns of keys. These are colored white and green, with digits and complementary digits. Keys for odd digits are concave, those for even ones are flat. Key stems become taller going from front to back. The mechanism has a steel cover painted brown. Decimal markers, number wheels, and subtraction levers are at the front of the machine, and a zeroing crank is on the right side. The holes showing the nine number wheels are covered with clear plastic. A red button above the keyboard on the right, and a black knob with an arrow on it is above the keyboard on the left.
The machine is marked to the left of the keyboard with serial number J279,961. It is marked across the front of the machine: Comptometer. It is marked on a metal plaque on top of the machine in back of the keyboard: TRADE COMPTOMETER MARK. It is also marked there with a series of patent dates, the last of which is: NOV.2.20. It was received with a metal tag that reads: 14.
The Model J Comptometer was introduced by Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company of Chicago in 1926. Improved design and construction reduced the effort of operating the keys, compared to earlier models. This model also featured a operator’s lock, which locked the Comptometer so that new data could not be entered when a calculation was entered. Rotating the black knob so that the arrow points to the front locked the machine. This example came from the collection of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company, and was given to the Smithsonian by the successor company, Victor Comptometer Corporation.
References: U.S. Patent 1,927,856 (granted September 26, 1933).
Felt & Tarrant, Accession Journal, 1991.3107.06.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1926
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.323644
maker number
J279,961
catalog number
323644
accession number
250163

American Adding Machine, Model 0

This lever set non-printing manually operated adding machine has an etched steel case painted black. Seven levers move in circular arcs between slots in the case.
Description
This lever set non-printing manually operated adding machine has an etched steel case painted black. Seven levers move in circular arcs between slots in the case. The case is painted along the edges of the slots with the digits from 0 to 9 (large and in black and white) and 9 to 0 (small and in red). The large digits are used for addition, the small ones for subtraction. A corrugation or depression in the cover is found at the place of each digit. Digits are set by placing the index finger in the corresponding depression and raising the lever by the thumb until it is stopped by the finger. They are entered by moving down a metal handle with a wooden knob on the right side. The result appears in seven windows above the levers. Rotating a knob on the left side of the machine transforms the action of the handle from addition to zeroing. Another handle on the right side zeros digits set incorrectly. The machine has four rubber feet.
The machine is marked on a plaque attached to the front: AMERICAN (/) ADDING MACHINE (/) AMERICAN CAN COMPANY (/) ADDING MACHINE DIVISION (/) CHICAGO, ILL. No 1153. It is also marked there: PAT. AUG. 27, 1912 (/) OTHER PATS. PEND.
By mid-1922, American Adding Machines were made by the American Adding Machine Company of Chicago. Compare MA.333921.
References:
J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, pp. 27, 518.
Jervis R. Harbeck, "Adding-Machine," U.S. Patent 1,036,614, August 27, 1912.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1914
maker
American Can Company Adding Machine Division
ID Number
MA.323606
accession number
250163
maker number
1153
catalog number
323606

Wooden Box Model Comptometer

This key-driven non-printing adding machine has eight columns of metal keys, with nine keys in each column. It indicates totals with as many as nine digits. It is the sixth of eight production models made by American inventor and entrepreneur Dorr E.
Description
This key-driven non-printing adding machine has eight columns of metal keys, with nine keys in each column. It indicates totals with as many as nine digits. It is the sixth of eight production models made by American inventor and entrepreneur Dorr E. Felt of Chicago as he began his work with key-driven adding machines in 1886 and 1887.
The keys in each column are stamped with the numbers from 1 to 9, with the digits colored black. The key stems pass through the key tops and there is a spring around each key stem. The stems become progressively longer as the digits get larger. No complementary digits are indicated, and the key tops are flat and entirely of metal. 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 right side of the machine. The base is covered with green felt. Metal and paper tags are stored with object.
The machine is marked on a metal tag screwed to the top in back of the keyboard: D.E.FELT MFR (/) PAT’S PENDING. A metal tag stored with the machine reads: 2. There is no serial number
According to the accession journal of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company, received from the successor firm of Victor Comptometer Corporation, this was the sixth of the first eight marketable Comptometers built by Felt with the help of R. F. Foster in the fall of 1886. It was secured by Felt & Tarrant from Mr. Foster in 1938.
References:
Felt & Tarrant, 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.323649
catalog number
323649
accession number
250163

