Electronic Calculators—Handheld

Introduction
In the course of the 1970s, handheld electronic calculators transformed the way tens of millions of people did arithmetic. Engineers abandoned slide rules, business people gave up desktop calculating machines, and shoppers replaced simple adding machines and adders. Educators asked how much students should even learn written procedures for multiplication, division, and taking square roots. Parents bought new toys that offered both instruction in arithmetic and other games for their children.
A few calculators were programmable, offering an alternative to large computers and to the microcomputers introduced in the same decade. Like microcomputers, they incorporated changes in microprocessor technology and displays. Many companies that sold calculators, such as Hewlett-Packard, Texas Instruments, Tandy Corporation, and Commodore, would also market microcomputers and digital watches, other novelties of interest at the time. Business patterns established with calculators such as design in one country, manufacture in another, distribution by third parties, rapid introduction of new models, and decreasing cost also would appear with other electronic devices.
Handheld calculators were introduced into the United States in 1970 and 1971 by the Japanese firms of Busicom (Nippon Calculating Machine Corporation) and Sharp (Hayakawa Electric) as well as the American firm of Bowmar. Chips in early Busicom calculators were made in the United States by Mostek, while those in the Bowmar and Canon were by Texas Instruments. Hewlett-Packard Corporation joined the market in early 1972 with the HP-35 scientific calculator. It could not only add, subtract, multiply, and divide but compute trigonometric functions, logarithms, and exponents. In other words, it did the work of a slide rule and more. The calculator sold for $395. Not to be outdone, Texas Instruments introduced its first calculator, the Datamath (or TI-2500), later that year. The device carried out basic arithmetic and sold for $149.95. In 1973, TI introduced the SR-10, its answer to the HP-35. It did not give values for trigonometric functions, but cost only $150. The TI-50 (introduced in 1974 for $170) and the HP-21 (introduced in 1975 for $125) both performed the calculations possible on a slide rule for a somewhat more reasonable price.
Inexpensive Four-Function Calculators
Early handheld electronic calculators could be ordered from manufacturers or dealers. They also sold as relatively expensive goods in department stores. In the course of the 1970s, better chips made it possible to reduce the number of components required in calculators. Liquid crystal displays required significantly less power, making it possible to operate a calculator on tiny batteries – or operate on sunlight alone. Moreover, membranes replaced individual keys on some instruments. With all of these changes, cost of the devices plummeted. By 1977, a liquid crystal display calculator known as the Teal LC811 sold regularly for $24.95, with a sale price of $19.95. By 1985, the solar-powered Sharp EL-345 sold for $5.95. Both of these calculators were made in Japan. The Sharp not only carried out arithmetic and found percentages, but had a square root key. Both calculators had limited memory for results of computations.
Programmable Handheld Calculator
Desktop electronic calculators that could be programmed were available from the mid-1960s. Prominent American manufacturers included Wang Laboratories in Massachusetts and Hewlett-Packard Company in California. By 1974, Hewlett-Packard had developed a more compact programmable device, the HP-65. Advertisements dubbed it a “personal computer,” not just a calculator. The instrument sold for $795 – plus an extra sum for a special “security cradle” that allowed one to attach it to a desk.
The HP-65 was specifically designed to assist in repeated calculations required in such disciplines as science, engineering, finance, statistic, mathematics, navigation, medicine and surveying. Toward that end, it contained a small magnetic card reader and recorder. Users who had worked out a series of commands they wished to reuse could save the program to a magnetic card. A variety of prewritten programs were available for purchase.
HP also published a newsletter where owners of the calculator exchanged information about programs. One owner of a HP-65 (not the instrument in the Smithsonian collections) was programmer Barry S. Berg. Berg used programming in many aspects of his life. The programs for his HP-65 device relate to aerial navigation, he consulted them when flying an airplane. Other, less expensive, programmable calculators soon followed, first from General Instrument and Texas Instruments and then from Hewlett-Packard itself. At the same time, the diffusion of sturdy personal computers decreased demand from computer programmers for these particular handheld devices.
Educational Games
In 1971, Jerome C. Meyer and James A. Tillotson III of Sunnydale, California received a patent for a “teaching device having means producing [sic] a self-generated program.” Here questions for drill were selected using a random signal generator. Meyer and Tillotson thought such a machine might have many uses, but specifically showed an instrument for generating simple arithmetic problems. Given a problem, a student entered the answer. The machine checked its accuracy, with a correct answer generating a new problem. Ideas in this patent were reflected in an electronic teaching machine for drilling children in basic arithmetic called the Digitor, a device introduced by the California firm of Centurion Industries in 1974. The Digitor was a desktop, not a handheld, device. It sold to schools, not individuals.
