The Bureau of the Census to Remington Rand

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

In 1902 the Census Office became a permanent U.S. government agency, the Bureau of the Census. Simon N. D. North, the Director of the Bureau from 1903, believed that renting tabulating machines from Hollerith’s Tabulating Machine Company was too expensive. North established a machine shop staffed by engineers and mechanics to develop alternate systems. These machines were used in the census of population in 1910, 1920, and 1930. Tabulating equipment from the later period survives at NMAH.

James Powers, one of the first inventors hired by North, left to establish his own business in 1911. Although no machines of the Powers Accounting Machine Company survive in the Smithsonian collections, parts from them are represented. The company went bankrupt in 1920, but development of mechanical card punch equipment along the lines Powers envisioned continued. Remington Rand acquired Powers when it formed in 1927, and made punched card accounting machines into the 1950s. These were used not only in business and government but by organizations such as labor unions.

Powers Tabulating Equipment Component

This component consists of two aluminum pieces that hold ten parallel flexible rods. It may have served as a flexible connector for Powers Accounting Machine Company equipment.A mark stamped on one of the pieces reads: 1---U.
Description
This component consists of two aluminum pieces that hold ten parallel flexible rods. It may have served as a flexible connector for Powers Accounting Machine Company equipment.
A mark stamped on one of the pieces reads: 1---U. Several letters scratched on the other piece read: 1Y J-POWERS. A mark scratched on the other side of this piece reads: 1914.
Reference:
William W. Lasker, "Flexible-Connection Box," U.S. Patent 1,311,565, June 24, 1919.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1914
maker
James Powers
ID Number
1991.0871.02
accession number
1991.0871
catalog number
1991.0871.02

U.S. Bureau of the Census Tabulating Machine

From 1890 through 1950, information collected in the decennial United States census of population was punched onto cards and compiled using tabulating machines. At first the Bureau of the Census rented machines on the design of Herman Hollerith.
Description
From 1890 through 1950, information collected in the decennial United States census of population was punched onto cards and compiled using tabulating machines. At first the Bureau of the Census rented machines on the design of Herman Hollerith. Concerned by the high rental charges, it decided to develop tabulating equipment in its own shop.This tabulating machine was first used in the 1920 Census and then, after modification, in the 1930 Census.
The device accommodates 24-column cards. It has 60 four-position electromagnetic friction-driven counters with printing wheels and 50 electromagnetic relays, each with three contacts. The reading head contains individual wire brushes and contacts for each hole to be read. When a brush passes through a hole in a card, it encounters a contact and in turn activates the relays and counters.
References:
Accession File.
L. E. Truesdell, The Development of Punch Card Tabulation in the Bureau of the Census 1890–1940, Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1965.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920
maker
U. S. Census Bureau
ID Number
MA.316863
accession number
229657
catalog number
316863

Sorter for U.S. Bureau of the Census Tabulating System

From 1890 through 1950, information collected in the decennial U.S. census of population was punched onto cards and compiled using tabulating machines. At first, the Bureau of the Census rented machines on the design of Herman Hollerith.
Description
From 1890 through 1950, information collected in the decennial U.S. census of population was punched onto cards and compiled using tabulating machines. At first, the Bureau of the Census rented machines on the design of Herman Hollerith. Concerned by the high rental charges, the Bureau decided to develop tabulating equipment in its own shop. This horizontal card sorter is one result of that effort.
The iron and steel instrument is designed for the mechanical, single-column sorting of 24-column cards. Cards are fed from the left.The device mechanically senses any one column at a time and sends cards to one of 12 pockets or, if no punch exists, into the thirteenth or reject pocket. A wooden shelf is at the front of the pockets and another one on the left side of the machine. A motor drives the sorter.
As presently stored, one crate contains the sorter, and the second contains a metal piece painted black that has 12 pockets that apparently fits below.
According to Museum records, the machine was first used in the processing of Vital Statistics in 1927 and then in the 1930 Census of Population. It was reconstructed in 1959.
References:
Accession File.
L. E. Truesdell, The Development of Punch Card Tabulation in the Bureau of the Census 1890–1940, Washington: U. S. Department of Commerce, 1965.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1927
maker
U. S. Census Bureau
ID Number
MA.316862
accession number
229657
catalog number
316862

