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: 1910s

Geometric Model by A. Harry Wheeler, Two Symmetrical Spherical Triangles

This cut and folded tan paper model shows two symmetrical spherical triangles opposite one another on a sphere.Currently not on view
Description
This cut and folded tan paper model shows two symmetrical spherical triangles opposite one another on a sphere.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918
maker
Wheeler, Albert Harry
ID Number
MA.304723.173
accession number
304723
catalog number
304723.173

Marchant Model A Standard Calculating Machine

This lever-set, non-printing manually operated calculating machine has a black steel housing and a wooden base. Rotating the levers sets the pinwheels to enter a number. Color-coded digits marked on the spaces between the levers indicate the digits set.
Description
This lever-set, non-printing manually operated calculating machine has a black steel housing and a wooden base. Rotating the levers sets the pinwheels to enter a number. Color-coded digits marked on the spaces between the levers indicate the digits set. A bar in front of the levers rotates for zeroing. The wooden-handled steel operating crank extends from the right side of the machine. It rotates backward (clockwise) for addition and multiplication and forward (counterclockwise) for subtraction and division.
At the front of the machine is a movable carriage with 13 windows showing dials of the result register on the right and eight windows for the revolution register on the left. The revolution register has no carry. The dials in this register have red digits for subtraction and white ones for addition. Decimal markers slide above both registers on the carriage. The two bars in a metal box at the front of the machine assist in moving the carriage in either direction. Wing nuts at the ends of the carriage zero the registers on it. A bell on the left side of the carriage rings when the result passes through zero. A layer of felt separates the machine and its wooden base. The lid is missing.
A metal plate to the left of the levers reads: The (/) Marchant (/) MANUFACTURED BY (/) MARCHANT CALCULATING (/) MACHINE CO., Inc. (/) OAKLAND, CAL. (/) PATENTED JUNE 6. 1911 (/) FEB. 22. 1916. the serial number on the back reads: No5398. A mark on the back of the carriage at the left reads: 1705.
Compare MA.335268, MA.323602, and MA.323603.
This machine comes from the collection of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1918
maker
Marchant Calculating Machine Company, Inc.
ID Number
MA.323603
catalog number
323603
accession number
250163
maker number
5398/1705

Integraph by G. Coradi

This instrument draws the integral of a function that is plotted when the curve representing the function is traced with the tracer. It rests on two German silver rollers attached to a common axle.
Description
This instrument draws the integral of a function that is plotted when the curve representing the function is traced with the tracer. It rests on two German silver rollers attached to a common axle. A framework above the axle carries the tracer arm, the integrating mechanism, and the plotter. A pen point, a pencil point, a calibration bar, a brush, what may be a tracer point and a head for the pencil point are stored in the case.
An inscription on the support for one wheel reads: G. Coradi Zurich. An inscription on the support for the other wheel reads: John R. Freeman (/) No. 121. A paper shed glued to the inside of the lid of the wooden case gives the value in centimeters of the ordinates for curves plotted using different bases.
The integraphs sold by Coradi before about 1903 had a much larger framework surrounding the axle. A similar instrument in the collections of the Science Museum has serial number 173 and dates from 1911. Compare MA.336877.
This instrument may well have been owned by the hydraulic and civil engineer and insurance executive John Ripley Freeman (1855-1932), an 1876 graduate of MIT. Freeman was president of Manufacturer's Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Providence, Rhode Island from the 1890s and also consulted on water power and municipal water supply projects.
References:
Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 1 (1944).
G. Coradi, Catalogue of Mathematical Precision Instruments, Zurich: Mathematical-Mechanical Institute of G. Coradi, 1915, pp. 27-30. The integraph shown on page 28 is not precisely like this one.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
maker
Coradi, Gottlieb
ID Number
MA.304722.13
catalog number
304722.13
accession number
304722

Wales Model 20 Adding Machine

This full keyboard printing manually operated adding machine has a metal frame painted black with a glass panel in front of the number dials. Nine columns of black and white color-coded plastic keys arise from a the metal keyboard that is painted green.
Description
This full keyboard printing manually operated adding machine has a metal frame painted black with a glass panel in front of the number dials. Nine columns of black and white color-coded plastic keys arise from a the metal keyboard that is painted green. Total and subtotal keys are to the left of the keyboard. Red plastic repeat and correction keys are above the number keys, and a key stem and non-add key are behind the numeral dials. These nine dials are behind the keyboard, with divisions for U.S. currency indicated. The metal crank for operating the machine is on the right. At the back of the machine is the printing mechanism and a 13-inch (33 cm.) movable carriage. A bell is at the far left of the carriage. There is a two-color ribbon. The machine is extremely heavy.
The machine is marked on the front, and on the front of the carriage: WALES. It is marked above the keyboard: MANUFACTURED BY (/) THE ADDER MACHINE COMPANY (/) WILKES-BARRE, PA.,U.S.A. It is marked on the back with a list of 19 patent dates. The first of these is: PATENTED DEC. 1. 1903. The last is: JULY 5. 1913. It is marked on the carriage: 2065. The serial number, shown on the front of the machine at the bottom, is: 20-40243.
There is a metal stand painted black, with a wooden table on the right side. The stand is stored separately. Its dimensions are: 56 cm. w. x 57 cm. d. x 79 cm. h., with writing table down.
Compare to MA.323593.
Reference:
J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, pp. 60-61, 544-545.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1916
maker
Adder Machine Company
ID Number
MA.335934
catalog number
335934
accession number
1977.0380

