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 239 items.
Page 24 of 24
Keuffel & Esser 1742 Fuller's Spiral Cylindrical Slide Rule
- Description
- This rule consists of an outer wooden cylinder that both slides up and down and rotates. Two brass rings lined with felt are inside this cylinder. The cylinder is covered with paper marked with a single spiral logarithmic scale graduated into 7,250 parts and having a length, according to the maker, of 500 inches (nearly 42 feet). Inside the outer cylinder is a longer wooden cylinder, covered with paper marked with decimal, conversion, and sine tables, and half-lined with felt. A solid mahogany handle is at one end. A brass index is screwed to the top of the handle. A second, longer brass index is screwed to the mahogany base and marked with a scale of equal parts used in finding logarithms. A third and removable brass cylinder is inside the instrument and attached to the base.
- The tables on the middle cylinder include: decimal equivalents of feet and inches in feet; decimal equivalents of quarter weights and pounds in hundredweights; decimal equivalents of ounces and pounds in fractions of a pound; decimal equivalents of pounds, shillings, and pence in fractions of a pound; decimal equivalents of pence in shillings; days of the year as a fraction of the year; decimal equivalents of subunits of an acre; properties of various metals and woods; decimal equivalents of minutes of a degree in degrees; the Birmingham wire gauge; various conversion factors (mostly for weights and measures); and natural sines.
- The outer, sliding cylinder is marked near the top: FULLERS SPIRAL SLIDE RULE. Near the bottom is marked: ENTD. STATS. HALL; STANLEY, Maker, LONDON. The bottom of the outer cylinder and the top of the long brass index are stamped: 858. According to Wayne Feely, the serial number 858 dates this instrument to 1895 or 1896.
- The rule is in a rectangular mahogany case marked in script on the top: Calculator. A paper Keuffel & Esser label on the inside lid of the instrument's mahogany case is marked in ink: 1742 (/) Fuller's (/) Spiral (/) Slide Rule. Fuller's Spiral Slide Rule was first listed in Keuffel & Esser's 1895 catalog and sold for $28.00.
- George Fuller, professor of civil engineering at Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland, patented this instrument in 1878. The Stanley firm made about 14,000 Fuller's spiral slide rules over nearly one hundred years, with K&E distributing a large share of the instruments sold in the United States. The Naval Engineering Division of the U.S. Coast Guard transferred this example to the Smithsonian in 1959. The Coast Guard engineers provided brief instructions:
- "To calculate (5 X 6 X 4)/3 turn the outer cylinder until the first factor (5) is opposite the fixed pointer, set the slot in the movable indicator to read (0), turn the outer cylinder until the second factor (6) appears opposite the movable indicator. (The result will be found on the outer cylinder opposite the first indicator.) To multiply by the third factor (4), set the slot in the movable indicator to (0), turn the outer cylinder until the movable indicator indicates the third factor (4); (the result will be found opposite the fixed indicator.) To divide by (3) set the movable indicator to (3), turn outer cylinder until the slot in the movable indicator is (0) on the outer cylinder and the result will be found opposite the fixed pointer."
- See also MA*311958, 1998.0046.01, and MA*313751.
- References: William Ford Stanley, Surveying and Leveling Instruments, 3rd ed. (London, 1901), 542–543; Wayne E. Feely, "The Fuller Spiral Scale Slide Rule," Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50, no. 3 (1997): 93–98; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser (New York, 1895), 190.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1895-1896
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- Stanley, William Ford
- ID Number
- MA*316575
- accession number
- 225751
- catalog number
- 316575
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Poor Line of Position Computer Circular Slide Rule Retailed by Negus
- Description
- This line of position computer, or mechanical navigator, is essentially a circular slide rule for determining one's location, either from morning or afternoon sightings for longitude or from the St. Hilaire method of finding the line of position. It has a circular black steel base, a green felt cushioning ring, an engraved brass disc, and a yellowed and warped celluloid disc. The metal and plastic arm that extends over the celluloid disc has a brass thumbscrew at the outer edge. The celluloid disc and arm can rotate together or independently.
