| National Museum of American History

This white plastic circular slide rule is on a rectangular base that has a 4-inch ruler on the left side and a 10-cm ruler on the right. A black plastic tape attached along the top edge reads: MATLACK.

Description: This white plastic circular slide rule is on a rectangular base that has a 4-inch ruler on the left side and a 10-cm ruler on the right. A black plastic tape attached along the top edge reads: MATLACK. The top of the base is marked: CONCISE (/) SCIENCE TABLES (/) AND CIRCULAR SLIDE RULE. The slide rule has a D scale along the outer rim. A rotating disc fastened with a metal grommet has C, CI, L, A, S, T, and K scales. There is a clear plastic rotating indicator, which is labeled in red with the letters for the scales. The bottom of the base is marked: BY SAMA & ETANI.; The back of the instrument has a chart for converting temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit and a periodic table of the chemical elements. The bottom right corner of the back is marked: © 1968 CONCISE INTERNATIONAL CO. LTD. The left edge is marked: DESIGNED BY SAMA & ETANI, INC., GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS 01450, U.S.A. (/) MADE IN JAPAN BY CONCISE MODEL 600.; A rectangular plastic card fits inside a slot in the base. The card provides various conversion tables for energy, power, the Greek alphabet, velocity, volume, mass, force, length, and area. This side of the card is printed so that the card can be pushed out halfway from either side of the base, and the printed tables will appear right-side-up. The back of the card has tables for gas constant values and pressure, along with lists of mathematical formulas and chemical and physical data. One edge of the card is marked: ©1968 CONCISE INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. INSERT - ST.; The instrument fits in a rectangular black plastic case. There is no instruction manual, but the instrument likely was originally accompanied by a copy of: Sama & Etani, Reference Tables and Circular Slide Rule (Groton, Mass., 1969), http://sliderulemuseum.com/Manuals/M219_refC36_Concise_SamaEtani_ReferenceTables.pdf.; The donor, Glenn Matlack, purchased this slide rule in the fall of 1968 for his junior high school general science course at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Del. Sama & Etani designed and distributed several slide rules made by Concise. For other slide rules by Concise and the company history, see 1985.0636.02, 1996.0141.01, and 2003.0012.01.; Reference: Accession file.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1968

maker: Concise

ID Number: 2006.0173.01
accession number: 2006.0173
catalog number: 2006.0173.01

This plastic rectangular instrument calculated the time required for different types of IBM punched card equipment to process given numbers of cards. The black side is for accounting machines, sorters, and collators.

Description: This plastic rectangular instrument calculated the time required for different types of IBM punched card equipment to process given numbers of cards. The black side is for accounting machines, sorters, and collators. The white side is for card punches, verifiers, and auxiliary machines. These machines were in use from roughly 1953 through 1959. The white side is marked: IBM; International Business Machines Corp. (/) 590 Madison Ave. New York 22, N.Y. (/) Patent Applied For. It is also marked THINK and MADE IN U.S.A. An instruction card is provided. A tan envelope is marked: IBM (/) MACHINE LOAD COMPUTER (/) AND DESCRIPTIVE FOLDER (/) Form 20-8704-1. No patent record was located.; Benjamin S. Mulitz, the donor, worked with punched card equipment and then with computers from 1940 until 1985. He used both Remington Rand and IBM products. He was employed by the U.S. government and then in the wholesale drug industry.; Reference: accession file.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1953-1959

maker: International Business Machines Corporation

ID Number: 2006.0174.02
accession number: 2006.0174
catalog number: 2006.0174.02

Relatively late in its history of making and selling slide rules, the Eugene Dietzgen Co. of Chicago began developing products that competed with the high-end slide rule lines manufactured by Keuffel & Esser (namely, model 4081) and Post (the Versalog).

Description: Relatively late in its history of making and selling slide rules, the Eugene Dietzgen Co. of Chicago began developing products that competed with the high-end slide rule lines manufactured by Keuffel & Esser (namely, model 4081) and Post (the Versalog). This two-sided, ten-inch wooden slide rule is coated with white plastic and has metal endpieces. On one side the base has LL02, LL03, DF, D, LL3, and LL2 scales, with CF, CIF, L, CI, and C scales on the slide. The top of the base is marked: DIETZGEN MICROGLIDE _TM DECIMAL TRIG TYPE LOG LOG CAT. NO. 1734.; On the other side, the base has LL01, K, A, D, DI, and LL1 scales, with B, T < 45°, T > 45°, ST, and S scales on the slide. The top of the base is marked: EUGENE DIETZGEN CO. PATS. 2,170,144 2,285,722 PAT'S PEND. MADE IN U.S.A. 020038. On both sides the right end of the rule has formulas indicating the functions represented by the scales. The glass indicator has a metal and black plastic frame; both edges are marked: DIETZGEN.; The rule fits in a black leather case with a metal clasp. A Dietzgen logo is on the flap—the letter D inside the letter E inside the letters Co. In 1959 Dietzgen introduced the Microglide line of slide rules, which featured Teflon-lined grooves on the base so that the slide moved more smoothly. According to Ian Lodge's estimated production figures, the serial number suggests a manufacture date for this object of 1962.; Dietzgen ceased the production of slide rules around 1972. The arrangement of scales corresponds to those depicted in a 1960 instruction manual for the "Dietzgen Decimal Trig Type Log Log Slide Rule," although the "Microglide" trademark is not mentioned. See 1986.0790.01 for information on the patents mentioned on the instrument. The indicator is Dietzgen's "framed full vision" type and is covered by U.S. Patent 2,634,912, issued to Clarence P. Davey on April 14, 1953.; The donor, Ed Severino, began his career as an engineer with General Electric Company in Schenectady, N.Y. After eight years, he left to teach mathematics and science at Mont [sic] Pleasant High School in Schenectady, where he became head of the Technical Department. The slide rule is of the type trainees used in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when Severino was director of his high school's General Electric Apprentice Training Educational Program.; References: Rodger Shepherd, "Some Distinctive Features of Dietzgen Slide Rules," Journal of the Oughtred Society 5, no. 2 (1996): 42–45; Robert K. Otnes, "Dietzgen Patents, Runners, and Log-Log Scales," Journal of the Oughtred Society 5, no. 2 (1996): 45–48; Ian Lodge, "Estimating Production Dates for Dietzgen Micromatic and Microglide Log Log Duplex Slide Rules," Journal of the Oughtred Society 21, no. 1 (2012): 26–32; Bruce Babcock, "Dietzgen Catalog Matrix," Journal of the Oughtred Society 5, no. 2 (1996), http://sliderulemuseum.com/Manuals/Dietzgen_CatalogMatrix_BruceBabcock1996_chart.jpg; Ovid W. Eshbach and H. Loren Thompson, Self-teaching Instruction Manual: Dietzgen Decimal Trig Type Log Log Slide Rule (Chicago: Eugene Dietzgen Co., 1960), http://sliderulemuseum.com/Manuals/Dietzgen_1734_Manual.pdf; "Your Dietzgen Microglide Slide Rule: Instructions for Care and Adjustment" (Chicago, n.d.), http://sliderulemuseum.com/SR_Library_Dietzgen.htm.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1962

maker: Eugene Dietzgen Company

ID Number: 2006.0230.01
accession number: 2006.0230
catalog number: 2006.0230.01

This ten-inch mahogany duplex slide rule is coated with white celluloid. There are LL02, LL03, DF, D, LL3, and LL2 scales on one side of the base, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide. The right side of the slide is marked in red: © (/) K + E.

