Measuring & Mapping

• 

  Map of North and South America

  Description

  Frederick de Wit's decorative map, made about 1650, includes oval vignettes of Latin American cities along the top border. Single figures of different native peoples line either side, including a Virginiani chief and brave, as shown in the detail. Some figures have been crudely colored to cover their nakedness. The map represents a flawed understanding of New World geography, such as picturing California as an island.

  Many maps of the Americas were produced during the period of exploration and colonial settlement in the 17th century. The period between 1630 and 1700 is known as the golden age of Dutch cartography, as the Netherlands was a center for map publishing as well as for the country's maritime enterprise that depended on maps and charts.

  The Museum's map collection includes a number of important examples received as a gift from Mabel Brady Garvan, who, with her husband Francis P. Garvan, built an important collection of American paintings, furniture, and decorative arts that is now at the Yale University Art Gallery.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  ca 1650

  maker

  De Wit, F.

  ID Number

  GA.24303

  accession number

  251493

  catalog number

  GA*24303

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Novi Belgii, Novaeque Angliae nec non partis Virginiae Tabula...

  Description

  This Dutch map, made about 1655, shows eastern North America from what is now Canada to Virginia. Illustrations within the map include bears, beaver, deer, foxes, turkeys, and rabbits, as well as Indian villages on land, and Indians in boats at sea. The lower right corner of the map contains an inset of Nieuw Amsterdam, the third known engraved view of that city which is now New York. The view is framed by a decorative cartouche with fruits and a crest and flanked by Indian figures on either side. This is the second version or state of this map, and number 5 of a series identified by historians as the Jansson-Visscher maps. Fort Kasimier has been added on the Delaware River to recognize the Dutch capture of the fort in 1655.

  Many maps of the Americas were produced during the period of exploration and colonial settlement in the 17th century. The period between 1630 and 1700 is known as the golden age of Dutch cartography, as the Netherlands was a center for map publishing as well as for the country's maritime enterprise that depended on maps and charts.

  The Museum's map collection includes a number of important examples received as a gift from Mabel Brady Garvan, who, with her husband Francis P. Garvan, built an important collection of American paintings, furniture, and decorative arts that is now at the Yale University Art Gallery.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  ca 1666

  ca 1655

  maker

  Visscher, Nicolaes Jansz

  ID Number

  GA.24319

  accession number

  251493

  catalog number

  24319

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Map of North and South America

  Description

  William Blaeu's decorative map, made about 1648, includes oval vignettes of Latin American cities and harbors along the top border. Paired examples of different native peoples line either side, including the King and Queen of Florida shown in the detail. The map represents contemporary geographical understanding of the New World, together with sea monsters and other imaginative features.

  Many maps of the Americas were produced during the period of exploration and colonial settlement in the 17th century. The period between 1630 and 1700 is known as the golden age of Dutch cartography, as the Netherlands was a center for map publishing as well as for the country's maritime enterprise that depended on maps and charts.

  The Museum's map collection includes a number of important examples received as a gift from Mabel Brady Garvan, who, with her husband Francis P. Garvan, built an important collection of American paintings, furniture, and decorative arts that is now at the Yale University Art Gallery.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  ca 1648

  graphic artist

  Blaeu, William

  ID Number

  GA.24335

  accession number

  251493

  catalog number

  24335

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Lithograph of "Cascades of the Columbia"

  Description

  The lithographic firm of Sarony, Major & Knapp (1857–1867) of New York printed this lithograph of “Cascades of the Columbia” originally drawn by John M. Stanley (1814–1872) of Detroit (1834–1840, 1864–1872) and Washington, D.C. (1850–1860). The illustration was printed as Plate XLV in the “General Report” of volume XII of Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, “Narrative Final Report of Explorations for a Route for a Pacific Railroad, near the Forty–Seventh and Forty–Ninth Parallels of North Latitude, St. Paul to Puget Sound”. The volume was printed in 1860 by Thomas H. Ford in Washington, D.C.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date of book publication

  1860

  graphic artist

  Sarony, Major, & Knapp

  original artist

  Stanley, John Mix

  graphic artist

  Sarony, Major, & Knapp

  original artist

  Stanley, John Mix

  author

  Stevens, Isaac Ingalls

  printer

  Ford, Thomas H.

  graphic artist

  unknown

  publisher

  U.S. War Department

  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Topographic Command

  ID Number

  GA.24834

  catalog number

  24834

  accession number

  1978.0612

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Ramsden Dividing Engine

  Description

  Making precisely divided scales was of great importance to eighteenth and nineteenth century navigation and science. In 1775 the English instrument-maker Jesse Ramsden completed this machine, designed to divide arcs of circles automatically. The instrument has a mahogany frame with three legs and three frictionless wheels. These wheels support a heavy bronze wheel which is covered on its outer rim with a brass ring, cut with 2160 gear teeth. These teeth engage a screw on one side of the machine. Turning this screw 6 times rotates the carriage for the stylus exactly one degree. An object to be divided was clamped to the arms of the bronze wheel, with the cutting mechanism was above it.

