Computers & Business Machines

Imagine the loss, 100 years from now, if museums hadn't begun preserving the artifacts of the computer age. The last few decades offer proof positive of why museums must collect continuously—to document technological and social transformations already underway.
The museum's collections contain mainframes, minicomputers, microcomputers, and handheld devices. Computers range from the pioneering ENIAC to microcomputers like the Altair and the Apple I. A Cray2 supercomputer is part of the collections, along with one of the towers of IBM's Deep Blue, the computer that defeated reigning champion Garry Kasparov in a chess match in 1997. Computer components and peripherals, games, software, manuals, and other documents are part of the collections. Some of the instruments of business include adding machines, calculators, typewriters, dictating machines, fax machines, cash registers, and photocopiers


-
Sheet, Adjustment Instructions
- Description
- This merchandise return form was distributed by the Customer Services Division at 585 Water Street in New York, N.Y. This is the address of Thoresen, Inc., distributors of the Wizard Calculating Machine. The form spells out in detail procedures for returning merchandise. It was received with a Wizard adder with museum number 1980.0787.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960
- ID Number
- 1980.0787.04
- accession number
- 1980.0787
- catalog number
- 1980.0787.04
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Keuffel & Esser 4070-3 Polyphase Duplex Trig Slide Rule
- Description
- This ten-inch mahogany duplex slide rule is coated with white celluloid and held together with metal endpieces that are significantly corroded. On one side, the base has DF, D, and L scales, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide. The top of the base is marked in faded red: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO.; PATS. 2,500,460 2,168,056 2,170,144 PAT. PEND.; MADE IN U.S.A. The right end of the slide is marked in red: © (/) K + E; < 4070-3 >. On the other side, the base has K, A, D, and DI scales, with B, T, ST, and S scales on the slide. The left end of the slide has a serial number: 952594. The top and bottom of the base are both marked at the left end: 594. The indicator is glass with plastic edges; it is so corroded that it has fallen apart and is no longer on the rule.
- There is a green leather case with white inlays on the holder for the flap. The flap is marked: K + E. Inside the flap is written in ink: Jeffery (/) Smith (/) P 68. An orange chamois case holds a magnifier with two lenses and a metal frame. On one side, the frame is marked: K + E. On the other side, the frame is marked: PAT. NO. 2556806. A green cardboard box, missing one end, holds the rule, its case, the magnifier, and its case.
- For information on the patents on the rule, see 1993.0482.01 and 2007.0181.01. Paul E. Gaire of Manasquan, N.J., received a patent for the magnifier in 1951, replacing his earlier attempt at a magnifier, which could only be used on one side of a slide rule at a time. This double magnifier was first advertised in Keuffel & Esser's 1954 catalog and first pictured in the 1962 catalog; it sold for $5.50. K&E sold this version of the model 4070-3 slide rule from 1952 to 1962, at a price of $20.50.
- References: Paul E. Gaire, "Magnifying Runner for Slide Rules" (U.S. Patent 2,556,806 issued June 12, 1951); K + E Catalog, 42nd ed. (New York: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1954), 276–277; Keuffel & Esser Co., Slide Rules, Catalog 8 (Hoboken, N.J., 1962), 29–30; Clark McCoy, ed., "K&E Catalogs and Price Lists for Slide Rules," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEmain.htm.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1954-1962
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- 1990.0317.03
- catalog number
- 1990.0317.03
- accession number
- 1990.0317
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Sheets, IBM Punched Card Data Processing Principles, 548 Interpreter Operation and Wiring: Illustrations. Programmed Instruction Course
- Description
- By the 1960s, programmed instruction had moved from the laboratory into ordinary classrooms and business. One user was IBM Corporation.
- The form number for this manual is R29-0171-0. The sheets were punched with a three-hole punch, disbound, and stored in a three-ring binder with several other manuals.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1964
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1990.3088.01.02
- nonaccession number
- 1990.3088
- catalog number
- 1990.3088.01.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Sheets Describing the Wizard Calculating Machine
- Description
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960
- maker
- Thoresen, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1980.0787.02
- accession number
- 1980.0787
- catalog number
- 1980.0787.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
New Math Multiplication Flash Cards
- Description
- From the 1950s, particularly after the launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1958, American mathematicians and mathematics educators introduced a variety of reforms in mathematics teaching dubbed “The New Math.” This set of flash cards reflects the way of presenting arithmetic problems that emerged.