- The brass disc is calibrated logarithmically in several concentric rings: from 80 to 0 degrees by minute in both directions (altitudes, adjusted by latitude and declination), from 0 to 500 by 1 (numbers), from 100/10/1 to 600/60/6 (logarithms), from 0 to 12 hours (hour angles), from 0 to 70 degrees by 1 X 2 (declinations), from I to XII by I (hour angles), and from 0 to 180 degrees (altitudes and azimuths).
- The computer is housed in a square wooden case (lock broken and handle missing) with doors that open from the top. It appears to be impossible to remove the computer from the case. Two copies of an instructional flyer are stored separately (MA*320413.1). These describe the computer as built in two sizes, for military aircraft and for battleships. It is not clear, though, whether the computer was able to place a ship close enough to its actual position (within 0.5 to 9.6 miles, according to the examples in the flyer) to be of use for military purposes around the time of World War I. The scarcity of surviving examples suggests the government and general public had little interest in the instrument. Indeed, aviators preferred inspection tables over slide rules for navigation.
- The instrument is engraved near the center: LINE OF POSITION COMPUTER (/) DESIGNED BY (/) CHAS. LANE POOR (/) NEW YORK, U.S.A. (/) PATENT APPLIED FOR.
- This computer was sold by the nautical instrument firm founded in 1850 by T. S. & J. D. Negus of New York City. It was invented between 1914 and 1918 (the date of his patent application) by Charles Lane Poor (1866–1951), who earned a Ph.D. under Simon Newcomb at The Johns Hopkins University in 1892. Poor taught at Johns Hopkins until 1899, when he took over his father’s print works in New Jersey. From 1903 to 1944, Poor was professor of celestial mechanics at Columbia University. He was a critic of Einstein’s theory of relativity and an avid yachtsman.
- References: Charles Lane Poor, "Navigation Instrument" (U.S. Patent 1,308,748 issued July 1, 1919); Charles Lane Poor, Simplified Navigation for Ships and Aircraft (New York: The Century Co., 1918); Richard Berendzen and Richard Hart, "Poor, Charles Lane," Dictionary of Scientific Biography xi:83–84; National Cyclopaedia of American Biography xxxviii:614; Ronald van Riet, "Position Line Slide Rules: Bygrave and Höhenrechenschieber," https://sites.google.com/site/sliderulesite/position-line-slide-rules.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1914-1918
- maker
- Negus, T. S. & J. D.
- ID Number
- MA*320413
- catalog number
- 320413
- accession number
- 242377
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Keuffel & Esser 4013 Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rule
- Description
- This desktop slide rule is in a mahogany case. It has a cylindrical brass drum covered with paper printed with forty A scales. A wooden handle is fastened to each end of the drum. The drum fits in an open rotating brass frame; twenty brass slats span the frame. The right side of the paper on the drum is printed in italics: Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st 1881. Made by Keuffel & Esser Co. N.Y.
- The slats are lined with cloth and covered with paper. Each slat is printed with two B and two C scales. The first A scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first B scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first C scale runs from 100 to 334; the fortieth runs from 308 to 305.
- The front of the frame is spanned by a brass pyramidal bar. A brass and metal mount with three thumbscrews is attached to the bar. The mount may be adjusted by height, and it slides along the bar. A magnifying glass was supposed to be positioned on the mount. A brass handle is in the case, but the round glass part is missing.