  Ramsden's invention won him an award from the British Board of Longitude. By the mid-nineteenth century, even small American instrument-makers had begun to buy dividing engines. The Philadelphia firm of Knox and Shain, which made navigational instruments, purchased Ramsden's dividing engine from his successors for their use.

  date made

  1775

  maker

  Jesse Ramsden

  ID Number

  MA.215518

  catalog number

  215518

  accession number

  40282

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Set of 5 Japanese Scale Rules Signed Fujishima

  Description

  A rectangular paulownia wood case has a red and white sticker on the right end marked: No. 45 (/) M. Inside the case are four bamboo rulers, three that are just over 12" (about 31 cm) long and one that is 2-1/4" (15.5 cm). A fifth rule is made of a darker wood, perhaps cherry.

  The first rule is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. It is also marked: 3000. The scales along both edges are identical, 30 cm long, divided to twentieths of a unit, and numbered by hundreds from 0 to 2,400. The back of the rule is stamped in red: METRE. It is also marked: 1 (/) 3000.

  The second rule is made from a dark wood and is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. The scales are identical and labeled: 1/16. They are divided to half-units and numbered by fives from 5 to 190. Each increment of five units is 5/16" (8 mm) long.

  The third rule is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. It is also marked: 1800. The scales along both edges are identical, 30 cm long, divided to single units, and numbered by tens from 0 to 540. The back of the rule is stamped in red: METRE. It is also marked: 1 (/) 1800. It is also marked: 5.

  The fourth rule is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. It is also marked: 1600. The scales along both edges are identical, 30 cm long, divided to single units, and numbered by tens from 0 to 480. The back of the rule is stamped in red: METRE. It is also marked: 1 (/) 1600. It is also marked: 6.

  The scales on the fifth and shortest rule are 2" (5 cm) long, divided to single units, and numbered by tens from 0 to 40. The rule is marked on the back: 1/800. It is also stamped in red: 3.

  These rules were likely used in engineering and architectural drawing. Compare to MA.261283, MA.261284, MA.261286, and MA.261287. The rules were exhibited by the Japanese Empire Department of Education at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. They then were displayed by the Museum of the U.S. Bureau of Education until 1906 and transferred to the Smithsonian National Museum in 1910. For more information, see MA.261298 and MA.261313.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  before 1876

  maker

  Fujishima

  ID Number

  MA.261285

  catalog number

  261285

  accession number

  51116

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Set of 6 Japanese Scale Rules Signed Fujishima

  Description

  Measuring devices can serve as political symbols. After the Meiji restoration of 1868, Japanese leaders embraced institutions of Western nations, including compulsory elementary education and laboratory training in science and engineering. Japanese instrument makers such as the firm of Kokoudo Fujishima also endeavored to modernize by adopting Western forms of instruments and Western units of measurement. Many Fujishima products thus were divided according to the British inch and the French meter.

  The Japanese Empire Department of Education, established in 1870 in part to ensure the Westernization of Japan's primary, middle, and secondary schools, included Fujishima rules in its display at the 1876 World's Fair, the Centennial Exhibition of Philadelphia. However, the government had not made a clean break with Japanese technology and culture as it existed before the United States opened trade with Japan in the 1850s. Instead, the Department of Education's exhibit also contained instruments marked with traditional Japanese units of measurement, such as the sun and shaku. For instance, see MA.261291, MA.261292, MA.261293, and MA.261299. Objects such as MA.261284 and MA.261294 combined Eastern and Western units of measurement.

  This set of six bamboo scales consists of four rulers that are just over 12" (about 31 cm) long, one that is 7-3/4" (19.7 cm), and one that is 2-3/16" (15.6 cm). They are stored in a rectangular paulownia wood case that has a red and white sticker on the right end marked: No. 45 (/) M.

  The first rule is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. It is also marked: 20. It has scales for 1-3/16" to the foot and 5/16" to the foot along both edges. The back is marked: FOOT. It is also marked: 1/20. It is also stamped in red: 1.

  The second rule is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. It is also marked: 30000. The scales along both edges are identical, 30 cm long, divided to hundreds, and numbered by three hundreds from 0 to 9,000. The back of the rule is stamped in red: METRE. It is also marked: 1 (/) 30000. It is also marked: 4.

