This small stylus-operated non-printing adding machine has seven chains in parallel columns. The links visible in each column are numbered from 1 to 9. A stylus is placed in a link of the chain and pulled down to enter a digit. Above the columns are seven windows to show results On the right is a knob which may be intended for zeroing. The device sits in a small steel stand that has four rubber feet. The stylus is missing.
The machine is marked on the bottom: PATENTED MARCH 1ST 1904 - MARCH 27TH 1906. (/) UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN PATENTS PENDING. It is marked on the left side: No. 8445 (/) AUTOMATIC ADDING MACHINE CO. (/) NEW YORK U.S.A. It is marked on the stand: GEM. A paper tag has Felt & Tarrant adding machine collection number 37.
According to U.S. Census records, Abraham Isaac Gancher was born in Russia of Russian parents in about 1875. He came to the United States in 1892 and initially worked as a leather salesman. He and his wife, Rebecca Gancher, mariied in 1899. Gancher became interested in adding machines a few years later. He was active in the Automatic Adding Machine Company through at least 1918. Nobyoshi A. Kodama, who took out early patents used in the GEM, had pulled out of the picture by 1908.
Compare to 1981.0935.01.
Gancher went on to patent and sell a printing adding machine that was also sold by Automatic Adding Machine as the Gancher. See U.S. patents 1047199 (1912) and 1178227 (1916).
References:
Ads in Scientific American, vol. 95, October, 1906, p. 314; vol. 96, March 2, 1907, p. 203; and vol. 96, Mar. 30, 1907.
Nobyoshi A. Kodama, “Automatic Adding and subtracting Apparatus,” U.S. Patent 783,586, March 1, 1904. Kodama was a subject of the Emperor of Japan living in New York City, New York. He assigned half of the patent to Rebecca Gancher of New York, N.Y.
Nobyoshi A. Kodama and Abraham I. Gancher, “Adding-Machine,” U.S. Patent 816,342, March 27, 1906. Kodama was a subject of the Mikado of Japan. Both he and Gancher, a U.S. citizen, were living in Manhattan, New York. The patent was assigned to Automatic Adding Machine Company of New York, N.Y.
Abraham I. Gancher and Albert T. Zabriskie, “Adding-Machine,” U.S. Patent 847,759, March 19,1907. This patent describes the stand. It was assigned to Automatic Adding Machine Company of New York, N.Y.
Abraham I. Gancher, “Adding-Machine,” U.S. Patent 1015307, January 31, 1912.
Norman Klein, "40,000 Words on Post Card? It's Easy, Says Champion," New York Evening Post, Friday, December 23, 1932. The article gives information about Abraham Gancher.
The Burroughs Adding Machine Company, long a manufacturer of full-keyboard adding machines, faced stiff competition from less expensive ten-key adding machines. In response, in 1954 they introduced their own versions of the machine, based on the British Summit. This is a prototype, designed for British currency.
The manually operated printing machine accepts nine-digit entries and prints nine-digit totals. The gray metal machine has 11 white plastic keys in a block, numbered from 1 to 11. There also is a white zero bar and a white key labeled with a pound sterling symbol. There are 4 brown function keys right of the digit keys that are labeled ST, T, -, and R. The place indicator is in back of the keyboard and the printing mechanism, with 2-1/4” carriage, behind this. The ribbon is black. A lid lifts off the top for access to the ribbon and printing mechanism. The top part of a wheel is exposed through the case to allow one to advance the paper tape. A serrated edge assists in tearing off the paper tape.
The machine is marked in back of the keyboard: Burroughs. A red tag attached to the object reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #330. A metal tag attached to the object reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation.
Burroughs sold ten-key adding machines through at least 1965.
Compare to Summit adding machines 1982.0794.76 and 1982.0794.77, and Burroughs adding machine 1982.0794.85.
This full-keyboard printing electric adding machine adds numbers with as many as 13 digits and prints 13-digit results. It is tan and brown and has 13 columns of square plastic digit keys, with nine keys in each column. There also are five function keys and bars labeled “+” and “-”. The sides, front, and back of the case are missing. A narrow printing mechanism at the top of the machine has a ribbon and paper tape. It has 15 type bars. The first two print special characters and the rest print digits.
