Science & Mathematics - Overview
The Museum's collections hold thousands of objects related to chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, and other sciences. Instruments range from early American telescopes to lasers. Rare glassware and other artifacts from the laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, are among the scientific treasures here. A Gilbert chemistry set of about 1937 and other objects testify to the pleasures of amateur science. Artifacts also help illuminate the social and political history of biology and the roles of women and minorities in science.
The mathematics collection holds artifacts from slide rules and flash cards to code-breaking equipment. More than 1,000 models demonstrate some of the problems and principles of mathematics, and 80 abstract paintings by illustrator and cartoonist Crockett Johnson show his visual interpretations of mathematical theorems.
"Science & Mathematics - Overview" showing 10 items.
Perrygraf Ohm's Law Calculator Slide Rule for Ohmite
- Description
- This rectangular yellow, orange, black, and white rule consists of a paper envelope holding a paper slide, held together with metal rivets. The Ohmite Manufacturing Company of Chicago commissioned it from the Perrygraf (or Perry Graf) Corporation of Maywood, Ill.
- Lester E. Perry (1901–1991), a machinery inspector in Cook County, Ill., founded Perrygraf in 1934. He and his associates, including his relative Oscar Perry, designed and manufactured special-purpose "slide charts." By 1960, the firm had a branch in California and a plant in Puerto Rico. In 1968 the firm was sold to Nashua Corporation, and operations in Illinois ceased. Some former employees started their own slide chart companies. James E. Johnson, the former plant manager, established American Slide Chart in 1971. This Wheaton, Ill., firm became sufficiently successful to purchase Perrygraf in 1988. Another former Perrygraf employee and engineer established Datalizer Slide Charts of Addison, Ill. Both American Slide Chart/Perrygraf and Datalizer Slide Charts remain in business as of 2012.
- The Ohmite Manufacturing Company, established in 1925, sold rheostats, fixed resistors, and adjustable resistors. Its Ohm's Law Calculator had scales that allowed the user to find ohms, volts, amperes, and watts, given any two of those measures. It also had a chart for finding the stock number of desired parts. This example was copyrighted in 1941 and sold for ten cents. The name of the donor is stamped on both sides. An electronic version of the calculator may be found on the company's website.
- References: George Melloan, "Pocket Slide Charts Aid Engineers, Help Sell Steel, Lipstick," Wall Street Journal, September 4, 1953, 1; Display Ad, Los Angeles Times, November 8, 1960, 22; "About Perrygraf," http://www.quinndesign.com/profweb/perrygraf/; "About Us," American Slide Chart/Perrygraf, http://www.americanslidechart.com/aboutus.html; "Slide Chart Specialists," Datalizer Slide Charts, http://www.datalizer.com/about-us/; "Ohmite History," http://www.ohmite.com/history.php.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1941
- maker
- Perry Graf Corporation
- ID Number
- 1979.3074.03
- nonaccession number
- 1979.3074
- catalog number
- 1979.3074.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Perrygraf Enamel Coating Calculator Slide Rule for Armco
- Description
- This blue, tan, and white cardboard rule consists of an envelope held together by six metal rivets and a paper slide. The rule calculates the weight of an enamel coating, given the area of a metal sample; the surface area of metal, given its thickness and weight; and the weight of enamel per square foot of surface coated, given the weight of enamel used, the thickness of the metal sample, and the weight of the metal.
- Perrygraf Corporation of Maywood, Ill., made this instrument (copyrighted in 1941) for the American Rolling Mill Company of Middletown, Ohio. ARMCO produced and enameled coils of sheet steel at plants in Middletown and Ashland, Ky. Since 1999, the company has been part of AK Steel. For more on Perrygraf, see 1979.3074.03.
- Reference: "American Rolling Mill Company," Ohio History Central: An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History, July 1, 2005, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=840.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1941
- maker
- Perry Graf Corporation
- ID Number
- 1983.3009.05
- catalog number
- 1983.3009.05
- nonaccession number
- 1983.3009
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Perrygraf Load Center Unit-Sub Slide Rule for Allis-Chalmers
- Description
- This rectangular gray and orange cardboard rule has a cardboard slide and is held together by six metal rivets. The front of the rule explains that the calculator helps users select and test the proper air circuit breakers for electrical substations constructed by Allis-Chalmers. The front of the slide provides reasons why breakers were essential in old and new substation systems. The back of the rule has four logarithmic scales for reading the key number (from the transformer rating), then the index number, then the circuit capacity, and then the amp load. The scales on the slide are color-coded so the user could easily see which level of interrupting capacity was needed.