  The third rule is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. It is also marked: 3000. The scales along both edges are identical, 30 cm long, divided to single units, and numbered by twenties from 0 to 900. The back of the rule is stamped in red: METRE. It is also marked: 1 (/) 3000. It is also marked: 4.

  The fourth rule has a scale labeled "250" along one edge. It is divided to fourths and numbered in both directions by ones from 0 to 75. The other edge is divided by halves and numbered by twos from 0 to 150. This scale is labeled: 500. The scales are 30 cm long. The back of the rule is stamped in red: METRE. It is also marked: 1 (/) 250. It is also marked: 1 (/) 500. It is also marked: 8. Handwritten Japanese characters on the back have been translated: Metric Rokuemon.

  The fifth rule has a slot down the middle. Both scales are numbered in Japanese. One scale is 6" (15.3 cm) long and is divided into five sun, a traditional Japanese unit of length that is 1/10 of a shaku, a "foot" measure. The first unit is subdivided into 50 parts, and the other four units are subdivided into 20 parts. The center of each unit is marked with a dot. The other scale is 4-3/8" (10.9 cm) long and is marked at irregular intervals. The back is not marked.

  The scales on the sixth and shortest rule are 2" (5.1 cm) long, divided to single units, and numbered by threes from 0 to 15. The rule is stamped in red on the back: 1 (/) 30000. It is also marked: 6.

  After the fair the U.S. Commissioner of Education, John Eaton, arranged for the transfer of the Japanese Empire Department of Education's entire exhibit to the Bureau of Education (then part of the Department of the Interior) for a planned museum. The museum closed in 1906 due to high maintenance costs, and much of the collection was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1910.

  References: Japan. Department of Education, An Outline History of Japanese Education: Prepared for the Philadelphia International Exhibition, 1876 (New York: D. Appleton, 1876), 121–122, 191–202; U.S. Centennial Commission, International Exhibition, 1876. Reports and Awards, ed. Francis A. Walker (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1880), viii:143, 335; U.S. Bureau of Education, Annual Report of the Commissioner (1876), ccxi–ccxii; Yukio Nagahira, "Transfer of Scientific Instrument Making Technology from Europe to Japan in Meiji Era," First International Conference on Business and Technology Transfer, Kyoto, Japan, October 20, 2002, http://www.jsme.or.jp/tsd/ICBTT/conference02/YukioNAGAHIRA.html.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  before 1876

  maker

  Fujishima

  ID Number

  MA.261287

  catalog number

  261287

  accession number

  51116

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Ruler Advertising Marchant Calculators

  Description

  This promotional black plastic six-inch ruler is divided along the top edge to sixteenths of an inch and numbered from 1 to 6. The bottom edge has six one-inch sections, divided to 1/10", 1/12", 1/16", 1/24", 1/32", and 1/64", respectively. The center of the ruler is marked: MARCHANT CALCULATORS. Between these words is marked: NORMAN G. HOUGH (/) 1412 Eye St., N.W. Washington, D. C. (/) Republic 1673-74-75. A 1946 calendar is on the back of the ruler. Compare to MA.293320.2816.

  The Marchant Calculating Machine Company of Oakland, Calif., was the oldest and one of the most influential American manufacturers of mechanical and electronic calculators. Established in 1911, the firm quickly built up a national sales network, with receipts of $12,000,000 in 1946. In 1958, the company merged with Smith-Corona, Inc., a manufacturer of typewriters, adding machines, and cash registers. A slow decline resulted for the combined firm, as electronic computers began performing the tasks of Smith-Corona Marchant's machines. SCM stopped selling calculators in 1973. Over 150 of Marchant's products and related documentation are in the Smithsonian collections.

  Norman G. Hough, Sr., presumably distributed Marchant calculating machines in Washington, D.C. It is not known whether he was the same Norman G. Hough who directed a trade organization for lime and concrete from the 1910s to the 1930s.

  References: "Marchant Calculator," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marchant_Calculator; Nigel Tout, "Marchant," Vintage Calculators Web Museum, http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/marchant.html; Ernie Jorgenson, "My Years with Marchant," December 1987, Xnumber World of Calculators, ed. James Redin, http://www.xnumber.com/xnumber/marchant.htm.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1946

  distributor

  Marchant Calculating Machine Company

  maker

  Marchant Calculators

  ID Number

  MA.293320.2811

  catalog number

  293320.2811

  accession number

  293320

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Ruler Advertising Monroe Calculators

  Description

  This promotional white plastic six-inch ruler is divided along the top edge to sixteenths of an inch and numbered by fourths from 1 to 6. The ruler is marked: MONROE CALCULATING MACHINE COMPANY, INC. (/) CALCULATING • ADDING • ACCOUNTING • BOOKKEEPING • CHECK WRITING MACHINES (/) J. C. Fleming, Representative 1320 Eighteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., COlumbia 5-1222. A list of decimal equivalents of fractions is on the back of the ruler. Below the list is the Monroe logo and the words: MADE IN U.S.A.

