From Herman Hollerith to IBM

A collection of tabulating machines in the collections of mathematics, Division of Medicine and Science, National Museum of American History

Herman Hollerith did undergraduate work at the School of Mines of Columbia University in New York. In 1879 he began work the U.S. Census Office, and soon was appointed a special agent charged with collecting statistics on the power and machinery used in manufactures. Hollerith quickly became intrigued by the problem of compiling Census statistics. By 1887 he had devised a tabulating system that included cards, a special punch for making holes in them at select locations to represent Census data, a tabulator that counted data on the cards, and a sorter that eased the task of sorting the cards for reuse. The system was tested in computing mortality statistics for the city of Baltimore. This proved sufficiently successful that Hollerith machines were selected to compile the data accumulated in the 1890 U.S. Census of population.

Hollerith’s system found use not only in the United States but in Britain, France, and Russia. By 1907 he had modified it to accommodate demands of business accounting. The new tabulating systems incorporated an adding machine; used punched cards with columns; had an improved card reader and a key-driven card punch; and offered a mechanical sorter. In 1911 Hollerith’s Tabulating Machine Company merged with two other firms to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, soon renamed IBM. Related companies emerged in France, Germany, and Great Britain. From 1914 Thomas J. Watson headed the firm, cultivating ties to American science, government, and business. IBM constructed one of the first relay computers, used at Harvard University during World War II. It went on to dominate the business of making and selling mainframe electronic computers.

Framed Letter Of Introduction for Herman Hollerith, 1880

This handwritten letter of Francis A. Walker, superintendent of the Census, introduces Herman Hollerith, E.M., as a special agent of the Census Office for collecting statistics on power and machinery used in manufacture. The letter is dated March 18, 1880.
Description
This handwritten letter of Francis A. Walker, superintendent of the Census, introduces Herman Hollerith, E.M., as a special agent of the Census Office for collecting statistics on power and machinery used in manufacture. The letter is dated March 18, 1880. The chief special agent was William P. Trowbridge, head of the Engineering Department at Columbia University, where Hollerith had studied.
This letter marks the beginning of Hollerith’s association with the Bureau of the Census.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880
ID Number
MA.317982.07
accession number
317982
catalog number
317982.07

Hollerith Punch Card for Use in the Baltimore Census of Mortality

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

Electrotype Printing Block Showing a Hollerith Pantograph Card Punch

This electrotype printing block is engraved in metal and attached to a wooden block. It shows a pantograph card punch on the design of Herman Hollerith.The engraving reads (in reverse print): THE HOLLERITH ELECTRIC TABULATING SYSTEM. It also reads (in reverse): BARTLETT & CO NY.
Description
This electrotype printing block is engraved in metal and attached to a wooden block. It shows a pantograph card punch on the design of Herman Hollerith.
The engraving reads (in reverse print): THE HOLLERITH ELECTRIC TABULATING SYSTEM. It also reads (in reverse): BARTLETT & CO NY. An illustration that may have used a similar block appeared in an 1890 article on the Hollerith tabulating system published in Manufacturer and Builder.
For related objects, see MA.312896 and 2011.3121.01
References:
"Further Details of the Hollerith Electric Tabulating System," Manufacturer and Builder, May 22, 1890, pp. 118–119.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
1977.0503.01
catalog number
336120
accession number
1977.0503

Electrical Component Associated with Herman Hollerith

This metal component includes a wooden framework painted black. An interrupter is at one end, and an electromagnet within the box. Herman Hollerith was the first inventor to build successful computing devices based on electromagnets.
Description
This metal component includes a wooden framework painted black. An interrupter is at one end, and an electromagnet within the box. Herman Hollerith was the first inventor to build successful computing devices based on electromagnets. This may have been a part of a tabulating machine.
This piece does not seem to match any drawing in Hollerith’s patents.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
1995.3037.01
nonaccession number
1995.3037
catalog number
1995.3037.01