A. H. Abbott & Co. Rule

This one-sided boxwood rule is beveled along both long edges. The top edge is divided to half-inches and numbered from 0 to 5. The half-inch points are numbered by twos from 0 to 8.
Description
This one-sided boxwood rule is beveled along both long edges. The top edge is divided to half-inches and numbered from 0 to 5. The half-inch points are numbered by twos from 0 to 8. The last half-inch is divided into 12 parts, and the inch to the right of the scale is divided into 24 parts. The other edge is divided to quarter-inches, numbered from left to right by fours from 0 to 44 and numbered from right to left by twos from 0 to 22. The ends of the scale divide 1/8" and 1/4", respectively, into 12 parts.
The ruler is marked on its interior: A. H. ABBOTT & Co. (/) CHICAGO. It is also marked: U.S.ST'D. Initials are scratched on the ruler: W.F.M. Abbott sold art supplies and mathematical instruments in Chicago in the 19th and 20th centuries. This ruler is not shown in the company's 1896 catalog, but it was advertised for 50¢ in the 1906 catalog. The initials may refer to William F. Meggers (1888–1966), an American spectroscopist long associated with the U.S. National Bureau of Standards. He received his B.A. in physics from Ripon College in 1910, his M.A. in physics from the University of Wisconsin in 1916, and his Ph.D. in physics, mathematics, and astronomy from Johns Hopkins University in 1917.
References: A. H. Abbott & Co., Drawing Material: Mathematical and Surveying Instruments of Every Description (Chicago, 1906), 185; "Dr. Meggers Dies at 78," The NBS Standard 11, no. 9 (December 1966): 2–3.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1906
maker
A. H. Abbott & Co.
ID Number
MA.293320.2819
accession number
293320
catalog number
293320.2819

Comptometer, Macaroni Box Model

This is the prototype for the Comptometer, a key-driven adding machine invented by Dorr E. Felt of Chicago.
Description
This is the prototype for the Comptometer, a key-driven adding machine invented by Dorr E. Felt of Chicago. It is a scarred wooden box (originally used to transport macaroni) that contains the levers and wheels for a 5-column adding machine with one partial column of keys (wooden skewers), four of which are missing. The number dials are at the front. Two screws are on the top of the back panel. A series of rubber bands, used to set the levers to accept the next keystroke, are missing.
Compare to replica, which has catalog number MA.323646.
Reference:
J. A. V. Turck, Origin of Modern Calculating Machines, Chicago: Western Society of Engineers, 1921, pp. 52-56.
date made
1884-1885
maker
Felt, Dorr E.
ID Number
MA.311192
catalog number
311192
accession number
143207

Comptometer Model J

In 1927 officials at Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company of Chicago learned that rival Burroughs Adding Machine Company of Detroit had one of its recent machines on exhibit at the U.S. National Museum (as the Smithsonian’s museum was then called).
Description
In 1927 officials at Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company of Chicago learned that rival Burroughs Adding Machine Company of Detroit had one of its recent machines on exhibit at the U.S. National Museum (as the Smithsonian’s museum was then called). They offered to supply the museum with an example of their latest adding machine, the Model J Comptometer, and to construct a section of the device for display. The museum accepted the offer, and received both this Comptometer and a related model.
This machine has a brown metal case and eight columns of green and off-white color-coded plastic-covered keys. Odd numbered keys are concave, even numbered keys flat. Complementary digits are indicated on the keys. The first key pressed after the machine has been zeroed rings a bell. There are numbered decimal markers, subtraction levers, and a row of nine windows at the front to indicate the result shown on number wheels below. A zeroing crank is on the right. There is a red key at the back of the keyboard on the right.
The machine is marked on the front and back of the case: Comptometer. It his serial number marked to the left of the keyboard near the front: J264527. A metal tag behind the keyboard reads in part: TRADE COMPTOMETER MARK. It also is marked with several patent dates. The last is: Nov.2.20.
For a related object, see 309394.
Reference:
Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1926
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.309393
accession number
98776
maker number
J264527
catalog number
309393

Comptometer Model C, British Currency

This model of an adding machine section has a single black key “1” key, with a complementary 0 digit, in the rightmost column. Left of this is a column of nine white keys. Keys for odd digit keys are concave, and those for even digits are flat.
Description
This model of an adding machine section has a single black key “1” key, with a complementary 0 digit, in the rightmost column. Left of this is a column of nine white keys. Keys for odd digit keys are concave, and those for even digits are flat. Three numeral wheels are at the front. The rightmost has alternate zeros and ones, and the two to the left both have the digits from 0 to 9. There is a handle on the right side. There is no case. The keys apparently could be used to add shillings (there being 20 to a pound).
This object came to the Smithsonian from Victor Comptometer Corporation, the successor firm to Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company.
References:
Accession Journal 1991.3107.06.
British Patent No. 5387 to Dorr E. Felt, applied for March 5, 1909, and granted June 6, 1910.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1909
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.323652
accession number
250163
catalog number
323652

