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 83 items.
Page 1 of 9
Pickett N1010-ES Trig Duplex Slide Rule
- Description
- This ten-inch aluminum linear slide rule has a yellow ("eye saver") coating and a nylon indicator. The front of the base has L, DF, D, and DI scales, with B, ST, T, S, and C scales on the slide. The left end of the slide is marked: MODEL (/) N1010-ES (/) TRIG. The right end of the slide has the style of Pickett logo used between 1958 and 1962, with MADE IN U.S.A. printed below the logo.
- The back of the base has K, A, D, and DI scales, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide. The left end of the slide is marked: COPYRIGHT 1959© (/) PATENT APPLIED FOR. The right end of the slide is marked: PICKETT INC. (/) Santa Barbara, Calif. Compare to 1993.0559.01.
- A black leather case is lined in pink plastic. The triangular Pickett logo stamped in gold below the slot for the case's flap is wearing away. The back of the case has a metal ring for attaching to a belt. Inside the flap is the name and address of David D. Goldberg, who was apparently the first owner of the instrument. It then passed to Janis Popowicz, who donated the rule to the Smithsonian while she was technician in the Division of Mathematics from September 1977 to April 1978. She used it as a high school physics student.
- As is the case for many Pickett slide rules (e.g., 1991.0445.02), the dating for this instrument is ambiguous. The copyright date, logo, shape of the posts, and location of the grooves (on the slide instead of on the base) are all consistent with a date between 1958 and 1962. However, Pickett & Eckel only moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., and took the new name of Pickett Industries in 1964. The logo changed in 1962 and again in 1964. See the company history with 1998.0119.02.
- References: Rodger Shepherd, "Pickett Metal Slide Rules," Journal of the Oughtred Society 1, no. 1 (1992): 5–8; James A. Coontz, "You Think You Have Moving Day Problem?" Los Angeles Times, January 16, 1964, B8; Michael P. O'Leary, "Pickett from a Manufacturing Perspective," Journal of the Oughtred Society 10, no. 1 (2001): 13–14; Maurice L. Hartung, A Teaching Guide for Slide Rule Instruction (Chicago: Pickett & Eckel, Inc., 1960), http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/pickett/pickett_training.pdf.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1962
- maker
- Pickett Industries
- ID Number
- 1977.1113.01
- catalog number
- 336446
- accession number
- 1977.1113
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Marchant Tables
- Description
- This notebook contains examples of eighty-odd mathematical tables on cards, as published and distributed by Marchant Calculating Machine Company and its successor firm, Smith Corona Marchant. Copyright dates on the tables range from 1937 through 1958. Most of the tables are listed at the front of the book in an undated three-page “Index of Current Marchant Tables.”
- This listing divides the tables into nineteen categories. These include interest, reverse interest, decimal equivalents, time, two forms of discount, mark-ups, and payroll. Specialized tables relate to insurance, lumber, petroleum and petroleum oils, and foreign exchange. Also included are tables for such mathematical functions as square roots, cube roots, fifth roots, trigonometric functions, and interpolation. Most of the tables are printed. Two tables of natural trigonometric functions, produced in 1941 from work of R. A. Davis, are reproduced from handwritten entries.
- The last table in the series is entitled “Table of 5-Point Lagrangean [sic] Interpolation Coefficients.” This is an advance copy of a portion of a more extensive set of tables then in preparation by the Mathematical Tables Project of the Works Projects Administration for the City of New York. This table runs for several pages. It is based on a table issued by the War Department in June 1941, but is undated.
- Reference: I. I. Rhodes and H. E. Salzer,”Errata - R. A. Davis, Table of Sines and Radians, Oakland, California, 1941, Mathematical Tables and Other Aids to Computation, 1, 1943, p. 124.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1937-1958
- maker
- Marchant Calculators
- ID Number
- 1979.3084.095
- nonaccession number
- 1979.3084
- catalog number
- 1979.3084.095
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Marchant Tables of Factors for Square Roots
- Description
- These two paper leaflets provide numerical values needed for finding square roots to eight significant digits (Table No. 80) and to six significant digits (Table No. 81). Table 80 was copyrighted in 1951, Table 81 in 1952. These copies of the tables were issued after Marchant became a division of Smith-Corona Marchant Inc. in 1958.
- Table 80 allows one to compute square roots on a calculating machine to eight significant digits using a combination of additions and two divisions. Table 81 allows one to find less precise values of the same function using additions and only one division.
- Compare to MA*313984.03.
- Reference:
- Mathematical Tables and Other Aids to Computation, 7, 1953, p. 168–169.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1958
- maker
- Marchant. Division of Smith-Corona Marchant Inc.