The machine is marked: Burroughs P 402 Elec. (/) A9103-20 (/) Date-Count-Normal (/) Rack #E Shelf 2. It is model #282 from the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
This ten-key printing manual adding machine has an black iron and glass frame with a steel keyboard painted green. Two rows of white plastic number keys are marked with digits and their complements (complements are in red). One could punch the digits of a number without setting the place of the first digit. Numbers with up to nine digits could be entered. The five red function keys read designate, eliminate, repeat, total, and correction. A place for a crank is on the right side, but no crank. The printing mechanism, with two-colored ribbon, is on the top of the machine. Apparently the machine does not print symbols. Nine-digit totals could be printed. The “nine-inch” movable carriage has a paper tape dispenser behind it, but no paper tape. The serrated edge above the platen for tears the paper tape.
A mark on the front reads: Dalton. A mark on a brass tag attached at the bottom front reads: Dalton (/) ADDING (/) MACHINE (/) CO. (/) POPLAR BLUFF,MO.U.S.A. This tag also reads: PAT. AUG. 1, 1899 NO. 630053 (/) REISSUE DEC. 27. ‘04 No. 12286 (/) PAT. SEPT. 24, 1912 NO. 1039130 (/) PAT. DEC. 31, 1912 NO. 1049057 (/) PAT. DEC. 31, 1912 NO. 1049093 (/) OTHER PATENTS PENDING. A metal tag attached at the bottom on the back reads: NO 17946.
The Dalton adding machine grew out of patents of Indiana-born St. Louis machinist Hubert Hopkins (b. 1859) and Chicago inventor Harry H. Helmick. Attempts to patent and manufacture a machine began in St. Louis in 1902. After complex business dealings, including intervention from other adding machine manufacturers, James L. Dalton (1866-1926) acquired exclusive rights to manufacture machines under the Hopkins patents. In late 1903 Dalton and his associates founded the Adding Typewriter Company of St. Louis (later the Dalton Adding Machine Company). By 1912 the firm was established in Dalton’s home town of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. This machine was made there. In 1914, the company moved to Norwood, Ohio, near Cincinnati.
Reference:
P. A. Kidwell, “The Adding Machine Fraternity at St. Louis: Creating a Center of Invention, 1880-1920.” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 22 #2 (April-June 2000): pp. 14-15.
This full-keyboard printing electric adding machine has a dark brown metal case and square plastic key covers. An operating bar is on the right, next to a column of function keys, and a column of 1/8 to 7/8 fraction keys. The next two columns contain a total of 15 keys, numbered from 1 to 15. There are then seven columns of digit keys, with nine keys in each column. The narrow carriage at the top of the machine has a serrated edge for tearing the paper tape. The paper tape, paper tape holder, and handle are separate.
The machine is marked on the front: Burroughs. A red tag attached to it reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #281. A metal tag attached at the lower front reads: D3555.
This adding machine has an iron frame with glass sides, back, and top. Across the front are ten plastic-covered keys. The operating crank is on the right side. The number entered appears in one window under the glass, and the total in another window. Decimal points and commas are represented by painted arrows. There is a zeroing lever on the left side. The machine does not print. The machine is marked: AUSTIN. It is also marked: Austin Adding Machine (/) Baltimore. U.S.A. A tag attached to the base on the inside of the machine toward the back is stamped with the serial number: A-1224.
The donor acquired this machine in the early 1960s from a veterinarian’s office, where it had remained after the doctor passed away in the early 1930s.
References:
Sydney B. Austin, “Adding, Subtracting and Multiplying Machine,” US Patent 1,034565, August 6, 1912.
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, p. 267.
This is one of the oldest surviving key-driven adding machines. Victor Schilt, a little-known clock maker from the Swiss canton of Solothurn, sent it for exhibition at the first of the great world’s fairs, the Crystal Palace Great Exhibition held in London in 1851. The entry received an honorable mention, and Schilt reportedly received an order for 100 machines, which he declined to fill.
The front, top and mechanism of the machine are steel, and the case is wood. The plate and zeroing knobs on the top and the nine digit keys across the front are made of brass. The machine adds numbers up to 299. Only one-digit numbers may be entered. The result is visible in a window in the plate. The plate is marked: V. Schilt (/) Mechaniker in Solothurn.
