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.

Topic: Scale Rules

Rule Advertising Berco Razor Blades

This wooden ruler is divided to 1/16" and numbered by ones from 1 to 14. Below the scale is a summary of Minnesota fish laws for 1940, listing the number of fish that could be caught in a day and held in one's possession for 20 different species.
Description
This wooden ruler is divided to 1/16" and numbered by ones from 1 to 14. Below the scale is a summary of Minnesota fish laws for 1940, listing the number of fish that could be caught in a day and held in one's possession for 20 different species. The seasons for catching different fish are also provided. A hole at the right end of the rule allows it to hang from a hook.
The back of the rule is marked: For Better, Faster Shaving – (/) USE BERCO BLADES. It is also marked: BERCO (/) DOUBLE EDGE and SINGLE EDGE (/) BLADES. It is also marked: Fit Your Face For The Outdoor – (/) USE BERCO BLADES. Berco distributed electric shavers and razor blades from Toledo, Ohio.
Reference: "Razors, Blades, Sharpening," Popular Mechanics 103, no. 4 (April 1955): 69.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940
distributor
Berco
ID Number
1996.3003.01
nonaccession number
1996.3003
catalog number
1996.3003.01

Charles Bruning 2710 Chain Scale with Drafting Machine Mounts

This 12" beveled aluminum rule is divided to 1/16" and numbered by ones from 0 to 12 along one edge. The other edge is divided to 1/32" and numbered by ones from 0 to 24.
Description
This 12" beveled aluminum rule is divided to 1/16" and numbered by ones from 0 to 12 along one edge. The other edge is divided to 1/32" and numbered by ones from 0 to 24. In other words, as marks on the rule indicate, the first scale is "full size," for making drawings at a proportion of 1" to the foot, while the second scale is "half size," for making drawings at a proportion of 1/2" to the foot. The center of the rule is also marked: CHARLES BRUNING. A paper table for inches in decimals of a foot is pasted to the rule, partially covering the mark.
Oblong aluminum mounts at both ends allow the rule to be attached to a drafting machine. Both mounts are marked: VARD INC. (/) PATENT NO. (/) 2192422. Vard Beecher Wallace (1901–1988) of Sierra Madre, Calif., applied for a patent for these attachments in 1939 and received it the next year. He and a partner, Paul H. Ford, operated Vard Mechanical Laboratory, which supplied drafting machines to aircraft engineers such as Allen Lockheed and Jack Northrop, for whom Wallace had previously worked. The firm was renamed Vard, Inc., by 1945 and was purchased by Royal Industries in 1959.
Charles Bruning (1866–1931) was born in Denmark and immigrated to the United States. In Chicago during the 1890s, he became interested in the blue print business. In 1897, he set up his own blue printing company in Manhattan, which was incorporated as the New York Blue Print Paper Company in 1901. Around 1920,he purchased American Blue Print Company of Chicago, and the combined firms became known as the Charles Bruning Company, Inc.
The company began to offer this rule in 1948 as model 2710, style C-16. According to the donor, the instrument was used by her husband, the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993). Compare this object to 1998.0032.14.
References: Vard B. Wallace, "Drafting Instrument Chuck and Wrench" (U.S. Patent 2,192,422 issued March 5, 1940); Bruce Butler, "Vard Wallace," Glendora Friends Church blog, May 3, 2010, http://glendorafriendschurch.blogspot.com/2010/05/vard-wallace.html; Patrick Conyers and Cedar Phillips, Pasadena 1940–2008, Images of America (Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2009), 59; "Charles Bruning," New York Times (January 31, 1931), 14; Charles Bruning Company, Inc., General Catalog, 14th ed. (New York, [1948]), 132–134; Charles Bruning Company, Inc., General Catalog, 15th ed. (New York, 1952), 176.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1948–1959
maker
Charles Bruning Company
ID Number
1998.0032.12
catalog number
1998.0032.12
accession number
1998.0032