  In 1912, Jay Randolph Monroe purchased a factory in Orange, N.J., to manufacture mechanical calculators on a design by Frank Stephen Baldwin. The Monroe Calculating Machine Company quickly became a leader in its field, opening sales offices around the world and building additional factories in Virginia and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Litton Industries purchased the firm in 1958, changed its name to Monroe Systems for Business in 1980, and sold it in 1984 to Jeffry M. Picower.

  The company refocused on calculators in 1998 and was purchased by Carolina Wholesale Office Machine Company in 2001. J. C. Fleming was presumably the Monroe sales agent for Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian collections include 25 Monroe calculating machines and over 30 pieces of related documentation. For promotional rulers by Monroe's chief competitors, see MA.293320.2811, MA.293320.2813, and MA.293320.2816. Large American cities used postal zone numbers from 1943 to 1963, hence the dating of the object.

  References: Frank S. Baldwin, "Calculating and Recording Machine" (U.S. Patent 890,888 issued June 16, 1908); John Wolff, "The Monroe Calculating Machine Company," May 27, 2012, John Wolff's Web Museum, http://home.vicnet.net.au/~wolff/calculators/Monroe/Monroe.htm; Monroe Systems for Business, "History," http://www.monroe-systems.com/history/.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1943–1963

  distributor

  Monroe Calculating Machine Company

  maker

  Monroe Calculating Machine Company

  ID Number

  MA.293320.2812

  catalog number

  293320.2812

  accession number

  293320

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Ruler Advertising Friden Calculating Machines

  Description

  This promotional white plastic six-inch ruler is divided along the top edge to sixteenths of an inch and numbered by fourths from 1 to 6. The bottom edge has six one-inch sections, three of which are divided to 1/12" and three of which are divided to 1/10". The ruler is marked: PRODUCTS OF Friden THE NATURAL WAY ADDING MACHINE (/) THE AUTOMATIC CALCULATOR (/) THE COMPUTYPER (/) DATA PROCESSING MACHINES. It is also marked: FRIDEN, INC. (/) 1724 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. (/) Washington 7, D.C. (/) Phone ADams 2-6377.

  The back of the ruler has lists of decimal equivalents for twelfths, eighths, and sixteenths. Another list gives the number of days from January 1 to the first of each month. The right edge has a 15cm ruler, divided to millimeters. The bottom edge is marked: Printed in U.S.A.

  During World War I, Carl Friden (1891–1945) emigrated from Sweden to Australia and then to the United States. He patented numerous improvements to calculating machines while working for the Marchant Calculating Machine Company of Oakland, Calif. With his royalties, he established Friden Calculating Machine Company in 1933. After briefly renting factory space, the firm built a factory in San Leandro, Calif., in 1937. In addition to calculating machines, Friden made precision machine tools and aircraft instruments. After purchasing Commercial Controls Corporation in 1957, it began making automatic electric typewriters for producing mass business correspondence. The Singer Corporation purchased the company in 1965 and phased out the Friden brand name in 1974.

  Friden opened a branch office in Washington, D.C., by 1935 and operated it until around 1980. Waverly Dickson (1909–1967) was the branch manager from 1935 to 1967, and he and his sister, Lulie Dickson, owned the building at 1724 Wisconsin Ave. Theodore A. Peck (1892–1978) was the sales manager from 1945 to 1968. Large American cities used postal zone numbers from 1943 to 1963, hence the dating of the object.

  The Smithsonian owns at least 18 Friden calculators and nearly 20 pieces of related documentation. For promotional rulers by Monroe's chief competitors, see MA.293320.2811, MA.293320.2812, and MA.293320.2816.

  References: John Wolff, "The Friden Calculating Machine Company," December 9, 2012, John Wolff's Web Museum, http://home.vicnet.net.au/~wolff/calculators/Friden/Friden.htm; "Waverly Dickson, Manager of Firm," Washington Post (March 24, 1967), B6; "Theodore Peck, Retired Sales Manager for Friden," Washington Post (November 11, 1978), B6.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1943–1963

  distributor

  Friden, Inc.

  maker

  Friden, Inc.

