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

Pickett 101-C Circular Slide Rule

This yellow aluminum circular slide rule has three clear plastic indicators, one blank. The other indicator on the front is marked in red to denote the C, CI, A, AF, L, FA, LL2, LL1, DS, DT, and M scales.
Description
This yellow aluminum circular slide rule has three clear plastic indicators, one blank. The other indicator on the front is marked in red to denote the C, CI, A, AF, L, FA, LL2, LL1, DS, DT, and M scales. The indicator on the back is marked in red to denote the C, S,ST, and T scales. A ring of numbers under the scales on the back permits conversions from fractions to decimals.
The center of the front is marked: CIRCULAR SLIDE RULE – dial rule (/) PICKETT. The center of the back is marked: dial rule (/) NO 101-C. A triangular Pickett logo, of the form used between 1950 and 1958, appears at the bottom of the center; CHICAGO is printed below the logo.
Pickett & Eckel, a slide rule manufacturer based in Chicago and Alhambra, Calif., distributed a small booklet with this instrument, one of the few circular slide rules sold by the company and possibly the only circular model it manufactured. Maurice L. Hartung, a University of Chicago mathematics professor associated with the company, wrote the instruction manual (1981.0922.13). The booklet is copyrighted 1957, and the logo on this copy was used by the company between 1958 and 1962. Thus, this slide rule dates to about 1958.
References: Rodger Shepherd, "Pickett Metal Slide Rules," Journal of the Oughtred Society 1, no. 1 (1992): 5–8; Walter Shawlee, "Information About Pickett Slide Rules," Sphere Research Slide Rule Site, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/pickett.html.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1958
maker
Pickett & Eckel, Incorporated
ID Number
1981.0922.12
catalog number
1981.0922.12
accession number
1981.0922

Dietzgen 738C Bow Compass with Pen Point

This steel instrument has a needle point on one leg and a pen point on the other. A cross-hatched handle is attached to a ring, which in turn is attached to the legs.
Description
This steel instrument has a needle point on one leg and a pen point on the other. A cross-hatched handle is attached to a ring, which in turn is attached to the legs. A screw goes through both legs, with the nut for setting the compass at a desired width outside the leg with the needle point. Additional thumbscrews allow adjusting of the needle and pen points.
The instrument appears to be a Champion Bow Pen, model number 738C, advertised in 1926 by the Eugene Dietzgen Company of Chicago. The leg with the needle point has handwriting: P M LARSEN. Engraved on the other leg is the word EXCELLO and the Dietzgen logo.
Reference: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 12th ed. (Chicago, 1926), 59, 74.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1926
maker
Eugene Dietzgen Company
ID Number
1981.0933.22
accession number
1981.0933
catalog number
1981.0933.22

Dietzgen 1626 Triangular Open Divided Architect's Scale

This 12-inch triangular boxwood rule has indentations along each side. On one side, one edge has a scale divided to 1/16" and numbered by ones from 0 to 12. The other edge has scales for 3/32" and 3/16" to the foot.
Description
This 12-inch triangular boxwood rule has indentations along each side. On one side, one edge has a scale divided to 1/16" and numbered by ones from 0 to 12. The other edge has scales for 3/32" and 3/16" to the foot. Between these scales is a scale divided to 3/32", numbered from left to right by fours from 0 to 124, and numbered from right to left by twos from 0 to 62. This side is marked: 1626 DIETZGEN U.S. ST'D.
One edge of the second side has scales for 1/2" and 1" to the foot. Between these scales is a scale divided to 1/2", numbered from left to right by twos from 0 to 20 and from right to left by ones from 0 to 10. The other 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 92 and from right to left by twos from 0 to 46.
One edge of the third side 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 28 and from right to left by ones from 0 to 14. The other edge has scales for 1-1/2" and 3" to the foot. Between these scales is a scale divided to 1-1/2", numbered from left to right by ones from 0 to 4 and from right to left by ones from 0 to 2. Some of the numberings are inside the indentations, similar to 1981.0933.11.
The Eugene Dietzgen Company sold model 1626 from at least 1904, when it cost 90¢, to at least 1926, when it cost $1.20. William J. Ellenberger (1908–2008), who donated this object, studied electrical and mechanical engineering at The George Washington University between 1925 and 1934. He then worked for the Potomac Electric Power Company and the National Bureau of Standards. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He was a civilian construction management engineer for the army from 1954 to 1968, when he became a private consultant.
References: Catalogue & Price List of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 7th ed. (Chicago, 1904), 160; Catalogue & Price List of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 12th ed. (Chicago, 1926), 168; "The GW Engineering Hall of Fame 2006 Inductees," http://www.weas.gwu.edu/ifaf/hall_of_fame_inductees_2006.php.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
maker
Eugene Dietzgen Company
ID Number
1981.0933.13
catalog number
1981.0933.13
accession number
1981.0933