- The set consists of 50 flash cards showing products of one-digit numbers. A product is written out horizontally on each side of each card. The sides are numbered from 1 to 50 on one side and from 50 to 100 on the other. A "sliding number cover" fits over a card to cover one term in the "number sentence." The child is to figure out the answer. A window in the back of the cover reveals the correct answer written on the back of the card. In addition to these cards, there is a card listing "Basic Multiplication Facts" (written vertically, with answers) and "Basic Multiplication Combinations" (written vertically, without answers). Four cards give tips and instructions for teachers and parents.
- A mark on the cardboard box holding the flash cards reads: NEW MATH (/) MULTIPLICATION (/) FLASH CARDS. Another mark reads: [copyright]1966 ED-U-CARDS MFG. CORP., L.I.C., N.Y. A third mark reads: No. 263.
- Compare 2005.0055.06, 2005.0055.07, 2005.0055.08, and 2005.0055.09.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1966
- maker
- Ed-U-Cards Manufacturing Corporation
- ID Number
- 2005.0055.09
- accession number
- 2005.0055
- catalog number
- 2005.0055.09
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Sheets, IBM Punched Card Data Processing Principles, 24-26 Card Punch / 56 Verifier Operation: Illustrations. Programmed Instruction Course
- Description
- By the 1960s, programmed instruction had moved from the laboratory into ordinary classrooms and business. One user was IBM Corporation.
- The form number for this manual is R29-0131-0. It was punched with a three-hole punch and disbound, with the sheets stored in a three-ring binder with several other manuals.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1964
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1990.3088.01.05
- nonaccession number
- 1990.3088
- catalog number
- 1990.3088.01.05
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Slide Chart, MM Calculator
- Description
- This slide chart has a plastic sleeve that holds a cardboard slide. One side of the slide has a table giving the properties of various forms of filter cloth and wire cloth. The other side has two graphs.
- The Multi-Metal Wire Cloth Company distributed this plastic slide chart to allow its customers and potential customers to compare the flow rates and particle retention of various forms of woven wire and woven fabric. Results were based on observations carried out at Columbia University. A paper sticker attached to the back of the sleeve gives further details of the calculation.
- A mark on the front of the sleeve reads: MM (/) CALCULATOR. A mark on the back of the sleeve reads: Multi-Metal (/) WIRE CLOTH COMPANY, INC. (/) 1350 GARRISON AVE. (/) NEW YORK 59, NEW YORK (/) PRINTED IN USA COPYRIGHT 1959. The slide and the paper envelope are stamped: SEP 18 1963.
- This object came to the Smithsonian as part of a large collection of trade literature relating to meat processing donated by the Cincinnati Boss Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1963
- maker
- Multi-Metal Wire Cloth Company
- ID Number
- 2000.3029.15
- nonaccession number
- 2000.3029
- catalog number
- 2000.3029.15
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Book, Mathematical Awareness
- Description
- During the 1950s, the Belgian teacher Emile-Georges Cuisenaire designed a set of rods to teach about numbers and basic arithmetic. John V. Trivett, a mathematics educator trained in England, wrote two paperback books to introduce teachers to the use of Cuisenaire rods. This is the revised edition of the first of them, copyrighted in 1962 and published by the Cuisenaire Company of America, then in Mount Vernon, New York. Trivett would go on to become a professor of education at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.
- For a set of Cuisenaire rods, see 1987.0542.01. For related documentation see 1987.0542.02 through 1987.0542.07.
- For further information about the donor of the materials, see 1987.0542.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1962
- maker
- Trivett, John V.