Model Relating to Powers Tabulating Equipment

The wooden base of this model holds a metal container with a paper punch card that fits in it. A metal piece swings from a crosspiece above the card. The base also holds supports for another metal crosspiece. Three metal pieces rotate with this crosspiece.
Description
The wooden base of this model holds a metal container with a paper punch card that fits in it. A metal piece swings from a crosspiece above the card. The base also holds supports for another metal crosspiece. Three metal pieces rotate with this crosspiece. The base also holds two larger, facing metal rectangles. One rectangle has a plastic piece screwed to the top.
A mark on the right side of the punch card reads: POWERS ACCOUNTING MACHINE COMPANY (/) ACCOUNTS PAYABLE. A mark on the left side of the punch card reads: P1384. The punched holes are round.
A piece of paper pasted to the top of the base reads: This model represents my new (/) invention of a tabulator in connec- (/) tion with perforated cards, elimina- (/) ting a pin box of 540 pins and sub- (/) stitution forty-five levers instead. (/) Also eliminating connection box, with (/) both of these improvements the speed (/) will be doubled and such machine will (/) be small in size, cheaper to build, (/) more flexible and easier to manipulate. (/) August 19, 1924 (/) James Powers. Also signing the document were Fred J. Dole, Charles E. Whiteman and Achilles Rovegno, all of whom had associations with Francis H. Richards of New York, Powers’s patent attorney.
No patent corresponding to this invention has been found.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
maker
James Powers
ID Number
1991.0871.03
accession number
1991.0871
catalog number
1991.0871.03

Powers Tabulating Machine Component

This very small section of a Powers tabulating machine comes from the adding machine part of the device. It consists of two shaped metal pieces held together by a rivet such that one swings freely.
Description
This very small section of a Powers tabulating machine comes from the adding machine part of the device. It consists of two shaped metal pieces held together by a rivet such that one swings freely. It has no maker’s marks.
Reference:
Powers Accounting Machine Corporation, Powers Tabulating Equipment, Book 3, New York: Powers Accounting Machine Corporation, 1923, Plate 507, Plate 607 (AM Sec 150). This document is 1992.3215.03.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920s
maker
Powers Accounting Machine Corporation
ID Number
1991.3180.01
nonaccession number
1991.3180
catalog number
1991.3180.01

Powers Tabulating Machine Components

This object consists of two identical shaped steel pieces from the printer section of a Powers tabulating machine. Each carries ten pieces of type that fit into the arch of the piece.
Description
This object consists of two identical shaped steel pieces from the printer section of a Powers tabulating machine. Each carries ten pieces of type that fit into the arch of the piece. At the top is a 0, at the bottom a 9.
Powers took out patents for tabulating machines in the early 20th century. These pieces are similar but not identical to those shown in patents of 1917 and 1921, and to pieces from a Powers Accounting Machine Corporation parts catalog from 1923. They are more similar to drawings in a patent filed in 1926 by Joseph R. Merkle and assigned to Remington Rand, Inc., the successor firm to Powers Accounting Machine Company.
References:
Powers Accounting Machine Corporation, Powers Tabulating Equipment, Book 3, New York: Powers Accounting Machine Corporation, 1923, Plate 507, Plate 510. This document is 1992.3215.03.
James Powers, "Tabulator-Printer for Statistical Purposes," U.S. Patent 1,245,502, November 6, 1917.
James Powers, "Combined Perforating and Printing Tabulator Mechanism," U.S. Patent 1,388,299, August 23, 1921.
Joseph R. Merkle, "Tabulating Machine," U.S. Patent 1,884,072, October 25, 1932. This patent was filed March 27, 1926.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1926
ID Number
1991.3180.02
nonaccession number
1991.3180
catalog number
1991.3180.02