Mathematical Tables for Use with a Comptometer

The manufacture of computing devices has been associated with mathematical tables at least since the 17th century, when tables of logarithms were used in the manufacture of slide rules.
Description
The manufacture of computing devices has been associated with mathematical tables at least since the 17th century, when tables of logarithms were used in the manufacture of slide rules. In the mid-19th century, the need for new astronomical tables reportedly inspired the Englishman Charles Babbage to propose a difference engine, which was to print the tables it calculated. The Swedes Georg and Edvard Scheutz actually completed such a machine, and it was used to compute and print tables at the Dudley Observatory in Albany, New York.
The commercially successful adding and calculating machines introduced in the 19th and 20th centuries were used to produce a wide range of tables. At the same time, machine manufacturers supplied their customers with printed tables to assist in routine calculations. These often involved reducing non-metric measurements to decimal portions of a given unit, as these tables suggest.
These six tables, printed on cardboard, were produced for Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company of Chicago, manufacturers of an adding machine called the Comptometer. The copyright dates range from 1913 to 1925. All the tables have a photograph of a Comptometer in the upper left corner. Two show the hand and wrist of an operator wearing a suit (presumably a man), and two show the hand and wrist of an operator with a woman’s ring on her finger.
The first table, Felt & Tarrant’s Form No. 8, illustrates the enduring importance of nonmetric measures in American life. It assists in multiplying the number of lengths by a unit length in engineering calculations. The table gives 10, 100, and 1,000 times inches and fractions of an inch to eighths of an inch. Results are given in feet, inches, and fractions of an inch. The table has no copyright date.
The second table, Felt & Tarrant’s Form No. 36, was prepared by one U. S. Edgerton, the only author mentioned on the tables. It was copyrighted in 1913 and is for computing interest, insurance cancellation and discounts, with months and days expressed in decimal equivalents of a year. One side shows a year of twelve 30-day months (360 days total). The other side has a table for days only, that runs from 1 to 364.
The third table, copyrighted in 1914 and 1915, is Felt & Tarrant’s Form 38. It was designed for the textile industry. Entries allow one to reduce drams (of which there 16 to an ounce) and ounces (of which there are 16 to a pound) to decimal portions of a pound. The table has rows for 0 to 15 drams and columns for 0 to 15 ounces.
The fourth table, Felt & Tarrant’s Form 26, was copyrighted in 1917. It indicates the decimal part of a year represented by each date of the month.
The fifth table, Felt & Tarrant’s Form No. 368, shows the decimal equivalents of fractions from thirds to 26ths inclusive. It has no copyright date.
The final table, Felt & Tarrant’s Form No. 386, has measurements in inches, to eighths of an inch, given as decimal portions of a foot. Copyrighted in 1925, it assisted in calculations relating to lumber, steel beams, and angles.
For another table used with the Comptometer, see 2011.3049.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913-1925
maker
Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1979.3074.09
nonaccession number
1979.3074
catalog number
1979.3074.09

Leaflet, Announcing the New Supertotalizer

This illustrated leaflet describes Felt and Tarrant's Supertotalizer. For an example of the machines, see 1982.0794.82.Marks on the cover indicate that the advertisement was distributed by A. E. Munroe of Bridgeport, Ct.., and New Haven, Ct.Currently not on view
Description
This illustrated leaflet describes Felt and Tarrant's Supertotalizer. For an example of the machines, see 1982.0794.82.
Marks on the cover indicate that the advertisement was distributed by A. E. Munroe of Bridgeport, Ct.., and New Haven, Ct.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1933
ID Number
1979.3074.11
nonaccession number
1979.3074
catalog number
1979.3074.11

Post Instruction Manual for Versalog Slide Rule

This is a later printing of 1978.0800.02. Its citation information is: E. I. Fiesenheiser, Versalog Slide Rule Instruction Manual, with R. A. Budenholzer and B. A. Fisher (Chicago: Frederick Post Company, 1963).
Description
This is a later printing of 1978.0800.02. Its citation information is: E. I. Fiesenheiser, Versalog Slide Rule Instruction Manual, with R. A. Budenholzer and B. A. Fisher (Chicago: Frederick Post Company, 1963). The text appears not to have been revised since these three Illinois Institute of Technology engineering professors helped invent the Versalog slide rule and wrote instructions for using it in 1951. Marks inside the front cover indicate this copy was offered for sale in January 1969 for $1.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1963
maker
Frederick Post Co.
ID Number
1980.0097.03
accession number
1980.0097
catalog number
1980.0097.03

Frederick Post Model 1795 Blackboard Compass

In the years following the Civil War, American mathematics teachers began to use oversized compasses like this one to draw circles on a chalkboard. This example was sold by the Frederick Post Company of Chicago.
Description
In the years following the Civil War, American mathematics teachers began to use oversized compasses like this one to draw circles on a chalkboard. This example was sold by the Frederick Post Company of Chicago. It consists of two maple arms, each about sixteen inches (41 centimeters) long, which are held together by a wing nut at one end. At the other end are a rubber tip and a piece of chalk.
Makers often sold such instruments as part of a set that also included a straight edge, a protractor, a T square, and a triangle. After passage of the National Defense Education Act in 1958, such instruments could be purchased by secondary schools with subsidies from the federal government. This particular instrument was used by Margaret G. Aldrich (1918-2007), who taught at Montgomery College from 1957 to 1984, chairing of the math department on the Takoma Park campus for many years. She had an undergraduate degree in mathematics and an M.A. in psychology, both from the University of Minnesota.
Blackboard dividers that are different from this instrument are advertised as model number 1781 in the Frederick Post Company's 1930 and 1936 catalogs. The instrument is not shown in the 1949–1950 catalog.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Frederick Post Company
ID Number
1999.0117.01
catalog number
1999.0117.01
accession number
1999.0117