- According to a mark on the slide, Perrygraf Corporation made this instrument, which Allis-Chalmers copyrighted in 1943. While the company is perhaps better known for manufacturing farming equipment, it also built generators, turbines, compressors, and other machinery for heavy industry. Additionally, its engineers designed electrical substations. The company ceased manufacturing operations in 1998. For more on Perrygraf, see 1979.3074.03. For another slide rule made by Perrygraf for Allis-Chalmers, see 1983.3009.04.
- Reference: Allis-Chalmers, "Three 'Not-so-Secret' Weapons," The Ohio State Engineer 28, no. 2 (December 1944): 16–17.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1943
- maker
- Perry Graf Corporation
- ID Number
- 1983.3009.06
- catalog number
- 1983.3009.06
- nonaccession number
- 1983.3009
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Perrygraf Spring Data Computer for Associated Spring Corporation
- Description
- By the mid-20th century, rules distributed by manufacturers to ease calculations relating to their products had become quite common. The three logarithmic scales on this rectangular white, yellow, and blue cardboard instrument determine the load (in pounds), size (in inches), and pounds per inch deflection for metal springs, given the PSI, mean diameter of the wire, and number of coils. Six metal rivets hold the rule together. The front top left corner is marked: BARNES • GIBSON • RAYMOND (/) DIVISION OF ASSOCIATED (/) SPRING CORPORATION (/) DETROIT AND ANN ARBOR (/) MICHIGAN. The front top right corner is marked: SPRING (/) DATA (/) COMPUTER. The back left end is marked: Copyright 1943 (/) Associated Spring Corp. (/) Bristol, Conn. The back right end is marked: Mfd. Perry Graf Corp. (/) Maywood, Ill. U.S.A. The instrument fits in a tan paper envelope.
- Wallace Barnes (1827–1893) began manufacturing springs for clocks and hoop skirts in Bristol in 1857. His firm expanded into springs for bicycles and automobiles after his death and became Barnes-Gibson-Raymond in Detroit in 1922 as a result of acquisitions. It was renamed Associated Spring Corporation in 1923 and became a public company in 1946. The name Barnes Group was adopted in 1976, and by 2012 the headquarters were again located in Bristol. For more on Perrygraf, see 1979.3074.03.
- References: Tom Wyman, "Slide Chart Calculators—A Modest Proposal," Journal of the Oughtred Society 13, no. 1 (2004): 6–10; "History," Barnes Group, Inc., http://www.bginc.com/about_history.php; Carlyle F. Barnes, Associated Spring Corporation (New York: Newcomen Society in North America, 1963).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1943
- maker
- Perry Graf Corporation
- ID Number
- 1987.0108.03
- accession number
- 1987.0108
- catalog number
- 1987.0108.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Perrygraf Cutting Fluid Guide/Cutting Speed Calculator for Texaco
- Description
- Since 1934 Perrygraf (or Perry Graf) Corporation of Maywood, Ill., has prepared a variety of sliding charts and rules for advertising purposes. See 1979.3074.03 for company history. Perrygraf designed this white, green, and red rectangular cardboard instrument, held together with six metal rivets, in 1946 for The Texas Company (Texaco) of New York, N.Y. On one side is a "Cutting Fluid Guide," which indicates the type of Texaco cutting oil that should be used for various methods of cutting different groups of metals. The first four groups, of ferrous metals, are listed in a table on the other side of the instrument. A table for the last five groups, of nonferrous metals, appears on one side of the slide. Below the table of ferrous metals is a "Cutting Speed Calculator" with a logarithmic scale for computing the cutting speed in revolutions per minute, given the surface speed in feet per minute and the work diameter in inches.
- The Texaco logo in the front lower right corner is the form used between 1936 and 1963. The back lower left corner is marked Printed in U.S.A. 2–46. Perry Graf Corp. Maywood, Ill.
- References: Tom Wyman, "Slide Chart Calculators – A Modest Proposal," Journal of the Oughtred Society 13, no. 1 (2004): 6–10; "Texaco," Logopedia, http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/Texaco.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1946
- maker
- Perry Graf Corporation
- ID Number
- 1988.0323.01
- accession number
- 1988.0323
- catalog number
- 1988.0323.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Perrygraf Metalcutting Slide Rule for Dreis & Krump
- Description
- The Chicago firm of Dreis & Krump distributed this yellow paper slide rule as an aid to those using the machine tools it manufactured to cut, bend, and punch sheet steel and brass. The rule has a paper slide and is held together with metal rivets. The front of the instrument and slide combine to produce a table for determining the length of sheet steel required, assuming the piece has various numbers and shapes of bends. The reverse has a rule for calculating tons pressure per lineal foot, given the gauge of the metal and the width of the female die opening desired. The back also has a rule for calculating the tons of pressure needed for punching three types of metal, given the gauge of the metal and the diameter of the hole.
