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.
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