Dietzgen 1760 Mannheim Simplex Slide Rule

This one-sided, ten-inch wooden rule is faced with white plastic. The front of the base has A and D scales, with B and C scales on one side of the slide and S, L (which is unlettered), and T scales on the other side of the slide. The slide is slightly longer than the base.
Description
This one-sided, ten-inch wooden rule is faced with white plastic. The front of the base has A and D scales, with B and C scales on one side of the slide and S, L (which is unlettered), and T scales on the other side of the slide. The slide is slightly longer than the base. The very thin glass indicator has a brass frame. The rule boasts Dietzgen's "Improved Automatic Adjustment," three flat springs in slots under the A scale that are adjusted with four screws on the back of the instrument. This mechanism was designed to prevent warping or shrinking of the rule from interfering with uniform movement of the slide.
The top edge of the instrument is beveled and has a scale of inches, divided to 1/32-inch. The bottom edge is flat and has a scale of centimeters, divided to millimeters. The back of the base is notched on the right end. A table of equivalents is pasted to the back of the instrument. The center of the table is marked: EUGENE DIETZGEN CO. (/) CHICAGO NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO (/) NEW ORLEANS PITTSBURGH (/) PHILADELPHIA WASHINGTON (/) MILWAUKEE LOS ANGELES. On the front, the bottom of the base is marked (in red): DIETZGEN. The base is marked under the slide: WIELER. The right edge of the slide is marked (in white): 1760. A brown leather case is marked in gold on the flap: DIETZGEN. Inside the flap is written in ink: WIELER (/) R. W. ORY.
Catalogs for Dietzgen of Chicago indicate that the company introduced the improved adjustment in 1910. It was initially used on model 1769, which was 16" long and had letters on both ends of the scales until 1919, when model 1769 became a 10" rule with letters only on the right of the scales that sold in a morocco leather case for $6.50. It remained available on Dietzgen price lists through at least 1928, when the instrument was renumbered in catalogs to model 1760L. Model 1760 sold with a leather case (the L in the model number) for $6.35 until 1941. According to the donor, this instrument was used by her husband, the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993).
References: Catalogue & Price List of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 9th ed. (Chicago, 1910), 214, 217; Catalogue & Price List of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 10th ed. (Chicago, 1919), 78; Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 12th ed. (Chicago, 1926), 172, 174; Peter M. Hopp, Slide Rules: Their History, Models, and Makers (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 1999), 159.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1928-1941
maker
Eugene Dietzgen Company
ID Number
1998.0032.02
catalog number
1998.0032.02
accession number
1998.0032

Graphic Calculator Pumping Percentage Circular Slide Chart for Calgon

This circular slide chart consists of two plastic discs of equal size held together at the center by a metal rivet. The bottom disc is white, with a green logarithmic scale around the edge that runs from 8 to 20.
Description
This circular slide chart consists of two plastic discs of equal size held together at the center by a metal rivet. The bottom disc is white, with a green logarithmic scale around the edge that runs from 8 to 20. The top disc is clear around the edge (making it possible to see the lower scale) and gray in the center. Around the gray region is a circular logarithmic scale that also runs from 8 to 20. According to the instructions on the object, one rotates the upper disc to set the pumped weight on the inner scale opposite the green weight on the outer scale. The “Percent Pump” can then be read through a window in the upper disc. It ranges from 0 to 20.
The green weight of a processed food is the weight before processing, while the pumped weight is weight after processing. This device allows one to find the percentage by which the weight of a product has increased as a result of processing. USDA regulations require that, if the pumped weight of a meat product exceeds the green weight, the substances added be indicated.
The top disc is marked: PUMPING (/) PERCENTAGE (/) CALCULATOR. It is also marked: CURAFOS. It is also marked : CALGON CO. (/) PITTSBURGH 30, PENNSYLVANIA. On the bottom disc is marked: Copyright 1959 Hagan Chemicals & Controls, Inc. It is also marked: MANUFACTURED BY (/) GRAPHIC CALCULATOR CO., CHICAGO 5, ILL.
Graphic Calculator Company was a slide rule manufacturing and design company founded in Chicago in 1940 by Capron R. Gulbransen and apparently still in business at the time of his death in 1969. Curafos was the trademark for a chemical compound used in the treatment of meat and meat products to improve their color and moisture retention. The chemical was introduced by CALGON Co. in 1953, with the trademark granted in 1955. CALGON was a subsidiary of Hagan Corporation until 1956, when Hagan Corporation was renamed Hagan Chemicals and Controls. In 1963, Hagan Chemicals and Controls sold its Controls Division to Westinghouse, and the remaining firm became Calgon Corporation. These changes in corporate name are consistent with the copyright date of 1959 on the instrument.
References: Processing Inspectors’ Calculations Handbook, United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety Inspection Service, rev. ed. (Washington, DC, 1995), 83, http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISDirectives/7620-3.pdf; Obituaries, Chicago Tribune, August 11, 1969, p. A6.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1959-1963
maker
Graphic Calculator Co.
ID Number
2000.3029.13
nonaccession number
2000.3029
catalog number
2000.3029.13

