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 167 items.
Page 1 of 17
Original Odhner Calculating Machine
- Description
- This Swedish lever-set non-printing pinwheel calculating machine has a metal frame painted black, with eight metal pinwheels and a metal base. Numbers are set by rotating the pinwheels forward, using levers that extend from the wheels. Digits inscribed on the frame next to the rotating pinwheels show the number set, as well as a set of windows above the pinwheels that shows these digits.
- The carriage at the front of the machine has eight windows for the revolution counter on the left and thirteen windows for the result register on the right. The revolution counter has tens carry. Cranks at opposite ends of the carriage zero the registers on the carriage. Pushing down a lever at the front releases the carriage. Metal buttons may be pushed down to move the carriage one unit left or right.
- A crank with a wooden knob on the right side of the machine rotates clockwise for addition and multiplication and counterclockwise for subtraction and division. Thin metal rods above the registers carry decimal markers. A black plastic lever is next to the result register. A bell rings when the result changes sign (negative to positive or positive to negative).
- A mark on the top of the machine reads: AKTIEBOLAGET (/) Original-Odhner (/) GOTEBORG SVERIGE. A mark on the back reads: No 39-279039. A second mark there reads: MADE IN SWEDEN.
- According to the Odhner History, the model 39 was in production in 1944. An instruction pamphlet received with the machine (1978.2290.02) is dated 1949. The donor dated the machine to about 1950.
- According to the accession file, the donor of this object, George K. Lucey, flew U.S. Army planes during World War II, and was a navigator for TWA for 22 years.
- References:
- Henry Wassen, Odhner History, Gothenburg, Aktiebolaget Original-Odhner, 1951.
- Accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1950
- maker
- Aktiebolaget Original Odhner
- ID Number
- 1978.2290.01
- accession number
- 1978.2290
- catalog number
- 336873
- maker number
- 39-279039
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Archimedes Model C-16 Calculating Machine
- Description
- This manually operated non-printing German stepped drum calculating machine has a brass and iron frame painted black. Ten relatively short levers at the front of the machine move forward to set the stepped drums beneath. A lever for zeroing these levers is to the left , and a row of ten windows above the levers shows the number set. To the left of these windows are two levers that can be set for addition and multiplication or subtraction and division (one lever is for the revolution counting register, one is for the result register). The operating crank is to the right of the digit levers.
- Behind the levers is the movable carriage with a row of 16 windows for showing the result and a row of nine levers behind that for revolution counting. A row of knobs allows one to set up numbers in the result register. There are zeroing levers for both carriage levers to the right of the registers. A knob for lifting the carriage is on the right. A piece of plastic covers the underside of the machine. The stepped drums are of brass, cut away and held around a brass core by a metal piece painted black. There are four rubber feet.
- A mark on the front of the machine reads: „Archimedes”. A mark on the left reads: ARCHIMEDES (/) Reinhold Pöthig (/) Glashütte, Sa. A tag on the carriage reads: 4177. A mark on the back edge of the carriage at the left reads: 6521. A mark on the left of the machine reads: PATENT.
- According to Martin, the Model C Archimedes machine was introduced in 1913. On early versions of this model, the entry register was below the levers. The model C was still offered for sale in 1924, when the C-16 cost $375.00 new.
- References:
- E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, pp. 181–185.
- J. H. McCarthy, American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, p. 68.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1920
- maker
- Reinhold Pöthig
- ID Number
- 1979.0419.01
- catalog number
- 1979.0419.01
- accession number
- 1979.0419
- maker number
- 6521
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Tim III Calculating Machine
- Description
- This German stepped drum, manually operated non-printing calculating machine has a brass and iron case painted black. The eight digit setting levers link to both number dials and brass stepped drums. The number dials record digits entered. Levers in front of the dials zero the entry. An addition & multiplication / subtraction & division lever is on the left, and an operating crank on the right. The plate at the front is easily removed to show the levers and bell. The bell rings when the result changes sign (as in overdivision).