The Schilt machine closely resembles an adding machine patented in France in 1844 and sold by Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué and his son Charles. Schilt had worked for the elder Schwilgué before building his machine. Schilt’s machine was part of the collection of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company, and was given to the Smithsonian by the successor to that firm, Victor Comptometer Corporation.
References:
J. A. V. Turck, Origin of Modern Calculating Machines, Chicago: Western Society of Engineers, 1921.
Denis Roegel, “An Early (1844) Key-Driven Adding Machine,” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 30 #1 (January-March 2008), pp. 59-65.
Denis Roegel, "An Overview of Schwigué's Patented Adding Machines," Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society, 126 (September 2015), pp. 16-22.
This full-keyboard, printing adding machine has a steel frame painted black and green There are eight columns of color-coded black and white metal keys with digits written on paper and covered with clear plastic (the keys resemble those on early typewriters). Complementary digits are indicated on the keys. The total appears in eight glass-covered metal windows over number dials at the front of the machine. There are total and non-add keys left of the number keys and a repeat key on the right. The total key also clears the machine. A metal crank with a wooden handle on the right of the machine operates it. Behind the keyboard is a two-colored ribbon, printing mechanism, and fixed narrow carriage. There are nine type bars, eight for digits and one for special characters. There is a serrated edge for tearing off the paper tape.
The machine is marked on the front and behind the keyboard: VICTOR. It is marked on the back: PATENTED (/) JUNE 20,1919 - APRIL 13th,1920 (/) MFD. BY (/) VICTOR ADDING MACHINE CO. (/) CHICAGO, U.S.A. (/) OTHER PATENTS PENDING. The serial number, on a metal tag attached to the bottom of the machine, is 24843.
This adding machine was purchased in 1922 and used until 1982 by Samuel Bernstein in his capacity as Secretary-Treasurer of Wilner Branch 367 of Workmen’s Circle. Workmen’s Circle was a fraternal organization organized about 1900 to promote self-help among Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Mr. Bernstein was 95 years old when he relinquished his position.
This model sold for $100 in 1924.
References:
J. H. McCarthy, American Digest of Business Machines, 1924, p. 59, 543.
This model of a nine-key non-printing adding machine has a wooden base, plastic sides, and a metal mechanism and keys. A bar across the back is moved in differing amounts according to the key pressed (the nine keys across the front are depressed in slots of varying length and hence rotate the bar varying amounts). The bar, in turn, rotates a numeral wheel with the numbers 0 to 99 on it. There is a one-digit carry. Keys are marked with the digits from 1 to 9 (the 5 key is missing). There is no 0 key.
The arrangement of the result wheels is somewhat similar to that on the ten-key machine invented by Peter Lindholm and patented in 1886. However, the number of keys and arrangement of the keyboard is different. The plastic sides also mitigate against a 19th century origin. No patent model was made for this patent, although there were production models.
Reference:
Peter Lindholm, “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 343770, June 14, 1886.
By the mid-20th century, printing adding machines with a block of ten keys sold much more cheaply than full-keyboard machines. Mindful that it was losing sales, Burroughs Adding Machine Company of Detroit set out to manufacture its own ten-key machine. The Burroughs Patent Division acquired examples and blueprints of a recently introduced British adding machine, the Summit.
This manually operated machine has 11 white plastic keys numbered 1 to 11 (for Sterling currency), as well as a 0 bar. Four black keys are on the right and a correction key is on the left. A place indicator is above the keyboard and a printing mechanism behind it. This includes a paper tape 6 cm. (2 3/8”) wide, a black ribbon, and a serrated edge for tearing the paper tape. The rightmost type bar prints symbols. A metal cover fits over the ribbon and mechanism. Left and right wheels turn the tape and advance the paper. A place for a crank exists, but no crank is present. The machine allows one to enter numbers up to nine digits long and prints nine-digit totals.
The machine is marked on the front: Summit. It is also marked there: MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN. It has serial number: #1895. A red Burroughs Patent Department tag attached to the machine reads: #300. Compare to 1982.0794.76.