Improved Willis Planimeter

This metal instrument (possibly of nickel-plated brass) has two pivoted arms with needle points. One is about 9" long, and the other is about 6-1/2" long. The longer arm is used for tracing and is graduated to 32nds of an inch from 2" to 8-1/2".
Description
This metal instrument (possibly of nickel-plated brass) has two pivoted arms with needle points. One is about 9" long, and the other is about 6-1/2" long. The longer arm is used for tracing and is graduated to 32nds of an inch from 2" to 8-1/2". A screw on top of the rectangular pivot joining the arms allows the longer arm to be set at different lengths. The pivot is marked on the left side: —IMPROVED — (/) WILLIS PLANIMETER (/) MANF'D BY (/) JAMES L. ROBERTSON & SONS (/) NEW YORK U.S.A. There are two clasps on the left side. The right side of the pivot is marked: PAT'D SEPT. 22, 1896 (/) OCT. 6, 1896 (/) APRIL 23, 1901 (/) 8390.
A metal frame has three bars, and the first bar is unadorned. The second bar is made of a dark-colored metal. A dark-colored metal wheel slides along the bar in a carriage made of four small wheels. The third bar holds a wooden triangular ruler with six scales on white celluloid. These scales divide the inch into 100, 50, 60, 30, 80, and 40 parts. The ruler is marked: J. L. ROBERTSON & SONS, N.Y. The frame fits into three holes on the right side of the pivot that joins the arms. A second triangular scale in the case divides the inch into 70, 20, 16, 12, 10, and 8 parts. It is also marked: J. L. ROBERTSON & SONS, N.Y.
A wooden case is covered with black leather and lined with purple satin and velvet. The inside of the lid is marked: Improved Willis Planimeter, (/) PATENTED SEPTEMBER 22, 1896. (/) " OCTOBER 6, 1896. (/) " APRIL 23, 1901 (/) MANUFACTURED BY (/) JAMES L. ROBERTSON & SONS, (/) INC. (/) New York, U. S. A. Three blue thumbtacks are inside the case.
Edward Jones Willis (1866–1941), a steam and electrical engineer from Richmond, Va., patented a cross-shaped planimeter in 1894 and had a modified version of the patent reissued in 1896. This is the first patent mentioned on the instrument. Willis's 1895 patent for a planimeter with a frame similar to the frame on this example and a horsepower attachment is not mentioned on the instrument; see MA.323704. Alpheus C. Lippincott of New York City received the second patent mentioned on this instrument, for a different form of cross-shaped planimeter.
James L. Robertson & Sons manufactured steam engine indicators. Since planimeters were used to measure the area under curves drawn by these indicators, it was common for firms that made indicators to also produce planimeters. Indeed, Robertson sold both the Improved Willis Planimeter and the Lippincott Planimeter, so it is probable that the company mentioned Lippincott's patent on this planimeter by mistake.
In 1901 Willis patented the form of wheel mount found on this instrument, which Robertson manufactured and sold as the Improved Willis Planimeter. Its price was $18.00 in 1905. The company apparently ceased operations in the 1910s. The serial number (8390) and patent references on this instrument indicate that it postdates 1994.0356.01 and MA.323703. Willis made further design changes in the 1920s; see 1983.0173.01. Lincoln F. Spencer, a stationary engineer in Massachusetts, used this instrument in the early 20th century.
The object was received at the museum in 1964.
References: Edward J. Willis, "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 529,008 issued November 13, 1894; reissued as 11,568 September 22, 1896), "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 542,511 issued July 9, 1895), and "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 672,581 issued April 23, 1901); Alpheus C. Lippincott, "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 569,107 issued October 6, 1896); James L. Robertson & Sons, Steam-Engine Indicators and Their Attachments (New York, 1905), 21–22; Hyman A. Schwartz, "The Willis Planimeter," Rittenhouse 7, no. 2 (1993): 60–64.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1901-ca 1910
maker
James L. Robertson & Sons
ID Number
MA.324247
accession number
253403
catalog number
324247