Punch Board for a Hollerith Pantograph Card Punch

This is the celluloid plate from the front of a pantograph card punch. The instrument was patented by Herman Hollerith and used in the U. S. Census of population in 1890.
Description
This is the celluloid plate from the front of a pantograph card punch. The instrument was patented by Herman Hollerith and used in the U. S. Census of population in 1890. A mark on it reads: THE HOLLERITH ELECTRIC TABULATING SYSTEM (/) System Patented January 8th 1889.
Compare MA.312896.
Reference:
Leon E. Truesdell, The Development of Punch Card Tabulation in the Bureau of the Census 1890–1940, Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1965, pp. 43–44.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
Hollerith, Herman
ID Number
MA.317982.03
accession number
317982
catalog number
317982.03

Framed Photograph of a Hollerith Pantograph Card Punch

This gelatin-silvered photograph shows an early version of the pantograph card punch that Herman Hollerith patented in 1890.
Description
This gelatin-silvered photograph shows an early version of the pantograph card punch that Herman Hollerith patented in 1890. The photograph is matted, and has a glass cover and wooden frame.
Four places on the photograph are marked in red ink: 2.
For related object, see MA.312896.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
MA.317982.04
accession number
317982
catalog number
317982.04

Hollerith Tabulating Machine

During the 1880s the engineer Herman Hollerith devised a set of machines for compiling data from the United States Census.
Description
During the 1880s the engineer Herman Hollerith devised a set of machines for compiling data from the United States Census. Hollerith's tabulating system included a punch for entering data about each person onto a blank card, a tabulator for reading the cards and summing up information, and a sorting box for sorting the cards for further analysis. The tabulator is shown at the center in the photograph.
Hollerith's tabulating system won a gold medal at the 1889 World's Fair in Paris, and was used successfully the next year to count the results of the 1890 Census. His inventions formed the starting point of a company that would become IBM.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Hollerith, Herman
ID Number
MA.312895
accession number
171118
catalog number
312895

Counter from a Hollerith Tabulating Machine

This is a single counter from a Hollerith tabulating machine. It has square brass pieces on top and bottom, with a brass mechanism in between. A paper-covered metal dial on top is divided around the edge into 100 equal parts. Two hands are on the face of the dial.
Description
This is a single counter from a Hollerith tabulating machine. It has square brass pieces on top and bottom, with a brass mechanism in between. A paper-covered metal dial on top is divided around the edge into 100 equal parts. Two hands are on the face of the dial. Advancing the small hand by 100 (one revolution) advances the large hand by one. Hence the counter can read up to 9,999.
A mark around the center of the dial reads: THE HOLLERITH (/) ELECTRIC TABULATING SYSTEM (/) PATENTED, 1889.
Compare to the dials on MA.312895.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
MA.335638
catalog number
335638
accession number
1977.0114

Hollerith Card Sorter

During the 1880s the engineer Herman Hollerith devised a set of machines for compiling data from the U.S. Census.
Description
During the 1880s the engineer Herman Hollerith devised a set of machines for compiling data from the U.S. Census. Hollerith's tabulating system included a punch for entering data about each person onto a blank card, a tabulator for reading the cards and summing up information, and a sorting box for sorting the cards for further analysis.
This third part of the system, the sorter, is shown on the right in the photograph. It is an oak box with 26 vertical compartments arranged in two rows. Each compartment has a brass cover that is held in place by an electric catch connected to the tabulator. The sorter is connected by a cable to the tabulator. Once a card is read by the tabulator, a compartment opens in the sorter, indicating where the card should be placed for further counting. The front and back sides of the sorter open so that one may remove stacks of cards from the compartments.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890
maker
Tabulating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.312897
accession number
171118
catalog number
312897