- ID Number
- 1987.0542.06
- accession number
- 1987.0542
- catalog number
- 1987.0542.06
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Keuffel & Esser 4081-3 Log Log Decitrig Duplex Slide Rule
- 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, SRT, and S scales on the slide. The left end of the slide is marked: 320858. The left end of the top and the bottom of the base are both marked: 858. The indicator is glass, with white plastic edges held together with metal screws. Keuffel & Esser used this arrangement of scales on this model from 1955 to 1962; the serial number suggests this example was made around 1957.
- The top edge of the rule is marked: PATS. PEND. MADE IN U.S.A. 4081-3 LOG LOG DUPLEX DECITRIG ® 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 Keuffel & Esser Company of New York donated this slide rule to the Smithsonian in 1961. In 1959, model 4081-3 sold for $22.50. Model 4081-3, the Log Log Duplex Decitrig, differs from model 4080-3, the Log Log Duplex Trig, in that the degrees on the trigonometric scales are divided into decimals instead of into minutes. Compare to 1992.0437.01 and 2007.0181.01.
- 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); 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; Ed Chamberlain, "Estimating K&E Slide Rule Dates," 27 December 2000, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/ke/320-k+e_date2.jpg; K + E Price List, Applying to the 42nd Edition Catalog (Hoboken, N.J., 1959), 73.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1955-1962
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- MA.318482
- catalog number
- 318482
- accession number
- 235479
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Sheets, IBM Punched Card Data Processing Principles, 24-26 Card Punch / 56 Verifier Operation: Notebook. Programmed Instruction Course
- Description
- By the 1960s, programmed instruction had moved from the laboratory into ordinary classrooms and business. One user was IBM Corporation.
- The form number for this manual is R29-0132-0. It was disbound, punched with a three-hole punch, and stored in a three-ring binder with several other manuals.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1964
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1990.3088.01.06
- nonaccession number
- 1990.3088
- catalog number
- 1990.3088.01.06
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Keuffel & Esser 4081-5 Log Log Decitrig Duplex Slide Rule
- Description
- This 20-inch mahogany slide rule is coated with white celluloid on both sides and held together with metal end pieces. A glass indicator has plastic edges held together with metal screws. . 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 end 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, SRT, and S scales on the slide. The left end of the slide is marked: 450243. The left end of the top and the bottom of the base are both marked: 243. Keuffel & Esser used this arrangement of scales on this model from 1955 to 1962; the serial number suggests this example was made around 1958.
- The top edge of the rule is marked: PATS. PEND. MADE IN U.S.A. 4081-5 LOG LOG DUPLEX DECITRIG ® 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 slides into an orange leather case lined with chamois. The flap is marked: K + E. Inside the flap is written: PHIL (/) KRUPEN. In 1959, model 4081-5 sold with a leather case for $50.50. Compare to ten-inch versions of model 4081, MA.318482 and MA.334387.
- This slide rule was given to the Smithsonian in 1986 by the physicist Philip Krupen (1915–2001). Krupen received his BS from Brooklyn College in 1935, worked on the development of the proximity fuze during and after World War II, earned an MS in physics from The George Washington University, and spent a total of 38 years working for the U.S. government before his retirement in 1973.
- 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); 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; Ed Chamberlain, "Estimating K&E Slide Rule Dates," 27 December 2000, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/ke/320-k+e_date2.jpg; K + E Price List, Applying to the 42nd Edition Catalog (Hoboken, N.J., 1959), 73; Dieter von Jezierski, Slide Rules: A Journey Through Three Centuries, trans. Rodger Shepherd (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2000), 71–75; "Philip Krupen," The Washington Post, February 23, 2001, B07.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1955-1962
- date received
- 1986
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- 1986.0790.03
- accession number
- 1986.0790
- catalog number
- 1986.0790.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Ford Instrument Company Ball & Disc Integrator
- Description
- Instruments for finding the area bounded by curved lines (integrators) date from the nineteenth century. This twentieth century example is based on a mechanism invented by British engineer James Thomson and used by his brother William (later Lord Kelvin) in constructing the first harmonic analyzer in 1876. The object shows modifications and refinements made by the American inventor Hannibal Ford. It consists of a metal mechanism held in an aluminum frame painted white that is attached to a black bakelite base. The mechanism includes two (rather than just one) hardened steel balls that roll against one another. The bottom ball is turned by a disc on the bottom driven by an input gear. The top ball drives a roller.