Description: This ten-inch mahogany duplex slide rule is coated with white celluloid. There are LL02, LL03, DF, D, LL3, and LL2 scales on one side of the base, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide. The right side of the slide is marked in red: © (/) K + E. On the other side of the base, there are LL01, L, K, A, D, DI, and LL1 scales, with B, T, ST, and S scales on the slide. The left end of the slide is marked: 410923. The left end of the top and the bottom of the base are both marked: 923. The indicator is glass, with white plastic edges held together with metal screws. Keuffel & Esser used this arrangement of scales from 1954 to 1962.; The top edge of the rule is marked: PATS. PEND. MADE IN U.S.A. 4080-3 LOG LOG DUPLEX TRIG ® COPYRIGHT 1947 BY KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. PATS. 2,500,460 2,168,056 2,170,144 2,285,722 2,422,649. These patents were issued between 1939 and 1950. They dealt with the arrangement of scales on a slide rule, in particular so that the user could solve multistep problems without having to write down intermediate settings, and with the placement of a legend to make placing the decimal point easier.; The rule fits into an orange leather case lined with chamois, which is marked on the flap: K + E. The case fits inside a green cardboard box, which has been completely wrapped in masking tape. See 2007.0181.01.01 for documentation received in the box. A label on the end of the box is marked: K + E (/) 68 1215 (/) LOG LOG DUPLEX DECITRIG (/) SLIDE RULE (/) WITH LEATHER CASE. The label is also marked: OLD (/) 4081-3S. The S indicates the sewn leather case. K&E's model 4081 differed from the 4080 in that the trigonometric scales were given in degrees and decimals of a degree instead of in degrees and minutes. In 1962, the model numbers were changed and given the prefix "68," and the ST scale was changed to an SRT scale. The 4080 with a sewn leather case would have been model 68-1318 in the new system. Thus, the rule was made before 1962 and the box was made after 1962. The serial number on the rule is consistent with a manufacturing date in the late 1950s.; The donor, Marvin Coolidge, reported that he purchased this rule in the fall of 1963 for use in a one-year slide rule course during college. He subsequently enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he was trained in electronics repair, a field that did not require use of this slide rule.; References: Carl M. Bernegau, "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 2,168,056 issued August 1, 1939); Lyman M. Kells, Willis F. Kern, and James R. Bland, "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 2,170,144 issued August 22, 1939); Lyman M. Kells, Willis F. Kern, and James R. Bland, "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 2,285,722 issued June 9, 1942); James R. Bland, "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 2,422,649 issued June 17, 1947); Herschel Hunt, "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 2,500,460 issued March 14, 1950); K + E Catalog, 42nd ed. (New York: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1954), 279; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules, Catalog 8 (Hoboken, N.J., 1962), 8-17; Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4081-3 Family of Slide Rules: 4080-3 & 4081-3 Family Groups," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEModels/ke4081-3family.htm; Walter Shawlee II, Ted Hume, and Paul Ross, "Keuffel & Esser Co. Slide Rules," Sphere Research Corporation, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/ke-sliderule.html.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1954-1962

maker: Keuffel & Esser Co.

ID Number: 2007.0181.01
accession number: 2007.0181
catalog number: 2007.0181.01

This paper circular rule consists of two paper discs, a celluloid indicator, and a metal screw that holds everything together.

Description: This paper circular rule consists of two paper discs, a celluloid indicator, and a metal screw that holds everything together. Going out from the center of the rotating discs, there are scales of versed sines [3 yellow circles labeled from 3 to 80 degrees—the versed sine of an angle x is (1 - sin x)], the fifth power of N (5 white circles labeled from 1 to 9.5), tangents (3 yellow circles labeled from 5 degrees through 84 degrees), N cubed (three white circles labeled from 1 through 9.5), sines (two circles labeled from 6 to 84 degrees), N squared (two circles labeled from 1 to 95), secants (one yellow circle labeled from 10 degrees to 84 degrees), and a logarithmic B scale running from 1 to 10. On the base disc is a logarithmic A scale, running from 1 to 10, and an equally divided scale for finding logarithms that runs from 0 to 10. THoles in the base make it easier to rotate the disc.; The base disc is marked around the edge: SEXTON'S OMNIMETRE; COPYRIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES 1896. ENTERED AT STATIONERS HALL LONDON FOR INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT 1896; NUMERI MUNDUM REGUNT; ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF THE PARLIAMENT OF CANADA IN THE YEAR 1896 BY THADDEUS NORRIS, ENLARGED AND REVISED EDITION. The smaller disc is marked near the center: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (/) PATENT 1895 U.S. CANADA & EUROPE. The back of the instrument is engraved: THEO. ALTENEDER & SONS (/) PHILADELPHIA. DANKERS is handwritten near the center of the back.; Albert Sexton was a resident of Philadelphia who, according to his own account, read a lecture delivered by Colman Sellers at the Franklin Institute on 20 May 1891. Although the subject of the lecture was the utilization of the power of Niagara Falls, Sellers also mentioned the advantages of the slide rule. Intrigued by these comments, Sexton began to acquire slide rules. He concluded that a less expensive, more complete instrument was needed, and he designed one. When he provided samples to gentlemen visiting a local steam engine manufacturer, Southwark Foundry and Machine Company, he found they were most interested. Arthur Marichal, a Belgian civil engineer, wrote on his sample “Sexton’s Omnimetre” and added the Latin phrase “Numeri Mundum Regunt.” Sexton adopted both the name and the motto.; With the assistance of Philadelphia resident Thaddeus Norris, Sexton introduced several versions of his instrument, including the most complete form, which is represented by this object. Sexton (and Norris posthumously) received the John Scott Medal of the Franklin Institute on 4 January 1899. The instrument was manufactured by the Philadelphia firm of Theodore Alteneder & Sons. The different forms sold for $1.00 to $3.00 around 1900, and this version sold for $4.00 by 1940.; The donor acquired this example in 1938, when he joined the U.S. Navy’s Preliminary Ship Design Branch. He used it in the design of ships from PT boats to aircraft carriers, until his retirement in 1968.; References: Peggy A. Kidwell, "Computing Devices, Mathematics Education and Mathematics: Sexton's Omnimetre in Its Time," Historia Mathematica 36 (2009): 395–404; Thaddeus Norris, "Marker for Slide-Rules" (U.S. Patent 540,184 issued May 28, 1895).
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1938

maker: Theodore Alteneder and Sons

ID Number: 2008.3041.01
nonaccession number: 2008.3041
catalog number: 2008.3041.01

This ten-inch aluminum duplex linear slide rule is coated with Pickett's distinctive "eye saver" yellow coloring. The magnifying indicator is made of nylon (the "N" in the model number) with white plastic sides.