Monroe Model E Calculating Machine

This full-keyboard manually operated non-printing modified stepped drum calculating machine has a steel frame painted black. The eight columns of round plastic keys are colored black or white according to the place value of the digit represented.
Description
This full-keyboard manually operated non-printing modified stepped drum calculating machine has a steel frame painted black. The eight columns of round plastic keys are colored black or white according to the place value of the digit represented. The key stems are banked, standing up further toward the back of the machine. A row of red clearance keys is at the front of the keyboard; a red key for clearing the entire keyboard is on the right side. Between rows of keys are metal strips, painted black on one side and white on the other, that turn to serve as decimal markers. Ther two silver-colored knobs have arrows on them. One on the right is used for automatic keyboard release in continuous addition. One on the left is the register key for the item counter.
A carriage behind the keyboard has 16 black total register dials and eight white revolution register dials. The revolution register has black digits for addition and red ones for subtraction. A metal operating handle with a wooden knob is on the right side. Another handle on the right side of the carriage zeros the total register or the revolution register, depending on the direction in which it is turned. A knob on the right side of the carriage is used to lift it. A crank at the front of the machine rotates to move the carriage. The machine has four rubber feet.
A partly obliterated mark on the front reads: MONROE (/) REGISTERED TRADEMARK (/) Calculating Machine Company (/) New York, U.S.A. A mark in the middle of the back of machine reads: E5681.
This particular machine came to the Smithsonian from Feldman’s Department Store in Baltimore, Maryland, when the then fifty-year old family business was liquidated in 1974.
According to McCarthy, Monroe began manufacturing the Model E in 1916, using serial numbers beginning at 4,000. Monroe received a registered trademark for its machines in 1920, and began marking objects to that effect. In 1921 it replaced its earlier models with the model K. Hence the date assigned.
References:
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P.A. Kidwell and M.R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, p. 265.
J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, pp. pp, 80–81, 551.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Registration 129029, Serial #71117235.
Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1916
maker
Monroe Calculating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.334403
catalog number
334403
maker number
E5681
accession number
316382

Model of a Thermodynamic Surface for an Abnormal Three-State by Richard P. Baker, Baker #259

In the 1870s physicists in Scotland and the United States began to make three-dimensional models of the thermal properties of matter. This plaster model of a thermodynamic surface has a wooden frame painted black. A paper sticker reads: No.
Description
In the 1870s physicists in Scotland and the United States began to make three-dimensional models of the thermal properties of matter. This plaster model of a thermodynamic surface has a wooden frame painted black. A paper sticker reads: No. 259 (/) Abnormal 3-state (/) Diagrammatic.
This is one of a series of nine models University of Iowa mathematician Richard P. Baker made that relate to thermodynamic surfaces. It was designed under the supervision of his German-born colleague Karl Eugen Guthe (1866–1915), who taught in the physics department there from 1905 until 1909. The model remained in Baker’s catalog as late as 1931. This particular example of the model was on loan for exhibition at MIT from 1939 until the mid-1950s. It, along with the other models in accession 211257, came to the Smithsonian from MIT in 1956.
For general references, see MA.304723.045.
R. P. Baker delivered a paper to the April 1910 meeting of the Chicago section of the American Mathematical Society that was entitled "On a class of equations representing normal and abnormal three-state bodies." A summary - which gives equations - is given in the reference cited and used to give a rough date of 1910 for the model.
Reference:
Slaught, H.E., "April Meeting of the Chicago Section, " Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, vol. 16, 1910, p. 458, 462.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
ca 1905-1935
maker
Baker, Richard P.
ID Number
MA.211257.047
accession number
211257
catalog number
211257.047

Mechanical Navigator by F. E. Brandis, Sons and Company

The mechanical navigator is an analog computing device designed to solve problems in spherical trigonometry arising in navigation. In this form, it was designed for instruction in navigation (another version was designed for use at sea).
Description
The mechanical navigator is an analog computing device designed to solve problems in spherical trigonometry arising in navigation. In this form, it was designed for instruction in navigation (another version was designed for use at sea). It allowed a student to compute a ship’s location from two sights in one operation.
The instrument is a mechanical representation of the celestial sphere. A rotating ring mounted vertically on the right side represents the celestial equator. It is calibrated from 0 to 180 by quarter-degrees twice, representing celestial longitude. It also is graduated from 0 to 24 counterclockwise by one minute, and from 0 to XXIV clockwise by one minute. The iron housing inside the vertical circle is calibrated from 0 to 22 by one and labeled by constellation name. A vernier along the edge of this ring marks the meridian of the navigator.
The instrument has two concentric rings which rotate in perpendicular planes. The outermost represents an hour circle. It is calibrated from 0 to 90 by quarter-degree, four times, and also bears hour lines. The inner ring represents the horizon circle. In addition to degree scales like those of the hour circle, it has is letters for eight cardinal points with sixteen subdivisions between each letter.
A quadrant affixed perpendicular to the horizon ring, has scales calibrated scale along both sides that run from 0 to 90 degrees, divided to quarter degrees and marked every ten degrees. These represent degrees of latitude. All of these parts rotate on pivots. There are screws for setting the circles.
The iron base, in the shape of a “T,” has handles at each end. A prior owner made a fitted wooden base for the navigator. The base has two boards with a space between them. Two removable wooden rods labeled in pencil “Left” and “Right” rest between the boards. A mark engraved on the vertical ring reads: F. E. BRANDIS, SONS & CO. (/) BROOKLYN, N.Y. (/) 2877.
Frederick Ernest Brandis (1845-1916) was a German immigrant who began making and importing instruments in 1871. From the name of the firm, the instrument was made between 1890 and 1916. An eighteen-page typescript of the company’s instructions for using the mechanical navigator is stored in the accession file. According to an account of the instrument published in Engineering News in 1914, the mechanical navigator sold for $2400.
Another example of the mechanical navigator has long been on loan to the physical sciences collection.
References:
Brandis & Sons Mfg. Co., Instruments of Precision . . . Catalogue No. 20 (Brooklyn, New York, n.d.), pp. 294-297.
"Instrument for Solving Problems of Navigation," Scientific American (July 16, 1910): 44,56,57.
“An Instrument for Solving Spherical Triangles Mechanically,” Engineering News, vol. 71 #4, January 22, 1914, pp. 180-181.
Mimeographed instructions describing the instrument and its use in detail, are in the accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890-1916
maker
F. E. Brandis, Sons and Company
ID Number
MA.314665
accession number
208323
catalog number
314665