- A metal tag on the front of the base reads: 2 ½ Inch (/) BALL AND DISK (/) INTEGRATOR (/) Presented by (/) FORD INSTRUMENT COMPANY (/) DIVISION OF SPERRY RAND CORPORATION.
- Ford's integrators were used in devices for aiming guns on ships of the U.S. Navy from about 1915 into the 1940s. The company merged with Sperry Corporation and, in 1955, became a subdivision of the newly established Sperry Rand Corporation. This object dates from after the establishment of Sperry Rand and before the donation of the object to the Smithsonian in 1961. A leaflet describes “Ford Precision DBR Integrators.” Here the acronym DBR is defined to mean “DIsk-Balls and Roller Integrator.”
- Compare 1982.0751.06 and 1979.0751.36.
- References:
- “Ford Precision DBR Integrators,” no date.
- Accession file.
- A.B. Clymer, "The Mechanical Analog Computers of Hannibal Ford and William Newell," Annals of the History of Computing, 15, #2, 1993, 19-34.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1960
- maker
- Ford Instrument Company
- ID Number
- MA.319517
- catalog number
- 319517
- accession number
- 239018
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Myoglobin Protein Model
- Description (Brief)
- Professor Jonathan Wittenberg used this model of sperm whale myoglobin structure as a teaching tool at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in the Bronx. It was used beginning in the mid-1960s as part of his class on cell function, which would later come to be known as molecular biology. Wittenberg purchased the model from A. A. Barker, an employee of Cambridge University Engineering Laboratories, who fabricated the models for sale to interested scientists starting in May 1966 under the supervision of John Kendrew.
- Between the years 1957 and 1959, John Kendrew, a British biochemist, figured out the complete structure of a protein. For his breakthrough he won the 1962 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, an award he shared with his co-contributor Max Perutz.
- Proteins are large molecules used for a vast variety of tasks in the body. Knowing their structure is a key part of understanding how they function, as structure determines the way in which proteins interact with other molecules and can give clues to their purpose in the body.
- Kendrew uncovered the structure of myoglobin using a method known as X-ray crystallography, a technique where crystals of a substance—in this case myoglobin—are grown and then bombarded with X-rays. The rays bounce off the atoms in the crystal at an angle and hit a photographic plate. By studying these angles, scientists can pinpoint the average location of single atoms within the protein molecule and piece this data together to figure out the complete structure of the protein.
- Interestingly, Kendrew had a hard time getting enough crystals of myoglobin to work with until someone was kind enough to give him a slab of sperm whale meat. Myoglobin’s purpose in the body is to store oxygen in the muscles until needed. Sperm whales, as aquatic mammals, have to be very efficient at storing oxygen for their muscles during deep sea dives, which means they require a lot of myoglobin. Until the gift of the sperm whale meat, Kendrew couldn’t isolate enough myoglobin to grow crystals of sufficient size for his research.
- Sources:
- Accession file
- “History of Visualization of Biological Macromolecules: A. A. Barker’s Models of Myoglobin.” Eric Francouer, University of Massachusetts-Amherst. http://www.umass.edu/molvis/francoeur/barker/barker.html
- The Eighth Day of Creation: The Makers of the Revolution in Biology. Horace Freeland Judson. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: 1996.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1965
- ID Number
- 2009.0111.01
- accession number
- 2009.0111
- catalog number
- 2009.0111.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Analog Computing Component - Carriage Limit Stop
- Description
- This component includes an steel traveling screw, a steel guide shaft parallel to it, and a frame that links the two. One end of the screw has two aluminum gears, one with thirty teeth and the other with sixty-five teeth. The steel frame is marked near the hole on it: 42-848. Another mark on the frame reads: 91-478. According to the accession file, this Ford Instrument Company product served as a limit stop, limiting travel of the integrator ball carriage on the ASN-7 Aircraft Navigational Computer.