Comptometer Model B, 1/20 Fraction

This full-keyboard non-printing adding machine has a metal top and mechanism, eight columns of color-coded octagonal plastic keys with complementary digits indicated, and a zeroing crank on the right side. The second column of keys from the right has only one key in it.
Description
This full-keyboard non-printing adding machine has a metal top and mechanism, eight columns of color-coded octagonal plastic keys with complementary digits indicated, and a zeroing crank on the right side. The second column of keys from the right has only one key in it. The keys are alternately concave (odd digits) and flat (even digits). Nine rows of number wheels in front of the keyboard indicate the result. The second number wheel from the right has only zeros and ones on it. The sides and base of the machine are missing. It is marked on a metal tag screwed to the top at the back: TRADE COMPTOMETER MARK. The last patent date on the tag is: AUG.9.04.
This is a forerunner of the Model C Comptometer for British currency (MA.323652).
Reference:
Felt & Tarrant, Accession Journal 1991.3107.06.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1908
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.323653
catalog number
323653
accession number
250163

Comptometer Model J

This key-driven adding machine had ten columns of color-coded green and white plastic keys. Complementary digits were indicated on the keys, and they were alternately concave (for odd digits) and flat (for even digits).
Description
This key-driven adding machine had ten columns of color-coded green and white plastic keys. Complementary digits were indicated on the keys, and they were alternately concave (for odd digits) and flat (for even digits). Another key stem is at the back to the right of the number keys. In front of the keys is a row of ten subtraction levers. In front of these is a row of ten numbered decimal markers. In front of these are windows in the metal case that reveal 11 number dials, that indicate the result of addition.
The machine is marked on the front top at the left: J329139. It is marked on the front: Comptometer. It is marked on a sticker on the left side: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (/) 89699-BAE.
This instrument came to the Smithsonian from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Reference:
Felt & Tarrant, Accession Journal 1991.3107.06
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.328128
maker number
J329139
catalog number
328128
accession number
270163

Comptometer Section - Super Totalizer

This model has two columns of white plastic keys and one column of green keys. Odd-numbered digit keys are concave, and even-numbered ones, flat. At the front, there are two aluminum numeral wheels on one shaft, and two on a second shaft in front of the first one.
Description
This model has two columns of white plastic keys and one column of green keys. Odd-numbered digit keys are concave, and even-numbered ones, flat. At the front, there are two aluminum numeral wheels on one shaft, and two on a second shaft in front of the first one. Two metal levers are on the right side, perhaps for zeroing. A shaft with a rubber handle is on the left side at the back. This is a study model of the supertotalizer motor-driven double register Comptometer. This form of Comptometer was invented by J. A. V. Turck. According to a label received with the collection, this model was built in 1943. It has no case.
Reference:
Accession Journal 1991.3107.06.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
MA.323639
catalog number
323639
accession number
250163

Mercedes-Euklid Model 12 Calculating Machine

This full-keyboard electric proportional rod calculating machine has an iron and steel frame painted black and 13 columns of round plastic keys. At the bottom of each column of keys is a red key that zeros the digit in that column. The keyboard is painted green.
Description
This full-keyboard electric proportional rod calculating machine has an iron and steel frame painted black and 13 columns of round plastic keys. At the bottom of each column of keys is a red key that zeros the digit in that column. The keyboard is painted green. Numbers entered on the keys appear in a row of windows under the keyboard that shows 13 number dials.
At the front of the machine is a row of 16 windows showing the result, a row of eight windows showing the dials of the revolution counter, and another row of 16 dials that may be used to accumulate totals. Small finger knobs are in front of these dials. These three rows of dials are on a movable carriage. Movable decimal markers are above all four rows of dials. The motor for the machine is under the mechanism and behind the carriage. The plug is on the right side.
A metal tag on the right of the machine reads: COXHEAD (/) MERCEDES. A metal tag next to the dials of the revolution counter reads: RALPH C. COXHEAD (/) MERCEDES-EUKLID (/) CALCULATING MACHINE (/)] NEW YORK CHICAGO. A mark scratched in the base at the front reads: Property [/] Univ. Mich. A mark at the left front of the machine, on the frame for the carriage, reads: 9[. . .].
Ralph C. Coxhead was the American agent for the Mercedes-Euklid in the 1920s. A Mercedes-Euklid model 12 with this capacity sold for $875.00 in 1928.
References:
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, pp. 156–164.
J. H. McCarthy, The Business Machines and Equipment Digest, 1928, vol. 1, sec. 9, pp. 24–28.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920s
distributor
Coxhead, Ralph C.
maker
Mercedes-Bureau-Maschinen-Gesellschaft
ID Number
MA.324279
accession number
256654
catalog number
324279

