Polar–Other

A planimeter with a closed curve.

Some polar planimeters sold in the United States, particularly the products offered by Keuffel & Esser of New York, cannot be traced to their original manufacturers. Most of these instruments were probably made in Germany or Switzerland. This page also shows the one electronic planimeter in the collections, a polar model made by Lasico of Los Angeles.

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Polar Planimeter

This German silver and steel instrument has a white celluloid measuring wheel and vernier. It is in the general style of an Amsler fixed-scale planimeter, but it has no registering dial.
Description
This German silver and steel instrument has a white celluloid measuring wheel and vernier. It is in the general style of an Amsler fixed-scale planimeter, but it has no registering dial. The 4" tracer arm and 6" pole arm are connected by a hinge and form a circle around the measuring wheel when the instrument is closed. The cylindrical weight is screwed to a short revolving arm that is screwed on top of the pole arm. The lengths of the arms are not adjustable.
A wooden case covered with black leather is lined with black velvet. White trim is around the inside edges of the case. A small piece of paper glued inside the bottom of the case is marked: 0.01 [square] in.
There is no mark for a maker or distributor, but this instrument closely resembles a planimeter sold by the Eugene Dietzgen Company in 1926 as model 1800 for $17.75. Compare to MA.318485.
The instrument was received at the Smithsonian in 1989.
Reference: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 12th ed. (Chicago, 1926), 180.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
ID Number
1989.0305.01
accession number
1989.0305
catalog number
1989.0305.01

Keuffel & Esser 4211 Polar Planimeter

This German-made polar planimeter has a metal tracer arm attached to a brass arm holding a brass weight, both of which are painted black. The weight is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co (/) GERMANY.
Description
This German-made polar planimeter has a metal tracer arm attached to a brass arm holding a brass weight, both of which are painted black. The weight is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co (/) GERMANY. A black frame, or carriage, on the tracer arm holds a white plastic measuring wheel with vernier and a horizontal white plastic registering dial. The carriage is marked in white: No 3515. A metal test plate is marked: 10 (/) sq. in.
A wooden case is covered with black leather and lined with blue velvet. The top of the case is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) 4211. A rectangular paper label inside the lid is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER COMPANIE [sic] (/) PLANIMETER NO 4211 (/) SERIAL NO 3515. The label has a table for different scales and values of units on the vernier. The constant is 16,000 square inches. The circumference of the measuring roller is handwritten as 2.38469 inches.
A square (1-3/4") card in the case is marked: K+E PLANIMETER (/) 4211 (/) Serial No. 3515 (/) Area of Neutral Circle = 16000 sq. in. (/) This value to be used only when (/) planimeter makes a complete (/) revolution around the pole. (See (/) instructions.) (/) KEUFFEL & ESSER CO.
Keuffel & Esser offered model 4211 from 1925 to sometime between 1936 and 1939. It cost $25.00 in 1936. The serial number on this example indicates it was manufactured after MA.317925.03. For instructions, see MA.317925.03.
K&E introduced the logo on the card in 1949. The model number is written by hand, and a printed "4236" is scratched out. K&E sold model 4236 from 1939 to 1962. This model closely resembled model 4211 and may indeed have replaced that model. The markings on the card suggest this instrument may have been leftover stock, sold considerably later than it was manufactured. The U.S. Census Bureau owned the instrument and transferred it to the Smithsonian in April 1962. The National Museum of American History exhibited this instrument in For the People from 1974 to 1979.
References: Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4210 Family of Polar Planimeters," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/ke4210family.htm, and "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4236 Family of Polar Planimeters," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/ke4236family.htm; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 335.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1925-1939
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.320138
catalog number
320138
accession number
241591