- References:
- A.B. Clymer, "The Mechanical Analog Computers of Hannibal Ford and William Newell," Annals of the History of Computing, 15, #2, 1993, 19-34.
- Accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1960
- maker
- Ford Instrument Company
- ID Number
- 1982.0751.22
- catalog number
- 1982.0751.22
- accession number
- 1982.0751
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
New Math Addition Flash Cards
- Description
- From the 1950s, particularly after the launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite in 1958, American mathematicians and mathematics educators introduced a variety of reforms in mathematics teaching that went under the name “The New Math.” This set of flash cards reflects the way of presenting addition problems that emerged.
- The set includes 50 cards showing sums of one digit numbers. A sum is written out horizontally on each side of each card. The sides are numbered from 1 to 50 on one side and from 50 to 100 on the other. A "sliding number cover" fits over a card to cover one term in the "number sentence." The child is to figure out the answer. A window in the back of the cover reveals the correct answer written on the back of the card. In addition to these cards, there is a card listing "Basic Addition Facts" (written vertically, with answers) and "Basic Addition Combinations" (written vertically, without answers). Four cards give tips and instructions for teachers and parents.
- A mark on the top of the box reads: NEW MATH (/) ADDITION (/) FLASH CARDS. A second mark reads: ED-U-CARDS. Another mark reads: [copyright]1966 ED-U-CARDS MFG. CORP., L.I.C., N.Y.
- Compare 2005.0055.06, 2005.0055.07, 2005.0055.08, and 2005.0055.09.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1966
- maker
- Ed-U-Cards Manufacturing Corporation
- ID Number
- 2005.0055.08
- catalog number
- 2005.0055.08
- accession number
- 2005.0055
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Pamphlet, Glossary for Information Processing
- Description
- This IBM reference manual gives definitions of terms ranging from abacus to zone punch tto ninety-column card. It also has a list of acronyms and other abbreviations. All the text is in capital letters, presumably computer-processed. The document has IBM form number C20-8089-1.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1963
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1994.3128.07
- nonaccession number
- 1994.3128
- catalog number
- 1994.3128.07
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Keuffel & Esser 4083-3 Log Log Vector Duplex Slide Rule
- Description
- This two-sided ten-inch mahogany slide rule is coated with white celluloid and held together with metal end pieces. On one side, the base has LL02, LL03, DF, D, LL3, and LL2 scales, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide. The right end of the slide is marked in red: © (/) K + E. On the other side, the base has Sh1, Sh2, Th, A, D, DI, LL01, and LL1 scales, with B, T, SRT, and S scales on the slide. The trigonometric scales are divided into degrees and into decimals. The left end of the slide has a serial number: 344425. The left ends of both parts of the base are marked: 425. A glass indicator has plastic edges and metal screws. Compare to MA.335483.
- The top edge of the rule is marked: PATS. PEND. MADE IN U.S.A. 4083-3 LOG LOG DUPLEX VECTOR ® 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. See 2007.0181.01 for patent citations.
- There is no case. Keuffel & Esser of New York used this set of scales on this model number from 1955 to 1962. The serial number is consistent with a date earlier in this time frame. The company donated this example to the Smithsonian in 1961. The rule sold for $24.50 in the 1950s.
- References: Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4083-3 Family of Slide Rules," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEModels/ke4083-3family.htm; Ed Chamberlain, "Estimating K&E Slide Rule Dates," 27 December 2000, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/ke/320-k+e_date2.jpg; K + E Catalog, 42nd ed. (New York: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1954), 280–281.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1955-1961
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- MA.318481
- catalog number
- 318481
- accession number
- 235479
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Book, Mathematical Awareness
- Description
- During the 1950s, the Belgian teacher Emile-Georges Cuisenaire designed a set of rods to teach about numbers and basic arithmetic. John V. Trivett, a mathematics educator trained in England, wrote two paperback books to introduce teachers to the use of Cuisenaire rods. This is the revised edition of the second of them, copyrighted in 1963 and published by the Cuisenaire Company of America, then in New York, New York. Trivett would go on to become a professor of education at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.