- The front is marked: DREIS & KRUMP (/) MANUFACTURING COMPANY (/) Mfrs. of CHICAGO STEEL PRESS BRAKES. The right side has a logo with the letters D&K in a diamond; the company stopped using this logo by about 1960. On the back, the left side is marked: DREIS & KRUMP (/) MFG. CO., (/) CHICAGO 36. The lower right corner is marked: Copyright 1944, Perry Graf Corp., Maywood, Ill.
- Dreis & Krump was one of many businesses that turned to Perrygraf (or Perry Graf) Corporation for promotional slide rules and charts. In 1934, machinery inspector Lester E. Perry (1901–1991) came up with the idea of equipping salespeople with slide charts so that they could immediately answer customers' questions. Perrygraf Corporation, the company he established in the Chicago, Ill., suburbs, quickly became a dominant force in this market.
- References: Walter Shawlee II, "The Wonderful World of Slide Charts, Wheel Charts, and Perrygrafs," Sphere Research Corp., http://sphere.bc.ca/test/perrygraf.html; "People: Perrygraf," Waywiser, Harvard University Department of the History of Science website.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1944
- maker
- Perry Graf Corporation
- ID Number
- 1988.0325.01
- accession number
- 1988.0325
- catalog number
- 1988.0325.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Perrygraf Machining Calculator Slide Rule for LeBlond
- Description
- This yellow and white rectangular paper rule has a white paper slide and is held together with four metal rivets. On the front, the top scales allow one to calculate the revolutions per minute for a given work diameter and surface speed. The bottom scales allow calculation of the time in minutes and seconds for a given feed rate, length of cut, and R.P.M. The back of the instrument has tables for converting from fractions to decimals and for finding the suggested carbide surface speed of a lathe for different materials.
- Perrygraf Corporation, described in 1979.3074.03, made this instrument in 1949 for the R. K. LeBlond Machine Tool Company of Cincinnati. A salesman could attach his card to the back of the calculator and give it to a client. Richard K. LeBlond (1864–1953) began making machines in 1887 and became known for the quality of his lathes in the 1890s. Products included lathes for manufacturing bicycles and automobile crankshafts. The company employed 1,200 workers and made a mammoth lathe for boring artillery during World War II. In 1981 Makino Corporation of Japan purchased the company. The factory in Cincinnati is now Rookwood Pavilion shopping center.
- Other Perrygraf slide rules in the collection include: 1983.3009.04, 1983.3009.05, 1983.3009.06, 1987.0108.03, 1988.0323.01, 1988.0325.01, and 1992.3103.01.
- References: Tom Wyman, "Slide Chart Calculators – A Modest Proposal," Journal of the Oughtred Society 13, no. 1 (2004): 6–10; Kenneth L. Cope, American Lathe Builders: 1810–1910 (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2001), 89; Tony Griffiths, "LeBlond - USA," Machine Tool Reference Archive, http://www.lathes.co.uk/leblond/.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1949
- maker
- Perry Graf Corporation
- ID Number
- 1992.3103.01
- nonaccession number
- 1992.3103
- catalog number
- 1992.3103.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Perrygraf Clipper Cargo Dimensional Weight Computer Circular Slide Chart
- Description
- This instrument consists of concentric turquoise and white paper discs and a paper indicator held together with a metal rivet. Around the edge of the turquoise disc is a logarithmic scale of weight in pounds that ranges from 2 to 1,000. Inside this is a scale of lengths from 10" to 50". The white disc has a scale of heights from 5" to 50" and a scale of widths from 6" to 50". The indicator has a scale in densities in cubic inches per pound from 100 to 300 and instructions for setting the dimensions and density of a parcel in order to read off the parcel's weight.