Educational electronic games in the form of handheld electronic calculators, designed for home use, soon followed. For example, the Novus (also National Semiconductor) Quiz Kid, was designed and priced for the home market. An advertisement published in the New York Times just before Christmas in 1975 indicates that its small four-function instrument sold for only $15.00. The calculator had no display, but the keyboard was decorated with an image of an owl with two large eyes, one green and one red. Children entered both a problem and their answer to it. If the answer was correct, the green eye flashed reinforcement. If not, the red eye lit up. The ad proclaimed that “The Novus ‘Quiz Kid’ just might make a Whiz Kid out of Jr [sic]!” At least it would “provide hours of fun and interest” (New York Times, December 23, 1975, 4. Novus had entered the calculator business by buying out the calculator division of National Semiconductor, and some devices were sold as the National Semiconductor Quiz Kid). A report from late May of 1976 indicates that by then some 600,000 of the toys had been shipped (New York Times, May 23, 1976, F3).
Texas Instruments had responded to the popularity of four-function calculators by producing the Datamath 2500, and to the HP-35 with the SR-10. Its answer to the Quiz Kid and similar toys was the Little Professor. Introduced in mid-1976, it was a calculator that had been altered to present simple arithmetic problems to a child. A correct answer led to another problem, a wrong answer to the message “EEE.” The keyboard was decorated with an image of a bewhiskered and bespectacled professor holding a book. Questions and answers appeared on a red LED screen that, in combination with the top of the instrument, looked like a mortar board. In early examples of the toy, the on-off switch was on the right side near the professor’s face, and looked rather like a tassel from a mortar board. The machine sold for about $18 early in 1977, with the price dropping to $13 by the middle of the year. The Little Professor sold in the millions. It is produced, in modified form, to this day. The Quiz Kid and the Little Professor were later joined by a range of games that included Coleco Digits (ca. 1978), Invicta’s Electronic Mastermind (ca. 1980), and an Electronic Backgammon Game by Tyrom (ca. 1981).
Graphing Calculators
The first commercial graphing calculator was introduced by the Japanese firm of Casio Computer Company. Casio, founded in 1946, had sold electric desk calculators since the 1960s, and introduced a transistorized form of the machine in 1965. In the 1970s and 1980s, it released a variety of microprocessor-based consumer products including handheld calculators, digital watches, electronic musical instruments, and televisions. Its fx-7000G graphing calculator, introduced in 1985, sold for a price that settled around seventy-five dollars. By the following year, it had been adopted by a program in Ohio schools, and other states soon followed.
Other calculator manufacturers soon took up the challenge of designing graphing calculators. In 1987, Hewlett-Packard Corporation introduced its HP-28C calculator. It featured not only graphing but symbolic manipulation, as well as limited integration and differentiation. Indeed, Hewlett-Packard soon was ready to launch a version of the HP-28C with expanded memory, known as the HP-28S. It chose to do so at the January 1988 centennial meeting of the American Mathematical Society. Those attending the annual banquet of the society traditionally received a useful trinket such as an alarm clock. At the centennial party, the favor was an HP-28S. It came with an extra charge of $60 (the banquet alone was $30). However, considering that the list price of the calculator was $235, the fee was not unreasonable. The example of the HP-28S shown was owned by Andrew Gleason, who was among those working on the reform of calculus teaching as part of the Harvard Consortium. Other manufacturers soon offered graphing calculators.
With the widespread availability of other handheld devices for communication and for access to the web, the role of the electronic calculator has changed. Within mathematics education, calculators are now sold as much for what they do not do as for what they do. That is to say, calculators do not allow students to spend time texting, web surfing, or consulting with unauthorized sources. They are sometimes built so as NOT to evaluate certain functions. In the larger world, although inexpensive four-function calculators are still available for purchase, they also appear virtually on a desktop, laptop, and handheld computers.
Acknowledgments
This object group reflects the contributions of numerous donors to the Smithsonian Institution, and the work of numerous museum and library staff. A grant from the Lemelson Center for Invention and Innovation and generous assistance from scholars at the Whipple Museum for the History of Science at Cambridge University are gratefully acknowleged.