- In back of the levers is the carriage, with nine revolution register dials and 16 result register dials. Both these registers can be set by hand. The revolution register dials have numbers in black (0 to 9) and in red (1 to 8). The zeroing bars for these registers are on the right of the carriage, and a knob for lifting the carriage is on its far left.
- The machine has a metal tag attached to the front that reads: Ludwig Spitz & Co. G.m.b.H. (/) TIM (/) TIME IS MONEY (/) TRADE MARK. It also reads: TIM Calculating Machine Co (/) Chicago U.S.A. It is marked to the left of the entry levers: PATENT. A mark under the carriage on the right side reads: 03745. A mark under the carriage on the left side reads: 2549.
- This model of the TIM was introduced in about 1909 and sold at least through 1924. This example was transferred to the Smithsonian collections from the Navy Memorial Museum at the Washington Navy Yard.
- References:
- E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, pp. 191–194.
- J. H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago: American Exchange Service, 1924, pp. 84–85. By this time, the American agent for the TIM calculating machine was the Times Into Company of Chicago, Illinois.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1911
- maker
- Ludwig Spitz & Co.
- ID Number
- 1979.0602.01
- catalog number
- 1979.0602.01
- accession number
- 1979.0602
- maker number
- 03745
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Olivetti Divisumma 24 Calculating Machine
- Description
- Established as a typewriter manufacturer in 1908, the Italian firm founded by engineer Camillo Olivetti (1868–1943) began manufacturing a calculating machine in 1940. After World War II, it introduced a ten-key printing machine capable of division, the Divisumma 14. This is a later version of that machine, the Divisumma 24, which was introduced in 1956. Like many Olivetti products, these adding machines reflect the style of artist and industrial designer Marcello Nizzoli and have received attention for that reason. This example was manufactured after Olivetti acquired the Underwood Typewriter Company in 1959.
- The machine has a gray metal case with a black lid. The yellow keyboard has a block of nine white number keys. Below these are three black keys with white dots for setting single, double, and triple zeros. To the right are two sets of four keys. Four of these are green, and relate to operations in the green register. The other four are black, and relate to operations in the black register (keys of one color are not grouped).
- To the left of the numeral keys are the backspace key and the keyboard clearing key. Below them is the thumb add bar. Left of these are two levers with green knobs. One, marked A, predetermines automatic or non-automatic printing of the product. The other, marked R, is a repeat key. Further keys are to the left of these. The column indicator is above the keyboard.
- The printing mechanism toward the back includes four digit wheels used to set dates, 13 digit wheels for numbers, and two type wheels right of the digit-wheels to print symbols. Totals are printed in red. The serrated plastic edge helps to tear the paper tape.
- A mark on the top of the machine reads: underwood * olivetti. A mark on the back reads: Divisumma 24 Olivetti (/) MADE IN ITALY FABRIQUE EN ITALIE. A plate attached to the bottom has the serial number: 2D014738.
- The machine also has a gray plastic cover, three paper tapes and two cords stored. The tapes are 8.8 cm. (3-1/2”) wide.
- Compare 1979.0932.01.
- The Kansas physician Richard L. Sutton Jr. reported when he donated the object to the Smithsonian Institution in 1979 that he found it “a meritorious machine, to which I have been strongly attached emotionally.”
- References:
- S. Kicherer, Olivetti: A Study of the Corporate Management of Design, New York: Rizzoli Inc, 1990.
- N. Shapira, Design Process Olivetti 1908–1978, [Ivrea, Italy]: Olivetti, 1979, pp. 56–57.
- Olivetti, Instructions for the Operation of Tetractys Printing Calculator, 1958. (1979.0854.02).
- Accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1959
- maker
- Olivetti
- ID Number
- 1979.0854.01
- maker number
- 2D014738
- accession number
- 1979.0854
- catalog number
- 1979.0854.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Olivetti Divisumma GT24 Calculating Machine
- Description
- This ten-key listing electric calculating machine has a gray plastic case with a black lid that lifts to reveal the mechanism. The nine white numeral keys are arranged in a block. Below these are three black keys. One has one white dot, one has two dots and the third has three dots (for differing numbers of zeroes).