Framed Photograph of a Hollerith Tabulating System

This framed photograph of a Hollerith tabulating system shows a tabulating machine, card punch with cards, and sorter, all distributed by the Tabulating Machine Company of New York.The tabulating machine has a metal base and four rows of counters, with ten counters in each row.
Description
This framed photograph of a Hollerith tabulating system shows a tabulating machine, card punch with cards, and sorter, all distributed by the Tabulating Machine Company of New York.
The tabulating machine has a metal base and four rows of counters, with ten counters in each row. Right of it a card punch and a pile of punch cards are on a separated metal table. A sticker above these reads: Tabulating Machine Company. Next to these is the sorter, which appears to have two rows of vertical compartments, with 13 compartments in each row. The photograph is matted and has a glass cover and wooden frame.
A sheet that once covered the back of the frame reads: WOOD & FORSYTH’S (/) ART STORE (/) Frames Made to Order (/) 1200 S Street. (/) WASHINGTON, D.C.
Electrical circuitry on the stand holding the card punch resembles MA.335637.
The Tabulating Machine Company was in business from 1896 to 1911, hence the rough date of 1900 assigned to the object.
Compare objects MA.312895, MA.312896 and MA.312897.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
MA.317982.05
accession number
317982
catalog number
317982.05

Contact Board Associated with Herman Hollerith

This wooden board has six switches on it, and six metal nubs. The nubs and one end of each switch are screwed into the board. On the opposite side are contacts for electrical wires. Twelve nails in the board on top assure that one switch can only meet one nub.
Description
This wooden board has six switches on it, and six metal nubs. The nubs and one end of each switch are screwed into the board. On the opposite side are contacts for electrical wires. Twelve nails in the board on top assure that one switch can only meet one nub. Holes at opposite ends of the board allow it to be attached to a table, with a groove in the back for wires.
Compare to switches on the Hollerith tabulating system with museum number MA.317982.05.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
Hollerith, Herman
ID Number
MA.335637
accession number
1977.0114
catalog number
335637

Framed Photograph of Apparatus of Herman Hollerith

This framed and matted photograph shows a laboratory bench. On it is a rolling metal platform, with wheels, that moves along a track. A weight at one end and screw underneath apparently control the motion of the carriage.
Description
This framed and matted photograph shows a laboratory bench. On it is a rolling metal platform, with wheels, that moves along a track. A weight at one end and screw underneath apparently control the motion of the carriage. A mechanism on the right probably controls the motion of the screw. A metal bar attached to the front of the bench carries two movable microscopes. Over and behind the carriage are two metal bars, both of which appear to have rows of evenly spaced metal plugs along the edges. A stylus is above the carriage.
Further apparatus is mounted on the wall on the left. Also on the wall are two photographs, one of a telescope and one of the pier of a telescope.These may be photographs of the 36-inch refractor at Lick Observatory in California. A third photograph shows unidentified apparatus, which may be a tabulating machine. Several light bulbs in the photograph apparently date roughly from 1880 to 1900.
A faint mark at the center of the photograph has been interpreted to read: Geo M Bond. A mark in pencil on the backing of the photograph (now loose from the object) reads: Tab Mach Co.
In the 1880s the mechanical engineer George M. Bond designed a comparator for William M. Rogers of the Harvard College Observatory to use in comparing standards of length. The Tabulating Machine Company was formed by Herman Hollerith in 1896 and merged to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1911. Hence the rough date of 1900 assigned to the image.
Reference:
Leon E. Truesdell, The Development of Punch Card Tabulation in the Bureau of the Census 1890–1940, Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1965, pp. 43–44.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
MA.317982.06
accession number
317982
catalog number
317982.06

Hollerith Pantograph Card Punch

This cast-iron object has a metal base that holds, at the top front, a sheet of plastic with holes in it, marked with the categories of the 1890 U.S. Census of population. In back of this is a holder for a punched card.
Description
This cast-iron object has a metal base that holds, at the top front, a sheet of plastic with holes in it, marked with the categories of the 1890 U.S. Census of population. In back of this is a holder for a punched card. A long arm, pivoted at the back, extends over the card and the plastic sheet. It has two projections on it. One fits into holes in the plastic sheet and the other punches holes in the card.The action is similar to that of a pantograph - hence the device is called a pantograph punch.
A mark on the plastic template reads: THE TABULATING MACHINE COMPANY, WASHINGTON, D.C. (/) System Patented January 8, 1889.
For related objects see MA.312895 and MA.312897. Compare 2011.3121.01 and MA.317982.03.
The Tabulating Machine Company was formed by Herman Hollerith in 1896 and merged to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1911.
Reference:
Leon E. Truesdell, The Development of Punch Card Tabulation in the Bureau of the Census 1890–1940, Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1965, pp. 43–44.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
Tabulating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.312896
accession number
171118
catalog number
312896

