These illustrated instructions describe the use of the Wizard adder in addition, in subtraction, in multiplication and as an aid in division. An example of the adder has number 1980.0787.01.
This black and gold-colored metal, comb-sized notched band adder has six columns above for addition and six below for subtraction. Ten notches of any one band appear only in addition, ten in both addition and subtraction, and ten in subtraction alone. The columns on top are crook-shaped to allow for carrying and those at the bottom in the shape of an inverted crook to allow for borrowing. Six holes in the middle show the result. Across the top is a zeroing bar. Leather case.
The firm of Carl Keubler produced adders under the name Addiator in Berlin (later West Berlin) from 1920 until the 1980s. This is one of three versions of the Addiator in the Smithsonian collections. According to the donor, an employee of Volkswagen of America in Chicago brought it to the United States.
Instructions stored with documentation.
References: Popular Science, vol. 172, March, 1958, p. 66.
Popular Science, vol. 178, January, 1961, p. 41.
Thorp & Martin Corp., Office Supplies and Equipment Purchasing Guide, Boston, 1968, p. 372.
P. Kidwell, Rittenhouse, 1994, 8:78-96.
Martin Reese, Historische Buerowelt, 43 (September 1995).
This notched band adder is made of steel painted black, gold, and white. It has a steel stylus and a brown leather case. The front of the instrument has eight columns of numbers with a band under each column. A hook at the top of each column allows carrying and a ninth band allows carrying from the eighth column. Sums as large as nine digits are displayed in round openings above the columns. On the back are eight columns of numbers for doing subtraction. A zeroing bar extends across the bottom of the back (the top of the front).
The firm of Carl Keubler produced adders under the name "Addiator" in Berlin (later West Berlin) from 1920 until the 1980s. This is one of three versions of the Addiator in the Smithsonian collections.
Reference: Martin Reese, Historische Buerowelt, 43 (September 1995).
This undated leaflet gives instructions for addition and subtraction using the Addiator, advertised as the “World’s Smallest Precision Adding Machine.” It was received with adder 1988.0807.04.
This stylus-operated steel notched band adder has seven crook-shaped columns and one straight one, with eight notched bands below. Eight windows show results, and a narrow clearing lever is at the top. A steel plate slides over seven columns in the shape of inverted crooks, as well as an eighth straight column. These are used in subtraction. Instructions accompany the instrument. Compare to MA.313629.
The TASCO pocket arithmometer closely resembles an adder sold by the Gray Arithmometer Company of Ithaca, New York, in the early 20th century and distributed by the Morse Chain Company of Ithaca in the 1920s. In 1929, the Morse Chain Company became part of Borg-Warner Corporation. Distribution of the adder soon shifted to the Tavella Sales Company of New York City.
References: P. Kidwell, “Adders Made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 8, (1994): pp. 78-96.
Advertisements in Popular Mechanics 83 (March 1945), p. 178, (April 1945): 180, and (May, 1945), p. 178. Popular Science 152 (January 1948), p. 34.
Utility Supply Company, Office Supply Catalog (Chicago, 1946), p. 285.
This patent model for an adder with mechanical carry has a wooden handle and circular base on which three concentric brass discs and a brass arm are mounted. The largest disc is glued to the base, and has the numbers from 1 to 99 indicated around the edge (there also is a blank space for zero). The middle and upper discs rotate about a central pivot, which has a smaller pin attached to it that holds the discs together. The middle disc is divided into 100 parts around the edge, with the parts numbered from 100 to 9,900 (again there is a blank division). The top disc has the numbers from 1 to 99 around the edge, as well as a blank. Next to each digit of the disc there is a small sunken tooth in the disc. A hole in the arm allows one to see numbers on the discs.
To use the instrument, one sets up thousands by rotating the middle disc. To add 1- or 2-digit numbers, one moves the arm counterclockwise so that it is over the desired number on the outer rim. Then, rotating clockwise back to zero, a spring-ratchet attached to the arm engages a tooth on the inner disc and rotates it through the number set up. (The spring-ratchet is missing from the model). According to the patent description, when the inner disc goes a full revolution, a carry mechanism advances the middle wheel one unit.