Rule Advertising Marlin-Rockwell Company

The top edge of this steel ruler has a 15.2 cm scale, divided to millimeters. The bottom edge has a 6" scale, divided to 1/32". The ruler is marked: STAINLESS. It is also marked: MADE IN U.S.A.
Description
The top edge of this steel ruler has a 15.2 cm scale, divided to millimeters. The bottom edge has a 6" scale, divided to 1/32". The ruler is marked: STAINLESS. It is also marked: MADE IN U.S.A. The back of the ruler is marked: MRC BALL AND ROLLER BEARINGS (/) MARLIN-ROCKWELL COMPANY DIVISION OF THOMPSON RAMO WOOLDRIDGE INC.
The Marlin Rockwell Corporation formed after World War I through the mergers of several American makers of ball bearings, including Standard Roller Bearing Company, Gurney Ball Bearing Company, and Strom Bearing Company. The firm merged with TRW, Inc., in 1964. According to the donor, the instrument was used by her husband, the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993).
References: MRC Bearing Services, "MRC History," in Engineering Handbook (Kulpsville, Penn., 2005), 6, http://www.skf.com/binary/12-100758/514636.pdf; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid-20th century
distributor
Marlin Rockwell Corporation
ID Number
1998.0032.07
catalog number
1998.0032.07
accession number
1998.0032

Bruning 2090P Open Divided Scale

This white and orange plastic rule has scales for 1/2" and 1" to the foot along its top edge on the front side. Between these scales is a scale divided to 1/2", numbered from left to right by twos from 0 to 8, and numbered from right to left by ones from 0 to 4.
Description
This white and orange plastic rule has scales for 1/2" and 1" to the foot along its top edge on the front side. Between these scales is a scale divided to 1/2", numbered from left to right by twos from 0 to 8, and numbered from right to left by ones from 0 to 4. The bottom edge has scales for 1/8" and 1/4" to the foot. Between these scales is a scale divided to 1/8", numbered from left to right by fours from 0 to 44, and numbered from right to left by twos from 0 to 22. The top edge is marked: BRUNING 2090P. It is also marked: MADE IN U.S.A.
On the back, the top edge has scales for 3/8" and 3/4" to the foot. Between these scales is a scale divided to 3/8", numbered from left to right by twos from 0 to [1]2, and numbered from right to left by ones from 0 to 6. The bottom edge has scales for 1-1/2" and 3" to the foot. A brown leather sheath is marked: BRUNING.
Charles Bruning (1866–1931) was born in Denmark and immigrated to the United States. In Chicago during the 1890s, he became interested in the blue print business. In 1897, he set up his own blue printing company in Manhattan, which was incorporated as the New York Blue Print Paper Company in 1901. Around 1920 he purchased American Blue Print Company of Chicago, and the combined firms became known as the Charles Bruning Company, Inc.
By 1936, the firm was offering model 2090 in boxwood and with plastic edges over boxwood. It began to make the rule from molded plastic in 1948, but it did not give the rule model number 2090P until 1952, when the rule sold for $1.80. According to the donor, the instrument was used by her husband, the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993). For other open divided or chain scales, see 1998.0032.08, 1981.0933.14, 1981.0933.15, and 1992.0433.04.
References: "Charles Bruning," New York Times (January 31, 1931), 14; Charles Bruning Company, Inc., General Catalog, 12th ed. (New York, 1936), 120; Charles Bruning Company, Inc., General Catalog, 14th ed. (New York, [1948]), 88; Charles Bruning Company, Inc., General Catalog, 15th ed. (Teterboro, N.J., and Chicago, 1952), 115; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1952
maker
Charles Bruning Company
ID Number
1998.0032.09
catalog number
1998.0032.09
accession number
1998.0332