- The frame is screwed to a mahogany base. A paper with instructions is glued to the top front of the base. The top back of the base is engraved: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co (encircling N.Y.); 4013 (/) 3419; TRADE MARK (below the K&E lion logo). A square off-white label inside the lid is printed: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW YORK HOBOKEN, N.J. (/) CHICAGO ST. LOUIS SAN FRANCISCO MONTREAL (/) DRAWING MATERIALS, SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS (/) MEASURING TAPES (/) No. 4013 (/) SERIAL 3419. Writing on masking tape attached to the top and the front of the case has been covered with black marker. This writing may read in part 6825 and represent the inventory number at the Interstate Commerce Commission, which transferred the object to the Smithsonian in 1962. The Smithsonian catalog number is written on the top of the case in black marker: 321-789.
- Keuffel & Esser Company of New York sold versions of the Thacher cylindrical slide rule from about 1883 until about 1950. There were two models, one with a magnifying glass (K&E model 1741 before 1900, K&E model 4013 after) and one without (K&E model 1740 before 1900, K&E model 4012 after). This is a model 4013; the serial number suggests it was manufactured around 1915. The marking on the core also no longer references W. F. Stanley, the English firm that originally manufactured the instrument for sale by K&E. Stanley continued to provide the engine-divided scales after K&E began making the rest of the instrument in 1887. K&E took over printing the scales in the 1910s. Model 4013 sold for $45.00 in 1913.
- Compare markings on the core to MA*315663. See also MA*327886 and 1996.3079.01.
- References: Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co. (New York, 1913), 294.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1915
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- MA*321789
- accession number
- 246883
- catalog number
- 321789
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Keuffel & Esser 4012 Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rule
- Description
- This desktop slide rule is in a wooden case that is significantly deteriorated on its inside. The rule has a cylindrical brass drum covered with paper printed with forty A scales. A wooden handle is fastened to each end of the drum. The drum fits in an open rotating brass frame; twenty brass slats span the frame. The right side of the paper on the drum is printed in italics: Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st 1881. Divided by W. F. Stanley, London, 1882. Made by Keuffel & Esser Co. N.Y.
- The slats are lined with cloth and covered with paper. Each slat is printed with two B and two C scales. The first A scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first B scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first C scale runs from 100 to 334; the fortieth runs from 308 to 305.
- The frame is screwed to a mahogany base. A paper with instructions is glued to the top front of the base. An ivory label for Keuffel & Esser Co. is screwed to the front right corner. The top back of the base is engraved: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co (encircling N.Y.); 4012 (/) 1689; TRADE MARK (below the K&E lion logo). Another ivory K&E label is fastened inside the lid of the case. A paper K&E label pasted inside the lid is stamped in faded purple ink: No. 4013 (/) Serial 1689. Written in pencil is: Mar 22/07.
- The Thacher cylindrical slide rule was sized for a desk, but its scales were equivalent to those on a conventional slide rule over 59 feet long. It had scales for multiplication, division, and squares and square roots. There were no trigonometric scales.
- Keuffel & Esser sold model 4012 from 1900 to about 1950. The markings and serial number indicate this example dates to 1907. Model 4012 cost $35.00 in 1909. The U.S. Department of Agriculture transferred this example to the Smithsonian in 1964.
- See also MA*312866, MA*326628, and MA*323504.
- References: Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 304.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1907
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- MA*322730
- accession number
- 252315
- maker number
- 1689
- catalog number
- 322730
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Keuffel & Esser 4012 Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rule
- Description
- The brass core of this cylindrical slide rule is covered by paper marked with forty A scales. The core fits in an open rotating frame that holds twenty metal slats; each slat is lined with cloth, covered with paper, and marked with two B and two C scales. Wooden knobs on each end of the core rotate the instrument. The frame is attached to a mahogany base.
- The first A scale runs from 100 to 112 and the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first B scale runs from 100 to 112, the last from 946 to 100 to 105. The first C scale runs from 100 to 334, the last from 308 to 305. The paper covering the core is also printed in italics on the right side: Made by Keuffel & Esser Co., New York; Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st., 1881.
- The paper of instructions and rules for operating THACHER'S CALCULATING INSTRUMENT, normally glued to the top front of the base, is coming loose and is torn on this example. A large chip is also missing from the left handle. The top back of the base is stamped: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (encircling N.Y.); 4012 (/) 4218; TRADEMARK (below the K&E logo of a lion).