Geometric Model Stand D41, 7

This is one of a group of hollow wooden stands, painted black, which are designed to hold models like those produced by Ludwig Brill and Martin Schilling. It is an elliptic ring.A paper tag on the stand reads: D41,7. A pencil mark on the bottom reads: VI [. . .] 2 (/) X.1.No. 3.
Description
This is one of a group of hollow wooden stands, painted black, which are designed to hold models like those produced by Ludwig Brill and Martin Schilling. It is an elliptic ring.
A paper tag on the stand reads: D41,7. A pencil mark on the bottom reads: VI [. . .] 2 (/) X.1.No. 3. The pencil marks may refer to two Brill models that would fit this stand. Brill’s model number 161, Ser. 6, No. 2 is a plaster model for an ellipsoid corresponding to the wave surface for refraction in a biaxial crystal. Brill’s model No. 4, Series. 10.1, No. 3, is an ellipsoid divisible in two parts (for examples see 1990.0571.02 and 1985.0112.001). It is possible that the stand is for 1990.0571.02. However, there is a model of an optical surface (not by Brill or Schilling) with museum number 1982.0795.22 that has a paper tag that reads: D41,7.
References:
L. Brill, Catalog, 1892, p. 13, 21, 87, 91.
M. Schilling, Catalog, 1911, p. 13, 21, 72, 111, 168.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1878-1914
possible maker
Brill, L.
Schilling, Martin
ID Number
MA.304722.23.02
catalog number
304722.23.02
accession number
304722

Monroe Model F Calculating Machine

This full-keyboard, non-printing manually operated modified step drum calculating machine has a steel frame painted black. The eight columns of plastic keys are colored black or white according to the place value of the digit entered.
Description
This full-keyboard, non-printing manually operated modified step drum calculating machine has a steel frame painted black. The eight columns of plastic keys are colored black or white according to the place value of the digit entered. The key stems are banked, standing up further toward the back of the machine.
At the front of the keyboard is a row of red clearance keys for the individual columns above. On the right side is a red key for clearing the entire keyboard. Between the rows of keys are metal strips, painted black on one side and white on the other. They turn to serve as decimal markers. The two silver-colored knobs have arrows on them. The one on the right is used for automatic keyboard release in continuous addition. The one on the left is the register key for the item counter.
In back of the keyboard is a carriage with 16 black total register dials and eight white revolution register dials behind the total dials. The revolution register dials are numbered around the edge from 0 to 9 in white and then from 9 to 1 in red. Metal strips on the carriage carry sliding decimal markers for the registers. Ther metal operating handle with a wooden knob is on the right side. Another handle on the right side of the carriage zeros the total register or the revolution register, depending on the direction in which it is turned. A shaped metal piece on the left side of the carriage is used to lift it. A crank at the front of the machine rotates to move the carriage.
A mark on the front of the machine reads: MONROE (/) Calculating Machine Company (/) New York. A mark in the middle of the back reads: F6981. A tag on the back of the machine reads: PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908 (/) OTHER U.S. AND FOREIGN PATENTS (/) PENDING. A mark on the plastic cover reads: MONROE.
According to McCarthy, the Monroe Model F was introduced in 1917, with serial numbers above 6,000. In 1920, Monroe was granted a trademark for the name Monroe, and used the term “registered trademark” on its machines. Hence the approximate date assigned to this machine.
References:
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, p. 265.
J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, pp. 80–81, 551.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Registration 129029, Serial # 71117235.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1918
maker
Monroe Calculating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.323609
catalog number
323609
maker number
F6981
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