See U.S. Patent No. 11,726, issued September 26, 1854. There is an example of the instrument in the Home and Community Life collections. It's catalog number is 1978.0939.07.
”Aron” L. Hatfield (about 1818-1898) is listed in the 1850 US Census as living in Lewisburg, Union County, Pennsylvania. Born in Pennsylvania, he was 31 years old, had a wife and two children, and worked as a watchmaker. The 1860 Census lists an Aaron L. Hatfield, 40 years old, born in Pennsylvania and living in Green Springs, Sandusky, Ohio. He worked as an ambrotypist. No family is listed. The 1880 Census lists an Aaron L. Hatfield, 61 years old, widowed, and a watchmaker, who was living in Constantine, St. Joseph County, Michigan.
In addition to the patent for which this object is the model, Aaron L. Hatfield took out three other U.S. patents. The first, #103,327, was for an improvement in pruning shears, and was taken out May 24, 1870, when he was living in Clyde, Ohio. The second, #143,759, was for an improvement in pumps, and was taken out October 21, 1873, when he was still in Clyde. The third, #199705, was for an improvement in bag holders, and was taken out when he was living in Constantine.
According to an obituary in The Jeweler’s Circular and Horological Review, Hatfield died December 9, 1898, in Three Rivers, Michigan, where he was working as a jeweler and music dealer. By then he was living a secluded life above his store.
Reference: In addition to U.S. Census and U.S. Patent Office records, see “Death of Aaron L. Hatfield," The Jewelers Circular and Horological Review, vol. 37, December 14, 1898, p. 15.
The first American-made adder to enjoy modest commercial success was developed by Clarence E. Locke (1865-1945). A native of Edgerton, Wisconsin, he graduated from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa in 1892. Locke worked for a time as a civil engineer in Minnesota, and then joined his father operating a lumberyard in Kensett, Iowa.
This version of the device has a metal base with grooves for nine sliding metal rods that move crosswise. Each rod represents a digit of a number being added. Protruding knobs on the rods represent different numerals. The rods are held in place by metal covers, painted black, that extend over the right and left thirds of the instrument. When the device is in zero position, all the rods are in their rightmost position. Numbers are entered by sliding rods to the left, and the result appears in numbers immediately to the left of the cover on the right. The rods are color-coded to distinguish units of money. They lock when depressed, so that they will not slide if the instrument is tilted.
The locking mechanism, the color-coded rods, and the oval shape of the knobs on the rods are all improvements featured in Locke’s second calculating machine patent, taken out in 1905. This patent is not listed on the instrument. There is no carry mechanism. The instrument sits in a wooden box with no lid. The base of it is covered with red cloth.
The instrument is marked on the right cover: C.E. LOCKE (/) MFG. Co. It is also marked: KENSETT, IOWA. [/] U.S.A. It is marked on the left cover: THE (/) LOCKE (/) ADDER. It is also marked: PATENTED DEC. 24. 1901. This example came to the Smithsonian from the collection of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company (later Victor Comptometer Corporation).
References: C. E. Locke, “Calculating Machine,” U.S. Patent 689680, December 24, 1901.
C. E. Locke, “Calculating Machine,” U.S. Patent 779088, January 3, 1905.
Robert Otnes, “Sliding Bar Calculators,” ETCetera #11 (June 1990): pp. 6-8.
P. Kidwell, “Adders Made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 8, (1994): pp. 78-96.
This leaflet is printed in red and black on white. It includes a drawing of the computing device as well of drawings of several people using it. This is documentation for the adder with museum number MA.155183.25.
The first American-made adder to enjoy modest commercial success was developed by Clarence E. Locke (1865-1945). A native of Edgerton, Wisconsin, he graduated from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, in 1892. Locke worked for a time as a civil engineer in Minnesota, and then joined his father operating a lumber yard in Kensett, Iowa.
This version of the device has a metal base with grooves for nine sliding metal rods that move crosswise. Each rod represents a digit of a number being added. Protruding knobs on the rods represent different numerals. The rods are held in place by bronze-colored metal covers that extend over the right and left thirds of the instrument. When the device is in zero position, all the rods are in their rightmost position.
