Flowcharting Templates

Introduction

In the years following World War II, electronic computer makers and users developed techniques for programming of the newly invented devices. Fledgling manufacturers sought to communicate possible uses of their machines to customers and to train people to program them. To assist in these endeavors, they used special diagrams called flow charts. By the mid-1950s, such efforts had generated a new drawing instrument, the flowcharting template, a plastic rectangle with the symbols needed to draw flow charts cut out of it.

Resources

Nathan Ensmenger, “The Multiple Meanings of a Flowchart,” Information & Culture 51, no. 3 (August 2016), pp. 321–51.

Thomas Haigh, Mark Priestley, and Crispin Rope, ENIAC in Action: Making and Remaking the Modern Computer, Cambridge: MIT Press (2016) esp. 74-79, 204-206. This article discusses charts made for the ENIAC computer.

Grace M. Hopper, The Calculation of Extended Insurance, Philadelphia, 1950. A photocopy of this document is in the collection of unprocessed computer documentation at the National Museum of American History. It uses flowcharts to describe the UNIVAC I computer.

Robert J. Rossheim, “Report on Proposed American Standard Flowchart Symbols for Information Processing,” Communications of the ACM  6, no. 10 (October 1963), pp. 599-604.

This rectangular yellow translucent plastic flowcharting template has a rule six inches long divided to thirty-seconds of an inch along the top edge, and a rule ten centimeters long divided to millimeters along the bottom edge. Twenty-one holes represent flowcharting symbols.
Description
This rectangular yellow translucent plastic flowcharting template has a rule six inches long divided to thirty-seconds of an inch along the top edge, and a rule ten centimeters long divided to millimeters along the bottom edge. Twenty-one holes represent flowcharting symbols. A mark along the top reads: LOGIC SYMBOLS for use with UNICIRCUIT INTEGRATED CIRCUITS. A mark at the lower left reads: ASP 376. A mark next to this one reads: SPRAGUE (/) THE MARK OF RELIABILITY.
The trademark UNICIRCUIT was first used in commerce by Sprague Electric Company Corporation of North Adams, Massachusetts, in December 1962 and granted December 31, 1963. The mark on the object indicates that the trademark had been registered. The holes on the template are only partially those proposed by subcommittee S3.6 of the American Standards Association and released in 1965.
The donor, Philip Krupen (1915–2001), was a physicist who graduated B.S. from Brooklyn College in 1935, worked on the development of the proximity fuse during and after World War II, earned a master's degree in physics from George Washington University, and spent a total of thirty-eight years working for the U.S. government before he retired in 1973.
This template is similar but not identical to one shown in the catalogue for RapiDesign, Incorporated, of Burbank, California in 1963. It had their model number 541.
References:
TESS, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Registration 0762224.
Accession File.
Robert J. Rossheim, “Report on Proposed American Flowchart Symbols for Information Processing,” Communications of the ACM, vol. 6 #10, October, 1963, pp. 599-604.
RapiDesign, Inc., Drafting Templates Catalogue No. 70, Burbank, California, 1963, p. 16.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1964
maker
Sprague
ID Number
1986.0790.08
accession number
1986.0790
catalog number
1986.0790.08
This clear plastic flowcharting template has a rectangular grid of lines marked in the background and twenty-nine flowcharting symbols arranged in four rows. A scale of ten inches divided to tenths runs across the top.
Description
This clear plastic flowcharting template has a rectangular grid of lines marked in the background and twenty-nine flowcharting symbols arranged in four rows. A scale of ten inches divided to tenths runs across the top. A scale of eighths of an inch, numbered from 1 to 30, runs along the right side. A scale of sixths of an inch, numbered from 1 to 23, runs along the left side. Along the bottom is a scale labeled: ALPHABETIC INTERPRETER TYPE SPACING. Divisions are slightly less than 1/8 of an inch and run from 1 to 60. A mark reads: BELL SYSTEM (/) 38-Y-3991A.
The template fits in a tan paper envelope marked: FLOWCHARTING (/) TEMPLATE.