Hollerith Punch Card for the 1900 Census of Population, Replica

This paper punch card was designed for use in compiling data collected in the 1900 U.S. Census of Population.
Description
This paper punch card was designed for use in compiling data collected in the 1900 U.S. Census of Population. It includes fields for designating enumeration district, race, sex, age, marital status, number of children, number of children living, place of birth, place of birth of parents, years in the United States, citizenship status, occupation, whether employed, and years of education.
A mark printed on the bottom edge of the card reads: IBM190916. A mark penciled on the back reads: CHARLES LOCKERBY (/) IBM / WASH. As IBM did not take that name until 1924, the card was not printed for the Census.
Compare 1988.3098.03. The punch cards with this museum number were received at the museum in 1959 from the Bureau of the Census.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
IBM
ID Number
1977.0114.08.02
accession number
1977.0114
catalog number
1977.0114.08.02

Pantograph Card Punch Used at the United States Bureau of the Census

This is a punch used for preparing punch cards for the United States Census of Occupations of 1920.
Description
This is a punch used for preparing punch cards for the United States Census of Occupations of 1920. It has a triangular open metal base that holds a plate at the front on which a celluloid plate marked like one of the punch cards used in this census, with appropriate holes, rests. Behind this is a support for a card to be punched. Reaching across the instrument from back to front is a long metal rod which has a punch toward the center and a point at the front that fits into the holes in the celluloid plate.
A mark on the plate reads: OCCUPATION 1920.
A punch similar to this one was used in the U.S. census of population of 1890, the first carried out with tabulating equipment. Other forms of card punch were introduced in 1910, but proved less satisfactory. The year 1920 was the last in which a pantograph punch was used in the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Compare MA.312896.
Reference:
Leon E. Truesdell,The Development of Punch Card Tabulation in the Bureau of the Census 1890-1940, Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1965, pp. 140–46, 160.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920
ID Number
2011.3121.01
nonaccession number
2011.3121
catalog number
2011.3121.01

Electrotype Printing Block Showing a Manual Hollerith Key Punch

This electrotype printing block is engraved in metal and attached to a wooden block. It shows a manually operated, key-driven Hollerith card punch with 11 keys. Hollerith patented such a machine in 1901, but it had only ten keys, numbered from 0 to 9.
Description
This electrotype printing block is engraved in metal and attached to a wooden block. It shows a manually operated, key-driven Hollerith card punch with 11 keys. Hollerith patented such a machine in 1901, but it had only ten keys, numbered from 0 to 9. The machine shown on the electroplate has these number keys, plus one marked X.
For key punches similar but not identical to that shown, see MA.335634, MA.335635, and MA.333894.
Reference:
H. Hollerith, "Apparatus for Perforating Record Cards," U.S. Patent 682,197, September 10, 1901.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1902
ID Number
1977.0503.02
catalog number
336121
accession number
1977.0503