Numbers are entered by sliding rods to the left, and the result appears in numbers immediately to the left of the cover on the right. The rods are color-coded to distinguish units of money. They lock when depressed, so that they will not slide if the instrument is tilted. The locking mechanism, the color-coded rods, and the oval shape of the knobs on the rods are all improvements featured in Locke’s second calculating machine patent, taken out in 1905. There is no carry mechanism. The base of is covered with green cloth.
The instrument is marked on the right cover: C. E. LOCKE (/) MFG. Co. It also is marked: KENSETT, IOWA. [/] U.S.A. It is marked on the left cover: THE (/) LOCKE (/) ADDER. It also is marked: PATENTED DEC. 24. 1901 (/) JAN. 3 1905. This example came to the Smithsonian from the collection of L. Leland Locke.
The instrument resembles MA.323619, but it has green rather than red cloth on the bottom and has no surrounding wooden box. Also compare to MA.321327.
References: C. E. Locke, “Calculating Machine,” U.S. Patent 689680, December 24, 1901.
C. E. Locke, “Calculating Machine,” U.S. Patent 779088, January 3, 1905.
Robert Otnes, “Sliding Bar Calculators,” ETCetera #11 (June 1990): pp. 6-8.
P. Kidwell, “Adders Made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 8, (1994): pp. 78-96.
This round metal patent model for an adder with carry has a cylindrical case that contains two concentric rotating rings, each with the digits from 0 to 99 engraved evenly around the edge. The outer, lower ring, with digits representing hundreds, is slightly larger than the other ring. Atop these is a metal disc with two adjacent windows, which make it possible to see the digits on the discs below. On top of this disc is a flat ring with four spokes that hold it together. This ring is the size of the lower ring. This ring also has 100 divisions around the outside, which are engraved with numbers. There is a window at 1 that allows one to see the disc below. This spoke has a small knob for rotating it.
Rotating this ring so that a number on it is opposite a stop projecting over the ring adds the number to the total already indicated. When the inner ring advances past 99, there is a carry to the outer ring. There is also a knob on the bottom of the machine for advancing or zeroing the hundreds ring, as well as a strap for carrying it.
According to the 1870 US Census, Calvin J. Holman, age 39 (hence born about 1831) was a Massachusetts native who was living in Sylvania Township, Lucas County, Ohio. He was the proprietor of a mill, and had substantial holdings in real estate. Also in the household were his wife, Adelia, (age 35) and children Della (16), Delvin (14), and James (11). Holman is also listed in the 1880 Census as living in Toledo and working in “spring manufacture.” Living with him were Adelia, a daughter Emma S., 23 years old and born in Pennsylvania, a son Delvin J. (21), born in Wisconsin, and a son James H. (20), also born in Wisconsin.
In addition to this adding machine, Holman patented several inventions closely related to milling. These included an improved sawing machine (U.S. patent 40837, granted December 8, 1863) and a machine for sawing staves (U.S. Patent 51,896, granted January 2, 1866), both to Calvin J. Holman of Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin. Calvin J. Holman of Chicago was granted U.S. Patent 72639 (December 24, 1867) for a machine for sawing barrel heads. On May 29, 1877 he was granted a patent (#191428) for an improvement in vehicle springs, which may have led to his work in spring manufacture. There are several later patents granted to Calvin J. Holman or Calvin James Holman of Chicago, which also may be associated with this inventor. No record of him was found in either the 1860 or the 1900 U.S. Census.
This patent model for a circular adder has a wooden base that supports three concentric wooden rings and a central mechanism. The outer fixed ring is serrated around the outer edge. The 100 serrations are numbered in ink from 1 to 99 (the 0 serration isn’t numbered) on a paper ring glued to the surface of the ring. Inside this ring is a movable ring, with 100 upward-facing serrations around its edge. These are numbered on an adjacent piece of paper from 00 to 99. Inside this ring is a third fixed ring, serrated on the inside, and also carrying a numbered slip of paper numbered from 00 to 99.
Two wooden arms are mounted on a rotating wooden platform at the center of the instrument. The larger arm is designed to link to the two outer rings and the smaller one to the middle ring only. The machine has a carry from the tens to the hundreds place. It is intended to be used for adding columns of figures, two places at a time. The machine was patented by Elmore W. Taylor of Franklin, Indiana, in 1874.