  ID Number

  MA.293320.2813

  catalog number

  293320.2813

  accession number

  293320

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Chicago Stamping Co. Combination Ruler and Paper Cutter, Advertising The Hartford Insurance Co.

  Description

  This convex orange-coated tin combination rule and paper cutter has a 9" scale divided to sixteenths of an inch along one long edge. The other long edge is shaped into a tube, which may serve as a handle while cutting or tearing paper. A small hole at the right end may be for hanging the rule. The rule is marked: Compliments (/) of (/) THE HARTFORD FIRE INS. Co. (/) HARTFORD, CONN. The company's logo of a stag appears between the words "HARTFORD" and "FIRE." The tube notes that the company had paid $33,000,00 for claims in New York City in 1835, Nantucket, Mass., in 1846, St. Louis, Mo., in 1849, Portland, Me., in 1866, Chicago in 1871, Boston in 1872, and St. John, New Brunswick, "and other places" in 1877. These were all historic destructive fires. The back of the rule is marked: AGENCIES IN ALL CITIES AND TOWNS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY (/) Commenced Buisness 1794 • Charter Perpetual (/) The Chicago Stamping Co. Combination Rule and Paper Cutter. Patent Sept. 8^th 1885. Hartford Fire Ins. Co. Sole Owner and Manufacturer. All Infringements prosecuted.

  Richard S. Thain (1845–1912) received the patent mentioned on the instrument. He fought for the Union in the Civil War, was advertising manager of a Chicago publication, Western Rural, and organized an advertising firm with George W. Sharp in 1868. He spent some time in New York City after the Chicago fire of 1871. From 1882 to 1889, he worked for a Chicago advertising agency, Lord & Thomas. Another ruler made from Thain's design is 293320.2815.

  The Chicago Stamping Company was in business from at least as early as 1868 to at least as late as 1911. The firm made enameled cylindrical tin containers, such as milk and trash cans; published sheet music and stationery items; and manufactured the United States Wheel brand of bicycles. Although text on the rule says The Hartford started selling fire insurance in 1794, the history on the company's website indicates it was not incorporated until May 10, 1810. The firm adopted its stag logo in 1875. As of 2013, it was one of the biggest insurance companies worldwide.

  References: Richard S. Thain, "Combination Ruler and Paper Cutter" (U.S. Patent 325,992 issued September 8, 1885); "Men of the Ninety-sixth Regiment with Millburn Connections," excerpted from Charles A. Partridge, ed., History of the Ninety-Sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry (Chicago, 1887), Historic Millburn Community Association, http://www.hmca-il.org/k6men.htm; "The Hartford's Historical Timeline," http://www.thehartford.com/about/.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1890

  distributor

  Hartford Fire Insurance Company

  maker

  Chicago Stamping Company

  ID Number

  MA.293320.2814

  accession number

  293320

  catalog number

  293320.2814

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Somers Bros. Ruler and Paper Cutter, Advertising Horlick's Malted Milk

  Description

  This yellow-coated tin combination rule and paper cutter has a 9" scale divided to eighths of an inch along one long edge. The other long edge is shaped into a tube, which may serve as a handle while cutting paper. The rule is marked: Compliments (/) of HORLICK'S FOOD Co (/) RACINE, WIS. It is also marked: HORLICK'S FOOD (/) IS THE BEST DIET (/) for INFANTS (/) and INVALIDS (/) &c. Advertising text also appears around the tube, including the information that 18 ounces of the product cost 75¢. The back of the rule is marked: SOMERS BROS. BROOKLYN, N.Y. Compare to MA.293320.2814.

  William Horlick (1846–1936) and his brother, James, emigrated from England in 1869 and settled in Racine, Wis. In 1872 the men moved to Chicago, where they established Horlick's Food Company before moving the firm back to Racine in 1876. They worked on dried milk powders, leading to William's patent for the first malted milk powder in 1883. This product is the one advertised on this object, for use as a baby formula and to provide easily-digestible nutrition to nursing mothers, people with stomach problems, and the like.

  Joseph L. and Guy A. Somers began manufacturing tin products in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1862. When a third brother, Daniel McLean, joined the firm in 1869, the business was renamed Somers Bros. It became known for lithographing designs onto tinware. In 1901 American Can Company took over the firm's operations. A three-acre factory building constructed in 1884 still stands. Richard S. Thain of Oak Park, Ill., patented the design for this combination ruler and paper cutter in 1885.