Gerber Variable Scale, Model TP007100B

This rectangular aluminum instrument has a scale of reciprocal inches, unevenly divided and labeled RI; a scale of equal parts, labeled I and numbered by ones from 1 to 10 and by tens from 15 to 95; and a logarithmic scale labeled L10.
Description
This rectangular aluminum instrument has a scale of reciprocal inches, unevenly divided and labeled RI; a scale of equal parts, labeled I and numbered by ones from 1 to 10 and by tens from 15 to 95; and a logarithmic scale labeled L10. An aluminum slide on top of the scales has a plastic indicator with a hairline. The slide is attached to a spring that expands and contracts within a clear plastic housing above the scales. It has 103 coils, 100 of which are calibrated. Every tenth coil is colored red, every fifth coil is blue-green, and the rest are white. A second spring is numbered by twos from 0 to 10.
Below the scales is marked: THE GERBER SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT COPMANY HARTFORD, CONN. GERBER VARIABLE SCALE ® MODEL TP007100B U.S. PAT. NO. 2843935 U.K. PAT. NO. 845215 MADE IN U.S.A. A brown leather case is lined with black velvet marked: The Gerber Scientific Instrument Co. (/) Hartford, Connecticut. A small manila envelope inside the case holds an Allen wrench. The case fastens with Velcro and slides into a white cardboard box.
The instrument assists in replotting curves (if, for example, a user wished to multiply all values plotted by a given factor) and in interpolating contour lines from observed data. It can also be used to convert between proportional scales, for instance when enlarging or reducing an engineering drawing. Heinz Joseph Gerber (1924–1996) invented the device while he was studying aeronautical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1945, a few years after escaping Nazi-controlled Austria with his mother. He and a partner established the Gerber Scientific Instrument Company in Hartford, Conn., to manufacture the Gerber Variable Scale. Gerber ultimately held about 650 U.S. and foreign patents for calculating instruments, digital drafting machines, and robotic and electronic manufacturing systems for products from electronics to textiles. The firm was renamed Gerber Scientific, Inc., in 1978.
Compare to 1994.3104.01. For an instruction manual, see 1994.0113.04.
References: Arthur Bartlett, "A Quick Spring to Success," Nation's Business (October 1949): 43–45, 62–64; Heinz Joseph Gerber, "Instrument for Measuring, Interpolating, Plotting and the Like" (U.S. Patent 2,843,935 issued July 22, 1958); "Our Founder," Gerber Scientific, http://www.gspinc.com/default.asp?contentID=192.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1980
maker
Gerber Scientific Instrument Company
ID Number
1994.0113.01
accession number
1994.0113
catalog number
1994.0113.01

Vemco D-171 Pocket Architect's Scale

This six-inch metal rule has a white coating. One side has scales dividing the inch into 40 parts, numbered in both directions by twos from 0 to 40, and into 10 parts, numbered in both directions by ones from 0 to 6. This side is marked: VEMCO PASADENA, CALIF. D-171.
Description
This six-inch metal rule has a white coating. One side has scales dividing the inch into 40 parts, numbered in both directions by twos from 0 to 40, and into 10 parts, numbered in both directions by ones from 0 to 6. This side is marked: VEMCO PASADENA, CALIF. D-171. The other side has scales dividing the inch into 50 parts, numbered in both directions by twos from 0 to 30, and into 30 parts, numbered in both directions by twos from 0 to 18. A tan suede sleeve has a round white sticker marked: 8-63 (/) $2.45 (/) Four-Bevel.
Francis E. Vaughan and Floyd Eubanks founded V & E Manufacturing, or Vemco Corporation, in Pasadena, Calif., in 1939 to make high-quality drafting instruments. Eubanks patented eight drafting machines and drawing instruments in the early 1940s.
Reference: Vemco Drafting Products Corporation, http://www.vemcocorp.com/.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1963
maker
Vemco Corporation
ID Number
1990.0689.02
accession number
1990.0689
catalog number
1990.0689.02

Scale Rule Signed Carl Zeiss

This rectangular transparent glass ruler has a millimeter scale numbered by tens from 0 to 200. It is marked: Carl Zeiss, (/) Jena. The rule is cracked in the lower left corner.
Description
This rectangular transparent glass ruler has a millimeter scale numbered by tens from 0 to 200. It is marked: Carl Zeiss, (/) Jena. The rule is cracked in the lower left corner. A tan envelope is made from folded paper.
In 1846 Carl Zeiss established a workshop in Jena, Germany, that became known for microscopes, telescopes, and photographic lenses. The firm sold this rule for making measurements on drawings and photographs for 5 marks at least as early as 1891. By 1902, it was numbered model 134 and described as a 20-cm rule instead of a 200-mm rule. The new price of 7 marks increased to 8 marks in 1906. The Department of Entomology at the National Museum of Natural History used this rule to study its collections.
References: Carl Zeiss Jena, Microscopes and Microscopic Accessories, 29th ed. (Jena, 1891), 75; 31st ed. (Jena, 1898), 75; 32nd ed. (Jena, 1902), 96; 33rd ed. (Jena, 1906), 79.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1891–1902
maker
Zeiss
ID Number
1990.0099.03
accession number
1990.0099
catalog number
1990.0099.03

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