Burroughs Automatic Total Tax Machine, a Bookkeeping Machine

Description:

This version of the Burroughs Class 7 bookkeeping machine was designed specifically for calculating taxes and payrolls. It has a gray metal case. At the front are two sets of digit keys, one gray and one white, as well as several function keys on the left. These keys are in two rows. To the left is a key mounted so that the stem moves horizontally.

Behind and above the digit keys is a space bar and four rows of a QWERTY typewriter keyboard. The “uppercase” symbols are not conventional. Behind the typewriter keyboard is a lever that can be set for any of seven registers. At the center behind the typing keys is a lever that can be set at “INACTIVE” or at any number from 9 to 15. Behind this is a wide carriage and a complex mechanism. The motor is under the machine.

The machine has no stand.

Marks on the front and the back read: Burroughs. A red tag attached to the machine reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #203. A metal tag at the front of the machine has the serial number: A3857. This suggests a 1934 date. A mark on the gray plastic cover reads: Burroughs B. A mark on a white paper tag attached to the machine reads: For information (/) regarding this machine (/) see (/) H. Brown Room 587.

A card in the accession file indicates that this is a Style 72 07 22 machine.

References:

Accession file.

Price and Style Guide for Class 7 Machines, Burroughs Corporation Papers, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Date Made: ca 1934

Maker: Burroughs

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: Michigan, Detroit

Subject: MathematicsBusiness

Subject:

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Mathematics, Bookkeeping Machines, Science & Mathematics

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Gift of Burroughs Corporation

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1982.0794.38Catalog Number: 1982.0794.38Accession Number: 1982.0794

Object Name: bookkeeping machine

Physical Description: paper (overall material)plastic (overall material)metal (overall material)glass (overall material)rubber (overall material)Measurements: overall: 36.5 cm x 73 cm x 66 cm; 14 3/8 in x 28 3/4 in x 25 31/32 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-0d3d-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_690653

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.