Description: This ten-inch aluminum duplex linear slide rule is coated with Pickett's distinctive "eye saver" yellow coloring. The magnifying indicator is made of nylon (the "N" in the model number) with white plastic sides. The front top of the base has two extended square root scales and K and A scales. The front bottom of the base has D, DI, and three extended cube root scales. The front of the slide has B, ST, S, two extended T, CI, and C scales. The left of the slide is marked: PickETT (/) MODEL N 3-ES (/) POWER LOG EXPONENTIAL (/) LOG LOG DUAL BASE. The right of the slide is marked: ALL METAL (/) SLIDE RULES (/) PickETT (/) MADE IN U.S.A. The red printing on the front of the rule has faded considerably.; The back top of the base has LL0, LL1, and DF scales. The back bottom of the base has D, LL2, and LL3 scales. The back of the slide has CF, CIF, Ln, L, CI, and C scales. The left of the slide is marked: COPYRIGHT 1960© (/) PATENT APPLIED FOR. The right of the slide bears the third Pickett logo on the instrument. The burgundy leather case is partially lined with blue velvet to protect the magnifier and has another logo (in gold) below the slot for the case's flap. The back of the case has a ring on the back for a belt strap, but the strap is missing.; This example of Model N3 was owned and used by the mathematician and theoretical computer scientist, Harley Flanders. It is identical to 1980.0097.01 except for its color and magnifying indicator. Pickett switched from glass to nylon indicators in 1958 and used this logo from 1964 to 1975. Pickett also moved from Alhambra, Calif., to Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1964. The mention on the instrument of a patent application may refer to a patent for a case issued to John W. Pickett in 1960. Pickett was the son of company founder Ross C. Pickett and served as president from 1957 to 1967. For early company history, see 1979.0601.02.; References: Peter M. Hopp, "Slide Rule Scales," Slide Rules: Their History, Models, and Makers (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 1999), 285–287; International Slide Rule Museum, "Pickett All-Metal Slide Rules," http://sliderulemuseum.com/SR_Dates.htm#Pickett; John W. Pickett, "Slide Rule Case" (U.S. Patent D187,632 issued April 5, 1960).
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1965
date received: 2009

user: Flanders, Harley
maker: Pickett Industries

ID Number: 2009.0019.01
accession number: 2009.0019
catalog number: 2009.0019.01

Numerous slide rule manufacturers also sold rules made by other companies.

Description: Numerous slide rule manufacturers also sold rules made by other companies. For instance, the German pencil-manufacturer Staedtler, which used the trade name Mars for slide rules, marketed this ten-inch bamboo rule coated with white plastic and held together with metal L-shaped endpieces. Staedtler's own rules had distinctive light blue slides, but this rule is entirely white. It was made as model 151 between about 1960 and 1972 by the Japanese firm known as San-Ai Measuring Instruments and then as Ricoh Measuring Instruments. Several companies besides Staedtler sold these rules, including Lutz.; On one side, the base has LL/1, LL/2, LL/3, DF, D, LL3, LL2, and LL1 scales, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide. The right end of each scale identifies the meaning of the letters, i.e., the C and D scales are marked with an x. The right end of the slide has the company logo of a Greek soldier's head and is marked: STAEDTLER (/) MARS (/) 944 24. On the other side, the base has LL/0, L, K, A, D, DI, P, and LL0 scales, with B, S, ST, T, and C scales on the slide. The indicator is clear plastic with white plastic edges. The bottom edge of the rule is marked: JAPAN.; The rule fits in a brown leather case with a loop for attaching to a belt. The flap is marked: STAEDTLER (/) MARS. The back bottom of the case is marked: JAPAN. A blue and white cardboard box is marked on the end: STAEDTLER MARS (/) 1 BAMBOO SLIDE RULE 944 24 (/) Duplex Log Log 10". See 2009.0019.02.01 for instructions. Compare to 1986.0790.04.; The mathematician and theoretical computer scientist Harley Flanders received this instrument as a gift, but he never used it.; References: "A Modern Brand Rich in Tradition," Staedtler, http://www.staedtler.com/brand_with_tradition_gb.Staedtler?ActiveID=3049; David A. Davis, "Relay/Ricoh Archive," http://www.oocities.org/usra482b/page3.html; Peter M. Hopp, Slide Rules: Their History, Models, and Makers (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 1999), 213.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1960-1972

maker: Ricoh Measuring Instruments

ID Number: 2009.0019.02
accession number: 2009.0019
catalog number: 2009.0019.02

This black Bakelite instrument is held together with metal screws. It calculates the weight of metal required by a blacksmith, foundry worker, shopkeeper, or similar worker, given the dimensions and shape of a metal part to be produced.

Description: This black Bakelite instrument is held together with metal screws. It calculates the weight of metal required by a blacksmith, foundry worker, shopkeeper, or similar worker, given the dimensions and shape of a metal part to be produced. The top of the base has a logarithmic scale that gives the thickness of the part in inches. There are two slides. The upper slide has a logarithmic scale of widths (in inches) along its upper edge and a logarithmic scale of lengths (in inches or feet) along its lower edge.; The upper edge of the lower slide has two scales for possible metals, one for lengths measured in inches, one for lengths in feet. The metals are copper, brass, steel, cast iron, lead, aluminum, and water. The lower edge indicates the shape of the piece. The bottom of the base has a logarithmic scale that gives the weight in pounds.; The center top of the base is marked: WEIGHT SLIDE RULE. The bottom left corner is marked: Novotni (/) Slide Rule (/) Media, Pa. The bottom right corner is marked: Patented (/) Others Pending.; John L. Novotni (1893–1966), a blacksmith of Czech descent, is listed in the 1920 census as working in a foundry in Delaware County, Penn. In the 1910s, he worked at an automobile and wagon repair shop in Oaklyn, N.J., with Andrew W. Kelly and John Hornyak, who received a patent for this design in 1917 and sold it as the Kelkay Weight Slide Rule by 1920. By 1922 Kelly and Hornyak and Novotni were selling other celluloid rules, such as the Paper Box Board Rule. By 1929 Novotni was selling slide rules under the name of the Novotni Slide Rule Company and was having the rules made of Bakelite. In 1937, he moved to Media, Pa. According to Novotni's daughter, Evelyn Novotni Bond, steel companies continued to purchase the Weight Slide Rule until 1992.; References: Andrew W. Kelly and John Hornyak, "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 1,210,488 issued January 2, 1917); "The Kelkay Weight Slide Rule," American Blacksmith 19, no. 11 (August 1920): 290; Directions for the use of the Novotni Weight Slide Rule (Media, Pa., about 1920), http://sliderulemuseum.com/Manuals/M75_Novotni_Weight_Slide_Rule.pdf; "Firm Tailors Slide Rules to Specific Tasks," Steel 155 (1964); accession file.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1937-ca 1959

maker: Novotni Slide Rule

ID Number: 2009.0038.01
accession number: 2009.0038
catalog number: 2009.0038.01

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several American inventors strove to produce inexpensive slide rules. One of them was George Washington Richardson (about 1866–1940), who was born in the United States of British parents. He served as a chief electrician in the U.S.