-
Documentation - HP-55 Owner's Handbook
- Description
- This spiral-bound manual has a green and white cover. It describes the use of the HP-55 programmable handheld electronic calculator. This version is dated December 1974. Compare with a slightly later version from February of 1975 (1980.0813.03). For an example of the calculator, see 1980.0813.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1974
- maker
- Hewlett-Packard Company
- ID Number
- 1980.0813.02
- catalog number
- 1980.0813.02
- accession number
- 1980.0813
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Texas Instruments Programmable 58/59 Master Library (documentation)
- Description
- This pamphlet has the full title: TI Programmable 58/59 Master Library Using the power of your Solid State Software module. It describes the operation of twenty-five programs sold as modules for the TI 58 and 59 calculators. In addition to the first diagnostic program, programs accomplished a varied of mathematical, statistical, and financial operations, as well conversions of units of measure. Also included was a program for computing the day of the week for any date after the year 1582 (in the Gregorian calendar) and the number of days between any two calendar dates. One program, the HI-LO Game, allowed a player to guess a number between 1 and 1023, given information about whether any guess was too high, too low, or accurate. Received with TI Programmable 59 calculator 1990.0609.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1977
- maker
- Texas Instruments
- ID Number
- 1990.3166.02
- catalog number
- 1990.3166.02
- nonaccession number
- 1990.3166
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Bohsei Model 1000 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This handheld electronic calculator has a light gray plastic case. It has ten digit keys, a decimal point key, four arithmetic function keys, and a total key. The keyboard has special blue squares surrounding the keys for pi, square root, reciprocal, percentage, and clear entry/clear. The four memory keys also have a blue background. The eight-digit green fluorescent display is behind the keyboard. A mark at the top left reads: BOHSEI. A mark immediately above the display reads: MODEL 1000. The on/off swith is on the right side.
- The case has a compartment for AA two batteries at the back. A gold-colored paper tag reads: Serial No. (/) 932770 (/) MADE IN HONG KONG. The calculator has a socket for an adapter on the top, but no adapter in this example.
- Newspaper advertisements indicate that a printing desktop electronic calculator was sold under the Bohsei name in 1977. A February 1978 advertisement in the Chicago Tribune indicates that the Bohsei Model 1000 was then on sale at a special price of $8.88.
- References:
- Chicago Tribune, November 24, 1977, p. T12.
- Chicago Tribune, February 25, 1978, p. 8.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1978
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.158
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.158
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Radio Shack EC-281 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- Radio Shack introduced this handheld electronic calculator in its 1978 catalog as an “amazing low-cost scientific” device, costing only $29.95. The calculator has a tan and brown plastic case with forty-one rectangular plastic keys. These include ten digit keys, a total key, four arithmetic function keys, five memory keys, a key for powers, a pi key, and a change sign key. Further keys include EE, CN, %, inverse, and two bracket keys. Above this are natural log, log to base ten, exponent, powers of ten, square root, and squaring keys. The top row of keys has a clear/clear entry key, an arc key, a sine key, a cosine key, and a tangent key. Switches above this are for entering angles as degrees or radians and for on/off.
- Behind this is an eight-digit vacuum fluorescent display. Text above it reads: Radio Shack.
- A jack for a power adapter is along the back edge.
- At the base of the back is a compartment for four AA batteries. A sticker above this reads: CAT. NO. 65-641 (/) MODEL EC-281 (/) Radio Shack (/) A DIVISION OF TANDY CORPORATION (/) DC 6V (“AA” CELL X 4) (/) FOR 120V AC OPERATION (/) USE AC ADAPTER 14-854 (/) SERIAL NO. 023939 5A8 (/) MADE IN TAIWAN.
- The calculator has an imitation leather carrying case. Text on the front reads: Radio Shack.
- Compare to an earlier and simpler Radio Shack scientific calculator, the EC-490 (see 1986.0988.036).
- References:
- [Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, November 6, 1977, p. R2.
- [Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, June 10, 1979, p. R7. EC-281 on sale for $19.95.
- Radio Shack, A Tandy Company, 1978 Catalog No. 289, p. 147, accessed September 22, 2014, at radioshackcatalogs.com. The price listed is $29.95.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1977-1979
- maker
- Tandy Corporation
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.222
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.222
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Summit MR 8 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This handheld electronic calculator has a black plastic case and twenty rectangular plastic keys. The keys include ten digit keys, a decimal point key, four arithmetic function keys, a total key, a % key, a clear key, and a clear entry key. The 9 key can also be used to assure that entries have a two decimal points in the digits (as in dollars and cents). The memory key may serve for storage or accumulation. Behind the keyboard is an eight-digit red LED display. The on/off switch is right of it. A power jack and light are on the back edge. A tag on the front reads: Summit.
- A tag on the back of the calculator gives operating instructions. It reads in part: SUMMIT INTERNATIONAL CORP. (/) Serial No. MR 15708 Model MR 8 (/) Salt Lake City, Utah MANUFACTURED BY NCE NUCLEAR (/) made in U.S.A. A label attached at the top of the back reads in pen: FLASHING.
- Compare 1986.0988.072 and 1986.0988.072.