- To the right of the keys is a black bar marked +, a red bar marked -, a black T key, and a black ST key. There are three more black keys, six blue keys, and a red key on the left, as well as two levers with blue plastic knobs. Below the keyboard is a GT (grand total) bar and a switch. Above the keyboard is a place indicator. The printing mechanism behind this includes four type wheels to indicate dates, 13 for totals and two for symbols. Totals are printed in red. A serrated edge eases tearing the paper tape.
- The machine has a gray cord and the 3-1/2” (8.8 cm.) wide paper tape. A mark at the top reads: olivetti. A mark on a tag attached to the back reads: Olivetti Divisumma GT 24 (/) MADE IN ITALY * FABRIQUE EN ITALIE. A nother tag attached to the back reads: PROPERTY OF (/) 112551 (/) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. The serial number, written on the inside of the back of the top and on a plate attached to the bottom, is 2866218.
- The Italian artist Marcello Nizzoli designed this and other Olivetti calculating machines.
- This particular example was used in the Office of the Registrar of the National Museum of American History and is dated from its property tag number.
- Compare 1979.0854.01.
- Reference:
- S. Kicherer, Olivetti: A Study of the Corporate Management of Design, 1990, pp. 28–29.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1972
- maker
- Olivetti
- ID Number
- 1979.0932.01
- maker number
- 2866218
- accession number
- 1979.0932
- catalog number
- 1979.0932.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Monroe Model 8N-213 Calculating Machine
- Description
- This fully automatic electric non-printing modified stepped drum calculating machine has a gray and black steel frame, and ten columns of gray and white oblong plastic keys. At the bottom of each column is a key for clearing it. Between the columns of keys and under the keyboard are metal rods which turn to serve as decimal markers. They are painted white on one side and the same black as the case on the other.
- To the right of the number keys are subtraction and addition bars, two carriage shift keys, and a green enter multiplier key. Below these are three levers, one to set repeated entries, one for multiplication, and one for non-entry. Below these are three red keys relating to entering the dividend, a gray keyboard clearance key, and a lock lever. Beneath the number keys are five keys relating to multiplication and division. A DIVD ALIGN key is left of these.
- The carriage in back of the keyboard has ten dials to show a number set up for multiplication, 21 dials to show the result, and a row containing ten white dials and then 11 black dials. Sliding decimal markers are provided. The dials showing numbers set up for multiplication can be set at any of five positions. A metal piece slides over the windows for these dials to indicate the decimal point. A gray electrical cord attaches to the back. The gray cover is separate.
- A mark on the carriage reads: MONROE. The same mark is on the back of the machine, with the Monroe logo trademarked in 1956. A mark on both right and left sides reads: MONROmatic. A paper sticker glued to the bottom of the machine reads: MONROE (/) CALCULATING MACHINE (/) COMPANY, INC. (/) ORANGE, N.J. U.S.A.. It also is marked with patent numbers that range from 2,250,403 to 2,732,129. The second patent date is from 1953. A metal tag attached to the bottom of the machine reads: MODEL 8N-213 (/) SERIAL B973812B. There is no mention of Litton Industries, which acquired Monroe Calculating Machine Company in 1958.
- According to the accession file, the machine was purchased by the University of Pittsburgh 14 September 1960, at a cost of $880, for use in parapsychological research.
- Compare to MA*335425 and 1984.3046.01.
- Reference:
- Accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960
- maker
- Monroe Calculating Machine Company, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1980.0255.01
- catalog number
- 1980.0255.01
- maker number
- B973812B
- accession number
- 1980.0255
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Marchant Model KC Calculating Machine
- Description
- This full-keyboard, non-printing manually operated pinwheel calculating machine has a metal frame painted black and nine columns of plastic keys, with three columns black, three columns white, and three more columns black. At the base of each bank of keys is a red clearance key. The underlying keyboard is painted green. Metal rods between banks of keys serve as decimal markers.
- Right of the number keys is a red keyboard clearance key, a multiply/divide key, and an addition/subtraction key. The operating crank on the right rotates backward (clockwise) for addition and multiplication and forward (counterclockwise) for subtraction and division.