Description: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several American inventors strove to produce inexpensive slide rules. One of them was George Washington Richardson (about 1866–1940), who was born in the United States of British parents. He served as a chief electrician in the U.S. Navy. Census records indicate that by 1910, he was living in Chicago with his wife, young son, and wife's parents and working as an engineer in a Chicago public school. Seeking to better himself, Richardson enrolled in an International Correspondence Schools (I.C.S.) course in electrical engineering in 1901, receiving his diploma in 1904. He copyrighted his first slide rule in 1903, began selling it in 1907, and advertised it in Popular Mechanics by 1909. Working with mechanical engineer John Jesse Clark, the dean of the faculty at I.C.S., he developed a range of slide rules and took out patents in 1911, 1912, and 1918. By 1920, Richardson sold his business to the Gilson Slide Rule Company, purchased an expensive automobile, and retired. He remained in Chicago until his death.; This roughly made 11-inch simplex slide rule has an aluminum frame that holds two pieces of a white celluloid base and a white celluloid slide. The top of the base has an A scale, the bottom has a D scale, and the slide has B and C scales. The A and B scales are logarithmically divided from 1 to 100, and the C and D scales are logarithmically divided from 1 to 10. Various letters are revealed in keyholes in the upper left and lower right corners of the base. These letters correspond to a conversions of units table on paper glued to the back of the rule. An aluminum indicator has a plastic window and is marked: PAT.PEND.; The top of the base is marked: GEO. W. RICHARDSON'S DIRECT READING SLIDE RULE. The bottom of the base is marked: ADDRESS : 4212, 24^TH PLACE, CHICAGO, ILL. The back has instructions and is marked: Copyright 1903 By George W. Richardson. The slide rule sold with an instruction booklet for $1.50 in 1909, and with a modified indicator for $2.00 in 1910.; References: Mike Konchak, "Geo. W. Richardson Rule Works," http://sliderulemuseum.com/Richardson.htm; Bruce E. Babcock, "George Washington Richardson's Direct Reading Slide Rules," Journal of the Oughtred Society 1, no. 1 (1992): 9–13; George W. Richardson, "New Slide Rule," Popular Mechanics 12 (October 1909): advertising section, 122; "Slide Rule for Mathematical Calculations," Popular Electricity and the World's Advance 2, no. 11 (March 1910): 774; George W. Richardson, "A Direct Reading [Slide] Rule," Modern Machinery 24, no. 12 (April 1910): 330–331; "Direct Readings from a Slide Rule," Practical Engineer 14, no. 8 (August 1910): 502; "Circles and Squares: Use of the Double Scale for Boiler Problems" Practical Engineer 14, no. 11 (November 1910): 701; George W. Richardson, "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 982,876 issued January 31, 1911), "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 1,021,484 issued March 26, 1912), and "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 1,260,454 issued March 26, 1918). On Richardson and Gilson, see also MA.316707.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1909

maker: George W. Richardson

ID Number: 2009.0038.02
accession number: 2009.0038
catalog number: 2009.0038.02

From the 1650s people have devised special-purpose slide rules for tasks such as carpentry and tax collection. In 1961 Danforth (Danny) W.

Description: From the 1650s people have devised special-purpose slide rules for tasks such as carpentry and tax collection. In 1961 Danforth (Danny) W. Hagler of the Georgia Iron Works Company in Augusta, Ga., designed this slide rule to replace the 100-page notebook of graphs carried by each GIW engineer. GIW also distributed the rule to customers to assist with ordering and operating pumps and pipelines. Pickett & Eckel, the California slide rule manufacturer, assisted with the design and produced the slide rules. For Pickett company history, see 1998.0119.02 and 2000.0203.01.; This ten-inch, two-sided white aluminum instrument has metal endpieces and a nylon cursor with white plastic edges. The front has logarithmic scales for calculating the kinetic energy and flow rate of a liquid or slurry moving through a pipeline. The top of the base is marked: HYDRAULIC SLIDE RULE (/) GEORGIA IRON WORKS CO. (/) EST. 1891 (/) AUGUSTA GEORGIA. The left end of the slide has a GIW logo. The right end of the slide has the triangular Pickett logo used between 1958 and 1962 and is marked: 338. The bottom of the base is marked: DESIGNED BY D. W. HAGLER.; The back has logarithmic scales for determining the head produced by a pump, impeller peripheral speed, brake horsepower, and specific speed. Standard C and D scales were added around 1969. The right end of the slide is marked: PICKETT (/) MODEL N 15-T (/) 337. The rule fits in an orange leather case with a belt loop. The front of the case is marked: HYDRAULIC SLIDE RULE (/) GIW (/) D. W. HAGLER (/) Pickett. The case fits inside a redwood box.; This particular rule was Hagler's personal example of the instrument in production. GIW was his family's business, and his brother, Tom, wrote an instruction manual for the rule (2009.0100.02). Hagler went on to work on computer software for production control. He sold his interest in GIW in 1986.; References: Helen Callahan, Georgia Iron Works: The First 100 Years (Columbia, S.C.: The R. L. Bryan Company, [1991]), 46–49; Michael V. Konshak, "Developing the Georgia Iron Works Hydraulic Slide Rule: Negotiating with Pickett & Eckel to Make a Special Slide Rule," Journal of the Oughtred Society 19, no. 2 (2010): 33–37; accession file.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1961
date received: 2009

maker: Pickett & Eckel, Incorporated

ID Number: 2009.0100.01
accession number: 2009.0100
catalog number: 2009.0100.01

The citation information for this 20-page stapled booklet is: T. W. Hagler, Jr., GIW Hydraulic Slide Rule Instructions [and] Formulas, rev. ed. (Georgia Iron Works Co., 1969).

Description: The citation information for this 20-page stapled booklet is: T. W. Hagler, Jr., GIW Hydraulic Slide Rule Instructions [and] Formulas, rev. ed. (Georgia Iron Works Co., 1969). Tom Hagler wrote this explanation of the slide rule designed by his brother, Danny, for the pump manufacturing firm owned by their family in Grovetown, Ga. The rule made it easier for the company's engineers to make calculations related to the flow of slurry in pipelines and pumps. See 2009.0100.01. The rule illustrated in this booklet, which has C and D scales, is a later version of the instrument than the example in the collections. The booklet also contains instructions for caring for the rule that presumably came from its maker, Pickett Industries (formerly Pickett & Eckel) of Santa Barbara, Calif.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1969
date received: 2009

maker: Georgia Iron Works Co.