- References:
- [Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, October 21, 1973, p. D15. “New SUMMIT MR-8 Dual-memory rechargeable portable” advertised as selling for $199.95.
- [Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, December 26, 1973, p. C8. Summit MR-8 calculator on sale for $89.88, regular price $119.95.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1973
- maker
- Summit International Corporation
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.287
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.287
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Hewlett-Packard HP-45 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- The HP-45, the successor to Hewlett-Packard’s HP-35 calculator, was also designed for scientific calculations. It has a black plastic case. Like the HP-35, it has a total of thirty-five square or rectangular plastic keys. These include ten digit keys, a decimal point key, and a summation key, all colored light gray. The four arithmetic function keys are left of the digit keys. Immediately above the digit keys are a relatively long enter key, a change sign key, an enter exponent key, and a clear x key. Above these are keys for exchange, roll down, store, recall, and percentage. Above these is a row of keys for squares, conversion to polar coordinates, and trigonometric functions. The top row of function keys is for inverses, logarithms, exponents, and fixing the output as decimal (rather than scientific) notation. A gold shift key in the upper left corner shifts the meaning of many of the keys to functions indicated in gold. In the bottom row, for example, the key for 0 becomes a key that shows the last value of x, the key for the decimal point becomes the number pi, and the key for summation becomes a key for decrement summation.
- Behind the keyboard are an on/off switch and a fifteen-character red LED display. This shows the mantissa sign, a ten-digit mantissa, a decimal point, the exponent sign and a two-digit exponent.
- A mark on the front edge of the calculator reads: hp HEWLETT•PACKARD 45.
- The back of the calculator has a plug for a three-prong power adapter, a sticker reading: PROPERTY OF (/) HAL B. BECKER, a compartment for a battery pack and four rubber feet. Another sticker reads: HEWLETT-PACKARD HP-45 INSTRUCTIONS. Text below the sticker reads: HEWLETT-PACKARD (/) 3.75V 500MW (/) MADE IN USA PATENT PENDING. A sticker inside the battery pack reads: HEWLETT-PACKARD (/) SER.NO. 1349A 37972. The letter A in the serial number indicates the calculator was made in the United States. The first four digits of the serial number suggest it was made in the forty-ninth week of 1973.
- Like the HP-35, the HP-45 performed calculations using reverse Polish notation.
- Stored with the calculator are a power adopter (2004.3053.02) a leather case (2004.3053.03), an owner’s manual (2004.3053.06), a quick reference guide (2004.3053.05), and an envelope with warranty, payment check, and receipt (2004.3053.07). These all fit in a gray molded plastic case (2004.3053.04).
- The HP-45 calculator sold from 1973 until 1975. This example was purchased in December of 1973 for $410 (including shipping).
- The donor, Hal Becker of Phoenix, purchased this calculator while working on computer data communication systems with Honeywell.
- References:
- W.A.C. Mier-Jedrzejowicz, A Guide to HP Handheld Calculators and Computers , Tustin, California: Wilson/Burnett Publishing, 1997, pp. 41–42, 123
- David G. Hicks, The Museum of HP Calculators, http://www.hpmuseum.org/, accessed July, 2014.
- Accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1973
- maker
- Hewlett-Packard Company
- ID Number
- 2004.3053.01
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3053
- catalog number
- 2004.3053.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Casio Memory A-1 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This handheld electronic calculator has a dark brown and cream-colored plastic case and a metal keyboard. In addition to ten digit keys, a decimal point key, four arithmetic function keys, and a total key, it has all clear, clear, square root, percentage, sign change, and three memory keys. Behind the keyboard is an eight-digit vacuum fluorescent display. A mark behind this reads: CASIO MEMORY A-1 ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR. The on/off switch is on the left side and a socket for an adapter is on the top edge at the left.
- At the top of the back of the calculator is a compartment for a single battery. A sticker inside the compartment reads: 1600683. On this example of the calculator, the compartment lacks a cover. A mark on the back of the case reads: CASIO MEMORY A-1 (/) BATTERY SUPPLY 1.5Vx1 (/) or use AC ADAPTOR AD-1S (/) 0.12W (/) H-814 MADE IN JAPAN (/) BM CASIO COMPUTER CO. LTD.
- Unscrewing a screw at the base allows one to fold open the case. This reveals a variety of electronic components, including a chip made by Hitachi and marked: HD3783 (/) 6G 41.
- Compare 1986.0988.331. Both calculators have the same number on the chip.
- The web site of Casio Corporation suggests that this calculator was introduced in 1974. However, the first advertisement found is from a March 1977, issue of the Chicago Tribune. This lists the Casio Memory A-1 as on sale for $12.95. A March 1978, advertisement in the same newspaper gives the same price.