Keuffel & Esser 4211 Polar Planimeter

This German-made polar planimeter has a metal tracer arm attached to a brass arm painted black and holding a brass weight. The weight is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co NY (/) GERMANY.
Description
This German-made polar planimeter has a metal tracer arm attached to a brass arm painted black and holding a brass weight. The weight is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co NY (/) GERMANY. A black frame, or carriage, on the tracer arm holds a white plastic measuring wheel with vernier and a horizontal white plastic registering dial. The carriage is marked in white: No 1380. A metal test plate is marked: 30[square]" 20[square]" 10[square]" 1.5[square]".
A wooden case covered with black leather is lined with blue velvet. The bottom of the case has a typewritten label: C. B. Schmeltzer (Personal). It is also marked: GERMANY. A rectangular paper label inside the lid of the case is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER COMPANY (/) PLANIMETER NO 4211 (/) SERIAL NO 1380. The label has a table for different scales and values of units on the vernier. The constant is 16,000 square inches. The circumference of the measuring roller is handwritten as 2.38464 inches. Various values are written in pencil on the top of the label.
Keuffel & Esser began to advertise model 4211 in 1925 as a slimmer version of a planimeter sold as model 1111 from 1892 to 1901 and as model 4212 from 1901 to 1941. K&E stopped offering model 4211 between 1936 and 1939. It cost $25.00 in 1936. According to instructions received with the instrument (MA.317925.03), model 4211 was the simplest polar planimeter sold by K&E. Compare to MA.320138.
Chauncey Brockway Schmeltzer (1894–1974) owned this planimeter. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering from the University of Illinois in 1919 and 1920, where he taught until 1926. He also worked in private practice in Urbana, Ill., from 1921 to 1933; the serial number suggests he purchased the instrument around the middle of this time period. He then became an associate engineer appraiser for the Federal Land Bank of St. Louis until 1936. From 1936, he held the same title at the USDA's Bureau of Agricultural Engineering.
This instrument was received at the Smithsonian in 1975.
References: Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4210 Family of Polar Planimeters," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/ke4210family.htm; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 335; Winfield Scott Downs, ed., Who's Who in Engineering, 4th ed. (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1937), 1217.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1925-1939
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.317925.02
accession number
317925
catalog number
317925.02

Keuffel & Esser Directions for Polar Planimeters

This 16-page booklet has a salmon paper cover and was received with MA.317925.02. Its citation information is: Directions for the Use, Care and Adjustment of Polar Planimeters (New York: Keuffel & Esser Co., n.d.).
Description
This 16-page booklet has a salmon paper cover and was received with MA.317925.02. Its citation information is: Directions for the Use, Care and Adjustment of Polar Planimeters (New York: Keuffel & Esser Co., n.d.). Model 4211 is discussed on pages 4–5.
Compare the booklet to the version scanned by Clark McCoy, http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEManuals/Planimeter_Polar/Planimeter_Polar.htm. According to the model numbers included, that booklet was printed between 1925 and 1927, while this booklet was printed between 1930 and 1936.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930-1936
publisher
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.317925.03
accession number
317925
catalog number
317925.03

Keuffel & Esser 4236 Polar Compensating Planimeter

This German-made fixed-arm polar planimeter has a 4-1/2" metal and bronzed brass tracer arm and an 8" bronzed brass pole arm welded to a cylindrical weight. A carriage on the tracer arm has a white plastic measuring wheel, vernier, and registering dial.
Description
This German-made fixed-arm polar planimeter has a 4-1/2" metal and bronzed brass tracer arm and an 8" bronzed brass pole arm welded to a cylindrical weight. A carriage on the tracer arm has a white plastic measuring wheel, vernier, and registering dial. The carriage is marked with a serial number: 1862. The pole arm is marked: K+E KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. It is also marked: MADE IN (/) GERMANY. A rectangular metal test plate with slanted corners is marked: 10 (/) sq. in. A glass magnifier is wrapped in a white facial tissue. The tissue is marked in ink: 1 (/) 1424 (/) 1798 (/) 6.26.
A wooden case covered with discolored black leather is lined with tan chamois leather, which has rust stains. A label pasted inside the lid of the case says that this is Keuffel & Esser model 4236, serial number 1862, with area of the neutral circle of 214.45 square inches. The case fits in a green cardboard box with masking tape along the edges. The top of the box is marked: A. P. M. One end of the bottom of the box has a red and green label marked: K+E (/) 4236 (/) COMPENSATING (/) POLAR PLANIMETER. The instrument was received with instructions, 1991.0882.02.
K&E introduced model 4236 in 1939 and began to use its K+E logo in 1949. Between 1955 and 1962, the open carriage was replaced with a closed top. The donor, biologist Anne P. Merrill (1916–2002), used this planimeter when she was researching the contraceptive effects of progesterone with Gregory Pincus and Min Chueh Chang at the Worcester (Mass.) Foundation for Experimental Biology. They received their initial grant money from Katharine McCormick in 1951, and it is likely Merrill purchased the planimeter around that time. In 1949 the instrument sold for $35.00, and in 1956 it cost $32.50.
The instrument reached the Smithsonian in 1991.
References: Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4236 Family of Polar Planimeters," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/ke4236family.htm; Kimberly A. Buettner, "John Charles Rock," Embryo Project Encyclopedia (2007), hdl.handle.net/2286/embryo:124783; Lara V. Marks, Sexual Chemistry: A History of the Contraceptive Pill (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001), 92; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 40th ed. (Hoboken, N.J., 1944), 226; K+E Price List, Applying to the 41st Edition Catalog, Part I (Hoboken, N.J.: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1949), 33; K+E Price List, Applying to the 42nd Edition Catalog, Part I (Hoboken, N.J.: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1956), 44; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1949-1955
retailer
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
1991.0882.01
accession number
1991.0882
catalog number
1991.0882.01