- ID Number
- 1979.3084.096
- nonaccession number
- 1979.3084
- catalog number
- 1979.3084.096
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Pickett N3-T Duplex Slide Rule
- Description
- This aluminum duplex slide rule is coated with "traditional" white plastic. The indicator is flat and made from nylon (hence the "N" in the model number). The front of the rule has two square root scales; K, A, B, ST, S, T, CI, C, D, and DI scales; and three cube root scales. The back of the rule has LL0, LL1, DF, CF, CIF, Ln, CI, C, D, LL2, and LL3 scales. Markings on the rule are described for the nearly identical 2009.0019.01. The rule fits in a burgundy leather case printed with the Pickett logo in gold. A strap and hook on the back attach the case to a belt.
- Pickett was making a Model 3 slide rule as early as 1954, but the scales were arranged differently and the front of the slide had the tables found on Model 2. (See 1979.0601.02.) The logo on this instrument was used between 1964 and 1975. The shape of the indicator and the shape of the metal end pieces are consistent with this date range.
- For related documentation, see 1980.0097.05 and 1980.0097.06.
- References: Dieter von Jezierski, Slide Rules: A Journey Through Three Centuries, trans. Rodger Shepherd (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2000), 75–76; Pickett All-Metal Slide Rules, catalog 164-A (Chicago: Pickett & Eckel, Inc., 1954), 11.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1964-1975
- maker
- Pickett Industries
- ID Number
- 1980.0097.01
- catalog number
- 1980.0097.01
- accession number
- 1980.0097
- 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
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
Friden Model SHT 10 Calculating Machine
- Description
- This modification of Friden’s fully automatic STW calculating machine allows for “back transfer.” That is to say, it has a mechanism to transfer figures from the accumulator register to the keyboard selecting levers and vice versa. The model was manufactured from 1959 until 1965.
- The full-keyboard electric non-printing stepped drum machine has a metal frame painted tan and ten columns of brown and white plastic keys, with a blank white key at the bottom of each column. Metal rods between the columns of keys and under the keyboard turn to indicate decimal points. On the right are two columns of function bars. On the left is a nine-digit register that indicates numbers entered for multiplication. Below it is a block of nine white digit keys, with a 0 bar below. These are surrounded by further levers and function keys, including a split “NEG POS TRANSFER” bar.
- Behind the entry keys is a movable carriage with an 11-digit register and a 20-digit result register. The result register has plastic buttons above it that can be used to set up numbers. Nine entry buttons and a clear button are under the revolution register. Zeroing knobs for the registers are on the right of the carriage. A clear carriage bar is toward the front of the keyboard. All three registers have sliding decimal markers. The machine has four hard rubber feet as well as a rubber cord and a tan plastic cover.
- A mark on the bottom reads: MODEL SERIAL (/) SBT 10 907698. A mark on the back and side reads: Friden. A sticker on the bottom reads: FRIDEN, INC. (/) SAN LEONARDO, CALIFORNIA, USA. A mark on the cover reads: Friden (/) AUTOMATIC CALCULATOR.
- For related documents, see 1984.0475.02, 1984.0475.03, 1984.0475.07, and non-accession 1984.3079.
- This is one of five Friden calculating machines given to the Smithsonian by Vincent L. Corrado (1917-1984), a native of Covington, Kentucky, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting at Catholic University, served in the U.S. Army from 1942 through 1973, and then joined the Veteran’s Administration for the rest of his life.
- The date given is based on the serial number, courtesy of Carl Holm. This is the date of manufacture.
- Reference:
- Ernie Jorgenson, Friden Age List, Office Machine Americana, p. 5 gives the date 1960 for this machine.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1964
- maker
- Friden, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1983.0475.01
- catalog number
- 1983.0475.01
- accession number
- 1983.0475
- maker number
- SBT 10 907698
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Marchant Model 10FA Calculating Machine
- Description
- This full-keyboard, non-printing electric proportional gear calculating machine has a blue metal frame with a black carriage. It has ten columns of green and white all-plastic number keys. At the base of each column is a gray tabulator set key. These keys are numbered from 1 on the right to 10 on the left. Right of the number keys are division and stop keys, subtraction and addition bars, a non-shift key, a repeat key, a negative multiplication bar, and two carriage shift keys. In front of these are clearance keys for the tab set, the keyboard, and the dials. Right of these is a column of ten keys for automatic multiplication.
- Above the number keys is a row of ten windows to show a number set up. Behind this register is a movable carriage with an 20-window result register and an 11-window revolution register. The registers on the carriage have reversible decimal markers. The motor is at the back of the machine, inside the case. There are four rubber feet.
- A tag attached to the bottom of the machine reads: 10FA-321409; MARCHANT. A property tag on the back reads: SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION (/) 85612. A black paper tag pasted to the bottom of the machine reads: Manufactured by (/) MARCHANT CALCULATING MACHINE COMPANY (/) OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. It also reads (the last in a list of patents): 2502321. It also reads: Figuremaster.