Mercedes-Euklid Model 1 Calculating Machine

The Mercedes-Euklid calculating machine has a distinctive mechanism. Moving a lever or pushing a key engages a toothed gear with one of a series of ten parallel toothed racks that move crosswise when the crank is turned.
Description
The Mercedes-Euklid calculating machine has a distinctive mechanism. Moving a lever or pushing a key engages a toothed gear with one of a series of ten parallel toothed racks that move crosswise when the crank is turned. The amount a rack moves varies according to its distance from the back rack. A rod, called a proportional rod, pivoted along this rack controls this motion. The amount a rack moves determines the motion of gears linked to it, and hence the number entered.
This manually operated and lever-set proportional rod calculating machine has a black steel frame and a steel base. Nine levers are used to set numbers, with a row of windows below that shows the number set. To the right of the levers is the operating crank. In front is a carriage that can be moved when a release button to the left of the setting levers is pushed. The carriage has eight numeral wheels for recording revolutions of the crank, and 16 numeral wheels for recording results. The numeral wheels are covered with glass.
Numbers also may be set in the result register by rotating thumbscrews in the front of the carriage. They are used to set a dividend. Below the thumbscrews are knobs for zeroing the revolution counter and result register. To the left of the setting levers and carriage release button are two levers. One may be set at N or C. When it is set at N, the number in the revolution register increases by one whenever the crank is rotated. When it is at C, one rotation leads to subtraction in the revolution register. The other lever may be set at ADD.MULT or SUBT.DIV., depending on the arithmetic operation desired.
A mark on the top of the machine reads: MERCEDES-EUKLID. The serial number, given below the carriage at the left, is 1020. A mark on the carriage reads: MERCEDES-BUREAU-MASCHINEN-GES.m.b.H. [/] MEHLIS i.TH.u.BERLIN W.
Christian Hamann of Berlin patented this machine, and it was manufactured in Germany from about 1905. This example came from the collection of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company.
References:
C. Hamann, "Calculating Machine," U.S. Patent 1,011,617, December 12, 1911.
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, pp. 156–164.
E. M. Horsburgh, ed., Handbook of the Napier Tercentenary Celebration of Modern Instruments and Methods of Calculation, Edinburgh: G. Bell & Sons, 1914, pp. 104–117.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1912
maker
Mercedes-Bureau-Maschinen-GES.m.b.H.
ID Number
MA.330821
accession number
305775
maker number
1020
catalog number
330821

High Speed Indicator, a Revolution Counter

To count revolutions of the shafts that ran machinery, engineers used counters like this one. The manufacturer, L. S. Starrett Company of Athol , Mass., called the device a speed indicator, although it has no timekeeping apparatus.
Description
To count revolutions of the shafts that ran machinery, engineers used counters like this one. The manufacturer, L. S. Starrett Company of Athol , Mass., called the device a speed indicator, although it has no timekeeping apparatus. The steel counter has a flat handle on one side and a rotating cylindrical rod on the other. In between is a flat curved case on which a dial is mounted. Pressing the rod against a rotating shaft rotates it and advances the dial. The edge of the dial is divided into 100 equal parts, which are numbered from 10 to 100 by tens. Two different nozzles fit into the far end of the cylinder. The instrument fits in a red, white, and black paper box.
A mark on the dial reads: THE L. S. STARRETT CO. (/) ATHOL, MASS. U.S.A. Another mark there reads: PAT. APR.13.97 (/) MAR.28.05
This counter is one of the many inventions of Laroy Starrett (1836-1922), who was born and raised on a farm in Maine. In 1880, having successfully patented and sold a meat chopper, as well as shoe studs and hooks, Starrett established a business in Athol, Mass., to sell drawing instruments and small tools. He applied for a patent for a speed indicator in 1895, and received it in 1897.
Stafford P. Walsh of San Francisco, Ca., improved on the instrument, assigning his patent to L. S. Starrett Company when it was granted March 28, 1905. The device sold in at least three models. This is No. 104, which was particularly intended for high speeds. It was sold both directly by Starrett and through distributors of tools and steam engine equipment. This speed indicator is mentioned in Starrett catalogues into the 1930s.
References:
L. S. Starrett, “Speed-Indicator,” U.S. Patent 580,432, April 13, 1897.
S. P. Walsh, “Speed-Indicator,” U.S. Patent 786,073, March 28, 1905.
“Laroy S. Starrett,” National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 18, New York: J. T. White and Company, p. 428.
L. S. Starrett Company, Catalogue, Athol, Mass., about 1937, p. 192.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
maker
L. S. Starrett Company
ID Number
MA.335271
catalog number
335271
accession number
314637

Coradi Compensating Polar Planimeter Sold by Keuffel & Esser (Model 4240)