- Keuffel & Esser sold versions of the Thacher cylindrical slide rule from about 1883 until about 1950. There were two models, one with a magnifying glass (K&E model 1741 before 1900, K&E model 4013 after) and one without (K&E model 1740 before 1900, K&E model 4012 after). This is a model 4012; the serial number suggests it was manufactured around 1915. The marking on the core also no longer references W. F. Stanley, the English firm that originally manufactured the instrument for sale by K&E. Stanley continued to provide the engine-divided scales after K&E began making the rest of the instrument in 1887. K&E took over printing the scales in the 1910s. Model 4012 sold for $35.00 in 1916, $60.00 in 1922, and $70.00 in 1927.
- Compare markings on the core to MA*322730. See also MA*312866 and MA*326628.
- References: Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules and Calculating Instruments (New York, 1916), 22; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules and Calculating Instruments (New York, 1922), 21; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules and Calculating Instruments (New York, 1927), 20.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1915
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- MA*323504
- accession number
- 251559
- maker number
- 4218
- catalog number
- 323504
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Keuffel & Esser 4012 Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rule
- Description
- The brass core of this cylindrical slide rule is covered with paper marked with forty A scales. The core fits in an open rotating frame that holds twenty metal slats; each slat is lined with cloth, covered with paper, and marked with two B and two C scales. Wooden knobs on each end of the core rotate the instrument. The frame is attached to a mahogany base.
- The first A scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first B scale runs from 100 to 112, the last from 946 to 100 to 105. The first C scale runs from 100 to 334, the last from 308 to 305. The paper covering the core is also printed in italics on the right side: Made by Keuffel & Esser Co., New York; Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st., 1881.
- A paper of instructions and rules for operating THACHER'S CALCULATING INSTRUMENT is glued to the top front of the base. The top back of the base is stamped: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (encircling N.Y.); 4012 (/) 4917; TRADEMARK (below the K&E logo of a lion).
- The instrument is stored in a mahogany rectangular case. A square off-white label inside the lid is printed: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW YORK HOBOKEN, N.J. (/) CHICAGO ST. LOUIS SAN FRANCISCO MONTREAL (/) DRAWING MATERIALS, SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS (/) MEASURING TAPES (/) No. 4012 (/) SERIAL 4917.
- Keuffel & Esser sold versions of the Thacher cylindrical slide rule from about 1883 until about 1950. There were two models, one with a magnifying glass (K&E model 1741 before 1900, K&E model 4013 after) and one without (K&E model 1740 before 1900, K&E model 4012 after). This is a model 4012; the serial number suggests it was manufactured around 1920. Model 4012 sold for $35.00 in 1916, $60.00 in 1922, and $70.00 in 1927.
- The National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) declared this object excess property and transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1965. In 1968, the Department of Commerce borrowed the slide rule to exhibit in the U.S. Pavilion at HemisFair, an international exposition held in San Antonio, Tex. According to the accession file, a staffer replaced four missing screws on the base before returning the rule.
- See also MA*312866; MA*323504; and MA*322730.
- References: Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules and Calculating Instruments (New York, 1916), 22; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules and Calculating Instruments (New York, 1922), 21; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules and Calculating Instruments (New York, 1927), 20.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1920
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- MA*326628
- accession number
- 261654
- maker number
- 4917
- catalog number
- 326628
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Keuffel & Esser 4013 Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rule
- Description
- This desktop slide rule is in a mahogany case. It has a cylindrical brass drum covered with paper printed with forty A scales. A wooden handle is fastened to each end of the drum. The drum fits in an open rotating brass frame; twenty brass slats span the frame. The right side of the paper on the drum is printed in italics: Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st 1881. Divided by W. F. Stanley, London, 1882. Made by Keuffel & Esser Co. N.Y.