Earlier, Elmore W. Taylor of Franklin, Indiana, took out patent 56464 for an evaporator (relating to furnaces) on July 17, 1866. Elmore W. Taylor of Detroit, Michigan, took out a patent for a card and picture holder in 1883 (#274052). Elmore W. Taylor of Johnson County, Indiana, married Maggie A. Toner on October 5, 1876. The 1880 US Census lists an “Elmer W. Taylor,” photographer, age 31, born in Michigan with parents born in New York, who was living in Detroit with Margaret A. Taylor, age 21, who was born in Indiana. Hence it seems likely that all three patents were held by the same inventor.
This patent model for an adder has wooden sides and a brass strip that covers the front, bottom, and back. The top of the instrument is curved at the front to the shape of two wheels that rotate inside it. A strip of wood between the wheels has the digits from 1 to 9 marked on it. Each wheel has the digits from 0 to 9 marked on it three times. A pin protrudes from the wheel between each digit, and each tenth pin is slightly longer than the others. The spacing of the digits is the same as that on the case. The large wheels are linked to two smaller toothed wheels at the back of the instrument. These wheels are marked with the numbers from 0 to 13, and are meant to move forward every time the large wheel passes a “10” pin, recording numbers that should be carried. There are no separate wheels for registering results.
A mark on the right side reads: Milton W. Hinkle (/)] INVENTOR (/) Memphis Tenn (/) 1877. Another mark there reads: 27-101.
Compare to Burns addometer (308911) and Ballou adding machine (309323).
There was a Milton Washington Hinkle Jr., born January 8, 1848, in Carrollton, Carroll County, Kentucky, with parents Jacob and Nancy Kennedy Hinkle. Whether this is the same Milton Washington Hinkle is unclear.
This machine was once in the collection of L. Leland Locke and was exhibited at the Museums of the Peaceful Arts in New York City.
References: U.S. Patent 200911, January 11, 1878. Munn & Co. attorneys for patent.
William Sumner Junkin, Minnie Wyatt Junkin, The Henckel genealogy. . ., New Market, Va., Henckel Family Association, 1964, p. 109.
Louis-J. Troncet patented this instrument in his native France in 1889, and it was published by Larousse. The American scientist Daniel Draper purchased this example in 1895 for $2.50. It came in a small notebook with a set of multiplication tables.
The Troncet arithmographe, like an instrument issued by the Russian E. Kummer in the 1840s, used flat metal bands with notched edges to represent digits. These bands were moved with the stylus to enter numbers. The instrument has seven crook-shaped columns that reveal the edges of eight notched bands. The crook at the top of each groove is designed to ease carrying or borrowing.
Eight holes below the columns, labeled “ADDITION”, show the results of addition problems. Eight holes above the columns, labeled “SOUSTRACTION,” show the results of subtraction problems. There is no zeroing mechanism. Troncet’s design was widely adopted by later manufacturers.
References: Mareschal, G., “Calculateur mecanique instante,” La Nature, 18 annee, 1890, pp. 307-308.
P. Kidwell, “Scientists and Calculating Machines,” Annals of the History of Computing, 12 (1990): 31-40.
P. Kidwell, "Adders Made and Used in the United States," Rittenhouse, 1994, 8:78-96.
This patent model for an adder with a single digit mechanical carry has a wooden base and a circular metal mechanism. At the center is a brass disc that has 100 holes around the outside. Around it is a slightly elevated stationary ring, with the numbers from 1 to 9 engraved around it, representing 10, 20, etc, through 90. Between each of these numbers, smaller digits from 1 up to 9 are engraved. There is a stop at 0.
We know little about William M. Haines. The 1850 US Census for Rochester, New York, lists “William Hayes,” 38 years old, born in New York, who was a clerk living with W. V. K. Lansing, bookkeeper, and his family. The city directories for Rochester mention in 1845 a civil engineer named William Haines, living at 5 Elizabeth. He does not appear in the 1847 or 1849 city directories. In 1851, William Haines is listed as a clerk, with his home on 86 S. St. Paul. From 1853 through 1859, there was a dentist, William M. Haines, with an office at 32 Smith’s Arcade. He is not listed in the city directory for 1861, 1863 or 1864, but reappears in 1866 and 1867. He is not found in censuses of the period, nor in later city directories.