Remington Rand Model 3 Card Punch

From the early 20th century, a few American offices used punched cards to enter data onto accounting machines. In 1929 the Powers Accounting Machines Division of Remington Rand, Inc., introduced a "double deck" punch card for data entry.
Description
From the early 20th century, a few American offices used punched cards to enter data onto accounting machines. In 1929 the Powers Accounting Machines Division of Remington Rand, Inc., introduced a "double deck" punch card for data entry. It had two sets of 45-column rows, for a total of 90 columns. This desk-sized, electrically powered device punched both 45 and 90 column cards. Keys at the right front set the machine. Pressing the "TRIP" bar in front of these activated the punch. The machine could be set to punch duplicate data, or to duplicate cards. With special key tops, not present on this version of the machine, one could enter alphabetic data, not simply numbers.
The machine has a mirror, which should be mounted, for viewing cards.
A tag on the front of the machine reads: Remington Rand. It lists patent numbers ranging from 1,643,779 (issued September 27, 1927) to 2,203,355 (issued June 4, 1940). A red tag attached to one edge reads: 020300 14946 4. A metal tag near one corner reads: VA9-14946.
References:
L. Heide, Punched-Card Systems and the Early Information Explosion 1880–1945, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009, esp. pp. 76–96.
Powers Accounting Machines Division of Remington Rand, Inc., "Powers Reference Manual," Buffalo, N.Y.: Powers Accounting Machines, 1935.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940
maker
Remington Rand Inc.
ID Number
1998.0211.01
accession number
1998.0211
catalog number
1998.0211.01

Remington Rand Tabulating Machine, Model 3, Type 3200

This machine is roughly the size and shape of a corner mailbox but much denser. It has a gray metal exterior. Its purpose was to translate and print statements from the numerical and alphabetical information fed in on punched cards.
Description
This machine is roughly the size and shape of a corner mailbox but much denser. It has a gray metal exterior. Its purpose was to translate and print statements from the numerical and alphabetical information fed in on punched cards. The printing mechanism is on top and the hopper for cards, at the center. Controls for determining what is printed are in front of the print mechanism and on the right side.
A mark on the front reads: Remington (/) Rand. A mark on a metal tag on the left front reads: Model 3 (/) Type Number 3200. A mark on another tag reads: A.F.L.-C.I.O (/) HEADQUARTERS (/) 37.
This machine is part of a Remington Rand accounting system owned by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, an important American labor union formed by the merger of the A.F.L. and the C.I.O. in 1955. According to Diebold & Associates, in 1956 the model 3200 alone cost $19,900 to $26,000. It also could be rented for $305 to $455 a month.
References:
John Diebold & Associates, "Remington Rand Model 3 Alphabetic Tabulator," Automatic Data Processing Equipment, Chicago: Cudahy Publishing Company, 1957. The report, dated June 29, 1956, is in section 4B 660.1, pp. 1–6.
Remington Rand Univac, Manual of Instructions for Operation the Remington Rand Alphabetical Tabulator Model 3, New York: Remington Rand Univac, no date. Remington Rand purchased Eckert-Mauchly Computer Company, developers of the UNIVAC computer, in 1950.
Sperry Rand Corporation, Remington Rand Univac Model 3 Tabulator, Sperry Rand Corporation, 1960. This is part of 1997.3012.04, and it did not come with the object. Sperry merged with Remington Rand in 1955.
Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
maker
Remington Rand
ID Number
MA.336296
accession number
305981
catalog number
336296

Tape to Card Converter, Type 308-56, for Use with a Remington Rand Model 3 Tabulating Machine

This desk-sized machine punched cards for input into a tabulating machine from information encoded on paper tape. It was part of a Remington Rand Model 3 accounting system, and was sold under the designation of a tape to card converter.The device includes two tape control units.
Description
This desk-sized machine punched cards for input into a tabulating machine from information encoded on paper tape. It was part of a Remington Rand Model 3 accounting system, and was sold under the designation of a tape to card converter.
The device includes two tape control units. Each one of these has dimensions: 22.5 cm. w. x 63 cm. d. x 23 cm. h. They are gray metal boxes with one reel for tape at the front and a protruding tape holder at the back. They sat on the left side of the machine. Both reels and holders may be removed. There are four buttons in the front of these devices. It seems likely that one was for five-channel paper tape and the other for 6-channel paper tape. The card feeder is at the center. An array of keys makes it possible to use the device as an ordinary punch.
References:
John Diebold & Associates, "Remington Rand Type 308-5 Tape-to-Card Converter," Automatic Data Processing Equipment, Chicago: Cudahy Publishing Company, 1957, section 3A 660.2, pp. 1–5.
Remington Rand Univac, Introduction to UNIVAC Punched-Card Data Processing, no date, no place, p. 35.
Remington Rand Univac Division of Sperry Rand Corporation, Remington Rand Common-Language Data Processing, New York: Remington Rand Univac, no date. This is 1977.3012.04.27.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
maker
Remington Rand
ID Number
MA.336297
accession number
305981
catalog number
336297