  References: James Horlick and William Horlick, "Improvement in Concentrated Extracts for Food" (U.S. Patent 163,493 issued May 18, 1875); William Horlick, "Granulated Food for Infants and Process of Preparing the Same" (U.S. Patent 278,967 issued June 5, 1883); Wisconsin Historical Society, "'That's Meat and Drink to Me': Wisconsin's Malted Milk Story," 1996–2004, http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/exhibits/horlicks/; Oak Clearing Farm and Museum, "Racine Time Line: Tid-Bits of History 1699–1899," 2000, http://www.racinehistory.com/timeline.htm; "Somers, Joseph L.," National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (New York: James T. White and Company, 1922), xviii:85; "Daniel McL. Somers Dead," New York Times, August 30, 1912.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1885–1901

  advertiser

  Horlicks Corporation

  maker

  Somers Brothers

  ID Number

  MA.293320.2815

  accession number

  293320

  catalog number

  293320.2815

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Ruler Advertising Marchant Calculators

  Description

  This promotional white plastic six-inch ruler is divided along the top edge to sixteenths of an inch and numbered from 1 to 6. The bottom edge has six one-inch sections, divided to 1/10", 1/12", 1/16", 1/24", 1/32", and 1/64", respectively. The center of the ruler is marked: MARCHANT CALCULATORS. Between these words is marked: NORMAN G. HOUGH, SR. (/) 1412 Eye St., N.W. Washington 5, D.C. (/) Republic 1673-1674-1675. A 1951 calendar is on the back. Compare to MA.293320.2811.

  The Marchant Calculating Machine Company of Oakland, Calif., was the oldest and one of the most influential American manufacturers of mechanical and electronic calculators. Established in 1911, the firm quickly built up a national sales network. Recognizing that the term "calculating machine" had fallen from use, the firm formally changed its name in 1952 to Marchant Calculators, Inc. In 1958 the company merged with Smith-Corona, Inc., a manufacturer of typewriters, adding machines, and cash registers. A slow decline followed for the combined firm, as electronic computers began performing the tasks of Smith-Corona Marchant's machines. SCM stopped selling calculators in 1973. Over 150 of Marchant's products and related documentation are in the Smithsonian collections.

  Norman G. Hough, Sr., presumably distributed Marchant cacluating machines in Washington, D.C. It is not known whether he was the same Norman G. Hough who directed a trade organization for lime and concrete from the 1910s to the 1930s.

  References: "Marchant Calculator," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marchant_Calculator; Nigel Tout, "Marchant," Vintage Calculators Web Museum, http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/marchant.html; Ernie Jorgenson, "My Years with Marchant," December 1987, Xnumber World of Calculators, ed. James Redin, http://www.xnumber.com/xnumber/marchant.htm.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1951

  distributor

  Marchant Calculating Machine Company

  maker

  Marchant Calculators

  ID Number

  MA.293320.2816

  accession number

  293320

  catalog number

  293320.2816

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Ruler Advertising Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup

  Description

  This eight-inch wooden rule is divided to 1/16-inch. Various mischievous figures are depicted on the front. On the back, the rule is marked: Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup (/) Has been used for over FIFTY YEARS by MILLIONS of MOTHERS for their CHILDREN WHILE TEETHING, with (/) PERFECT SUCCESS. It SOOTHES the CHILD, SOFTENS the GUMS, ALLAYS all PAIN, CURES WIND COLIC, (/) and is the best remedy for DIARRHOEA. Sold by Druggists in every part of the world. Be sure and ask (/) for "Mrs. WINSLOW'S SOOTHING SYRUP," and take no other kind. Twenty-five Cents a Bottle.

  The ruler was distributed to advertise a medication compounded by Charlotte N. Winslow, a physician and nurse. Her son-in-law, Jeremiah Curtis, and Benjamin A. Perkins began bottling and selling the syrup in Bangor, Me., in 1849. The product was effective at quieting fussy infants—because it contained 65 mg of morphine per fluid ounce. Users unknowingly risked addiction, poisoning, and death. After the Food and Drug Act of 1906 required manufacturers to list ingredients on product labels, the makers of the syrup stopped using morphine and removed "Soothing" from the product's name. However, at least as late as 1912, health officials were still finding the original version on store shelves. For bottles of the syrup, see MG*293320.1290, 1989.0711.35, and MG*M-10426.