ID Number: 2009.0100.02
catalog number: 2009.0100.02
accession number: 2009.0100

These three photographs relate to the hydraulic slide rule developed for calculations relating to pumps and pipelines at the Georgia Iron Works (2009.0100.01). A snapshot from 1961 shows the slide rule as it was first designed. A second image shows the designer, Danforth W.

Description: These three photographs relate to the hydraulic slide rule developed for calculations relating to pumps and pipelines at the Georgia Iron Works (2009.0100.01). A snapshot from 1961 shows the slide rule as it was first designed. A second image shows the designer, Danforth W. Hagler, in an office in the 1960s. The third, which is somewhat later, shows Hagler at the console of an IBM 1130 computer. In that photograph, an oversized version of the slide rule he invented is mounted on the wall.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1960s
date received: 2009

ID Number: 2009.0100.03
accession number: 2009.0100
catalog number: 2009.0100.03

In the mid-twentieth century, engineers designing slide rules often carried out extensive calculations by hand.

Description: In the mid-twentieth century, engineers designing slide rules often carried out extensive calculations by hand. The documentation for the Georgia Iron Works hydraulic slide rule (2009.0100.01) includes numerous pages of such calculations, as well as four blueprints showing the design of the rule. Correspondence between Danforth W. Hagler, who designed the slide rule, and officials of Pickett & Eckel Company, the manufacturer, is also included. The letters and drawings are dated 1961.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1961

maker: Georgia Iron Works Co.

ID Number: 2009.0100.04
accession number: 2009.0100
catalog number: 2009.0100.04

This one-sided wooden rule is faced with white celluloid and has a plastic indicator and metal endpieces. The base has A, D, and K scales; B, CI, and C scales are on the front of the slide, and S, L, and T scales are on the back of the slide.

Description: This one-sided wooden rule is faced with white celluloid and has a plastic indicator and metal endpieces. The base has A, D, and K scales; B, CI, and C scales are on the front of the slide, and S, L, and T scales are on the back of the slide. The back of the slide is visible on the back of the rule, but the back of the base has tables of equivalents instead of scales. So, the slide must be removed from the rule, turned over, and reinserted to use the S, L, and T scales with the A, D, and K scales. (There is, though, a hairline on the back of one endpiece for using the S, L, and T scales by themselves.) The tables of equivalents indicate how the slide should be set on the front to convert various units, such as centimeters to meters. The instrument fits in a brown synthetic leather case. The front of the base is marked: SR-105D CHARVOZ-ROOS MADE IN U.S.A. The back of the base is marked: ACU (/) DESIGN (/) PAT. PENDING.; Andre Charvoz (1892–1969) and his partners began to sell rebranded slide rules as well as slide rules assembled from parts in East Rutherford, N.J., around 1939. The company was called the Charvoz-Roos Corporation from 1946 until 1953, when it went bankrupt. The scales on the celluloid layers were apparently provided by the Acu-Rule Mfg. Co. of St. Louis, Mo., which either used Acu-Design as a brand name or as a separate business that supplied scales to other manufacturers. Acu-Rule's president, Wilfred Boos, applied for a patent on this rule in 1949 and received it in 1952.; References:; "Time Line for Charvoz-Roos Slide Rules," International Slide Rule Museum, http://sliderulemuseum.com/SR_Dates.htm#; Charvoz; Wilfred J. Boos, "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 2,594,897 issued April 29, 1952).
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1949-1953

maker: Charvoz-Roos

ID Number: 2009.3008.01
nonaccession number: 2009.3008
catalog number: 2009.3008.01

This ten-inch wooden one-sided rule is painted white. A, D, and K scales are on the base; B, CI, and C scales are on the front of the slide; and S, L, and T scales are on the back of the slide. The top of the base is marked in red: No. SR-104 CHARVOZ-ROOS MADE IN U. S. A.

Description: This ten-inch wooden one-sided rule is painted white. A, D, and K scales are on the base; B, CI, and C scales are on the front of the slide; and S, L, and T scales are on the back of the slide. The top of the base is marked in red: No. SR-104 CHARVOZ-ROOS MADE IN U. S. A. On the back of the base are tables of equivalents and settings that show where to place the slide in order to convert between various units, such as from centimeters to inches. There is no indicator. The instrument fits in a black paper case that was once coated with synthetic leather.; Brief articles in the New York Times indicate that the firm of Charvoz-Roos was formed in New Jersey in 1946 and apparently closed in 1953. See also 2009.3008.01. This company rebranded slide rules by other manufacturers and assembled slide rules from parts made by other manufacturers. This rule resembles a rule made by the Lawrence Engineering Service (1983.0042.01), but the tables on the back are like those based on National Bureau of Standards Circular No. 47 that Keuffel & Esser put on its rules from the 1920s to the 1950s. See 1984.1068.01. Although 1987.0184.01 is a painted wooden rule with these tables, the style of the letters and pi symbols on the scales are different from those on this rule.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1946-1953

maker: Charvoz-Roos

ID Number: 2009.3008.02
nonaccession number: 2009.3008
catalog number: 2009.3008.02

This one-sided, five-inch steel linear slide rule is painted white. The scales are not lettered, but on the base they are equivalent to A and D scales and on the slide they are the equivalent of B, CI, and C scales. The bottom of the base is marked: GUEDON. CAMDEN. NEW JERSEY.

Description: This one-sided, five-inch steel linear slide rule is painted white. The scales are not lettered, but on the base they are equivalent to A and D scales and on the slide they are the equivalent of B, CI, and C scales. The bottom of the base is marked: GUEDON. CAMDEN. NEW JERSEY. It is also marked: PATENT PENDING and MADE IN U. S. A.; The base has grooves along the top and bottom of both the front and the back. The front grooves hold a celluloid indicator with concave curves on both sides. The back grooves hold a piece almost as wide as the base that serves as a support for the slide. The slide is a narrower metal piece, hooked to the support at both ends. The front of the support has a table for converting fractions to decimals; on the back are scales of 12.5 cm, divided to millimeters, and of 5 inches, divided to 32nds of an inch. The rule fits in a cardboard sleeve coated with brown synthetic leather.; According to a letter in the Keuffel & Esser collection at the MIT Museum, the Guedon company was making rules of this type in 1943 and selling them wholesale for 50 cents.; Reference: International Slide Rule Museum, "Miscellaneous USA," http://sliderulemuseum.com/MiscUSA.htm.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1940s

maker: Guedon

ID Number: 2009.3008.03
nonaccession number: 2009.3008
catalog number: 2009.3008.03

The expansion of American engineering in the nineteenth century created a new market for aids to computation.