Remington Rand Type 306-2 Card Punch, for use with a Remington Rand Model 3 Tabulating Machine

This desk-sized, electrically powered machine is part of a Remington Rand accounting system. It was used to punch alphabetical or numerical information onto 90-column cards, which could then be sorted, reproduced, and tabulated on other parts of the system.
Description
This desk-sized, electrically powered machine is part of a Remington Rand accounting system. It was used to punch alphabetical or numerical information onto 90-column cards, which could then be sorted, reproduced, and tabulated on other parts of the system. The keyboard is at the front of the machine, with the card feed just behind it, and the punching mechanism behind this.
One mark on a tag attached to the machine reads: Remington (/) Rand; Model 3 (/) Type Number 306-2. Another mark on another tag attached to the machine reads: A.F.L.-C.I.O (/) HEADQUARTERS (/) 43. Measurements are for the machine without the kickstand extended.
Two loose pieces are said to be with the machine.
This machine is part of a system owned by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, an important American labor union formed by the merger of the A.F.L. and the C.I.O. in 1955. According to Diebold, in 1956 the 306-1 punch cost about $2,430 to purchase, or $35 per month to rent.
References:
John Diebold & Associates, "Remington Rand Types 306-2 and 306-3 Alphabetic Punch and Alphabetic numbering Punch," Automatic Data Processing Equipment, Chicago: Cudahy Publishing Company, 1957. The report, dated 1956, is in section 1A 660.1, pp. 1–6.
Remington Rand Univac, Model 3 Alphabetical Punch Operating Instructions, New York: Remington Rand Univac, no date. Remington Rand purchased Eckert-Mauchly Computer Company, developers of the UNIVAC computer, in 1950.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
maker
Remington Rand
ID Number
MA.336298
accession number
305981
catalog number
336298

Remington Rand Model 20 Type 321 Card Sorter, for Use with a Remington Rand Model 3 Tabulating Machine

This electrically powered machine is part of a Remington Rand punched card data processing system. The sorter could arrange Remington Rand punch cards into any sequence, usually a numerical, alphabetic, or alphanumeric sequence.
Description
This electrically powered machine is part of a Remington Rand punched card data processing system. The sorter could arrange Remington Rand punch cards into any sequence, usually a numerical, alphabetic, or alphanumeric sequence. It has a gray metal exterior and several bins, arranged horizontally, into which the cards are sorted.
A mark on a tag attached to the machine reads: Model 20 Type 321. A mark on another tag reads: A.F.L.-C.I.O (/) HEADQUARTERS (/) 38. Another mark reads: Remington Rand.
This machine is part of a system owned by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, an important American labor union formed by the merger of the A.F.L. and the C.I.O. in 1955. According to Diebold, in 1956 a 321 automatic sorter that sorted 420 cards per minute sold for $3,452 and rented for $50 per month.
Reference:
John Diebold & Associates, "Remington Rand Type 320 and 321 Automatic Sorters," Automatic Data Processing Equipment, Chicago: Cudahy Publishing Company, 1957. The report, dated 1956, is in section 4A 660.4, pp. 1–4.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
maker
Remington Rand
ID Number
MA.336299
accession number
305981
catalog number
336299

Stand Associated with Remington Rand Punched Card Equipment

This unit for a Remington Rand tabulating system has five irregularly spaced metal shelves, painted gray.Currently not on view
Description
This unit for a Remington Rand tabulating system has five irregularly spaced metal shelves, painted gray.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
maker
Remington Rand
ID Number
MA.336302
accession number
305981
catalog number
336302

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