- References:
- Casio Corporation website, with its museum.
- Chicago Tribune, March 2, 1977, p. B8.
- Chicago Tribune, March 19, 1978, p. J4.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1976-1977
- maker
- Casio Computer Company
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.026
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.026
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Lloyd's E419 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This handheld electronic calculator has a worn gray plastic case and twenty-four square plastic keys. In addition to ten digit keys, a decimal point key, and a total key; it has a change sign key, four arithmetic function keys, a percentage key, and four memory keys. The power switch is above this. Text behind this reads LLOYD’S. Behind this is the eight-digit vacuum fluorescent display. A power jack is on the back edge.
- A compartment at the base of the back would hold four batteries. A sticker above this reads in part: LLOYD’S 6V D.C. 300mW (/) MODEL E419 SERIES 255A. It then gives several examples for operating the calculator. Text below this reads: SERIAL NO. 5F-117623 (/) MADE IN JAPAN.
- The calculator has a black carrying case.
- For further information about Lloyd’s Electronics, Inc., see 1986.0988.218.
- References:
- [Advertisement], Albuquerque Journal, July 22, 1976, p. 25. Lloyd’s E419 advertised as on sale for $12.99.
- [Advertisement], San Antonio Express, July 22, 1976, p. 91. Lloyd’s E419 advertised as on sale for $12.99.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1976
- maker
- Lloyd's Electronics
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.217
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.217
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
National Semiconductor NS 4520 Handheld Electronic Calculator, the Scientist
- Description
- In the mid-1970s, National Semiconductor Corporation made a series of “professional” calculators that were distributed under both the Novus and the National Semiconductor brand names. This handheld electronic calculator, dubbed the Scientist, sold under the National Semiconductor name. The calculator has a black plastic case, thirty-five rectangular plastic keys, and a plastic display cover. At the bottom of the keyboard are ten digit keys, a decimal point key, and a clear key. To the right of these is a column of four arithmetic function keys. The function of these keys is marked on the keys themselves. Also included among the marked keys is an enter key. The calculator used reverse Polish notation.
- To the right and above these keys are a variety of function keys. The function of the keys is indicated on the keyboard. A mark above the keyboard reads: Scientist. Behind the keyboard is an eight-digit red LED display. A mark above this reads: National Semiconductor. The jack for a power adapter is along the back edge and a power switch is on the left edge.
- The calculator has no separate battery compartment. A marked scratched on the case reads: MODEL (/) 4520. A sticker at the bottom of the back reads: Made in Hong Kong.
- Compare the Novus Scientist (1986.0988.228).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1976
- maker
- National Semiconductor Corporation
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.063
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.063
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Canon Palmtronic 8 Mini Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This handheld electronic calculator has a black plastic case. In addition to ten digit keys, it has a decimal point key and a percentage key, an on/off switch, and yellow clear and clear indicator keys above the digit keys, and blue arithmetic function keys and a total key on the right. Behind these is an eight-digit green fluorescent display. A mark above the display reads: Canon Palmtronic 8 mini.
- At the bottom of the back is a compartment for two AA batteries. A sticker on the inside of the lid of the compartment reads: 376297. There is no outlet for an adapter. Text on the back reads: Canon (/) Palmtronic 8 Mini (/) BM D.C. 5 V 0.3W (/) CANON, INC. (/) JAPAN (/) USE PENLIGHT BATTERY 1.5Vx2.
- According to Ball and Flamm, this calculator was advertised in 1976 as selling for $8.95.
- Reference:
- Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, The Complete Collector’s Guide to Pocket Calculators, Tustin, CA: Wilson/Barnett, 1997, p. 45.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1976
- maker
- Canon, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.029
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.029
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Victor 95 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This handheld electronic calculator has an orange and brown plastic case with an array of seventeen large plastic keys, most of them square. These include ten digit keys, a decimal point key, a total key, four arithmetic function keys, a constant key, and a clear key. The on/off switch is above these on the left. A mark right of this reads: VICTOR. Behind these is an eight-digit red LED display. A power jack is on the back edge.
- Extensive operating instructions are molded into the plastic of the back of the case. These read in part: Made in Canada For (/) VICTOR COMPTOMETER CORPORATION (/) Model No. 95 (/) Current 6 Volts D.C. Further text reads: Date Mfd. ELG41.
- A hard plastic lid fits over the calculator and also can be used to rest it at an angle.
- Victor Comptometer Corporation traced its roots to Dorr E. Felt’s invention of a key-driven mechanical adding machine called the Comptometer in the 1880s.
- Compare Radio Shack EC225 (1986.0988.039). Both devices were made in Canada by General Instrument.