This full-keyboard printing electric adding machine has a tan metal case and plastic keys. The keyboard includes (going from left to right):
1. A column of 12 keys labeled with three-letter abbreviations for the months of the year.
2. Two columns of digit keys, each having the digits from 1 to 9.
3. One column of nine keys with abbreviations for various financial transactions such as BAL, J/E, C/R, and P/J.
4. Nine columns of digit keys, each having the digits from 1 to 9.
5. Two columns of function keys and bars.
The printing mechanisms are at the back of the machine. Nine of the fifteen type bars print the result. The other six indicate dates and special characters.
The machine is marked on the back: Burroughs. A red paper tag attached to it reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) 338. A small metal tag attached to the back reads: SERIES P (/) BURROUGHS CORPORATION. . . . The machine is marked on the front in pencil: Transfer totals. A metal tag attached to the object reads: DONATED TO (/) The Smithsonian Institution (/) by (/) Burroughs Corporation.
Rheinische Metallwaaren- und Maschinenfabrik Sömmerda Aktiengesellschaft
ID Number
1982.0794.75
maker number
168241?
accession number
1982.0794
catalog number
1982.0794.75
Description
This ten-key printing electric adding machine has a greenish gray metal case. Nine gray plastic numeral keys are arranged in a block, with the 0 bar below them. Three black keys are on the left, three black keys are right of the number keys, and a bar and key are on the far right. Above the keyboard is a place indicator and above this, a number indicator. The machine has a wide movable carriage at the back that would hold 13”-wide documents. An attachment can hold rolls of paper tape. A serrated edge is above the platen to tear off the paper tape. The motor is below the carriage and the paper tape holder. A black cord, with another cord plugged into it, extends from the back.
The machine is marked above the keyboard and on the carriage: Rheinmetall. It has serial number: 168241. It has a red tag attached to it that reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #298. This is a tag of the Burroughs Corporation Patent Department, the source of the machine.
The German firm of Rheinmetall Metallwaren und Machinenfabrik introduced a stepped drum calculating machine in 1924. In 1932 the company began making ten-key adding machines in several styles. This is a postwar example.
References:
Ernst Martin, Die Rechenmaschinen und ihre Entwicklungsgeschichte, pp. 370-372, 448-452.
Fédération Nationale des Chambres Syndicales de la Mécanographie, Fédération de Reprise officielle des Machines à Ecrire, Machines à Calculer . . ., Lyon, 1970, p. 81.
By the mid-20th century, printing adding machines with a block of ten keys sold much more cheaply than full-keyboard machines. Mindful that it was losing sales, Burroughs Adding Machine Company of Detroit set out to manufacture its own ten-key machine. The Burroughs Patent Division acquired examples and blueprints of a recently introduced British adding machine, the Summit.
This manually operated example of the Summit has a steel case painted gray, a block of 12 number keys (for the 12 digits in Sterling currency), four keys on the right, and a “COR” key on the left. The metal crank on the right has a wooden handle. A place indicator is above the keyboard. The machine allows one to enter numbers up to nine digits long and prints nine-digit totals. The printing mechanism with paper tape is at the back. The paper tape is 6 cm. (2-3/8”) wide, with a serrated edge for tearing it off. A metal plate at the top lifts off for access to the mechanism and the black ribbon. The machine has wheels on the left and the right to advance the platen.
The machine is marked on the front: Summit. It is also marked there: MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN. It has serial number: #1885. A red Burroughs Patent Department tag attached to the machine reads: #300.
This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine is in a gray steel case. It has ten white plastic number keys in two rows. These keys have complementary numbers for subtraction, and eight brown plastic function keys. The NON (/) ADD and MULTI-(/)PLY keys are left of the number keys, the BACK (/) SPACE and SUB-(/)TRACT keys are right of the number keys. There are TOTAL, RELEASE, and SUB (/) TOTAL keys on the upper right, and a correction bar on the left. There is a NON (/) PRINT key next to the black ribbon.
A place indicator is above the number keys. Above and behind this are the ribbon, 4” carriage, and paper tape holder. There is no paper tape, but there is a serrated edge for tearing the paper tape. The Dalton mark on the back has been painted over. A metal crank with wooden handle is on the right side.
The serial number given under the crank is: NO 174012. A label applied to the front and back of the machine reads: Eastern Typewriter Co. Office & School Supplies 109-111 W. Barnes St. Wilson N.C. Phone 4504.