This instrument has two arms. The first arm is 9" long. Made of German silver, it has a brass and steel tracer point. The arm is evenly divided into tenths and numbered from 5 to 38.
Description
This instrument has two arms. The first arm is 9" long. Made of German silver, it has a brass and steel tracer point. The arm is evenly divided into tenths and numbered from 5 to 38. It fits into a brass carriage, painted black, which also holds a white plastic measuring wheel, vernier, and registering dial. Screws on the carriage adjust the length of the tracer arm. The carriage is marked: No 22241.
An 8" brass (painted black) pole arm fits into a hole in the carriage. A cylindrical brass weight is attached to the other end. The arm is marked: G. Coradi, Zürich Switzerland Keuffel & Esser Co New York. An oblong steel testing plate is marked for 0", 1", 2", and 3". It is also marked: G. Coradi Zürich.
A wooden case covered with black leather is lined with purple velvet. A printed paper chart is pasted inside the case. The chart has columns for Scales, Position of the vernier on the tracer bar, Value of the unit of the vernier on the measuring roller, and Constant. The values in the Position and Constant columns are handwritten in the same hand that indicates the Coradi firm manufactured this planimeter with serial number 22,241 on July 15, 1914. Keuffel & Esser stamped the chart with its model number, 4240.
Gottlieb Coradi (1847–1929) began to make wheel and disc polar planimeters in the early 1880s. In 1894 he made the pole arm higher than the tracer arm and connected the arms with a ball joint. This "compensating" planimeter could trace in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions, preventing errors introduced by planimeters made in the Amsler style. In 1901 K&E began selling Coradi's compensating planimeter for $36.00. In 1936 the firm began offering the planimeter under the company's Paragon brand name and charged $49.00. K&E stopped selling the instrument in 1939. The Interstate Commerce Commission transferred this example to the Smithsonian in 1963. ID number 1977.0112.02 is an instruction manual.
References: Peggy Aldrich Kidwell, "Planimeter," in Instruments of Science: An Historical Encyclopedia, ed. Robert Bud and Deborah Jean Warner (London: Garland Publishing, 1998), 467–469; "The Lang-Coradi Planimeter," in Olaus Henrici, "On Planimeters," in Report of the Sixty-fourth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (London, 1894), 496–523, on 515; Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4240 Family of Polar Planimeters," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/ke4240family.htm; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 323; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 256.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1914
distributor
Keuffel & Esser Co.
maker
Coradi, Gottlieb
ID Number
MA.321777
catalog number
321777
accession number
246883

Geometric Model by A. Harry Wheeler, Ellipsoid

This tan cut and folded paper model consists of two ellipses, arranged perpendicularly, and three parallel elliptical rings perpendicular to both of these. It is collapsible. A paper tag reads: 355. Another mark reads: Model for Fig. 6.
Description
This tan cut and folded paper model consists of two ellipses, arranged perpendicularly, and three parallel elliptical rings perpendicular to both of these. It is collapsible. A paper tag reads: 355. Another mark reads: Model for Fig. 6. A third mark reads: Albert Harry Wheeler (/) 8 Shawmut St (/) Worcester, Mass Mathematical Model (/) or the Like (/) Filed Sept 3, 1914 (/) Serial No 860,041.
On September 3, 1914, Wheeler applied for a UlS. patent for several forms of collapsible mathematical models. This object is the basis for Figure 6 in Wheeler's paent application and in the patent he was granted in 1916.
Reference:
Albert Harry Wheeler, "Mathematical Model," U.S. Patent 1,192,483, July 25, 1916.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1914
patentee
Wheeler, Albert Harry
maker
Wheeler, Albert Harry
ID Number
MA.304723.200
accession number
304723
catalog number
304723.200

Geometric Model by A. Harry Wheeler, Concentric Regular Icosahedron and Wedge Icosahedron

In this cut and folded tan paper model a regular icosahedron penetrates the dimples on a concentric third stellation of the icosahedron.A paper tag on the model reads: 403. A mark in pen reads: Concentric Regular Icosahedron (/) and Wedge Icosahedron (/) A.
Description
In this cut and folded tan paper model a regular icosahedron penetrates the dimples on a concentric third stellation of the icosahedron.
A paper tag on the model reads: 403. A mark in pen reads: Concentric Regular Icosahedron (/) and Wedge Icosahedron (/) A. Harry Wheeler (/) 1919.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
maker
Wheeler, Albert Harry
ID Number
MA.304723.242
accession number
304723
catalog number
304723.242