- References:
- [Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, August 9, 1975, p. C4. Special price $23.95.
- Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, The Complete Collector’s Guide to Pocket Calculators, Tustin, CA: Wilson/Barnett, 1997, p. 176.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1974
- maker
- Victor Comptometer Corporation
- General Instruments
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.247
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.247
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Bowmar MX35 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This four-function handheld electronic calculator has a black plastic case, and an array of ten digit keys and a decimal point key, all black. In addition, it has memory, percentage, clear/clear entry, and total keys, as well as four arithmetic function keys, all of these are blue. The on/off switch is to the right on the top row of keys. Behind the keyboard is an eight-digit LED display. A black plastic cover fits over the keyboard and display. A mark behind the display reads: Bowmar. A sticker behind this reads: MEMORY. A plug for the power supply is on the right.
- The back of the calculator has a case for three AA batteries at the top. A sticker at the bottom reads: MODEL MX35 SERIAL (/) NUMBER 144885 (/) Bowmar/ ALI Inc. Acton, Mass (/) Patent Pending. A stamp on this sticker reads: ASSEMBLED (/) IN MEXICO.
- Compare 1986.0988.206.
- Bowmar introduced a calculator in 1971, and had successful sales in 1972 and 1973. Assembly began in Mexico in mid-1974. The company went bankrupt in February 1975 and stopped building calculators in the middle of that year. By 1976 distribution of Bowmar calculators had been taken over by Continental Microsystems.
- An advertisement in the New York Times in September 1974 indicates that the Bowmar MX35 was then on sale for $54.95. An advertisement in the Chicago Tribune December 7, 1975, describes a buyout sale in which the Bowmar MX35 sold for $29.99, below the original dealer's cost of $45.50.
- References:
- Chicago Tribune, December 7, 1975, p. 30.
- New York Times, September 17, 1974, p. 7.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1974-1975
- maker
- Bowmar/Ali
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.207
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.207
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Hewlett-Packard HP-28S Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- Hewlett-Packard launched this handheld graphing calculator a year after its HP-28C and the two devices are quite similar. The HP-28S had a larger memory, operated more rapidly, and had a subdirectory structure for variables. The case, keyboards, and display are as described for 1999.0291.01. Text above the display reads: hp HEWLETT (/) PACKARD. It also reads: 28S. Further text reads: ADVANCED (/) SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR. Molded plastic on the back reads: [copyright mark] HEWLETT-PACKARD CO. 1986 (/) MADE IN U.S.A. 2801A04666. The first four digits of the serial number indicate that the calculator was made in the first week of 1988.
- Hewlett-Packard introduced the HP-28S at the January 1988, meeting of the American Mathematical Society, held in Atlanta, Georgia. This meeting began the centennial celebrations of the AMS. Members attending the banquet could purchase an HP-28S with their banquet ticket for an extra charge of $60 (the banquet itself cost $30, the calculator alone $235. A December 1988, article gives the price of the calculator as $165 to $239). Professor Andrew Gleason of Harvard University acquired this calculator at that banquet. A sticker on the cover of the calculator reads: AMERICAN MATHEMATICS (/) 100 (/) YEARS (/) 1888-1988.
- A spiral-bound manual received with the calculator has title Hewlett-Packard Advanced Scientific Calculator Reference Manual HP-28S. It is dated October 1987.
- The HP-28S sold into 1992.
- References:
- W.A.C. Mier-Jedrzejowicz, A Guide to HP Handheld Calculators and Computers , Tustin, California: Wilson/Burnett Publishing, 1997, pp. 84–85, 88, 133.
- David G. Hicks, The Museum of HP Calculators, http://www.hpmuseum.org/, accessed July, 2014.
- Accession file.
- P. A. Kidwell, A. Ackerberg-Hastings and D. L. Roberts, Tools of American Mathematics Teaching, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, esp. pp. 307-308.
- M. Muciño, “Buyer’s Guide to Graphics Calculators,” Mathematics Teacher, vol. 81 #9, December 1988, pp. 705, 707-708.
- Ivars Peterson, “Mathematics: Calculus in the Palm of Your Hand,” Science News, vol. 133 #4, January 23, 1988, p. 62.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1988
- maker
- Hewlett-Packard Company
- ID Number
- 2012.0063.01
- accession number
- 2012.0063
- catalog number
- 2012.0063.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
APF Mark 84 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This handheld electronic calculator has an array of ten white digit keys with a white decimal point key. Right of the digit keys are orange keys for the four aithmetic functions, which also can serve as memory keys. An orange equals/constant key, which can also serve as a memory key, is next to the decimal point key. The top row has keys for percentage, clear entry/clear, and memory. The row also contains an on/off switch. Behind the keyboard is an eight-digit (or possibly nine-digit) fluorescent display. A mark at the back reads: aPF MARK 84. The hole for the adapter is on the right side.