- The slats are lined with cloth and covered with paper. Each slat is printed with two B and two C scales. The first A scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first B scale runs from 100 to 112; the fortieth runs from 946 to 100 to 105. The first C scale runs from 100 to 334; the fortieth runs from 308 to 305.
- The front of the frame is spanned by a brass pyramidal bar. A brass and metal mount with three thumbscrews is attached to the bar. A magnifying glass found within the case may be positioned on the mount. The mount may be adjusted by height, and it slides along the bar.
- The frame is screwed to a mahogany base. A paper with instructions is glued to the top front of the base. The top back of the base is engraved: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co (encircling N.Y.); 4013 (/) 2151; TRADE MARK (below the K&E lion logo). A paper K&E label loose inside the case is also stamped: No. 4013 (/) Serial 2151. A plastic label inside the case lid is imprinted: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW YORK (/) ST. LOUIS CHICAGO (/) SAN FRANCISCO. An index card with the letter V and a rectangle drawn in red pencil is also loose inside the case.
- The model number and shape of the frame indicate this instrument was manufactured after 1900. The serial number and evidence that Stanley was still dividing the scales for K&E suggest a manufacturing date before 1910–1915. (K&E began to divide and print its own scales in the 1910s and subsequently dropped the reference to Stanley from the drum.) In 1906, the model 4013 Thacher cylindrical slide rule sold for $45.00.
- The object was received with MA*271855.01.03, Directions for Using Thacher's Calculating Instrument (1907), which is a reprint of a booklet Edwin Thacher first published in 1884. The object was also received with a cardboard exhibit label, MA*271855.01.02, indicating that the Armour Institute of Technology donated the object to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, which in turn donated it to the Smithsonian in 1966 with a large supply of electrical apparatus. In Chicago, according to pencil markings on the case, label, and booklet, the object's museum catalogue number was 39.168.
- See also MA*315663.
- References: Edwin Thacher, Thacher's Calculating Instrument or Cylindrical Slide-Rule (New York: Van Nostrand, 1884); Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser (New York, 1906), 314.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1900-1910
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- MA*327886
- accession number
- 271855
- catalog number
- 327886
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Keuffel & Esser 4105 Webb's Stadia Cylindrical Slide Rule
- Description
- This instrument consists of a wooden cylinder covered with paper scales, wooden handles at the ends of the cylinder, and a metal sleeve lined with felt. The sleeve, which is painted maroon, holds the cylinder. Running the length of the sleeve are a slot 1.5 cm wide and a paper scale.
- The instrument is marked on the paper covering the cylinder: “WEBB’S STADIA SLIDE RULE”, (/) DESIGNED BY WALTER LORING WEBB, C. E. (/) MANUFACTURED BY KEUFFEL & ESSER CO., N.Y. It also is marked there: DIRECTIONS. SLIDE THE CYLINDER UNTIL ONE END OF THE CYLINDER IS SET AT THE DISTANCE MARK ON THE SCALE AND SO THAT THE GIVEN ANGLE OF ELEVATION ALSO COMES TO SOME PART OF THE SCALE. THE REQUIRED QUANTITY IS 1/10 (1/100 or 1/1000, AS SHOWN BY THE MARK ON CYLINDER) OF THE SCALE READING AT THAT ANGLE MARK.
- The stadia slide rule was used in topographical surveying to determine the elevation and geographical position of points and objects. Initially, a chain and compass or transit had been used to determine geographical position, with a level employed to obtain relative elevations. Greater efficiency in these measurements was then found by using a plane-table.
- In about 1864, the U.S. Lake Survey adopted a third system, first used in Italy about 1820. A stadia rod was placed at the point of interest and sighted through the telescope of a transit. The distance to this point was found by observing the portion of the graduated rod shown between certain cross-hairs of the telescope. To find the elevation of the point, one examined the vertical angle on the vertical circle of the transit when the telescope was aimed at a point on the stadia rod that was the same height off the ground as the telescope. A stadia slide rule was then used for data reduction.