References: Scientific American, vol. 4, August 25, 1849, p. 388, account of machine.
William M. Haines. “Calculating Machine,” U.S. Patent #6403, 1849.
This stylus-operated notched band adder has eight columns. A sliding plate atop the machine allows one to adjust the columns for subtraction. A blue-black plastic case holds a metal stylus. Accompanying the instrument are “Instructions for Operating the Pocket Arithmometer.”
The TASCO pocket arithmometer closely resembles an adder sold by the Gray Arithmometer Company of Ithaca, New York, in the early 20th century. It was distributed by the Morse Chain Company of Ithaca in the 1920s. In 1929, the Morse Chain Company became part of Borg-Warner Corporation. Distribution of the adder soon shifted to the Tavella Sales Company of New York City.
Compare to 1986.0663.01.
References: P. Kidwell, “Adders Made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 8, (1994), pp. 78-96.
Advertisements in Popular Mechanics 83 (March 1945), p. 178, (April 1945): 180, and (May, 1945), p. 178.
Popular Science 153 (January 1948), p. 34.
Utility Supply Company, Office Supply Catalog (Chicago, 1946), p. 285.
This notched band adder has a wooden framework. Six paper bands move in six columns, showing the result in six windows. A paper sheet glued to the front has numerals and the name of the device, as well as cutouts to create the columns. A sheet glued to the back gives instructions. The columns widen at the top for carrying in addition and at the bottom for borrowing in subtraction. The object came to the Smithsonian from the collection of Felt and Tarrant Manufacturing Company. The date assigned is quite arbitrary.
Reference: P. Kidwell, “Adders Made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 1994, 8:78-96.
This patent model for an adder has as its base two concentric brass discs, one rotating inside the other. The rim of the outer disc has the numbers from 0 to 99 engraved around its edge. The inner disc has one hundred small holes marked evenly around its edge. These also are numbered 0 to 99. Two steel arms pivot at the center of the disc. The longer arm has a pin on the underside that fits into the holes and a small knob on the upper side so that it can be rotated. A protruding pin set at 0 in the outer circle stops the motion of this arm. It is used to add numbers up to 99.
When the total on the inner disc exceeds 99, the the smaller arm advances one digit, indicating hundreds. The number of hundreds entered appears in a window in a small disc that is on top of three relatively small gears concentric to the large discs. Hundreds apparently cannot be entered directly. The adder has a handle that projects from the center of the back.
Census records list two men who may have been Alonzo Johnson, the inventor of this device. Both were machinists. One Alonzo Johnson (no middle initial) was born 12 February 1828 in Bangor, Maine, the son of Louisa Underwood and Dolliver Johnson. Alonzo's father was a railroad engineer, then a superintendent of locomotive power on the Fitchburg Railroad and then associated with the Illinois Central. This Alonzo Johnson married in about 1850, and lived in Springfield with his wife Sarah and their children from at least 1870 through 1900. Census records also list an Alonzo H. Johnson, born about 1828 in Connecticut, who was living with his wife Hannah in Springfield in 1870, 1880 and 1900.
Alonzo Johnson of Springfield took out eight patents, the first two for calculating devices. These were #73732 (granted January 28, 1868, with James A. Loomis as co-inventor and Charles Gifford of Gardiner, Maine, as assignee), and #85229 (taken out December 22,1868, and assigned to Sylvester Bissell and Andrew West of Hartford). Later patents were for nut-locks (#188055, granted March 6, 1871), slitting lock nuts (#231492, granted August 24, 1880), a car-brake (#235152, granted December 7, 1880), a card-cutter (#241372, granted May 10, 1881), a sash-fastener (#255144, granted April 11, 1882), and a gumming device for envelope machines (#397798, granted February 12, 1889).
Compare to 1990.0318.01.
Reference: Alonzo Johnson, “Improvement in Calculating-Apparatus,” U.S. Patent 85,229, December 22, 1868.