Description: The expansion of American engineering in the nineteenth century created a new market for aids to computation. The Swedish-born Philadelphia engineer, John William Nystrom (1824–1885), contributed to this movement by inventing a circular slide rule in 1848 and writing a pocket book of mathematical tables that was reprinted at least 21 times between 1854 and 1895.; This is the patent model for Nystrom's calculator. The surface is a brass disc that rests on three wooden feet. It has two graduated brass arms, pivoted about a central spindle, which may be clamped to any desired angular separation and rotated together. Glass magnifiers are attached to both arms. A small dial on the top of the central knob can be moved to record rotations of more than one full circle.; There are four unlabeled circles on the calculating rule, here called a, b, c, and d. They go from the outer rim inward. Circle b is divided into 20 equal parts. Subdivisions of these parts are represented by a series of parallel curves extending between the outer rim and circle b. These, in combination with scales marked on the rim of the arms, allow one to measure subdivisions of the distance between equal parts. The outermost circle (a) is a logarithmic scale ranging from 1 to 10 twice. A series of lines between the two outer circles give intermediate values, which are read from the rotating arms. The circle c, just inside b, is divided from 0 to 90 degrees so that the sine of an angle indicated is given on the outer circle a. The parts of the scale are unequal, with the tens value of degrees from 10 to 49 indicated by large digits. The innermost circle d is divided for finding cosines.; Nystrom promoted the device and solicited a manufacturer in the May 17, 1851, issue of Scientific American. By 1852, he offered the device at three price points, $10.00, $15.00, and $20.00. He was likely making the instrument himself. From 1864 to 1887, the Philadelphia firm established by William J. Young sold Nystrom calculators that were probably handcrafted by George Thorsted. It is unlikely that more than one hundred of these devices ever existed.; References: J. W. Nystrom, "Calculating-Machine" (U.S. Patent 7,961 issued March 4, 1851); Description and Key to Nystrom's Calculator (Philadelphia, 1854), http://history-computer.com/Library/Nystrom's%20Calculator.pdf; "Nystrom's New Calculating Machine," Scientific American 6, no. 35 (May 17, 1851): 273; "Nystrom's Calculating Machine," Scientific American 7, no. 36 (May 22, 1852): 284; John W. Nystrom, Pocket-Book of Mechanics and Engineering, 10th ed. (Philadelphia, 1867); Robert C. Miller, "Nystrom's Calculator," Journal of the Oughtred Society 4, no. 2 (1995): 7–13; Peggy A. Kidwell, "Nystrom's Calculating Rule," Rittenhouse 1 (1987): 102–105.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: before 1851

patentee: Nystrom, John William
maker: Nystrom, John William

ID Number: MA.252682
catalog number: 252682
accession number: 49064

This five-inch, one-sided cardboard linear slide rule has a metal cursor in the double-chisel style. (Compare to MA.318477 and 1977.0370.01.) There are A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on the slide. The A and B scales are divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 twice.

Description: This five-inch, one-sided cardboard linear slide rule has a metal cursor in the double-chisel style. (Compare to MA.318477 and 1977.0370.01.) There are A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on the slide. The A and B scales are divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 twice. The C and D scales are divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 once. A figure holding a club is shown in the lower left corner. A dark brown case of coated paper is included.; The figure on the slide rule was used by Gebr. Wichmann (Wichmann Brothers) in Berlin, a company founded in 1873. In materials, size, and scales, this instrument closely resembles model 466, shown in the 1910 catalog. However, the illustration in the catalog indicates that the maker's name, place of manufacture, model number, and price are printed on the front of the rule. This instrument does not have these marks, so it may have been made before 1910. The No. 466 slide rule sold for 0.75 marks and was one of the least expensive slide rules listed in the catalog. (Only model 469, with a C scale that began at pi, sold for the same price.); This instrument is signed on the back: W. F. Meggers. William F. Meggers (1888–1966) was a spectroscopist long associated with the U.S. National Bureau of Standards. He received his B.A. in physics from Ripon College in 1910, his M.A. in physics from the University of Wisconsin in 1916, and his Ph.D. in physics, mathematics, and astronomy from Johns Hopkins University in 1917. If he used this rule, it seems likely that he acquired it as a student. For a slide rule apparently acquired by Meggers in 1907 that was considerably more precise and more costly, see MA.335270.; References: Gebr. Wichmann, Anleitung zum Gebrauch des Rechenstabes (Berlin, 1910), 21; "Dr. Meggers Dies at 78," The NBS Standard 11, no. 9 (December 1966): 2–3.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: before 1910

maker: Gebr. Wichmann

ID Number: MA.293320.2820
accession number: 293320
catalog number: 293320.2820

The citation information for this paperback book is: William E. Breckenridge, The Polyphase Slide Rule No. N4053: A Self Teaching Manual, 3rd ed. (New York: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1944).

Description: The citation information for this paperback book is: William E. Breckenridge, The Polyphase Slide Rule No. N4053: A Self Teaching Manual, 3rd ed. (New York: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1944). According to Clark McCoy, this example comes from the first of two printings of the manual with the 1944 copyright date; the cover and first few pages were changed in the second printing, which was also marked with the K+E logo that was introduced in 1949. This example has the earlier K&E lion logo.; Breckenridge earned an A.M. in mathematics from Columbia University in New York City, was chair of the mathematics department at Stuyvesant High School around 1909–1910, served as an associate editor of The Mathematics Teacher from 1913 to 1928, and apparently also taught at Columbia. He first wrote this manual in 1924. It has 88 pages that describe the uses of slide rules and explain processes for making calculations and locating the decimal point. Breckenridge also discussed the history and theory of the slide rule before providing worked-out examples and exercises for readers to solve. There are also "advanced problems," material on plane trigonometry and triangles, and problems specific to certain occupations and tasks.; At the back of the book, there are advertisements for K&E's specialty slide rules, the all-plastic Ever-There line of slide rules, and surveying instruments such as transits. This manual was received with MA.321780.; References: Clark McCoy, ed., "The Polyphase Slide Rule No. N4053," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEManuals/4053-1944/4053-1944.htm; William E. Breckenridge, The Polyphase Slide Rule, [3rd ed.] (New York: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1944), http://sliderulemuseum.com/SR_Library_KE.htm.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1944

author: Breckenridge, William E.

ID Number: MA.304213.05
accession number: 304213
catalog number: 304213.05

This green hardcover instruction manual, lifetime guarantee certificate, and leaflet on "How to Take Care of Your Slide Rule" were received with MA.333923. The citation information for the manual is: Michael P.

Description: This green hardcover instruction manual, lifetime guarantee certificate, and leaflet on "How to Take Care of Your Slide Rule" were received with MA.333923. The citation information for the manual is: Michael P. Smyth, Analon Engineering – Science Analysis Slide Rule Instruction Manual (New York: Keuffel & Esser, 1967). A scan is found at "Keuffel & Esser, Specialty Slide Rules," International Slide Rule Museum, http://sliderulemuseum.com/KE_Specialty.htm. Smyth taught electrical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. The manual describes the Analon slide rule; defines dimensions, units, and dimensional analysis; suggests applications; and provides practice problems.; The certificate has model number S22-4. The model number for the leaflet about caring for a K&E slide rule is S14-5. The leaflet is small (4 X 3 inches) and was copyrighted in 1944, 1949, 1958, and 1962. Users were to clean the slide rule only with a moistened cloth. Instructions are provided for adjusting and aligning the slide rule.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1967

author: Smyth, Michael P.
publisher: Keuffel & Esser Co.