According to a note in the divisional accession file, the object was salvaged from a garage in Fremont, N.C., about 1968.
This full-keyboard key-driven non-printing adding machine has a gray case. White and green plastic keys have complementary digits indicated on each key. Keys representing even digits are flat, and those representing odd numbers are indented. In front of these keys is a horizontal row of keys numbered from 8 to 1 going left to right. In front of these is a row of eight levers used as decimal markers for the result, which appears in a row of nine windows at the very front. The zeroing lever is right of the keyboard. In back of it is a red key.
The machine is marked on the top: Addicalco. It is marked on the front: H A*C*C*A MILANO (/) MADE IN ITALY. It is marked at the back of the keyboard with serial number: 49-003725. This is model #306 from the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.
The firm ACCA was founded in Milan after World War II and began manufacturing an adding machine called the Addicalco on the pattern of the model J Comptometer. This is a somewhat later version of the Addicalco, the model 49, from about 1949.
This small lever-set non-printing manually operated adding machine has a dark green metal case. Thelid opens to reveal 9 curved levers which are moved forward to set a number. Large digits beside the levers are for addition, small ones for subtraction. The nine red plastic keys across the top of the machine are for use in subtraction. A metal handle can be used to carry the machine when the lid is closed. A key locks the lid.
The machine is marked on the front: STAR ADDING MACHINE (/) MANUFACTURED BY (/) TODD PROTECTOGRAPH CO. (/) ROCHESTER, N.Y., U.S.A. (/) PATENTED NOV. 22 1921. OTHER PATENTS PENDING It has serial number on the bottom: 23341.
Compare to MA.323595.
According to Typewriter Topics, the lid was added to the Star in 1924. It served both to keep out dust and to allow the machine to be locked. That year, the device sold for $44. In April 1926, it was redesigned and put on the market as the Todd Visible.
References:
E. Martin, The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen), trans. P. A. Kidwell and M. R. Williams, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992, pp. 326-328.
Typewriter Topics, vol. 58, October (?), 1924, p. 77.
Business Machines and Equipment Digest, 1928, sec. 3-1A, p. 4.
This adding machine has a black case, with a green metal plate under the keyboard. It has nine black plastic digit keys arranged in a square with a “0” bar below. The digits are in white, with smaller complementary digits in red. There are red SUB (/) TOTAL and TOTAL keys to the left of the digit keys and a smaller red key to the right. Numbers of up to nine digits may be entered. Depressing the total key and the key on the right and bringing the lever forward clears the machine. At the front is a red key marked "E” that serves as a column indicator. Moving this key to the right eliminates digits entered erroneously. The metal operating lever, with wooden handle, is on the right side. Behind the keyboard is a glass window that reveals a row of nine plastic wheels that show the total. Behind these is a narrow carriage with a rubber knobs that carries a paper tape.
The Brennan was invented by Thomas Mehan and manufactured in Chicago in roughly the years from 1929 to1931. This was not a good time to be starting a business in the United States, and the Brennan Adding Machine Company soon folded. The rights to manufacture the machine were acquired by Remington Rand by 1932, and it soon began to manufacture a similar machine as its "grocer's special."
The machine is marked on the right and left side, with a stencil of an airplane: THE (/) BRENNAN. It is stamped on the bottom with serial number 4305.
The prior owner of the machine did not know where it was used.
References:
This machine resembles that shown in an advertisement in Typewriter Topics, vol. 74, March, 1930. p. 61. It has more function keys than shown in 1929 advertisements.
E. Martin, Die Rechenmaschinen und ihre Entwicklungsgeschichte, (1925 edition with later supplement), p. 457.
This ten-key printing manually operated adding machine allows one to enter numbers and record totals up to ten digits. It has a dark brown metal body with two rows of white plastic number keys. Both numbers and their complements are indicated. The handle, mechanism, and stand are metal, with a wooden knob on the handle and carriage handles covered with decaying rubber. In addition to number keys, there are backspace, subtract, non-add and multiply keys on the keyboard. A hand-motor lever is to the right of these. Above it are release, total, and subtotal keys.