Pamphlet, The Comptometer

This small pamphlet introduces the wooden box model of the Comptometer. The document was received with a later model of the Comptometer (see MA.335357).Reference:P. A.
Description
This small pamphlet introduces the wooden box model of the Comptometer. The document was received with a later model of the Comptometer (see MA.335357).
Reference:
P. A. Kidwell, “American Scientists and Calculating Machines: From Novelty to Commonplace,” Annals of the History of Computing, 12, 1990, pp. 31-40.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
Felt & Tarrant Mfg. Co.
ID Number
MA.304826.62
accession number
304826
catalog number
304826.62

Mack Improved Mannheim Simplex Slide Rule by Dietzgen

This wooden ten-inch Mannheim slide rule is faced with white celluloid. The top edge is beveled and has a scale of inches divided to sixteenths of an inch. The bottom edge is flat and has a scale of centimeters divided to millimeters.
Description
This wooden ten-inch Mannheim slide rule is faced with white celluloid. The top edge is beveled and has a scale of inches divided to sixteenths of an inch. The bottom edge is flat and has a scale of centimeters divided to millimeters. The base has A and D scales, with B and C scales on one side of the slide and S, L, and T scales on the other side of the slide. The L scale is not lettered. The base underneath the slide is marked: EUGENE DIETZGEN CO. CHICAGO–NEW YORK (/) W. F. M. It is also marked: PAT. JUNE 28 1898. The indicator is glass in a metal frame. A paper glued to the back of the rule gives the properties of various substances and equivalents of various weights and measures. Carved into the back is: W.F.M. 1907.
The base of the rule is cut lengthwise into two sections that are joined together by invisible springs. This was intended to create more uniform resistance to the motion of the rule (even if it is fully extended) and to make it possible to straighten the parts of the rule by scraping, should it become warped. A cardboard box covered with burgundy leather is marked: The Mack Improved Slide Rule (/) NO. 1765 (/) EUGENE DIETZGEN CO. (/) CHICAGO. NEW YORK.
This rule is named for John Givan Davis Mack (1867–1924), an early member of the engineering faculty at the University of Wisconsin who taught from 1893 to 1915. On June 28, 1898, he received U.S. Patent 606388 for dividing the base of a slide rule and rejoining the pieces with springs. He assigned the patent to the Eugene Dietzgen Company of Chicago, which first sold a slide rule built on Mack's patent in 1898 and offered this version from 1902 to 1912 for $4.50.
The carved initials are those of the owner, the spectroscopist William F. Meggers (1888–1966), who was long associated with the U.S. National Bureau of Standards. He received his B.A. in physics from Ripon College in 1910, his M.A. in physics from the University of Wisconsin in 1916, and his Ph.D. in physics, mathematics, and astronomy from Johns Hopkins University in 1917. It seems likely that he acquired this rule as a student. For a less precise slide rule associated with Meggers, see 293320.2820. For later slide rule instructions distributed by Dietzgen, see 1981.0933.07.
References: Catalogue & Price List of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 7th ed. (Chicago, 1904), 171; Rodger Shepherd, "Some Distinctive Features of Dietzgen Slide Rules," Journal of the Oughtred Society 5, no. 2 (1996): 42–45; Peter M. Hopp, Slide Rules: Their History, Models, and Makers (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 1999), 159–160, 276; J. G. D. Mack Papers, University of Wisconsin Archives: U. S. Patent 606388.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1907
maker
Eugene Dietzgen Company
ID Number
MA.335270
catalog number
335270
accession number
314637

Sheet, Form Letter Sent by D. E. Felt to Meteorological Observatory, New York, N. Y.

This typed form letter is addressed to the Meteorological Observatory in New York City (e.g. Daniel Draper) and stamped with the signature stamp of Dorr E. Felt.
Description
This typed form letter is addressed to the Meteorological Observatory in New York City (e.g. Daniel Draper) and stamped with the signature stamp of Dorr E. Felt. It announces the availability of the new model duplex Comptometer, and offers to send an example of the machine on trial.
The letter was received with a later model of the Comptometer (see MA.335357).
Reference:
P. A. Kidwell, “American Scientists and Calculating Machines: From Novelty to Commonplace,” Annals of the History of Computing, 12, 1990, pp. 31-40.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1905
maker
Felt & Tarrant Mfg. Co.
ID Number
MA.304826.60
accession number
304826
catalog number
304826.60

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.