Tabulating Machine Company Card Punch

From the early 20th century into the 1970s, Americans used punched cards to enter data onto tabulating equipment and then electronic computers.
Description
From the early 20th century into the 1970s, Americans used punched cards to enter data onto tabulating equipment and then electronic computers. This early key-operated punch is based on patents of the inventor Herman Hollerith.
The machine has a shaped iron base painted black that includes a grooved plate for cards, a mechanism at the back for advancing cards being punched, a single row of punches, and a group of 12 keys for punching round holes with these punches. Another key at the back releases the card guide. Nine of the thirteen rubber key tops are missing.
A metal label on the front of the machine reads: THE TABULATING MACHINE CO (/) NEW YORK CITY (/) PATENTED (/) JUNE 18, 1901. SEPT. 10. 1901. A mark at the left front edge of the card bed reads: 17849. Two rods are marked at the front below the punching position: 234.
The Tabulating Machine Company was formed by Hollerith in 1896 and merged to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1911. This firm became International Business Machines Corporation. The key punch was introduced in the U.S. in 1901 and remained in essentially the same form for over half a century.
Compare MA.335634 and MA.334635.
Reference:
G. D. Austrian, Herman Hollerith: Forgotten Pioneer of Information Processing, New York: Columbia University Press, 1982, pp. 174–175.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1902
distributor
Tabulating Machine Company
maker
Tabulating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.335634
accession number
1977.0114
catalog number
335634

Tabulating Machine Company Card Punch

From the early 20th century into the 1970s, Americans used punched cards to enter data into tabulating equipment and then electronic computers.
Description
From the early 20th century into the 1970s, Americans used punched cards to enter data into tabulating equipment and then electronic computers. This is an early key-operated punch, based on patents of the inventor Herman Hollerith.
The machine has a shaped iron base, painted black, that includes a grooved plate for cards, a mechanism at the back for advancing cards being punched, a single row of punches, and a group of 12 keys for punching round holes with these punches. Another key at the back that releases the card guide. Three of the thirteen rubber key tops are missing.
A metal label on the front of the machine reads: THE TABULATING MACHINE CO (/) NEW YORK CITY (/) PATENTED (/) JUNE 18, 1901. SEPT. 10. 1901. A mark at the left front edge of the card bed reads: 17262. Two rods are marked at the front below the punching position: 392.
The Tabulating Machine Company was formed by Hollerith in 1896 and merged to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1911. This firm became International Business Machines Corporation. The key punch was introduced in the United States in 1901 and remained in essentially the same form for over half a century.
Compare MA.335634 and MA.334635.
Reference:
G. D. Austrian, Herman Hollerith: Forgotten Pioneer of Information Processing, New York: Columbia University Press, 1982, pp. 174–175.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1902
distributor
Tabulating Machine Company
maker
Tabulating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.335635
accession number
1977.0114
catalog number
335635

Tabulating Machine Company Card Punch Used at the Bureau of the Census

This machine was used to punch paper cards for use in data entry for tabulating machines. The tabletop machine accommodates 24-column cards and punches round holes. On the right are ten digit, a V and X keys.
Description
This machine was used to punch paper cards for use in data entry for tabulating machines. The tabletop machine accommodates 24-column cards and punches round holes. On the right are ten digit, a V and X keys. Pushing one key at the back moves a card one space to the left and depressing a second one all the way to the left. All the keys have rubber key tops. Cards were manually inserted and removed by the operator. The machine rests on an iron base that fits into a wooden stand painted black.
A tag attached to the front reads: THE TABULATING MACHINE COMPANY (/) NEW YORK CITY. A mark on the card bed on the left reads: 8-28 (/) 36666.
According to the catalog card, the machine was a product of the Tabulating Machine Company and was first used by the Bureau of the Census prior to 1920, possibly in 1917 or 1918, to prepare punched cards for vital statistics. The 1920 population Census cards were punched on the older-style pantograph punch.
The Tabulating Machine Company was formed by Herman Hollerith in 1896 and merged to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1911.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1918
maker
Tabulating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.316864
accession number
229657
catalog number
316864

Record of Punching Cards at the New York Central for the Month of April 1904

From 1895 inventor Herman Hollerith wooed the New York Central Railroad as a commercial customer for his tabulating machines. This small paper card records his success.
Description
From 1895 inventor Herman Hollerith wooed the New York Central Railroad as a commercial customer for his tabulating machines. This small paper card records his success. It reports that in April 1904, key punch operators at the Central punched a total of 428,502 cards, averaging 258 cards per clerk per hour. The record for one clerk was 70,535 cards punched, averaging 413 cards per hour.
Reference: G. D. Austrian, Hermann Hollerith: Forgotten Pioneer of Information Processing , New York: Columbia University Press, 1982, pp. 111–141.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1904
ID Number
1977.0114.08.01
accession number
1977.0114
catalog number
1977.0114.08.01