- The back of the calculator has a compartment for the battery at the top and two rubber feet at the bottom. A mark on the interior of the battery back reads: 2 (/) JAPAN (/) 0108241. A silver-colored sticker on the back reads: aPF ELECTRONICS, INC. (/) MODEL NO. MARK 84 (/) D.C. 9.0 VOLTS (/) CAUTION: Use only optional (/) A. C. adaptor model 710 or (/) 751S to operate on A. C. (/) SERIAL No: J 0119684 (/) MADE IN JAPAN.
- This calculator closely resembles an APF calculator advertised in a March 1977, issue of the Los Angeles Times as selling for $7.99. That advertisement does not give a model number.
- Reference:
- Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1977, p. 15.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1977
- maker
- APF Electronics
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.175
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.175
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Texas Instruments TI-1500 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This handheld electronic calculator has a black plastic case with metal trim around the edge. It has an array of nineteen square plastic keys. This includes ten digit keys (all but the zero key white). It also has a decimal point key, a total key, four arithmetic function keys, a clear key, a clear entry key, and a percentage key. The on/off switch is at the top left of the keyboard.
- A mark above keyboard on the right reads: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS. Behind the keyboard is an eight-digit LED display.
- A jack for a power outlet is along the back edge. A sticker on the back reads: TI-1500 electronic calculator (/) Texas Instruments Incorporated. It also reads in part: Serial number (/) 1500 256747. The sticker indicates that the calculator should be recharged using an AC9140 adapter/charger. A mark scratched on the side of the calculator reads: NAU (/) 068499.
- The TI-1500 was the successor to TI’s 2500 Datamath series of calculators, and hence early in the history of the company as a producer of electronic calculators. The online Datamath Museum describes three forms of the TI-1500—this is the third form. It dates a calculator of this model with serial number 1500 219114 to the spring of 1976.
- References:
- [Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, May 4, 1974, p. B2. TI-1500 selling for $69.95.
- [Advertisement], Boston Globe, August 18, 1974, p. 81. TI-1500, regularly $69.95, on sale for $56.50.
- [Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, October 26, 1974, p. C2. TI-1500 selling for $59.95.
- [Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, April 4, 1975, p. A6. TI-1500 selling for $49.95.
- [Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, December 18, 1975, p. G14. TI-1500 selling for $39.95.
- [Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1976, p. A4. TI-1500 selling for $27.95.
- Online Datamath Museum, accessed June 1, 2015.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1976
- maker
- Texas Instruments
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.196
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.196
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Omar Electronic Backgammon Game
- Description
- The Ohio firm of Tryom, Inc., introduced this electronic game at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, held in early 1979. It is an electronic version of the game of backgammon, named for the actor and backgammon player Omar Sharif.
- The flat screen keyboard includes twelve keys numbered from 1 to 12, as well as twelve playing keys and an on/off switch. Behind these is an LCD display. Text behind this reads: OMAR. A power jack is on the right side.
- At the top of the back is a compartment for four AA batteries. Below this a sticker gives instructions. It reads toward the bottom: TRYOM INC. (/) Cleveland, Ohio 44122 (/) MADE IN U.S.A. It also reads Serial # 61508 (/) U.S. & Foreign Patents Pending (/) P113 REV.2.
- The mark OMAR indicates that the term is trademarked. According to records of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the firm of Tryom, Inc., applied for trademark protection for the term as used to refer to “equipment for playing a hand-held computerized backgammon game” in November 1980, receiving registration in December 1981. They had first used the term "Omar" in commerce in the summer of 1979.
- References:
- [Advertisement], Lost Angeles Times, November 15, 1979. Ad for Omar 1, not Omar V.
- [Advertisement], Washington Post, December 5, 1979, p. A10. Omar V, which looks like this object, selling for $69.95. With backgammon set it costs $79.95.
- [Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, December 28, 1979, p. E7. Omar 1, with an LED display and a backgammon set included on sale for $49.95. Omar V, with an LCD display, $59.95 all by itself.
- [Advertisement], Washington Post, February 1, 1980, p. A22. Omar V, which looks like this object, selling for $69.95. With backgammon set it costs $79.95.
- [Advertisment], Los Angeles Times, April 9, 1980, p. G10. Omar 1, with an LED display and a backgammon set included on sale for $49.95. Omar V, with an LCD display, $59.95 all by itself (same advertisement as above).
- [Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, December 21, 1980, p. B15. Clearance sale includes an Omar III backgammon game, selling for $59.87, regularly $77.62.
