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

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.

Date Made: ca 1955

Maker: Remington Rand

Location: Currently not on view

Web Subject: MathematicsLabor Unions

Subject:

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

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Gift of American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: MA.336299Accession Number: 305981Catalog Number: 336299

Object Name: sorter

Physical Description: metal (overall material)glass (overall material)Measurements: overall: 108.5 cm x 161 cm x 47 cm; 42 23/32 in x 63 3/8 in x 18 1/2 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-1595-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_694441

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