P. Kidwell, "Adders Made and Used in the United States," Rittenhouse, 1994, 8:78-96.
This U.S. Patent Office model for an adder has a wooden frame with a round brass top and mechanism. A toothed disc under the top has the digits from 0 to 99 indicated on it in ink. The 99 complement also is indicated, for use in subtraction. To the right of the disc is a series of pins labeled from 1 to 10. An arm extending from the right side of the disc fits between the pins. Pulling the arm forward advances the disc by the amount indicated on the scale. When the disc has advanced a full rotation, it advances a smaller, vertically mounted disc on the left side by one unit. Complementary units are also indicated on the edge of this disc. The device also has a set of nine wooden digit wheels, with paper around the edge, at the front. These are intended for keeping track of numbers used in calculations.
According to the 1900 U.S. Census, Christian W. Hergenroeder was then 36 years old and living in Baltimore. He was born in Germany of German parents, immigrated to the United States in 1882, and was a naturalized citizen. His wife, Sofia, was born August of 1866, also in Germany of German parents, and came to the United States in 1891. She apparently was not naturalized. Their son, Christian Jr., was born November of 1895. Both parents could read, write, and speak English. Christian's occupation was given as laborer. The family lived in a rented house. Hergenroeder was not found in 1880, 1910, 1920 or 1930 U.S. Census records.
Another patent was granted to Christian W. Hergenroeder of Baltimore, for an improvement in music leaf turners. He applied for this patent on January 5, 1882, and was granted it on October 10, 1882 (#265602).
Reference: U.S. Patent No. 263904, September 5, 1882.
The first American-made adder to enjoy modest commercial success was developed by Clarence E. Locke (1865-1945). A native of Edgerton, Wisconsin, he graduated from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, in 1892. Locke worked for a time as a civil engineer in Minnesota, and then joined his father operating a lumberyard in Kensett, Iowa.
This version of the device has a metal base with grooves for nine sliding metal rods that move crosswise. Each rod represents a digit of a number being added. Protruding knobs on the rods represent different numerals. The rods are held in place by bronze-colored metal covers that extend over the right and left thirds of the instrument. When the device is in zero position, all the rods are in their rightmost position.
Numbers are entered by sliding rods to the left, and the result appears in numbers immediately to the left of the cover on the right. The rods are color-coded to distinguish units of money. They lock when depressed, so that they will not slide if the instrument is tilted. The locking mechanism, the color-coded rods, and the oval shape of the knobs on the rods are all improvements featured in Locke’s second calculating machine patent, taken out in 1905. There is no carry mechanism. The base of it is covered with green cloth.
The instrument is marked on the right cover: C.E. LOCKE (/) MFG. Co. It is also marked: KENSETT, IOWA. [/] U.S.A. It is marked on the left cover: THE (/) LOCKE (/) ADDER. It is also marked: PATENTED DEC. 24. 1901 (/) JAN. 3 1905. The instrument fits in a cardboard case covered with black cloth.
According to the donor, the example of the Locke adder was given to him by the retiring operator of a country milk receiving station for a dairy. The operator used it to determine the total number of pounds of milk received each day at the station.
References: C. E. Locke, “Calculating Machine,” U.S. Patent 689680, December 24, 1901.
C. E. Locke, “Calculating Machine,” U.S. Patent 779088, January 3, 1905.
Robert Otnes, “Sliding Bar Calculators,” ETCetera #11 (June 1990): pp. 6-8.
P. Kidwell, “Adders made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 8, (1994): pp. 78-96.
Accession file, for advertising brochure and history of the instrument.
This black and gold notched band adder comes in a maroon cloth-covered cardboard notebook with a rusting stylus. It has eight columns of digits, and nine windows for displaying results. The narrow zeroing rod is at the top. With the object is a piece of the wrapping in which the adder was sent, showing the postage and date mailed.
With MA.323626, this object is F&T 43 (1&2) from the collection of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company.
The VE-PO-AD (Vest Pocket Adder) was sold by Reliable Typewriter and Adding Machine Corporation of Chicago from at least 1924 through at least 1940.
References: Typewriter Topics, 57 (July 1924) p. 80.
Popular Science Monthly, 126 (January 1933) p. 107.
Popular Mechanics, 73 (January 1940) p. 127A, (February 1940) p. 151A, (March, 1940) p. 123A.
P. Kidwell, "Adders Made and Used in the United States," Rittenhouse, 1994, 8:78-96.