Pickett N600-ES Log Log Duplex Slide Rule

This five-inch "eye saver" yellow aluminum linear slide rule has a nylon indicator and is held together with stamped aluminum contoured posts. The front of the base has LL1, A, D, DI, and K scales, with B, ST, T, S, and C scales on the slide.
Description
This five-inch "eye saver" yellow aluminum linear slide rule has a nylon indicator and is held together with stamped aluminum contoured posts. The front of the base has LL1, A, D, DI, and K scales, with B, ST, T, S, and C scales on the slide. The left end of the slide is marked: MODEL (/) N600-ES (/) LOG LOG (/) SPEED RULE. The right end of the slide bears the form of the Pickett logo that was used between 1958 and 1962. The number 81 is printed above the logo, and MADE IN U.S.A. is printed below it.
The back of the base has LL2, DF, D, and LL3 scales, with CF, Ln, L, CI, and C scales on the front of the slide. The left end of the slide is marked: PICKETT (/) ALL METAL (/) SLIDE RULES. The right end of the slide is marked: PICKETT & ECKEL, (/) INC. (/) CHICAGO, ILL. (/) ©1962. The instrument fits in a red-orange leather case with a clip to slide over a pocket or belt. A leather strip above the clip is stamped in gold with the Pickett triangular logo and PAT. PEND. Raising the strip pulls the rule out of the case.
On January 26, 1959, John W. Pickett applied for a design patent for a slide rule case that resembles the case for this object. The patent was granted on April 5, 1960. It seems likely that the date of this rule is relatively close to the copyright date of 1962. Pickett was the son of company founder Ross C. Pickett and served as president of the firm from 1957 to 1967. For early company history, see 1979.0601.02. The company began manufacturing aluminum slide rules in Alhambra, Calif., in the early 1950s, while retaining offices in Chicago, and changed from glass to nylon indicators in 1958. In 1964, the firm moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., and changed its name from Pickett & Eckel, Inc., to Pickett Industries. In the mid-1970s, Pickett moved to Nogales, Mexico, ceased making slide rules, and was gradually subsumed into Chartpak, Inc., a maker of art supplies and office products now located in Leeds, Mass.
Its compact size and large number of scales made this model popular with engineers who had excellent vision. The Pickett 600-ES was carried on the first five Apollo flights. See the National Air and Space Museum's inventory number A19840160000.
References: John W. Pickett, "Slide Rule Case" (U.S. Patent D187,632 issued April 5, 1960); International Slide Rule Museum, "Pickett All-Metal Slide Rules," http://sliderulemuseum.com/SR_Dates.htm#Pickett; Michael Freudiger, et al., "Mathematics on the Moon: The 'Apollo' Pickett," Journal of the Oughtred Society 10, no. 2 (2001): 15–18; Eric Marcotte, "Pickett Slide Rules," http://www.sliderule.ca/pickett.htm.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1962
maker
Pickett & Eckel, Incorporated
ID Number
1998.0119.02
catalog number
1998.0119.02
accession number
1998.0119

Mathematical Table, Meat

Mathematical tables like this one were distributed by producers to persuade consumers of the value of their products. This instrument consists of a disc with a smaller disc that rotates above it. A metal clasp at the center holds the two pieces together.
Description
Mathematical tables like this one were distributed by producers to persuade consumers of the value of their products. This instrument consists of a disc with a smaller disc that rotates above it. A metal clasp at the center holds the two pieces together. A slot in the upper disc reveals one column of the table printed on the disc below. This table gives the percentage of daily recommended dietary allowances supplied by a 3.5 oz serving of beef, lamb, pork, and veal. The percentages are given for children of ages 3-4 years, 4-6 years, 7-9 years, and 10-12 years; teenaged boys 13-15 and 16-19 years old; teenaged girls 13-15 and 16-19 years old; women of ages 25, 45, and 65; and men of ages 25, 45, and 65. The daily requirements of protein, calories, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin supplied by a serving of meat are indicated. The back lists the nutrition provided by strained meat fed to infants and gives references for the calculations. These references date from 1950 and 1958.
The instrument is marked on the front: The percentages of (/) daily recommended dietary (/) allowances supplied by one (/) 3 1/2 oz. serving of cooked MEAT for moderately active children and adults. It is marked on the front and the back: NATIONAL LIVE STOCK AND MEAT BOARD. It is marked on the back: A Product of Graphic Calculator Co., Chicago 5, Ill.
Graphic Calculator Company was a slide rule and slide chart manufacturing and design company founded in Chicago in 1940 by Capron R. Gulbransen, and apparently still in business at the time of Gulbransen’s death in 1969. By 1965, the firm had moved to Barrington, Illinois.
Reference:
Obituaries, Chicago Tribune, August 11, 1969, p. A6.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
maker
Graphic Calculator Company
ID Number
2000.3029.12
nonaccession number
2000.3029
catalog number
2000.3029.12