ID Number: MA.304347.02
accession number: 304347
catalog number: 304347.02

This one-sided, ten-inch wooden rule has a layer of white celluloid on the front side. It has unlettered A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on one side of the slide. The other side of the slide has lettered S, L, and T scales.

Description: This one-sided, ten-inch wooden rule has a layer of white celluloid on the front side. It has unlettered A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on one side of the slide. The other side of the slide has lettered S, L, and T scales. The bottom left corner is marked: QUOTIENT (/) +1. The bottom right corner is marked: PRODUCT (/) –1. The indicator is glass in a metal frame, with a circular scale and pointer on the right side of the frame for registering digits to be added or subtracted during the calculation. The top edge is beveled and has a 25-centimeter scale, divided to millimeters. A second scale, 27 centimeters in length, is on the front edge. Underneath the slide is a third centimeter scale, numbered from 30 to 55.; The bottom of the base is marked in gold: A. W. FABER. D.R.G.M. 98350 & 116832. A set of tables of equivalent measures printed in German on paper is glued to the back of the instrument. The rule is in a cardboard case covered with black leather. The case is marked: Rechenstab (/) von (/) A. W. Faber. Inside the case is written in pencil: Mit Anlistz (/) [illegible] 10 (/) R. C. Archibald. On the back of the inside is written in pencil: RCA.; A. W. Faber was a German company that began manufacturing slide rules in 1882 and introduced this form of instrument around 1894. German patent 116832 was issued to A. W. Faber in June 1899. The digit-registering cursor was added in 1905. Although there is no model number on this rule, it was sold as model 367 from 1905 to 1913. The firm was renamed Faber-Castell in 1905, although instruments continued to be marked "A. W. Faber" as late as 1913.; This slide rule reflects the rich intermixture of cultures that characterizes the American mathematical community. It was owned by Raymond C. Archibald (1875–1955), a Canadian born in Nova Scotia. He began his college education in Canada and completed a bachelor's and a master's degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Then, like several other late 19th- and early 20th-century North American mathematicians, Archibald traveled to Germany, spending the academic year 1898–1899 at the University of Berlin and 1899–1900 at the University of Strasbourg. He obtained his Ph.D. in Strasbourg in 1900 and may have purchased this slide rule near the end of this European sojourn. Archibald then returned to Canada, where he taught for several years before joining the faculty of Brown University in Providence, R.I., in 1908. He remained at Brown for the rest of his academic career. Archibald's wide ranging interests included the history of mathematics, the computation of mathematical tables and the development of computing tools. In 1943, he became the founding editor of the journal Mathematical Tables and Other Aids to Computation, a publication that included some of the first articles published about electronic computers.; References: Peter M. Hopp, Slide Rules: Their History, Models, and Makers (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 1999), 25–26, 41; Dieter von Jezierski, Slide Rules: A Journey Through Three Centuries, trans. Rodger Shepherd (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2000), 24; George Sarton, "Raymond Clare Archibald," Osiris 12 (1956): 4–34; Charles N. Pickworth, Instructions for the Use of A. W. Faber's Improved Calculating Rule (New York: A. W. Faber, [after 1900]), 36–40. This work is undated, but it refers to a prize awarded to Faber at the Exposition universelle held in Paris in 1900. The pages cited describe "a new form of A. W. Faber's calculating rule," the form of the slide rule catalogued here.

date made: 1900-1908

maker: Faber, A. W.

ID Number: MA.304722.02
accession number: 304722
catalog number: 304722.02

From the late 18th to the mid-19th centuries, British engineers began to use slide rules. This ivory and silver instrument is a four-fold engineer's rule that unfolds to a length of 24 inches.

Description: From the late 18th to the mid-19th centuries, British engineers began to use slide rules. This ivory and silver instrument is a four-fold engineer's rule that unfolds to a length of 24 inches. On half of one side is a slide rule with A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on the slide. The A and D scales seem to run continuously, although the slide only moves on the second six inches of the rule.; The words IRON and ROPE appear several times along the edge of the A scale. Along the edge of the D scale is marked: DESCRIPTION SQUARE CYL[I]ND[ER] GLOBE SQUARE CYL[I]ND[ER] WEIGHT STRAIN WORK INCLIN[E] POLYGON SIDE GOVERNORS H[ORSE]P[OWER] ENGIN[E]S STE[A]M TEM[PERATURE]. When the rule is folded, these markings correspond to the tables on the other half of the instrument.; The other half of this side has a table of gauge points for the A scale. Instructions printed on the rule suggest that calculations on the slide rule were intended to be made with calipers. Additional tables and instructions for working with ropes and chains are on this half, which is marked: IMPROVED & ARRANG[E]D (/) BY R^T HAWTHORN (/) CIVIL ENGINEER (/) NEWCASTLE TYNE.; The other side has a scale of 24 inches divided to eighths of an inch along the edge. The metal joint has a protractor divided in increments of 5 degrees and marked by tens from 0 to 180. When the instrument is folded around the joint, there are tables for the extreme strain possible in bars and beams of various substances and for equivalent measures. The joint is marked: G. R. STEPHENSON (/) ENGINEER (/) Adam Pensom.; In 1832 civil engineer Robert Hawthorn (1796–1867) designed a new form of slide rule for manufacturing locomotives and other engines. In 1859 dealers sold the rule for 5 shillings and 6 pence. The names on the joint may refer to the British civil engineer George Robert Stephenson (1819–1905), nephew to the engineer George Stephenson (1781–1848), who sought mechanical advice from Hawthorn's father, and to Adam Pensom (b. 1824), who was a retired gas engineer living in London, according to the 1881 British census. The Smithsonian acquired this object in 1973.; References: Robert Hawthorn, Instructions for the Use of the Mechanics' Sliding Rule (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1841), available online at http://www.physics.uq.edu.au/physics_museum/hawthorne/; "Mr. Robert Hawthorn," Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 27 (1867–1868): 590–592; advertisement by John Archbutt, The Mechanics' Magazine, n.s., 1, no. 10 (March 4, 1859): 486; Peter M. Hopp, Joint Slide Rules (Jeremy Mills Publishing: Lindley, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, 2009).
Location: Currently not on view

date made: after 1832

maker: Hawthorn, Robert

ID Number: MA.306697.01
accession number: 306697
catalog number: 306697.01

This sixteen-inch one-sided wooden slide rule has scales labeled A and D on the base. There are scales labeled B and C on one side of the slide, with S, L, and T scales on the other side.