Directly above the number keys is a place indicator. To its left is the correction bar. Above these is the printing mechanism (with a two-color ribbon) and carriage (about 10” wide), and a paper tape. On the right is the crank. The machine is on a metal base, with a metal stand with wooden kick stand. There is no motor or cord. The stand has one wheel at the center of the back and two wheels at the front.
The machine is marked above the number keys: Dalton (/) CINCINNATI, OHIO. It is marked on the carriage: Dalton (/) ADDING, (/) LISTING AND (/) CALCULATING MACHINE. It is marked under the handle: NO203986. The underside of the base is marked: 0100. It is also marked: 0230A .
Reference:
Office Machines Research Inc., section 3.21, 1937.
This is the second form of key-driven adding machine patented by Michael Bouchet (1827-1903), a French-born Catholic priest who came to the United States in 1853 and worked in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1860.
Bouchet was of an inventive turn of mind, devising automatic snakes to frighten his acolytes, and a folding bed and fire escape for his own use. He had considerable responsibility for the financial affairs of his diocese and, according to his biographer, as early as the 1860s invented an adding machine to assist in keeping these accounts. Of these devices, Bouchet patented only later versions of the adding machine, taking out patents in 1882 and in 1885.
His machine was used to add single columns of digits. Depressing a key depressed a lever and raised a curved bar with teeth on the inside of it. The teeth on the bar engaged a toothed pinion at the back of the machine, rotating it forward in proportion to the digit entered. A wheel at the left end of the roller turned forward, recording the entry. A pawl and spring then disengaged the curved bar, preventing the roller and recording bar from turning back again once the key was released. Two additional wheels to the left of the first one were used in carrying to the tens and hundreds places, so that the machine could record totals up to 99. Left of the wheels was a lever-driven tack and pinion zeroing mechanism.
This silver-colored example of Bouchet’s machine has a brass base and nine keys with plastic key covers (two of the key covers are missing), arranged in two rows. It is from the collection of computing devices assembled by Dorr E. Felt in the early 20th century It has serial number 229. Compare to 310230.
References:
Michael Bouchet, “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 251823, January 3, 1882.
Michael Bouchet, “ “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 314561, March 31, 1885.
Dan Walsh, Jr., The Stranger in the City, Louisville, Ky.: Hammer Printing Co., 1913, esp. pp. 49-70.
This is the second form of the key-driven adding machine patented by Michael Bouchet (1827-1903), a French-born Catholic priest who came to the United states in 1853 and worked in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1860. Bouchet was of an inventive turn of mind, devising automatic snakes to frighten his acolytes, and a folding bed and fire escape for his own use. He had considerable responsibility for the financial affairs of his diocese and, according to his biographer, as early as the 1860s invented an adding machine to assist in keeping these accounts. Of these devices, Bouchet patented only later versions of the adding machine, taking out patents in 1882 and in 1885.
The machine added single columns of digits. Depressing a key depressed a lever and raised a curved bar with teeth on the inside of it. The teeth on the bar engaged a toothed pinion at the back of the machine, rotating it forward in proportion to the digit entered. A wheel at the left end of the roller turned forward, recording the entry. A pawl and spring then disengaged the curved bar, preventing the roller and recording bar from turning back again once the key was released. Two additional wheels to the left of the first one were used in carrying to the tens and hundreds places, so that the machine could record totals up to 99. Left of the wheels was a lever-driven tack and pinion zeroing mechanism.
This example of the machine has a tin cover and a brass base and nine key stems arranged in two rows (the keys are missing). It was the gift of Mrs. Joseph S. McCoy, widow of Joseph S. McCoy, Actuary of the U.S. Treasury from 1889 until his death in 1931. McCoy and his predecessor, Ezekial Brown Elliott, were most open to inventions in adding machines. According to one of McCoy’s colleagues, the Bouchet machine was left in the office by the inventor in the year 1890 or thereabouts to be tried out. Bouchet did not return.
This machine has serial number 960. Compare to 323620.
References:
Michael Bouchet, “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 251823, January 3, 1882.
Michael Bouchet, “ “Adding Machine,” U.S. Patent 314561, March 31, 1885.
Dan Walsh, Jr., The Stranger in the City, Louisville, Ky.: Hammer Printing Co., 1913, esp. pp. 49-70.
Accession File.
“Joseph Sylvester McCoy,” National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 24: p. 382.