Punch Card Used at the Southern Railway Company

Herman Hollerith began manufacturing tabulating machines to compile statistics to the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Description
Herman Hollerith began manufacturing tabulating machines to compile statistics to the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The nation only compiles a census every ten years, so Hollerith sought business from foreign governments and from commercial customers.
As early as 1895, the New York Central began using tabulating equipment to track goods moved by the railroad. Hollerith radically redesigned the punch card, putting information in columns with the numbers from 0 to 9. Several columns of numbers comprised a field, which contained information on a single matter. By 1907, the Central was an established customer and other railroads adopted machine accounting. The Southern Railway Company used this 45-column card. It has fields for the date, the receiving station, the waybill number, the code, the forwarding station, the junction point, "Com.", "C.L.", freight, charges, and prepaid amounts.
Reference:
G. D. Austrian, Herman Hollerith: Forgotten Pioneer of Information Processing, New York: Columbia University Press, 1982, pp. 111–141, 250–251.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
1910, roughly
1910 roughly
maker
Tabulating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.317982.01
accession number
317982
catalog number
317982.01

Gang Punch Made by the British Tabulating Machine Company

In the 1880s American engineer Herman Hollerith devised a system to compile statistical information by entering data on individuals onto punched cards, allowing holes in the cards to admit wires and complete electrical circuits, and using electric counters to accumulate totals.Ho
Description
In the 1880s American engineer Herman Hollerith devised a system to compile statistical information by entering data on individuals onto punched cards, allowing holes in the cards to admit wires and complete electrical circuits, and using electric counters to accumulate totals.
Hollerith devised this kind of punch, which he called a gang punch, to punch data that was common to several cards. For data on a census, this might be the enumeration district. For payroll applications, it would be the date of payday.
In 1904 a British firm organized to lease Hollerith machines in Britain and much of the rest of the wold. A subcontractor manufactured punch cards. From the 1920s. the British Tabulating Machine Company manufactured punch card equipment itself. This gang punch is one of its products.
This punch has a 12x10 array of holes.The rows of holes are labeled Y, X, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Six metal cylinders fit into the holes for punching, with a manually operated press to push them down. Cards are fed and removed by hand, from right to left. On the left is a metal plate with zigzag rows of holes on its top front and top back edge. These may be used to indicate the position of the card before punching.
A tag on the right side of the punch under the card bed reads: THE (/) BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE Co (/) VICTORIA HOUSE, SOUTHHAMPTON ROW, LONDON, W.C.1 (/) GREAT BRITAIN AND U. S. A. - BRITISH BUILT. A stamp on the press reads: 5390.
References:
M. Campbell-Kelly, ICL: A Business and Technical History, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989.
H. Hollerith, "Quick Setting Press," U. S. Patent 1,193,390, August 1, 1916. The machine shown in this patent has levers for setting the pins. This is not true with this object.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920s
maker
British Tabulating Machine Company
ID Number
MA.320563
accession number
241402
catalog number
320563