- The indicator is marked: PAN AMERICAN WORLD (/) AIRWAYS (/) 506 West Sixth Street (/) Los Angeles 14, California (/) Phone: Michigan 2121 (/) CLIPPER CARGO (/) Dimensional (/) WEIGHT COMPUTER. The white disc is marked: Clipper, Trade Mark, Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Printed in U.S.A. (/) Copyright 1951, Pan American World Airways, Inc. (/) Slide-Chart by PERRYGRAF, Maywood, Ill. The back of the instrument has a Pan Am compass rose logo at the center of advertising text: ANY WAY YOU MEASURE (/) MAKE CLIPPER CARGO YOUR RULE (/) For All Your Export Shipping (/) See Us For A Free Cost Analysis of (/) CLIPPER CARGO SERVICE (/) via PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS.
- A slide chart is a slide rule that performs a specific calculation, usually commissioned by a company as a promotional item. In 1934, machinery inspector Lester E. Perry (1901–1991) came up with the idea of equipping salespeople with slide charts so that they could immediately answer customers' questions. Perrygraf Corporation, the company he established in the Chicago, Ill., suburbs, quickly became a dominant force in this market. Pan Am was the principal international air carrier in the United States for most of the 20th century. See also 1996.3029.02, whose copyright date suggests that the latest date this chart was made was 1957.
- References: George Melloan, "Pocket Slide Charts Aid Engineers, Help Sell Steel, Lipstick," Wall Street Journal, September 4, 1953, 1; "People: Perrygraf," Waywiser, Harvard University Department of the History of Science website.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1951-1957
- maker
- Perry Graf Corporation
- ID Number
- 1996.3029.01
- nonaccession number
- 1996.3029
- catalog number
- 1996.3029.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Perrygraf Clipper Cargo Dimensional Weight Computer Circular Slide Chart
- Description
- This instrument consists of two pieces of blue and white rectangular cardboard, riveted together at the corners. It is marked with a circular logarithmic scale of weight in pounds that ranges from 1 to 250. Inside this is a scale of lengths from 50" to 10". A white disc attached below that scale has a scale of heights from 5" to 30" and a scale of widths from 30" to 6". A paper indicator is attached on top of the disc. It contains a scale of densities in cubic inches per pound from 300 to 200 and three steps of instructions. This slide chart is marked: CLIPPER CARGO (/) DIMENSIONAL WEIGHT COMPUTER. It performs the same function as 1996.3029.01.
- Unlike the other object, a rectangular piece of white cardboard slides inside the instrument to also permit readings of conversions from kilograms to pounds on the front and readings of pounds to kilograms on the back. This part of the chart is marked: WEIGHT CONVERTER. The bottom of the chart is marked: PAN AMERICAN, with LEADERS IN AIR CARGO on the front and SPACE CAN BE RESERVED on the back. The back also has an advertisement: CLIPPER CARGO (/) Reduces Pilferage (/) Reduces Damage (/) Reduces Inventory (/) Extends your working capital!
- The lower left corner of the front is marked: Slide-Chart Copr. 1957, (/) PERRYGRAF Corp., Maywood, Ill. The lower right corner is marked: *T.M. Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Perrygraf was a very successful producer of promotional slide charts. In 1968, the company was sold to Nashua Corporation and moved to Los Angeles, Calif.
- Reference: Walter Shawlee II, "The Wonderful World of Slide Charts, Wheel Charts, and Perrygrafs," Sphere Research Corp., http://sphere.bc.ca/test/perrygraf.html.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1957-1968
- maker
- Perry Graf Corporation
- ID Number
- 1996.3029.02
- nonaccession number
- 1996.3029
- catalog number
- 1996.3029.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Acreage Worked Circular Slide Chart by Perrygraf for Allis-Chalmers
- Description
- The base of this orange, black, and white cardboard circular chart has scales for the number and size of plows and for the size of combines, planters, or harrows. Riveted to the rectangular base is a disc with a scale of tractor speed in miles per hour. Setting the dial for the appropriate tractor speed opposite the size and type of machinery employed reveals the approximate number of acres worked per day.
- According to its markings, Perry Graf Corporation of Maywood, Ill., copyrighted this "Tractor Calculator" in 1938 and made it for the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company's Tractor Division in Milwaukee, Wis. A curator's note indicates the copyright was not issued until November 27, 1941. Perrygraf (spelled variously as "Perrygraf" and "Perry Graf") designed special purpose "slide charts," which were often distributed by manufacturers to their customers.
- The back of the calculator contains an advertisement for Allis-Chalmers, titled: WORK-PER-DAY THE A-C WAY. For other rules distributed by Perrygraf, see 1983.3009.06 and 1996.3029.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1941
- maker
- Perry Graf Corporation
- ID Number
- 1983.3009.04
- catalog number
- 1983.3009.04
- nonaccession number
- 1983.3009
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center