- The Marchant Model 10FA was introduced in 1948 and sold through 1950 (it is not on the GSA Price List for July, 1951-June, 1952). This example was used in the Division of Extractive Industries at what was then the Smtihsonian’s Museum of History and Technology.
- Reference:
- SCM Collection.
- Accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1950
- maker
- Marchant Calculating Machine Co.
- ID Number
- 1983.0476.01
- maker number
- 10FA-321409
- catalog number
- 1983.0476.01
- accession number
- 1983.0476
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Marchant Model XLA Calculating Machine
- Description
- This lever-set, non-printing manually operated pinwheel calculating machine has a metal housing and metal base, both painted black. The nine levers for setting entries are topped with red or white plastic covers. A bar in front of the levers can be raised to zero them (there is no entry register). The steel operating crank with wooden handle extends from the right side of the machine. It rotates backward (clockwise) for addition and multiplication and forward (counterclockwise) for subtraction and division.
- At the front of the machine is a movable carriage with 13 windows that show dials of the result register on the right and nine windows for the revolution register on the left. Dials in the revolution register are black for addition and red for subtraction. Decimal markers slide above both of these registers and above the setting levers. Moving a sturdy brass lever at the front shifts the carriage. A zeroing lever on the right side of the carriage zeros the result register when turned clockwise, and the revolution register when turned counterclockwise. The machine has a metal base with rubber feet, but has no cover.
- A triangular metal tag attached left of the levers reads: MARCHANT (/) CALCULATORS (/) SIMPLICITY (/) ACCURACY (/) SPEED. A worn paper tag glued to the back of the machine reads: MANUFACTURED BY (/) MARCHANT CALCULATING MACHINE (/) OAKLAND CALIFORNIA U.S.A. (/) PATENTED IN UNITED STATES & FOREIGN COUNTRIES (/) UNITED STATES [. . .] 76,197 DEC 4. 1923 (/) AUSTRALIA 5,861 March 2. 1922 (/) CANADA 239,984 MAY 13. 1924 (/) CHILE 4,884 OCT 18. 1922 (/) GREAT BRITAIN 185,852 June 14. 1921 (/) HOLLAND & COLONIES 11,299 April 16. 1924 (/) JAPAN 40,871 NOV. 30 1921 (/) SOUTH AFRICA 78 JAN 27. 1922 (/) OTHER UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN PATENTS (/) ISSUED AND PENDING. No serial number found.
- According to Marchant Math-Mechanics, a publication for the sales staff of Marchant, the model XLA was introduced in 1928 as a relatively inexpensive calculating machine that could be placed “on every desk.” It cost $125, and had a smaller capacity than the model XL. The experiment proved unsuccessful, and the machine was discontinued in 1931.
- Reference:
- Marchant Math-Mechanics, vol. 7, 1940, p. 132.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1930
- maker
- Marchant Calculating Machine Co.
- ID Number
- 1984.0682.02
- catalog number
- 1984.0682.02
- accession number
- 1984.0682
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Marchant Model ACR8M Calculating Machine
- Description
- This full-keyboard, non-printing electric proportional gear calculating machine has a metal case painted gray and eight columns of green and white color-coded oval plastic keys. A red clearance key is at the bottom of each column. The underlying keyboard is light gray. Between banks of keys are metal rods for decimal markers.
- Right of the number keys are auto divide and stop keys, subtraction and addition bars, shift keys for use in multiplication, and a reverse key. In front of these are clearance keys for the keyboard, the tab setting, and the dials. Right of these is a column of ten keys for automatic multiplication and two carriage shift keys. Above the number keys is a row of eight windows to show a number set up (the decimal markers extend from between the number keys to between these windows).
- Behind this register is a movable carriage with an 16-window result register and a nine-window revolution register. Decimal markers slide above the registers on the carriage. To the left of the revolution register is a row of six buttons used in setting tabs. The motor is at the back of the machine, inside the case. Numbers are represented by the rotation of sets of gears on three shafts under the carriage.
- A mark on the sides and back of the machine reads: MARCHANT. A metal tag attached to the bottom reads: ACR8M-190554
- The machine has a green rubber cord and a gray plastic cover. A label on the front is from an office supply store in Baltimore, Md.
- Compare to Harold T. Avery’s 1940 U.S. patents 2,216,659, 2,211,736, and 2,217,195. See 1979.3084.106 for related trade literature. The model ACR8M was manufactured from at least 1942 until 1948.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1943
- maker
- Marchant Calculating Machine Company, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1984.0682.03
- catalog number
- 1984.0682.03
- accession number
- 1984.0682
- maker number
- ACR8M-190554
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center