Wright Model 2000 Card Punch

Description:

This portable key punch for preparing punched cards was manufactured by the Massachusetts firm of Wright Line. Punched cards were central to large-scale data processing in the United States from the introduction of the Hollerith tabulating machine in the 1890s through the 1970s. Tabulating machine manufacturers such as IBM and Remington Rand (later Sperry Univac) rented card punches. Wright Line, founded in 1934, was one of relatively few independent data processing accessory manufacturers. It made and sold a large variety of files, magnetic tapes, card punches, and related machines.

The device is designed for 80-column punch cards such as those made for IBM computers. It has a metal base painted black with 12 number keys and an "S" key. These keys, with their white key tops, are attached to a moveable carriage. A single punch card fits in the carriage. A mark on the top reads: Wright (/) PUNCH (/) MODEL 2600.

This punch came to the Smithsonian from the United States Naval Observatory, a longtime user of tabulating equipment for scientific purposes.

References:

Accession file.

"E. Stanley Wright, Manufacturer, 66," New York Times, September 8, 1959, p. 35.

Wright Line, Data Processing Accessories Catalog ’69, p. 38.

Date Made: ca 1970

Maker: Wright Line

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: Massachusetts, Worcester

Web Subject: MathematicsSubject: Astronomy

Subject:

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Mathematics, Computers & Business Machines, Tabulating Equipment

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Transfer from United States Naval Observatory

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 2005.0174.01Accession Number: 2005.0174Catalog Number: 2005.0174.01

Object Name: card punch

Physical Description: metal (overall material)paper (overall material)plastic (overall material)Measurements: overall: 10.8 cm x 46 cm x 14 cm; 4 1/4 in x 18 1/8 in x 5 1/2 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-98f1-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1291232

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