Instructions for Keuffel & Esser Compensating Polar Planimeters

The citation information for this 32-page booklet is: K+E Manual: Compensating Polar Planimeters, 4236, 4236M & 4242 ([New York]: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1949).
Description
The citation information for this 32-page booklet is: K+E Manual: Compensating Polar Planimeters, 4236, 4236M & 4242 ([New York]: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1949). It was received with 1991.0882.01.
The booklet explains the operation, care, and use of compensating polar planimeters, with several pages on tracing areas and making calculations. Five tables of factors and settings for scale drawings or maps are provided. The booklet also discusses factors influencing the accuracy of the instrument and highlights adjustments and measurements unique to K&E model 4242, which had adjustable arms. See 1999.0250.01 and 1998.0032.03. Finally, the general mathematical theory of the polar planimeter is outlined.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1949
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
1991.0882.02
accession number
1991.0882
catalog number
1991.0882.02

Keuffel & Esser 4242 Polar Compensating Planimeter

The adjustable tracer arm on this German silver and bronzed brass instrument is evenly divided to tenths of a unit, with each unit equal to 5mm, and numbered from 5 to 36. The measuring wheel, vernier, and registering dial are white plastic.
Description
The adjustable tracer arm on this German silver and bronzed brass instrument is evenly divided to tenths of a unit, with each unit equal to 5mm, and numbered from 5 to 36. The measuring wheel, vernier, and registering dial are white plastic. A second vernier is severely tarnished, made of German silver, and used with the scale on the tracer arm. The carriage for the measuring wheel is marked with a serial number: 12960. The pole arm fits inside a square tube and cylindrical weight, allowing the arm's length to be adjusted. The pole arm has a scale like the scale on the tracer arm, but it is numbered from 30 to 35.
Unlike earlier versions of the instrument, such as 1999.0250.01, the tube has an opening with a vernier. The tube is marked on top: K+E KUEFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) PARAGON. It is also marked: MADE IN (/) GERMANY. The side of the tube is marked: 12960. An oblong German silver testing rule is marked for 5 sq. in., 10 sq. in., and 100 sq. cm. A wooden case covered with black leather is lined with chamois leather. The top of the case is marked: K+E. The serial number and tracer and pole arm settings are written in ink on a K&E label pasted inside the lid. The number 20,475 is written in pencil on the label. See 1991.0882.02 for instructions.
K&E imported planimeters from the Coradi firm in Zurich to sell as model 4242 from 1901 to about 1936. When K&E began to offer model 4242 as part of its Paragon line, it changed suppliers to a German company. The instrument was not available during World War II. K&E introduced its K+E logo in 1949, and it added a tracer lens between 1958 and 1960. The price was $98.00 in 1949 and $90.00 in 1956. According to the donor, this instrument was used by her husband, the electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993).
The instrument was received at the Smithsonian in 1998.
References: Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4242 Family of Polar Planimeters," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/ke4242family.htm; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1949-1958
date distributed
1940
distributor
Keuffel & Esser Co.
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
1998.0032.03
catalog number
1998.0032.03
accession number
1998.0032

Wichmann 1192 Compensating Polar Planimeter

This German silver and bronzed brass instrument has an 8" fixed-length pole arm with attached cylindrical weight. The arm is marked in script: Wichmann. An adjustable 9-1/2" tracer arm has a support for the tracer point and is evenly divided by tenths numbered from 5 to 36.
Description
This German silver and bronzed brass instrument has an 8" fixed-length pole arm with attached cylindrical weight. The arm is marked in script: Wichmann. An adjustable 9-1/2" tracer arm has a support for the tracer point and is evenly divided by tenths numbered from 5 to 36. The interval for each whole number is 5 mm long. A carriage on the tracer arm has a vernier for the scale on the tracer arm and white plastic measuring wheel, vernier, and registering dial. The carriage is marked with a serial number: 17728. A rectangular German silver test plate is marked for 2, 4, and 6 cm.
A wooden case is covered with black leather and lined with green felt. The top of the case is marked: 1192 Gebr. Wichmann. A loose screw is inside the case. Gebrüder Wichmann (Wichmann Brothers) has sold scientific instruments and office equipment in Berlin since 1873. According to Joachim Fischer, planimeters sold by Wichmann before the 1920s were made by Coradi. Around that time, Wichmann purchased the company founded by Robert Reiss, which thenceforth supplied many of the planimeters sold by Wichmann. It is likely that this example is a Coradi instrument. For a slide rule sold by Wichmann, see MA.293320.2820.
The instrument was received at the Smithsonian in 1986.
References: Joachim Fischer to Peggy A. Kidwell, October 19, 1992, Mathematics Collection files, National Museum of American History; A. Brachner, "German Nineteenth-Century Scientific Instrument Makers," in Nineteenth-Century Scientific Instruments and Their Makers, ed. P. R. de Clercq (Amsterdam: Rodopi B. V., 1985), 152; G. Coradi, Catalog d'orientation, No. 37 (Zurich, n.d.), 3, in accession file 2011.0043.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
maker
Gebr. Wichmann
ID Number
1986.0316.06
catalog number
1986.0316.06
accession number
1986.0316