This device dates from 1965-1966, when the donor worked as a programmer at Western Electric. He writes: "My first assignments were using an IBM 1620, replaced in late 1965 by an IBM 1130. My first applications created paper tapes to control component insertion machines (manufacturing equipment that automatically mounted discrete components on circuit boards). I was programming in FORTRAN and 1620 assembler language. When my programs didn’t work correctly, the insertion machine would mis-position, not matching the components (transistors, resistors, capacitors) to the predrilled holes in the circuit boards. The machine would then methodically, without hesitation, smash the components into the boards, creating minor havoc and small piles of trash. Those experiences were an interesting combination of disappointing, entertaining and scary. But I quickly learned and improved."
Reference:
Electronic message, August 22, 2014.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965-1966
maker
Bell
ID Number
2014.3067.09
nonaccession number
2014.3067
catalog number
2014.3067.09
This clear plastic flowcharting template has spaces representing twenty-four flowcharting symbols, labeled appropriately. It fits in a blue paper envelope which explains the meaning of the symbols. A mark on the front of the template reads: CONTROL DATA (/) CORPORATION.
Description
This clear plastic flowcharting template has spaces representing twenty-four flowcharting symbols, labeled appropriately. It fits in a blue paper envelope which explains the meaning of the symbols. A mark on the front of the template reads: CONTROL DATA (/) CORPORATION. A mark on the envelope reads: FLOWCHART TEMPLATE (/) Form 10124300 (/) The symbols shown on this jacket conform to (/) American National Standard X3.5 – 1970 . . . . This final mark gives a rough date for the object.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1970
maker
Control Data
ID Number
2012.3058.01
nonaccession number
2012.3058
catalog number
2012.3058.01
This clear plastic rectangular template has thirty-one flowcharting symbols arranged in four rows. In addition a scale of tenths of inches across the top is numbered to 90. A "card count" scale along the right side is numbered from 100 to 700.
Description
This clear plastic rectangular template has thirty-one flowcharting symbols arranged in four rows. In addition a scale of tenths of inches across the top is numbered to 90. A "card count" scale along the right side is numbered from 100 to 700. A scale of sixths of an inch, numbered from 1 to 30, is along the left side. Along the bottom is a scale of millimeters numbered from 0 to 250.
The template fits in a tan paper sleeve that explains the meaning of the symbols. The front of the sleeve has an address label directed from Digital Equipment Corporation to Mr. David Studebaker, Marketing Director, Digital Systems House, Batavia, IL.
According to the donor: "I was a minor partner in Digital Systems House from July 1976 through March 1984. We became a Digital Equipment Corporation reseller in 1977 or 1978. I became Sales & Marketing Director in about 1978 through about 1981 or 1982."
Reference:
Electronic message, August 22, 2014.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1970
1978-1982
maker
Digital Equipment Corporation
ID Number
2014.3067.10
nonaccession number
2014.3067
catalog number
2014.3067.10
This light green plastic rectangular template has thirty-seven flowcharting symbols arranged in four rows. In addition it has a scale of inches across the top, numbered from 0 to 8 and divided to eighths of an inch.
Description
This light green plastic rectangular template has thirty-seven flowcharting symbols arranged in four rows. In addition it has a scale of inches across the top, numbered from 0 to 8 and divided to eighths of an inch. It has a scale of inches, divided to sixths of an inch, along the left side. Along the bottom is a scale of inches divided to tenths of an inch.
The template is packed in clear plastic with a paper backing.
A mark on the object reads: LAN (/) TECHNOLOGY (/) THE TECHNICAL RESOURCE FOR NETWORK INTEGRATORS.
According to the donor: "My wife Karen and I founded Studebaker Technology in 1980 and I joined the business in 1984. We became involved with personal computer networking in about 1988. I believe I acquired the template in the 1988 to 1990 time frame. I think it was a promotional item".
Reference:
Electronic Message, August 22, 2014.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1990
ID Number
2014.3067.11
nonaccession number
2014.3067
catalog number
2014.3067.11

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