IBM Statistical Tabulator

The IBM statistical tabulator is a specially built IBM numeric tabulator, designed to correlate test results and produce scientific tables. It read data from punched cards and from entries in any of ten 10-digit counters.
Description
The IBM statistical tabulator is a specially built IBM numeric tabulator, designed to correlate test results and produce scientific tables. It read data from punched cards and from entries in any of ten 10-digit counters. It also multiplied numbers together, summed the products, and printed these out. Wiring of a plugboard determined the precise sequence of operations performed.
In the late 1920s, Benjamin Wood, a young psychologist at Columbia University, wrote to several manufacturers requesting assistance in the design of equipment for scoring psychological tests. James D. Watson, president of IBM, offered his assistance in the form of standard IBM machines and the help of IBM engineers in designing special models like this one. The Columbia machine, as it was sometimes called, was used both in test grading and in the production of astronomical tables, long a concern of scientists. Although it was soon superseded by other IBM equipment, its success inspired Wood to consider other inventions, particularly machines that scored tests directly from forms marked in pencil, eliminating the need for punch cards. Such machines and score sheets would be used for decades. More generally, scientific use of tabulating equipment spread throughout the United States.
The large black machine has gold trim. On the left side at the top is a card hopper that has approximately 75 cards. A metal plate with a handle holds the cards to the back of the hopper. In front of the hopper is a bank of five rows of counter control switches, with ten switches in each row. The columns of switches are numbered from 1 to 10. A flat metal plate extends in front of the switches. Below this is the receiver for the hopper. At the front are three switches, one labeled "COUNTER CLEARING" and another, "HOPPER STOP." Next to the bank of switches is a dial labeled "AUTO TRANSFER." Next to it is a push button, and then a lever that may be set on "TAB" of "LIST." Below this lever are six additional switches. In front of these switches are three push buttons covered with a metal cap.
The next unit to the right is the printer, which has a carriage 52 cm. wide. The printing mechanism is at the front. The carriage supports a roll of paper 36 cm. wide. Next to the printer is a row of dials that extends to the right side of the machine. Each dial is numbered from 1 to 9, with a blank space between 9 and 1. The dials are grouped in five groups of 11, and visible through five small glass windows.
There is a second, recessed row of dials below the first, with an additional five glass windows. Below these dials is a plugboard that runs from under the printer on the right side. The top rows of holes are for control switches, banks, adding brushes, etc. Below them is a 5x10 matrix of holes for "COUNTER NO 1," another for "COUNTER NO 2," etc. Below each of these matrices is a 6x10 matrix of holes. The leftmost is for "TOP COUNTER NO 1," "TOP COUNTER NO 2," etc. Ten sets of holes are for counters and ten for top counters. Thirty-seven cables are plugged into the plugboard.
References:
J. F. Brennan, The IBM Watson Laboratory at Columbia University: A History, Armonk, N.Y.: IBM Corporation, 1971, pp. 3–5.
D. A. Grier, When Computers Were Human, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 205, esp. pp. 190–193.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1929
maker
IBM
ID Number
1990.0693.01
catalog number
1990.0693.01
accession number
1990.0693

IBM Manual Card Punch

For much of the 20th century, data was entered into data processing machines using punched cards.
Description
For much of the 20th century, data was entered into data processing machines using punched cards. This is a machine for punching such cards manufactured by International Business Machines Corporation of New York.
The tabletop key-driven machine punches twelve rectangular holes per column in 80-column cards. On the right are ten rubber digit keys, a key marked X and a blank key. Keys above these keys move cards one space to the left and all the way to the left. Cards are inserted and removed by hand. The machine rests in an iron base painted black. An enclosed metal cylinder protrudes from the back. The instrument sits at an angle in a wooden box painted green. In the box is a pointed metal rod.
The stamped number on the back right of the machine reads: 98 146. A mark painted across the back reads: HARRIET 8EC GR. A sticker attached to the back of the box reads: I-606 (/) NOT FOR (/) SALE. A mark on the side of the box reads: NASC (/) Rm 207-A (/) BLD #1. There are spaces for tags on the front of the machine, but no tags.
An 80-column punch card and a photocopy of a piece of International Time Recording Company stationery came with this object.
In 1901 Herman Hollerith patented a card punch with keys that was the forerunner of this instrument. IBM cards with rectangular holes and 80 columns were introduced in 1928. Cards with 12 rows of holes date from the early 1930s. This particular machine was for many years the property of IBM employee Robert B. Roberts.
References:
E. W. Pugh, Building IBM: Shaping an Industry and Its Technology, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1995, p. 49.
Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1930
maker
IBM
ID Number
1987.0601.01
accession number
1987.0601
catalog number
1987.0601.01

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