Dietzgen D1803D Compensating Polar Planimeter

This metal polar planimeter has a white plastic measuring wheel with vernier and a metal registering dial on the 5" tracer arm. The tracer arm is marked on top: DIETZGEN (/) MADE IN U.S.A. Next to the tracer point, it is marked: 22812.
Description
This metal polar planimeter has a white plastic measuring wheel with vernier and a metal registering dial on the 5" tracer arm. The tracer arm is marked on top: DIETZGEN (/) MADE IN U.S.A. Next to the tracer point, it is marked: 22812. The other arm is 8" long and screwed to a cylindrical metal weight.
A beige plastic case is lined with deteriorating gray foam padding. A label inside the case is marked: DIETZGEN (/) PLANIMETER No. D1803D (/) TEST RULE 12.50 SQ. IN. Serial No. 22812. A chart has columns for Scale, Value of unit of vernier, Constant: Pole inside figure, and Pole Arm Setting. Only the first row of the chart (for the scale 1" = 100') is completed. The case fits inside a beige cardboard box with a black, yellow, and white label: DEITZGEN One Only (/) Compensating (/) POLAR PLANIMETER (/) In Velvet Lined Case, with Testing Rule (/) and Directions D1803D.
In the 1920s, the Eugene Dietzgen Company of Chicago sold a planimeter similar to this one as model 1804. By the 1950s, the planimeter was renumbered to model D1803D and offered in the wooden case with velvet lining mentioned on the label on this example. Later, the plastic and foam case replaced the wooden case. "Dietzgen" is stamped rather than printed on the label inside this case, suggesting that another company made the planimeter and Dietzgen distributed it. This object was found in the Museum in 1984.
Reference: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 12th ed. (Chicago, 1926), 182.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
maker
Eugene Dietzgen Company
ID Number
1987.0107.09
accession number
1987.0107
catalog number
1987.0107.09

Lasico L30-A Electronic Polar Compensating Planimeter Prototype

This metal prototype for an electronic polar planimeter has an adjustable 12" tracer arm with lens. The top of the arm is divided to millimeters and numbered from 10 to 24 centimeters. The bottom is marked with a serial number: 45254.
Description
This metal prototype for an electronic polar planimeter has an adjustable 12" tracer arm with lens. The top of the arm is divided to millimeters and numbered from 10 to 24 centimeters. The bottom is marked with a serial number: 45254. The arm slides into a painted metal holder for an electronic measuring unit with a plug. The holder has a vernier for the scale on the tracer arm and is marked: LASICO. The plug attaches to a Series 40 processor with a digital screen for displaying the measurement and a knob for setting the instrument to OFF, A, ACCU, or B. An AC adapter by Calrad, a Taiwanese company, powers the processor.
An adjustable 10" pole arm fits into the holder at one end and a rectangular painted metal pole weight at the other end. The weight is marked: LASICO (/) U.S.A. The arm is divided to millimeters and numbered by tens from 30 to 60 millimeters. The adjusting part of the arm is marked: LASICO. An additional tracer arm with a point instead of a lens has serial number: 45275. A business card for the designer, who also donated the instrument, an extra lens, and two plastic washers for the lens are inside a black plastic case lined with foam.
Maximilian Berktold (b. 1929) immigrated from Kempten-Allgäu, West Germany, in 1950 and almost immediately began working for the Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company. He oversaw design and production of the firm's planimeters, integrators, pantographs, and various optical instruments until Lasico closed in 2008. He developed this prototype around 1970 from the company's model L30 mechanical planimeter, but the final version was sold as model series 40 and 50. These devices cost several hundred dollars.
An 18-page booklet, "LASICO Instruction Manual [for] Digital Compensating Polar Planimeters," was received with the instrument. It contains the calibration settings for a model L50-E, serial number 65879. For company history, see 2011.0043.01.
This instrument reached the Smithsonian if 2011.
Reference: Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970
maker
Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company
ID Number
2011.0043.03
accession number
2011.0043
catalog number
2011.0043.03

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