Dietzgen 3394 PowERaser

This electric drafting tool consists of a 90" power cord, a motor in a 5" cylindrical black plastic casing, and a 1-1/2" aluminum collar in which is inserted a pink rubber eraser. The side of the tool has a label marked: DIETZGEN PowERaser (/) 115 V. • 0.35 AMP (/) AC • DC.
Description
This electric drafting tool consists of a 90" power cord, a motor in a 5" cylindrical black plastic casing, and a 1-1/2" aluminum collar in which is inserted a pink rubber eraser. The side of the tool has a label marked: DIETZGEN PowERaser (/) 115 V. • 0.35 AMP (/) AC • DC. The end of the tool next to the cord is marked: DIETZGEN (/) NO. 3394 (/) ←OFF – 110 – 115V – AC-DC - ON→. A label around the cord about 10" from the plug is marked: Cab [illegible] Inc. (/) Inspected (/) Power (/) Supply Cord (/) P–732 (/) BELDEN (/) MFG. (/) CO. Masking tape is wrapped around the cord about 8" from the handle.
The Eugene Dietzgen Co. introduced model 3394A in 1938 for $6.50, increasing the price to $7.50 in 1943. Originally, the casing was shorter and the outside of the collar holding the eraser was smooth rather than threaded. The instrument was renumbered to model 3394, lightened from 14 to 12 ounces, and redesigned to the form of this object by 1948. Belden Manufacturing Company began making insulated wiring in Chicago in 1902. It manufactured only war materials during World War II, but it returned to supplying private firms such as Dietzgen in 1945.
According to the donor, this electric eraser was used by her husband, the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993). He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, attended Hofstra University in the early 1950s, worked for Sperry Gyroscope for 27 years, and then worked for Colt Firearms and Abraham Strauss of New York before retiring in 1985. Presumably he acquired the eraser during his studies or during his career at Sperry.
References: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 15th ed. (Chicago, 1938), 352; Eugene Dietzgen Co., Price List No. 25 (Chicago, 1943); Eugene Dietzgen Co., Catalog 22D: Drafting Materials (Chicago, 1948), 106; Belden Inc., "Company History," http://www.belden.com/aboutbelden/company/history/; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
distributor
Eugene Dietzgen Company
maker
Eugene Dietzgen Company
ID Number
1998.0032.15
catalog number
1998.0032.15
accession number
1998.0032

Pair of Charles Bruning 2711P Chain Scales with Drafting Machine Mounts

Along one edge, both of these beveled white molded plastic rules have scales for 1" to a foot, 1/2" to a foot, and divided to 1/2" and numbered from left to right by twos and by ones.
Description
Along one edge, both of these beveled white molded plastic rules have scales for 1" to a foot, 1/2" to a foot, and divided to 1/2" and numbered from left to right by twos and by ones. The 18-1/2" rule is numbered from 0 to 32 and from 0 to 17, and the 12-1/2" rule is numbered from 0 to 20 and from 1 to 11. The other edge has scales for 1/4" to a foot, 1/8" to a foot, and divided to 1/8" and numbered from left to right by fours and by twos. The larger rule is numbered from 0 to 140 and from 0 to 46, and the smaller rule is numbered from 0 to 92 and from 0 to 46. Both rules are marked: 1 1/2 (/) CHARLES BRUNING CO. (/) 1/8 1/4.
Both ends of both rules have aluminum mounts for attaching to a drafting machines. The 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. See also 1998.0032.12.
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 selling these rules in white plastic as model 2711P, style B, in 1952. According to the donor, the instrument was used by her husband, the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993).
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, 15th ed. (New York, 1952), 176.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1952–1959
maker
Charles Bruning Company
ID Number
1998.0032.13
catalog number
1998.0032.13
accession number
1998.0032

Map Measure, Dietzgen 1715-4

This measure has the shape of a pocket watch, with a wheel at the bottom which can run along the line to be measured. A long hand rotates counterclockwise to indicate the number of feet represented on the plan, assuming that one quarter of an inch equals one foot.
Description
This measure has the shape of a pocket watch, with a wheel at the bottom which can run along the line to be measured. A long hand rotates counterclockwise to indicate the number of feet represented on the plan, assuming that one quarter of an inch equals one foot. Two smaller dials indicate hundreds and thousands of feet. Pressing down a button at the top of the instrument zeros it. The device fits in a cardboard box.
A mark on the back of the instrument reads: DIETZGEN (/) SWISS. A mark on a tag attached to the top of the cardboard box reads: DIETZGEN (/) 1715-4 (/) ONE ONLY (/) PLAN (/) MEASURE (/) TO REGISTER FEET (/) ON PLANS 1/4" TO THE FT. A mark stamped on one end of the box reads: SWITZERLAND (/) No 1864.
Eugene Dietzgen Company of Chicago sold map measures from at least 1910, and introduced this model in March,1952. How long it sold is not known. This example was used by the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923-1993), who worked for Sperry Gyroscope, for Colt Firearms, and for Abraham Strauss.
References:
Accession File.
Eugene Dietzgen Company, Price List No. 28, Chicago, March, 1952, p. 18. The map measure sold for $12, or $100.80 per dozen.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
distributor
Eugene Dietzgen Company
maker
Eugene Dietzgen Company
ID Number
1998.0032.05
catalog number
1998.0032.05
accession number
1998.0032