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

Dalton Adding Machine

This ten-key printing manual adding machine has an black iron and glass frame with a steel keyboard painted green. Two rows of white plastic number keys are marked with digits and their complements (complements are in red).
Description
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has an black iron and glass frame with a steel keyboard painted green. Two rows of white plastic number keys are marked with digits and their complements (complements are in red). One could punch the digits of a number without setting the place of the first digit. Numbers with up to nine digits could be entered. The five red function keys read designate, eliminate, repeat, total, and correction. A place for a crank is on the right side, but no crank. The printing mechanism, with two-colored ribbon, is on the top of the machine. Apparently the machine does not print symbols. Nine-digit totals could be printed. The “nine-inch” movable carriage has a paper tape dispenser behind it, but no paper tape. The serrated edge above the platen for tears the paper tape.
A mark on the front reads: Dalton. A mark on a brass tag attached at the bottom front reads: Dalton (/) ADDING (/) MACHINE (/) CO. (/) POPLAR BLUFF,MO.U.S.A. This tag also reads: PAT. AUG. 1, 1899 NO. 630053 (/) REISSUE DEC. 27. ‘04 No. 12286 (/) PAT. SEPT. 24, 1912 NO. 1039130 (/) PAT. DEC. 31, 1912 NO. 1049057 (/) PAT. DEC. 31, 1912 NO. 1049093 (/) OTHER PATENTS PENDING. A metal tag attached at the bottom on the back reads: NO 17946.
The Dalton adding machine grew out of patents of Indiana-born St. Louis machinist Hubert Hopkins (b. 1859) and Chicago inventor Harry H. Helmick. Attempts to patent and manufacture a machine began in St. Louis in 1902. After complex business dealings, including intervention from other adding machine manufacturers, James L. Dalton (1866-1926) acquired exclusive rights to manufacture machines under the Hopkins patents. In late 1903 Dalton and his associates founded the Adding Typewriter Company of St. Louis (later the Dalton Adding Machine Company). By 1912 the firm was established in Dalton’s home town of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. This machine was made there. In 1914, the company moved to Norwood, Ohio, near Cincinnati.
Reference:
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. 14-15.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Dalton Adding Machine Company
ID Number
MA.323589
accession number
250163
maker number
17946
catalog number
323589

Millionaire Calculating Machine

This is the mechanism for a direct multiplication, lever-set, manual non-printing Millionaire calculating machine. It includes a metal base, an iron frame for the base, and part of the carriage and the mechanism for entering numbers (but only part).
Description
This is the mechanism for a direct multiplication, lever-set, manual non-printing Millionaire calculating machine. It includes a metal base, an iron frame for the base, and part of the carriage and the mechanism for entering numbers (but only part). Also present are a component used in direct multiplication, and two cranks on their shafts. The parts of the machine are marked with different numbers. The machine has no case or lid.
Stamped on the iron frame near the right front corner is the serial number: 4154. A mark painted on the carriage reads: 27-80. The number “27-80” indicates that the machine came from the collection of New York teacher and historian of mathematics L. Leland Locke (see accession 155183 and non-accession 1983.3003). Other parts of the machine may well be in non-accession 1983.3003.
According to the estimates of Daniel Lewin, a Millionaire calculating machine with serial number 4200 was made in 1915. Hence the rough date of 1914 is assigned to this object.
Reference:
Daniel Lewin, "Die Entwicklungsgeschichte der Rechenmaschinen der Firma H.W. Egli bis 1931" Typenkorb, Nr. 48 and 49, 1992.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1914
maker
Egli, Hans W.
ID Number
MA.317387
catalog number
317387
maker number
04154
accession number
230394

Coffin Planimeter Arm Signed by Ashcroft Manufacturing Company, No. 830

This German silver instrument is a curved bar with a short arm, on which a short cylindrical weight is placed, and a longer arm, to which a tracer point is screwed. The middle of the bar has a thin cross-rod, on which a measuring wheel rotates against a wedge-shaped vernier.
Description
This German silver instrument is a curved bar with a short arm, on which a short cylindrical weight is placed, and a longer arm, to which a tracer point is screwed. The middle of the bar has a thin cross-rod, on which a measuring wheel rotates against a wedge-shaped vernier. The wheel is numbered from 0 to 14, with each unit divided into five parts. The bar is marked: THE ASHCROFT MFG. CO. (/) — SOLE MANUFACTURERS. — (/) COFFIN'S PAT. JUNE 6. 1882. The underside of the bar is marked: No. 830. The serial number suggests this object predates 1987.0107.03. Compare also to MA.323708 and MA.323706.
A wooden case covered with dark brown leather is lined with purple silk and velvet. The top of the case is marked: MADE BY (/) THE ASHCROFT MANF'G CO. (/) NEW YORK & BRIDGEPORT.
John Coffin of Syracuse, N.Y., applied for a patent on this variation on a planimeter in July 1881. He designed his "averageometer" to calculate areas in diagrams of work performed by steam engines. The Ashcroft Manufacturing Company of New York City and Bridgeport, Conn., was the first of several American firms to make the device.
Ashcroft, best known for making pressure gauges for steam engines, often sold the arm for Coffin's planimeter separately from its base, as in this example. In 1910, Frederick C. Blanchard, Ernest B. Crocker, and Philip G. Darling, who all probably worked for Ashcroft, patented an improvement to Coffin's planimeter so that it could be clamped in place. The planimeters made by Ashcroft after 1910 utilized this improvement, so this example was made between 1882 and 1910.
The instrument was received at the Smithsonian in 1964.
References: John Coffin, "Averageometer, or Instrument for Measuring the Average Breadth of Irregular Planes" (U.S. Patent 258,993 issued June 6, 1882); F. C. Blanchard, E. B. Crocker, and P. G. Darling, "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 961,836 issued June 21, 1910); David R. Green, "Coffin Planimeters," June 16, 2008, http://www.planimetervault.com/coffin.html; N. Hawkins, Hawkins' Indicator Catechism (New York: Theo. Audel & Co., 1903), 140–142.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1882-1910
maker
Ashcroft Mfg. Co.
ID Number
MA.323705
catalog number
323705
accession number
252307