- Keuffel & Esser of New York introduced a 20-inch linear stadia slide rule in 1895. It sold under various model numbers (1749, 4101, N-4101) until 1952. In 1897, the firm introduced a 50-inch linear stadia slide rule designed by Branch H. Colby of St. Louis. Colby's stadia slide rule (model number 1749-3, later 4125) sold until 1903. Textbook authors such as John Butler Johnson endorsed the rule, but it was awkward to carry in the field.
- Walter Loring Webb (1863–1941), a civil engineer who graduated from Cornell University and taught there and at the University of Pennsylvania, proposed a rule that had parallel scales arranged on a cylinder, reducing the length of the instrument to about 16 inches. K&E sold Webb's stadia slide rule for $5.00 from 1903 to 1923.
- One end of the sleeve is painted: 1803. This may be an inventory number from the University of Missouri's Department of Civil Engineering, which donated the instrument in 1972. The university began teaching civil engineering in 1859, and its School of Engineering was renamed the College of Engineering in 1877.
- See also 1983.0472.01. For circular stadia slide rules, see MA*336425, 1987.0221.01, and 2002.0282.01.
- References: John Butler Johnson, The Theory and Practice of Surveying, 16th ed. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1908), 237ff; Walter Loring Webb, Railroad Construction: Theory and Practice, 7th ed. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1922), 22–23; Wayne E. Feely, "K & E Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 49, no. 5 (1996): 50–52; Catalogue and Price List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 31st ed. (New York, 1903), 308; Mark C. Meade, "A History of the College of Engineering at the University of Missouri – Columbia," Archives of the University of Missouri, http://muarchives.missouri.edu/c-rg9-eng.html.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1903-1923
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- MA*333636
- accession number
- 300659
- catalog number
- 333636
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Albree Trulog Duplex Circular Logarithm Table
- Description
- Aeronautical engineer George Norman Albree (1888–1986) designed airplane components and slide rules. This is an example of his Duplex slide rule, which he intended to be used by grade school children. It is printed on both sides of a cardboard circle and consists of a logarithmic spiral scale for numbers from 10,000 to 32,100 on the front or "A" side and numbers from 31,170 to 100,000 on the back or "B" side. A rotating clear plastic indicator wraps around both sides.
- On both sides, the center of the spiral is marked: ALBREE TRULOG DUPLEX (/) MODEL 18. Inside the fifth ring of the spiral on the front, the instrument is marked: ©1945 (/) G. NORMAN ALBREE (/) BOSTON MASS. The instrument arrived with a plain square paper case, an instruction manual, and a green paper bag. The cover of the manual reads: MANUAL (/) of the (/) TRULOG DUPLEX (/) Precision Pocket Calculator (/) Multiply - Divide - Raise to Any Power - Extract Any Root. The booklet was copyrighted in 1948. The bag is marked: THE (/) TRULOG DUPLEX (/) With Right Hand Instruction System.
- Albree renewed the copyrights for the Albree Trulog Duplex (R560370) and Albree Trulog Spiral (R560371) in 1973. See also MA*335486 and MA*335487.
- References: Timothy Hughes, "The George Norman Albree Papers," New England Ancestors 5, no. 3 (2004): 46, http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx?recordId=134553447; Library of Congress, Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 4, n.s. 40 (1945 index): 287; Catalog of Copyright Entries: Books: Part 1A, 3rd ser. 2, no. 1 (1948): 313; Library of Congress Copyright Office, Renewal Registrations: Works of Art (July-December 1973): 476; Henry W. Syer and Donovan A. Johnson, "Aids to Teaching," Mathematics Teacher 43, no. 5 (1950): 215–221, on 220; accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- after 1948
- maker
- Albree, G. Norman
- ID Number
- MA*335484
- catalog number
- 335484
- accession number
- 321674
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center