- Behind the keyboard is a movable carriage with the 18 windows of the result register. A lever at the front of the machine shifts the carriage, a button on the right side releases it, and a crank on the left end of the carriage clears it. Behind and above the carriage are nine windows showing digits entered, a lever that can be set for multiplication or division, and nine windows for the revolution register. Rotating a small crank on the right side clears this register.
- Decimal markers slide on metal rods above all three registers. A metal flange below the result register helps the user place the carriage correctly. The machine has four rubber feet. At the back, two wooden cylinders have been attached to the base at the corners, so that the machine sits at an angle.
- Plates attached to the right and left side read: MARCHANT. A metal plate right of the keyboard reads; MARCHANT (/) CALCULATORS (/) SIMPLICITY (/) ACCURACY (/) SPEED. A maker’s mark under the carriage on the right reads: 2097. A stamp on the bottom of the machine reads: KC 2097.
- The Model KC, introduced in 1923 with initial serial number 1000, was one of Marchant Calculating Machine Company’s first three keyboard machines. It sold in 1924 for $350.00. By 1928 it was replaced by the model H-9.
- Calvin Lieberman, the donor of this object, was associated with the steel recyling business in Toledo, Ohio, from at least 1937 through 1980.
- References:
- J. H. McCarthy, American Digest of Business Machines, 1924, pp. 75–76, 549.
- Business Machines and Equipment Digest, 1928, vol. I, p. 9–23.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1925
- maker
- Marchant Calculating Machine Co.
- ID Number
- 1980.0805.01
- catalog number
- 1980.0805.01
- accession number
- 1980.0805
- maker number
- KC 2097
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Curta Type I Calculating Machine
- Description
- This compact cylindrical handheld calculating machine has black metal sides and a plastic top and operating handle. Eight slots along the side of the cylinder hold levers that are pulled down to set numbers. The digit entered appears at the top of the slot. Holes around the edge of the top reveal the digits of the multiplier, which may be up to six digits large. The result also shows through holes around the edge of the top, and may be 11 digits large. The top may be rotated, as one one would move a carriage on an earlier stepped drum calculating machine. Sliding decimal markers indicate decimal places in entries, multipliers, and results.
- To zero the machine, one raises the carriage and rotates a black disc under the operating lever through one turn. The operating handle is pulled out for subtraction and division. A lever on the side of the cylinder may be set for subtraction rather than addition in the revolution counting register.
- The machine fits in black metal cylindrical case. The lid of the case turns clockwise to open.
- A mark on the side reads: CURTA. A mark on the base reads: System Curt Herzstark (/) Made in Liechtenstein (/) by Contina AG Mauren (/) Type I No 61644. A mark on the lid reads: OPEN.
- The Curta calculating machine was invented by the Austrian Curt Hertzstark (1902–1988). Hertstark, a Jew, was subject to imprisonment by the Nazis when they captured Austria. He worked on the design of the Curta during World War II as a prisoner at the concentration camp of Buchenwald, and produced the machine after the war in Liechtenstein. The Curta Type I was sold from at least 1949 until early 1972, when handheld electronic calculators replaced it.
- For related documentation, see 1981.0922.02,1981.0922.03 and 1981.0922.04.
- Compare to MA*333848. This machine has red marks to make it easier to find the setting levers.
- References:
- Curt Hertstark, Interview with Erwin Tomash, September 10 and 11, 1987, Oral History 140, Charles Babbage Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hertstark dates the beginning of production of the Curta to 1949.
- Cliff Stoll, “The Curious History of the First Pocket Calculator,” Scientific American, (January 2004), pp. 82–89. Stoll and others give 1947 as the date of introduction of the Curta.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1965
- maker
- Contina AG Mauren
- ID Number
- 1981.0922.01
- catalog number
- 1981.0922.01
- accession number
- 1981.0922
- maker number
- 61644
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Friden Model C 10 Calculating Machine
- Description
- The Swedish-born inventor Carl Friden was stranded in Australia during World War I and then, on his way back to Sweden, decided to settle in California. He found a place at the Marchant Calculating Machine Company, taking out several patents for machines manufactured there. By 1933 he had decided to start his own company. The Friden models A (8-digit entries) and B (10-digit entries) appeared in 1934.