Geometric Model by A. Harry Wheeler, Sphere

In this white paper model, three circular rings fit into two intersecting circles, creating a variety of arcs on a sphere. A mark on the model reads: Mathematical Model (/) or the Like (/) Filed Sept. 3, 1914 Serial No. 860,041. Another mark reads: Model for Fig. 8.
Description
In this white paper model, three circular rings fit into two intersecting circles, creating a variety of arcs on a sphere. A mark on the model reads: Mathematical Model (/) or the Like (/) Filed Sept. 3, 1914 Serial No. 860,041. Another mark reads: Model for Fig. 8. A third mark reads: Albert Harry Wheeler (/) 8 Shawmut St. (/) Worcester, Mass.
The model was the basis for Figure 8 of a patent Wheeler applied for in 1914 and received in 1916.
For another model that served as the basis for a figure in that patent, see MA.304723.200.
Reference:
Albert Harry Wheeler, "Mathematical Model," U.S. Patent 1,192,483, July 25, 1916.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1914
maker
Wheeler, Albert Harry
ID Number
MA.304723.551
accession number
304723
catalog number
304723.551

Geometric Model by A. Harry Wheeler, Collapsible Ellipsoid

This collapsible paper geometric model has a ring at the center that hold six folded ellipses to form an ellipsoid. It is marked in Wheeler's hand: Dec-19-1915. It also has his number 580.
Description
This collapsible paper geometric model has a ring at the center that hold six folded ellipses to form an ellipsoid. It is marked in Wheeler's hand: Dec-19-1915. It also has his number 580. Wheeler would go on to take out a patent for models of this type.
December of 1915 was the month of the founding of the Mathematical Association of America at a meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Wheeler did not attend the meeting, but did become a charter member of the MAA.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915 12 19
maker
Wheeler, Albert Harry
ID Number
MA.304723.343
accession number
304723
catalog number
304723.343

Geometric Model by A. Harry Wheeler, Union of Two Cubes

This cut and folded tan paper model shows two intersecting cubes. A mark on the model reads: Feb-21-1916. Compare MA.304723.115, MA.304723.123, MA.304723.545, and MA.304723.550.Currently not on view
Description
This cut and folded tan paper model shows two intersecting cubes. A mark on the model reads: Feb-21-1916. Compare MA.304723.115, MA.304723.123, MA.304723.545, and MA.304723.550.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1916 02 21
maker
Wheeler, Albert Harry
ID Number
MA.304723.550
accession number
304723
catalog number
304723.550

Archimedes Model D-16 Calculating Macnine

This manually operated full-keyboard stepped drum calculating machine has a steel frame painted black and nine columns of color-coded black and white plastic keys, with nine keys in each column.
Description
This manually operated full-keyboard stepped drum calculating machine has a steel frame painted black and nine columns of color-coded black and white plastic keys, with nine keys in each column. There is a zeroing lever at the base of each column and a zeroing bar on the right side. A row of nine dials above the keys shows the number entered.
Behind this is the carriage with a row of 16 dials for recording results and nine dials for registering revolutions. All three registers have bars with sliding decimal markers. Ther operating crank is on the right. Zeroing levers for the two carriage registers are on the right side of the carriage. A bell rings when the result passes through zero. The lever for setting the machine for addition and multiplication or subtraction and division is on the left, below the carriage. The machine has two rubber feet at the back which hold it up at an angle. The case has no underside. The stepped drums are of brass, cut away to include only the gears. They wrap around black cylinders.
A mark on the front of the machine reads: „Archimedes”. A mark on the sloping face reads: „Archimedes” (/) Patent (/) Reinhold Pöthig (/) Glashütte, Sa. A metal tag attached to the right side reads: P-2066.
According to Martin, the Model D (key-driven) Archimedes was introduced in 1915. This example is from the collection of L. Leland Locke.
Reference:
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, pp. 181–184.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1915
maker
Reinhold Pöthig
ID Number
MA.311951
catalog number
311951
accession number
155183
maker number
P-2066

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.