  References: Hagley Museum and Library, "Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup," Patent Medicine, http://www.hagley.org/library/exhibits/patentmed/items/mrswinslows.html; A. B. Hirsch, "Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup," American Medical Journal 12, no. 11 (1884): 504–506; "Baby Killers," in Nostrums and Quackery, 2nd ed. (Chicago: American Medical Association Press, 1912), 432–435.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1900–1912

  ID Number

  MA.293320.2817

  accession number

  293320

  catalog number

  293320.2817

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  A. H. Abbott & Co. Ruler

  Description

  This one-sided boxwood rule is beveled along both long edges. The top edge is divided to half-inches and numbered from 0 to 5. The half-inch points are numbered by twos from 0 to 8. The last half-inch is divided into 12 parts, and the inch to the right of the scale is divided into 24 parts. The other edge is divided to quarter-inches, numbered from left to right by fours from 0 to 44 and numbered from right to left by twos from 0 to 22. The ends of the scale divide 1/8" and 1/4", respectively, into 12 parts.

  The ruler is marked on its interior: A. H. ABBOTT & Co. (/) CHICAGO. It is also marked: U.S.ST'D. Initials are scratched on the ruler: W.F.M. Abbott sold art supplies and mathematical instruments in Chicago in the 19th and 20th centuries. This ruler is not shown in the company's 1896 catalog, but it was advertised for 50¢ in the 1906 catalog. The initials may refer to William F. Meggers (1888–1966), an American spectroscopist long associated with the U.S. National Bureau of Standards. He received his B.A. in physics from Ripon College in 1910, his M.A. in physics from the University of Wisconsin in 1916, and his Ph.D. in physics, mathematics, and astronomy from Johns Hopkins University in 1917.

  References: A. H. Abbott & Co., Drawing Material: Mathematical and Surveying Instruments of Every Description (Chicago, 1906), 185; "Dr. Meggers Dies at 78," The NBS Standard 11, no. 9 (December 1966): 2–3.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1906

  maker

  A. H. Abbott & Co.

  ID Number

  MA.293320.2819

  accession number

  293320

  catalog number

  293320.2819

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Capt. Field's Improved Hinged Parallel Rule Signed Henry Hughes & Son

  Description

  This 21" German silver hinged parallel rule has two small knobs for positioning the instrument. Brass round pieces cover the screws securing the two hinges. An indentation is on both blades at the center of the rule, with a line marking the center. The edges of the top blade are marked as a rectangular protractor, and the edges of the bottom blade are marked for nautical compass points.

  The center of the top blade is marked: U. S. C. & G. S. NO. 331. The right end of the top blade is marked: CAPT. FIELD'S IMP^D. The right end of the lower blade is marked: H. HUGHES & SON L^TD. LONDON. The left end has the firm's "HUSUN" logo, with a sun above the letters and waves below the letters.

  Capt. William Andrew Field (about 1796–1871) of Britain added a protractor and compass scales to hinged parallel rules in 1854. This made it easier for ship navigators to move the rule without losing track of the ship's course. Henry Hughes & Son made marine and aeronautical navigational instruments in London from 1828 to 1947 and incorporated in 1903. According to the accession file, the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey acquired this rule on August 21, 1919, and last issued it on September 5, 1922. Compare to MA.309662 and MA.309663.

  References: "Field's Parallel Rule," The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle 23, no. 5 (May 1854): 280; Peggy A. Kidwell, "American Parallel Rules: Invention on the Fringes of Industry," Rittenhouse 10, no. 39 (1996): 90–96; National Maritime Museum, "Captain Field's Improved Parallel Rule," Object ID NAV0602, http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/42814.html; Science Museum Group, "Henry Hughes and Son Limited," Collections Online – People, http://collectionsonline.nmsi.ac.uk/detail.php?type=related&kv=58792&t=people.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1919

  ID Number

  MA.309661

  catalog number

  309661

  accession number

  106954

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Capt. Field's Improved Hinged Parallel Rule Signed Henry Hughes & Son

  Description

  This 21" German silver hinged parallel rule has two knobs for positioning the instrument. Brass round pieces cover the screws securing the two hinges. The edges of the top blade are marked as a rectangular protractor, and the edges of the bottom blade are marked for nautical compass points.

  The right end of the upper blade is marked: CAPT. FIELD'S IMP^D. The center of the lower blade is marked: U. S. C. & G. S. NO. H. 398. The left end has the firm's "HUSUN" logo for the London instrument maker H. Hughes & Son, with a sun above the letters and waves below the letters. A circle around the logo is marked: REGISTERED TRADE MARK (/) G^T BRITAIN.

  Capt. William Andrew Field (about 1796–1871) of England added a protractor and compass scales to hinged parallel rules in 1854. This made it easier for ship navigators to move the rule without losing track of the ship's course. Henry Hughes & Son made marine and aeronautical navigational instruments in London from 1828 to 1947 and incorporated in 1903. According to the accession file, the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey acquired this rule on November 6, 1923, and last issued it on February 16, 1924. Compare to MA.309661 and MA.309663.