Dietzgen 1298-D Blackboard Protractor

Blackboard dividers that are different from this instrument are advertised as model number 1781 in the Frederick Post Company's 1930 and 1936 catalogs.
Description
Blackboard dividers that are different from this instrument are advertised as model number 1781 in the Frederick Post Company's 1930 and 1936 catalogs. The instrument is not shown in the 1949–1950 catalog.In the 16th and 17th centuries, surveyors and navigators began to use instruments made especially for measuring off angles. These were generally small instruments made of metal and finely divided. In the years following the Civil War, as the number of American high schools grew, so did the number of students studying practical geometry and trigonometry. To teach them, teachers used inexpensive protractors made for use at the blackboard.
This example is made of fiberboard, painted white on the front, and has a wooden handle so that it can be held upright. It is divided along the edge to intervals of 5 degrees. By comparison, most protractors are divided much more finely. The Eugene Dietzgen Co. of Chicago sold blackboard protractors like this one from about 1925.
The instrument was used by Margaret G. Aldrich (1918-2007), who taught at Montgomery College from 1957 to 1984, chairing of the math department on the Takoma Park campus for many years. She had an undergraduate degree in mathematics and an M.A. in psychology, both from the University of Minnesota.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Eugene Dietzgen Company
ID Number
1999.0117.02
catalog number
1999.0117.02
accession number
1999.0117

Dietzgen 1084S Wallet Case of Drawing Instruments

This black synthetic leather case is lined with purple velvet and fastens with a snap. The top flap is marked: 1084 S. Inside the flap is marked: DIETZGEN (/) "PREP". A brass plate on the inside front of the case has a paper label handmarked: WIELER.
Description
This black synthetic leather case is lined with purple velvet and fastens with a snap. The top flap is marked: 1084 S. Inside the flap is marked: DIETZGEN (/) "PREP". A brass plate on the inside front of the case has a paper label handmarked: WIELER. Below the plate is marked: PAT. APPL. FOR. The back of the case is marked: Germany. The set includes:
1) 5-3/8" steel dividers lacking all attachments.
2) 3" aluminum handle missing its lid.
3) German silver and steel 4-1/8" extension bar and 2-1/8" pen and needle point attachments for dividers.
4) 2-1/4" aluminum and steel screwdriver.
5) 1-3/8" aluminum cylindrical case for leads, with two needle points.
6) 5-1/2" aluminum and steel drawing pen. The German silver adjusting screw is marked: DIETZGEN (/) GERMANY.
7) 3-3/4" German silver and steel bow dividers and bow pen. The bow dividers are marked: CHARVOS, INC. U.S.A. The screw on the bow pen is marked: DIETZGEN (/) GERMANY.
Around 1880, Eugene Dietzgen emigrated from Germany and became a sales distributor for Keuffel & Esser in New York. In 1885, he began to sell mathematical instruments on his own in Chicago. In 1893, his firm started manufacturing instruments under the name Eugene Dietzgen Company. In 1928, the business began importing these particular instruments to sell as the Prep product line for students. Model number 1084S was then priced at $4.70. By 1936, the set cost $5.45. In 1938, the handles on the pen and screwdriver were painted black and no longer were ridged. The patent referenced on the case is not known.
The large dividers and bow dividers clearly were put into the set later to replace original pieces. Charvoz made sets of drawing instruments in West Germany in the second half of the 20th century. According to the donor, this set of drawing instruments was used by her husband, the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993). He likely acquired the set around 1937 as a school student.
References: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 13th ed. (Chicago, 1928), 144; Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 14th ed. (Chicago, 1931), 156; Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 15th ed. (Chicago, 1938), 188.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1928-1937
distributor
Eugene Dietzgen Company
ID Number
1998.0032.01
catalog number
1998.0032.01
accession number
1998.0032

Brennan Adding Machine

This adding machine has a black case, with a green metal plate under the keyboard. It has nine black plastic digit keys arranged in a square with a “0” bar below. The digits are in white, with smaller complementary digits in red.
Description
This adding machine has a black case, with a green metal plate under the keyboard. It has nine black plastic digit keys arranged in a square with a “0” bar below. The digits are in white, with smaller complementary digits in red. There are red SUB (/) TOTAL and TOTAL keys to the left of the digit keys and a smaller red key to the right. Numbers of up to nine digits may be entered. Depressing the total key and the key on the right and bringing the lever forward clears the machine. At the front is a red key marked "E” that serves as a column indicator. Moving this key to the right eliminates digits entered erroneously. The metal operating lever, with wooden handle, is on the right side. Behind the keyboard is a glass window that reveals a row of nine plastic wheels that show the total. Behind these is a narrow carriage with a rubber knobs that carries a paper tape.
The Brennan was invented by Thomas Mehan and manufactured in Chicago in roughly the years from 1929 to1931. This was not a good time to be starting a business in the United States, and the Brennan Adding Machine Company soon folded. The rights to manufacture the machine were acquired by Remington Rand by 1932, and it soon began to manufacture a similar machine as its "grocer's special."
The machine is marked on the right and left side, with a stencil of an airplane: THE (/) BRENNAN. It is stamped on the bottom with serial number 4305.
The prior owner of the machine did not know where it was used.
References:
This machine resembles that shown in an advertisement in Typewriter Topics, vol. 74, March, 1930. p. 61. It has more function keys than shown in 1929 advertisements.
E. Martin, Die Rechenmaschinen und ihre Entwicklungsgeschichte, (1925 edition with later supplement), p. 457.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
maker
Brennan Adding Machine Company
ID Number
1999.0297.01
accession number
1999.0297
catalog number
1999.0297.01