Description: This sixteen-inch one-sided wooden slide rule has scales labeled A and D on the base. There are scales labeled B and C on one side of the slide, with S, L, and T scales on the other side. The A and B scales are divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 twice; the C and D scales are divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 once. The S scale runs from 0 to 80 degrees, and the T scale from 0 to 45 degrees. The L scale is divided logarithmically from 0 to 10. A scale of 40 centimeters is divided to millimeters on the front edge. A scale of 16 inches divided to 1/16-inch is on the other, beveled edge. The scales are all on white celluloid. A table of numerical ratios and equivalences is attached to the back of the rule. A frameless glass indicator was received with the instrument and noted during cataloguing around 1965, but it is no longer present.; The top of the base is marked in red: PAT. JUNE 5, 1900; KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. N.Y.; MADE IN U.S.A. The right end of the slide is marked in red: < 4045 >. The left end of the back of the slide and the left end of the centimeter scale on the base are both marked with a serial number: 46538. The file for the instrument records that the indicator was marked with a patent date of 8.17.15. Compare to MA.322761 and 1987.0634.01.; Keuffel & Esser first advertised the model 4045 Mannheim slide rule in 1906 and stopped selling it between 1936 and 1939. The date on the indicator suggests that this example was made after mid-1915. If the accession file is correct, the rule was given to the Smithsonian by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1923. However, the presence of a serial number and the lettering of the A, B, C, and D scales suggest a somewhat later date. (K&E began to assign serial numbers in 1923, and a serial number of 46538 indicates a date around 1925.) Additionally, the accession file records that the slide rule had the Signal Corps type number ML–40. According to the 1920 Storage Catalogue for the Corps, an ML–40 slide rule was a ten-inch polyphase duplex slide rule, graduated on both sides with a frameless glass indicator, specifically "Keuffel & Esser Co.'s No. 4088-3, or equal." Thus, it is possible that this example is not the slide rule received with the 1923 accession. There are no known discrepancies in the files for MA.318480 and MA.321778, the K&E model 4088-3 slide rules acquired by the Smithsonian before 1965, though.; References: Wayne E. Feely, "K & E Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 49, no. 5 (June 1996): 50–52, on 51; Ed Chamberlain, "Estimating K&E Slide Rule Dates," 27 December 2000, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/ke/320-k+e_date2.jpg; Signal Corps, Storage Catalogue (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1920), 29, 575.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1925

maker: Keuffel & Esser Co.

ID Number: MA.308201
accession number: 70852
catalog number: 308201

This ten-inch, linear one-sided slide rule has scales on the base labeled 3 and 2. On one side of the slide, scales are labeled 4 and 1. On the other side are scales labeled S and T and a scale of equal parts, which divides each inch into 50 increments.

Description: This ten-inch, linear one-sided slide rule has scales on the base labeled 3 and 2. On one side of the slide, scales are labeled 4 and 1. On the other side are scales labeled S and T and a scale of equal parts, which divides each inch into 50 increments. The 4, 1, and 2 scales are identical, divided logarithmically from 1 to 10 twice (like the A and B scales on a Mannheim slide rule). The 3 scale is graduated logarithmically once from 1 to 10 (like the C and D scales on a Mannheim rule, although the numbers on this scale are marked with superscript 2s; i.e. 2²).; Under the slide is a scale of centimeters numbered from 27 to 51 and divided to millimeters. The upper edge of the instrument is beveled and has a scale of inches divided to 32nds of an inch. The front edge has a scale of centimeters numbered from 1 to 25 and divided to millimeters.; There is also a brass clasp (detached at present) that holds three paper strips underneath the instrument, so that they may be pulled or fanned out for reference. Smith submitted this model when he patented this clasp in 1887. The strips contain 39 sets of formulas and conversion factors useful to civil engineers, including the weight and strength of materials and the power of engines and pumps. Smith copyrighted these strips in 1884 and 1886. See also his pamphlet, Smith's Slide Rule Formulæ ([New York, 1884]).; Rudolph Charles Smith of Yonkers, N.Y., received more than twenty patents for elevator components and slide rules from the 1880s to 1912. He apparently worked for Otis Brothers & Co., since many of the patents were assigned to that firm or to National Company of Illinois, which merged with Otis Brothers and other firms in 1898 to form the Otis Elevator Company. Elisha Otis started the company in 1853 as Union Elevator Works to sell his safety elevator. His sons, Norton and Charles, adopted the Otis Brothers name in 1864.; According to an order form dated January 1889 held by the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Smith's Patent Calculator sold in four forms. One had attached slips with formulae of interest to civil engineers, a second had formulae for marine engineers, a third had formulae for mechanical engineers, and a fourth was intended for "assayers, chemists, scientists, students." The instrument cost 50 cents with one set of attachments or 75 cents with all four sets. This example appears to be the instrument for civil engineers. An unsigned review of Florian Cajori's 1909 history of the slide rule criticized Cajori for ignoring Smith's contributions to popularizing the slide rule and educating Americans in its use.; References: Rudolph C. Smith, "Attachment for Calculating Scales" (U.S. Patent 357,346 issued February 8, 1887), "Slide-Rule for Logarithmic Calcuations" (U.S. Patent 450,640 issued April 21, 1891), "Calculating-Scale" (U.S. Patent 592,067 issued October 19, 1897), "Calculating-Scale" (U.S. Patent 746,888 issued December 15, 1903), "Calculating-Scale" (U.S. Patent 1,014,344 issued January 9, 1912); Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents for the Year 1891 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1892), 339; Practical Applications of Smith's Electro-Calculator (New York, 1894); R. C. Smith, The International Book of Shorthand Computation ([New York, 1900]); "Elevator Trust Sued," New York Times, March 8, 1906; review of A History of the Logarithmic Slide Rule and Allied Instruments by Florian Cajori, Mines and Minerals 30, no. 12 (July 1910): 740.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1887

maker: Smith, Rudolph C.

ID Number: MA.308973
catalog number: 308973
accession number: 89797

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Index by Purpose

Concise 600 Science Tables and Circular Slide Rule

IBM Machine Load Computer Slide Rule

Dietzgen 1734 Decimal Trig Log Log Duplex Slide Rule

Keuffel & Esser 68-2047 Log Log Duplex Decitrig Slide Rule

Sexton's Omnimetre Circular Slide Rule

Pickett N3-ES Duplex Slide Rule

Ricoh Duplex Slide Rule Sold by Staedtler-Mars (944-24)

Novotni Weight Slide Rule

Richardson Direct Reading Slide Rule

Pickett N15-T Hydraulic Duplex Slide Rule for Georgia Iron Works

Instruction Manual for Georgia Iron Works Hydraulic Slide Rule

Three Photographs Related to the GIW Hydraulic Slide Rule

Documentation Relating to GIW Hydraulic Slide Rule

Charvoz-Roos SR-105D Simplex Slide Rule

Charvoz-Roos SR-104 Simplex Slide Rule

Guedon Pocket Simplex Slide Rule

Patent Model for Circular Slide Rule Invented by John W. Nystrom

Gebr. Wichmann Mannheim Simplex Slide Rule

Keuffel & Esser N4053 Polyphase Slide Rule Manual

Keuffel & Esser Analon Slide Rule Instruction Manual and Related Documentation

A. W. Faber Mannheim Simplex Slide Rule

Hawthorn's Mechanics' Slide Rule

Keuffel & Esser 4045 Mannheim Simplex Slide Rule

Patent Model for Simplex Slide Rule Clasp Invented by Rudolph C. Smith