- In 1936 the young company introduced this machine, the model C. It featured automatic return clearance for the carriage and dials and was sold in two sizes, one that allowed entry of numbers up to eight digits long (the C 8) and one allowing ten-digit entries (the C 10). This is an early example of the C 10. It has a case painted greenish black. A later version of the model C, introduced in about 1941, had a gray case. It sold until 1949.
- The stepped drum, full-keyboard electric non-printing calculating machine has ten columns of black and white plastic number keys, colored to make it easy to distinguish different units of money. A blank clearance key of red plastic is at the bottom of each column. Metal rods between the columns of keys turn to indicate decimal places. On the right are red and black function keys. The machine has no separate keys for multiplication.
- Behind the number keys is a movable carriage with an 11-digit revolution register and a 21-digit result register. An arrow above the first column of keys assists in setting the carriage. The result register has plastic buttons above it that can be used to set up numbers. Decimal markers slide above the two registers. Zeroing knobs are on the right of the carriage. The cord is missing. The corners of the machine have metal streamlines. It resembles in key color and general appearance the contemporary Marchant keyboard electric machines built on Friden’s patent.
- The machine is marked on the sides: FRIDEN. A second mark, visible through a window at the front of the machine, is: C10-41272. A paper tag glued to the front left of the machine reads: FRIDEN CALCULATIN [...] ACHINE CO. (/) OAKLAND, CALIF. The Friden Calculating Machine Company moved from Oakland to San Leandro in 1936.
- Compare the Marchant ERB calculating machine with museum number 1977.1225.01, as well as a later model C 10 with catalog number MA*335422.
- This machine was transferred to the collections from the Office of Exhibits at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in 1982. It had no Smithsonian Institution tag.
- References:
- Carl Holm, “Milestones in the Development of Friden.”
- Ernie Jorgenson, Friden Age List, Office Machine Americana, p. 1
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1936
- maker
- Friden Calculating Machine Company
- ID Number
- 1982.0243.01
- catalog number
- 1982.0243.01
- accession number
- 1982.0243
- maker number
- C10 41272
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Rheinmetall Calculating Machine
- Description
- This German stepped drum, full keyboard non-printing calculating machine has a metal frame painted black, with metal handles on each side. It has nine columns of black and white digit keys (rightmost column, white; next column, black; next column, white; next three columns, black; next two columns, white; leftmost column, black), with a red clearance key at the bottom of each column. To the right of the keyboard is a red plastic key, which clears the entire keyboard. Above it is a subtraction key. Left of the keyboard is a keystem without a key. Between the columns are metal rods painted green on one side and white on the other to serve as decimal markers, as in Monroe calculating machines. The keyboard is painted green.
- Above the keyboard nine number dials show a number set up on the keyboard. Behind is a carriage with a 17-dial result register and an eight-dial revolution counter. Right of the registers are clearance levers. Rods above both registers carry decimal markers. Thumbscrews set up numbers on the result register. A crank at the front of the machine moves the carriage.
- The machine fits closely into a metal base, painted black, which carries the motor. This base has a box at the front with a small window and a lever. On the left are ten black plastic digit keys arranged in four rows. Subtraction, addition, and multiplication bars at the front.
- The machine is marked on a metal tag at the front: Rheinmetall. It is marked on a metal tag on the carriage: Büromaschinen (/) Wilhelm Burkhardt (/) Nürnburg-A.Fernruf 26876. It is marked on the left of the base: 5275. It is marked on the left with serial number: 23398. A red tag attached to the machine reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #109. The machine was model #109 in the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
- Compare 1982.0794.56. The serial number suggests this is a later machine.
- Reference:
- E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), pp. 448–452, esp. description of “superautomatic” model SASL.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1932
- maker
- Rheinische Metallwaaren und Maschinenfabrik Sommerda Aktiengesellschaft
- ID Number
- 1982.0794.20
- catalog number
- 1982.0794.20
- accession number
- 1982.0794
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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