- “Tyrom Introduces Backgammon Player at Consumer Electronics Show,” The Intelligent Machines Journal, February 28, 1979, p. 3. Versions 1, II, and III of Omar mentioned.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1981
- maker
- Tyrom
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.079
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.079
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Litronix 1603 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This Litronix 1603 handheld electronic calculator has a brown plastic case and twenty-four rounded rectangular plastic keys.These include ten digit keys, a decimal point key, a percentage key, four arithmetic function keys, a total key, two memory keys, a square root key, a squaring key, a clear key, an on key, and an off key. A mark above the top row of keys reads: slide rule. Behind is an eight-digit red LED display. A mark behind this reads: litronix (/) SOLID STATE (/) 1603. A socket for the power adapter is along the back edge.
- The back of the calculator has a compartment at the top that would hold two batteries. A label below this reads: litronix 1603 (/) 9.0 VDC 300 MW 216455 (/) Use AC Adaptor #112 for 110 volts (/) #113 for 230 volts (/) Dim or erratic display (/) indicates discharged battery (/) Assembled in Malaysia (/) Litronix, Inc., Cupertino, Ca.
- One sale price found for the calculator is $10.95.
- For further information about Litronix, see 1986.0988.253.
- Reference:
- [Advertisement], Witchita Falls Times, November 17, 1976, p. 23, sale price $10.95.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1975-1976
- maker
- Litronix
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.066
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.066
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Toshiba LC-850M Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This compact handheld electronic calculator is in the shape of a ruler. It has a metal case and an array of twenty-four rectangular plastic keys. These include ten digit keys, a decimal point key, a total key, four arithmetic function keys, four memory keys, a square root key, a percentage key, a change sign key, and a clear key. The eight-digit liquid crystal display is to the left of the keyboard. Text below the display reads: LIQUID cRYSTAL LC-850M (/) TOSHIBA. Tight of this is an on/off/lock switch. The back of the calculator has a clip such as would fit over the edge of a pocket. No serial number found.
- References:
- According to the www.datamath.org website, as well as the www.calcuseum.com website (both accessed December 4, 2014), this calculator was introduced in 1978, in response to the Texas Instruments TI-1700 dataclip calculator.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1978
- maker
- Toshiba Corporation
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.338
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.338
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Casio LC-785 Handheld Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This credit card-sized, lightweight handheld electronic calculator has an aluminum case and brown plastic keys. In addition to an array of ten digit keys, a decimal point key, and a total key, it has a column of four arithmetic function keys immediately to the right of the digit keys, and a column with a percentage key and three memory keys on the far right. The square root, C (clear), and AC (all clear) keys are left of the digit keys. The on/off switch is next to the AC key.
- The eight-digit liquid crystal display is above and to the left of the keyboard. A mark below it reads: CASIO LC-785 (/) ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR. A mark on the back reads: CASIO LC-785B (/) BM MADE IN JAPAN RATING: DC 3V 0.00025W (/) USE BATTERY 1.5Vx2.
- A screw on the left side of the back holds it to the front. Unscrewing it reveals the circuitry. A sticker on the inside of the back of the case reads: 1D202A.
- The calculator fits in a leather pouch which also has a booklet of instructions printed in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. A mark on the pouch reads: CASIO.
- Several advertisements for the LC-785 appeared in late 1981. None found specifically mentions the LC-785B. The Casio website lists the LC-785 as a product of Casio in 1982.
- References:
- Washington Post, October 23, 1981, p. B10. This gives a regular price of $13.95 and a sale price of $11.95.
- Los Angeles Times, October 31, 1981, p. D3. This gives a regular price of $12.95.
- Los Angeles Times, November 29, 1981, p. G26. This gives a regular price of $16.99 and a sale price of $10.99.
- Casio website http://www.casio-calculator.com/Museum/ByYear/1982.html .
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1981-1982
- maker
- Casio Computer Company
- ID Number
- 1986.0988.187
- accession number
- 1986.0988
- catalog number
- 1986.0988.187
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Book, Precalculus Mathematics: A Graphing Approach
- Description
- The advent of the graphing calculator and the personal computer transformed the way many students in the United States learned mathematics. In 1989, the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, assumed that all students in grades nine through twelve would have access to a graphing calculator. Franklin Demana and Bert K. Waits of The Ohio State University had been interested in the use of graphing calculators in mathematics education since for some years. In 1990, they published this textbook for high school use.
- Reference:
- P. A. Kidwell, A. Ackerberg-Hastings, and David L. Roberts, Tools of American Mathematics Teaching, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1990
- maker
- Addison-Wesley Publishing Company
- ID Number
- 2000.3037.04
- nonaccession number
- 2000.3037
- catalog number
- 2000.3037.04
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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