- For a set of Cuisenaire rods, see 1987.0542.01. For related documentation see 1987.0542.02 through 1987.0542.07.
- For further information about the donor of the materials, see 1987.0542.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1963
- maker
- Trivett, John V.
- ID Number
- 1987.0542.07
- accession number
- 1987.0542
- catalog number
- 1987.0542.07
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Slide Chart, Shopper's Guide Calorie Counter
- Description
- This red, white, and blue cardboard slide chart has logarithmic scales for calculating the cost per ounce or unit of goods selling at prices ranging from ten cents to ten dollars apiece. The cost is given on the envelope, the number of ounces or units on the sliding scale, and the cost per ounce or unit on a scale below on the slide. Windows in the envelope reveal the scales.
- The reverse side of the slide has a listing of the calorie content of a single serving of selected common foods and beverages.
- A mark on the front reads: Hudson Shopper’s Guide. A mark on the back reads: Hudson Calorie Counter. Other mark there read: Copyright 1969 I. Taxel, Woodmere N.Y., and: Hudson Pulp & Paper corp. (/) 477 Madison Avenue (/) New York, N.Y. 10022. Hudson sold napkins, towels, and bathroom and facial tissue, and urged consumers to compare prices before making purchases.
- The I. Taxel mentioned is most probably Irving Taxel, who established Promotional Slideguide in Woodmere, New York, after World War II. His son Nelson Taxel took over the business.
- Compare 1988.3078.03.
- Reference:
- F. Lowery, “Irving Taxel, Helped Found Boca Lodge, B’nai Brith,” Sun Sentinel, July 9, 1994.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1969
- maker
- Hudson Pulp & Paper Corp.
- ID Number
- 2001.3103.03
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3103
- catalog number
- 2001.3103.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Book, Mathematics with Numbers in
- Description
- During the 1950s, the Belgian teacher Emile-Georges Cuisenaire designed a set of rods to teach about numbers and basic arithmetic. Caleb Gattegno popularized his methods in Great Britain and the United States. This small paperback, Book D of Gattegno’s explanation, was copyrighted in 1958 and 1961.
- For a set of Cuisenaire rods, see 1987.0542.01. For related documentation see 1987.0542.02 through 1987.0542.07.
- For further information about the donor of the materials, see 1987.0542.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1961
- maker
- Gattegno, Caleb
- ID Number
- 1987.0542.05
- accession number
- 1987.0542
- catalog number
- 1987.0542.05
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Pages
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topic
- Science 32
- Rule, Calculating 11
- Slide Rules 11
- Tabulating Equipment 10
- Arithmetic Teaching 7
- Trigonometry 7
- Women Teaching Math 7
- Women's History 7
- Calculating Machines 4
- Adder 3
- Education 3
- Engineering, General 2
- Mathematical Charts and Tables 2
- Adding Machines 1
- Artificial satellites 1
- Biotechnology and Genetics 1
- Braille 1
- Computers & Business Machines 1
- Engineering, Electrical 1
-
object type
- Books 7
- Sheets, Set Of In Notebook 6
- Slide rules 6
- Leaflets (printed works) 4
- Pamphlets 4
- Flash cards 2
- Tables (documents) 2
- calculating machine model 2
- Booklets 1
- Calculators 1
- Games 1
- Microscopes 1
- adder 1
- adding machine 1
- analog computing component 1
- calculating machine 1
- calculating rule in case 1
- integrator 1
- microscope; Monocular; Compound 1
- molecular model 1
- date
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- culture
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set name
- Medicine and Science: Mathematics 43
- Science & Mathematics 32
- Slide Rules 11
- Tabulating Equipment 10
- Arithmetic Teaching 7
- Trigonometry 7
- Women Teaching Math 7
- Calculating Machines 4
- Adder 3
- Mathematical Charts and Tables 2
- Adding Machines 1
- Biotechnology and Genetics 1
- Computers & Business Machines 1
- Food 1
- Learning Arithmetic 1
- Mechanical Integrators and Analyzers 1
- Medicine and Science: Chemistry 1
- Medicine and Science: Medicine 1
- Microscopes 1
- Sputnik 1