Remington Adding and Subtracting Typewriter

This is a combination adding machine and typewriter. The upstrike typewriter has a QWERTY keyboard with two shift keys, a shift lock key, a tab stop set key, a back spacer key, and a space bar. Behind each of the number keys is a bar which leads up to the adding attachment.
Description
This is a combination adding machine and typewriter. The upstrike typewriter has a QWERTY keyboard with two shift keys, a shift lock key, a tab stop set key, a back spacer key, and a space bar. Behind each of the number keys is a bar which leads up to the adding attachment. Keys in a row across the bottom front set the place of the first digit in a number. The typewriter has two carriages. The front one carries a single register that indicates seven-digit totals. The carriage in back has tab-setting devices. Behind this is the ribbon, the rubber platen, and the paper tray. The machine has four rubber feet and two rubber handles for the platen.
A mark on the paper tray reads: Remington (/)Adding and Subtracting (/) Typewriter. A mark at the bottom front reads: Remington Standard Typewriter No. 11. Marks on the adding mechanism below the front carriage and on the moveable register read: WAHL ADDING MACHINE Co. (/) CHICAGO. The adding mechanism is also marked: PATENTED IN (/) UNITED STATES AND (/) FOREIGN COUNTRIES. (/) DATES & NUMBERS ON (/) BACK COVER. OTHER (/) PATENTS PENDING. (/) DISCOUNT. Marks on the back of the adding attachment give American, French and British patents.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1913
maker
Remington Typewriter Company
Wahl Adding Machine Company
ID Number
2000.0106.01
accession number
2000.0106
catalog number
2000.0106.01

Dietzgen 12066-24 T-Square and 4410-2 1/2 Drawing Board

The 18" X 24" drawing board is made of six strips of pine, joined with tongue and groove construction to two pine endpieces. The board is pieced to allow for expansion and contraction. It is not marked.
Description
The 18" X 24" drawing board is made of six strips of pine, joined with tongue and groove construction to two pine endpieces. The board is pieced to allow for expansion and contraction. It is not marked. Between 1926 and 1938, the Eugene Dietzgen Company added this size of board to its model 4410 line of drawing boards.
The 26-3/8" ash T-square is lined with maple on the handle. The head is 13" wide and painted black. The handle is marked: DIETZGEN (/) GLOBE (/) 12066-24. A drawing of the Earth appears around the word "GLOBE." A round hole at the end of the handle permits hanging. Between 1926 and 1938, Dietzgen began offering a "school quality" version of its model 2066 line of T-squares and gave that version the model number 12066.
George Norton (1927–2009) purchased these tools in 1944 as part of a "practical drawing outfit" (model number 1100BW) that also included two celluloid triangles, a triangular scale, a celluloid protractor, a celluloid French curve, a box of thumb tacks, two pencils, one eraser, one art gum, one pencil pointer, twelve sheets of sandpaper, one bottle of black ink, six sheets of drawing paper, one instruction book, and a lettering chart. He paid $4.60 for the entire boxed kit. He used the instruments as a toolmaker for the U.S. Naval Gun Factory in Washington, D.C. He worked for the Smithsonian from the early 1960s until 1989.
References: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 12th ed. (Chicago, 1926), 217, 291; Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 15th ed. (Chicago, 1938), 203, 303, 390; "George A. Norton Jr., Museum Specialist," Washington Post, January 1, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/01/AR2010010101675.html; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944
maker
Eugene Dietzgen Company
ID Number
1997.0105.01
catalog number
1997.0105.01
accession number
1997.0105

Dietzgen 1298-B Blackboard Rule

This three-foot wooden rule was sold as part of a set of instruments for blackboard use. It is divided to 1/8" along one edge and numbered in red for feet and in black for inches.
Description
This three-foot wooden rule was sold as part of a set of instruments for blackboard use. It is divided to 1/8" along one edge and numbered in red for feet and in black for inches. A horizontal handle in the center of the rule assists with positioning it against the blackboard, and a round hole at the right end is for hanging the instrument. The lower right corner is marked: DIETZGEN (/) MADE IN U.S.A. (/) 1298-B.
The Eugene Dietzgen Company of Chicago began numbering its blackboard drawing instruments individually by 1910, when it priced the four pieces at $1.25 each or $5.00 for the set. However, through at least 1938, the handle on the ruler was shaped like a knob, not as a horizontal bar. For related object, see 1999.0117.02.
The instrument was used by Margaret G. Aldrich teaching mathematics at Montgomery College, established as Montgomery Junior College in Takoma Park, Maryland.
References: Catalogue & Price List of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 7th ed. (Chicago, 1904), 151; Catalogue & Price List of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 9th ed. (Chicago, 1910–1911), 194; Catalogue & Price List of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 15th ed. (Chicago, 1938), 210.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Eugene Dietzgen Company
ID Number
1999.0160.01
catalog number
1999.0160.01
accession number
1999.0160