  References: "Field's Parallel Rule," The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle 23, no. 5 (May 1854): 280; Peggy A. Kidwell, "American Parallel Rules: Invention on the Fringes of Industry," Rittenhouse 10, no. 39 (1996): 90–96; National Maritime Museum, "Captain Field's Improved Parallel Rule," Object ID NAV0602, http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/42814.html; Science Museum Group, "Henry Hughes and Son Limited," Collections Online – People, http://collectionsonline.nmsi.ac.uk/detail.php?type=related&kv=58792&t=people.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1923

  maker

  H. Hughes & Son, Ltd.

  ID Number

  MA.309662

  catalog number

  309662

  accession number

  106954

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Capt. Field's Improved Hinged Parallel Rule

  Description

  This 21" German silver hinged parallel rule has two small knobs for positioning the instrument. Brass pins secure the hinges. The top blade is marked: U. S. C. & G. S. NO. 323. A fleur-de-lis or letter H appears above the mark. The edges of the top blade are marked as a rectangular protractor, and the edges of the bottom blade are marked for nautical compass points.

  Capt. William Andrew Field (about 1796–1871) of England added the protractor and compass scales to hinged parallel rules in 1854. This made it easier for ship navigators to move the rule without losing track of the ship's course. According to the accession file, the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey acquired this rule on July 23, 1919, and last issued it on March 18, 1920. Compare to MA.309661 and MA.309662.

  References: "Field's Parallel Rule," The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle 23, no. 5 (May 1854): 280; Peggy A. Kidwell, "American Parallel Rules: Invention on the Fringes of Industry," Rittenhouse 10, no. 39 (1996): 90–96; National Maritime Museum, "Captain Field's Improved Parallel Rule," Object ID NAV0602, http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/42814.html.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1919

  ID Number

  MA.309663

  catalog number

  309663

  accession number

  106954

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Patent Model for Combined Mechanical Pencil and Length Measure Invented by Joseph A. Fresco

  Description

  Joseph André Fresco of Angers, France, applied for a patent on a combination pencil and line-measurer on June 6, 1879. The model he submitted with his application was found in the Smithsonian collections in 1958. It consists of a rectangular brass tube with a round dial at one end and a pencil holder at the other. A gear on the pencil holder causes it to extend and retract. The pencil holder is marked: J FRANK. The dial has a magnetic compass encased in glass on one side, but the needle does not point toward North and appears not to be magnetized.

  The other side of the dial has two intersecting circles marked in pencil, one divided to single units and numbered by fives from 0 to 20 and one divided to single units and numbered by ones from 0 to 10. Each circle has a wire for counting. A gear protrudes from the top of the dial case. The user was to run the gear along a map or scaled drawing. The counters would then measure up to 200 km on the drawing. The gear and counters do function on this instrument, both forwards and backwards, but probably not in a uniform manner.

  A paper tag is marked: [2–225.] (/) No. 222,687 1879. (/) J. A. Fresco (/) Combined Penc (/) –il and Line Meas (/) –ures (/) Patented Dec. 16 (/) Rotary (/) measure (/) 1879. The patent drawing is pasted to the back of the tag. A second tag is marked: 79 Joseph A. Fresco (/) Stadio Curvimeter (/) Received June 3 (/) Issue.

  According to the 1861 English census, Fresco was born in April 1854 in St. Giles, London. He worked in Angers, France, as a mechanical dentist. In 1879 he communicated with inventor William Robert Lake of London, who designed a similar device entitled "An Improved Instrument or Apparatus for the Linear Measurements of Drawings or Plans."

  References: Joseph A. Fresco, "Improvement in Combined Pencil and Line Measurer" (U.S. Patent 222,687 issued December 16, 1879); The Commissioners of Patents' Journal, no. 2637 (April 11, 1879): 896.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1879

  patent date

  1879-12-16

  patentee

  Fresco, Joseph A.

  ID Number

  MA.315274

  accession number

  219305

  catalog number

  315274

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Measuring Stick

  Description

  This European triangular wooden length measure is crudely carved on all three sides with letters, suns, a girl, fish, and geometric figures. One side reads: MD 1727. Another side reads: P q R S T V W X | Z. Each side has seven wooden pegs, roughly evenly spaced at approximately 7.5 cm. The side with the partial alphabet has two additional pegs (one missing) at the ends of the rule. The Smithsonian acquired this object in 1960.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1727

  ID Number

  MA.317638

  accession number

  231062

  catalog number

  317638

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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