Pickett N4-ES Vector-Type Log Log Duplex Slide Rule

This aluminum ten-inch linear duplex slide rule is coated in Pickett's "Eye Saver" yellow plastic. The flat nylon indicator is screwed within a white plastic frame.
Description
This aluminum ten-inch linear duplex slide rule is coated in Pickett's "Eye Saver" yellow plastic. The flat nylon indicator is screwed within a white plastic frame. The front top of the base has three extended cube root scales (one for numbers with 1, 4, 7, 10, or more digits before the decimal point; one for numbers with 2, 5, 8, 11, or more digits; and one for numbers with 3, 6, 9, 12, or more digits) and a DF scale. The front bottom of the base has D, DI, and square root scales. The top square root scale gives roots of numbers on the D scale with an odd number of digits before the decimal point; the lower square root scale gives roots of numbers with an even number of digits. The front of the slide has CF, CIF, double T, ST, S, CI, and C scales.
The left end of the slide is marked: MODEL N4-ES (/) Vector-Type LOG LOG (/) DUAL-BASE SPEED RULE. The right end has "Pickett" in script on a triangle with a dot at one point. MADE IN U.S.A. appears beneath the logo. This form of logo was in use from 1958 to 1962. The style of the grooved stamped aluminum posts is also consisted with this timeframe.
The top back of the base has LL1, LL2, and DF/M scales. D, LL3, and LL4 scales are on the bottom of the base. The back of the slide has CF/M, TH, SH, Ln, L, CI, and C scales. The back of the slide is marked at the left end: COPYRIGHT 1959© (/) PATENT APPLIED FOR. The right end is marked: PICKETT (/) ALL METAL (/) SLIDE RULES (/) PICKETT & ECKEL INC. (/) CHICAGO ILL. U.S.A. The mention on the instrument of a patent application may refer to a patent for a case issued to John W. Pickett in 1960. Pickett was the son of company founder Ross C. Pickett and served as president of the firm from 1957 to 1967.
The slide rule is in a red-brown leather case lined in white plastic. The triangular Pickett logo is stamped in gold on the front of the case, and a metal ring on the back is for a leather strap (no longer with the instrument) that can be hung around a belt loop. See 1980.0097.04 for instructions.
The donor, engineer Edgar F. Peebles, obtained this slide rule free of charge as a replacement when the numbers came off the slide rule he had used in college. He first used it from 1959 to 1965 in the satellite control facility of the Air Force at Sunnyvale, Calif. He then used it as a down range representative for Lockheed Missiles and Space Company from 1965 to 1968 in tests of the Polaris missile. Finally, from 1968 to 1969 he used the slide rule in the checkout area of the test Polaris missile manufacturing plant in Sunnydale.
References: Rodger Shepherd, "Pickett's 'Eye Saver Yellow,'" Journal of the Oughtred Society 1, no. 1 (1992): 18; International Slide Rule Museum, "Pickett All-Metal Slide Rules," http://sliderulemuseum.com/SR_Dates.htm#Pickett; Maurice L. Hartung, How to Use . . . Pickett Dual Base Log Log Slide Rules (Chicago: Pickett & Eckel, Inc., 1953), http://sliderulemuseum.com/Manuals/M103_Pickett_HowToUseDualBase_1953.pdf; John W. Pickett, "Slide Rule Case" (U.S. Patent D187,632 issued April 5, 1960); accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1959
maker
Pickett & Eckel, Incorporated
ID Number
2000.0203.01
accession number
2000.0203
catalog number
2000.0203.01

Spherometer

A spherometer is used primarily for measuring the curvature of objects such as lenses and curved mirrors. For further information about spherometers. This example is marked with the "Cenco" trademark of the Central Scientific Company of Chicago, founded in 1900.
Description
A spherometer is used primarily for measuring the curvature of objects such as lenses and curved mirrors. For further information about spherometers. This example is marked with the "Cenco" trademark of the Central Scientific Company of Chicago, founded in 1900. They manufactured and sold educational scientific apparatus. Their 1936 catalog describes this item as "Spherometer, Student Form" and lists experiments in several popular physics textbooks that can be performed with this instrument. This instrument includes a demonstration optical flat and a large double-convex lens. This particular setup was probably used by students to replicate the Newton's Rings experiment. This spherometer is small (3.5 inches in height) and has both a vertical scale and a horizontal scale on the disc. This spherometer sold for $4.50 in 1941. This spherometer was originally owned by Columbia University.
Central Scientific Company, Catalog (1941): 1014.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1906-1950
maker
Central Scientific Company
ID Number
2001.0162.04
catalog number
2001.0162.04
accession number
2001.0162

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

Arithmetic School, a Toy by Playskool

In the early 1960s, the Chicago firm of Playskool introduced this educational toy for children three to six years old, seeking to give them an early familiarity with numbers.
Description
In the early 1960s, the Chicago firm of Playskool introduced this educational toy for children three to six years old, seeking to give them an early familiarity with numbers. It has two rows of relatively large rotating wooden rectangular blocks, each with a row of square rotating wooden blocks below. The larger blocks have problems in simple addition written on them, the smaller ones answers. The problems and correct answers are written in the same color of paint. The blocks move on metal rods that are attached at top and bottom to a frame. The frame is supported at the back by a collapsible metal stand. The frame is painted with a pattern of bricks on the side and a roof at the top.
A contemporary advertisement indicates that the toy cost $3.19.
Reference:
Jordan Marsh Company , [Advertisement], The Boston Globe, November 4, 1962, p. E5.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1962
maker
Playskool
ID Number
2005.0055.03
catalog number
2005.0055.03
accession number
2005.0055

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