Computers & Business Machines

• 

  Keyboard for Green Machine Prototype Electronic Calculator

  Description

  As a graduate student in electrical engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, Thomas E. Osborne began thinking about the design of a desktop electronic calculator suited for calculating the very large and very small numbers encountered in scientific work. In January of 1964, he formed the firm Logic Design, Inc., to develop his ideas. By late 1964, he had built this prototype keyboard and display, as well as a prototype logic unit (1978.0311.02).

  The keys are of plastic, the case of balsa wood painted green. The prototype is known as “the green machine” from the color of the paint.

  The model has an array of nine digit keys on the right front, with zero, decimal point and exp keys above them. On the left are twelve keys for arithmetic operations, clearance, and memory access. After damage to the case, it was reconstructed by Osborne before it came to the Museum.

  For related objects, see 1978.0311.02. For related documentation, see invention notebooks and photographs by Osborne (1978.0311.03 through 1978.0311.14). For purchase orders of components used in the prototype, see 1985.0264.01. Elements of the green machine were incorporated in Hewlett Packard’s first commercial electronic calculator, the HP9100. For a prototype of that machine, see 1978.0311.03.

  References:

  Bernard M. Oliver, “How the Model 9100A Was Developed,” Hewlett-Packard Journal, September, 1968. A copy of this article is at the HP Museum website.

  The website of the University of Wyoming contains biographical information about Osborne.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1964

  date received

  1978

  maker

  Osborne, Thomas E.

  ID Number

  1978.0311.01

  catalog number

  1978.0311.01

  accession number

  1978.0311

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Wang LOCI-2 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  One of the first programmable electronic calculators, this instrument was announced in 1964 and sold from 1965. It was designed by An Wang (1920-1990) and his associates. Wang, a native of Shanghai, immigrated to the United States after World War II, studied computer science at Harvard University, and worked at the Harvard Computation Laboratory. He started his own business in 1951, producing magnetic core memories and other electronic equipment on order. The LOCI or “logarithmic calculating instrument” was the first product marketed by the company. Two versions of the machine were announced: the LOCI I, which was not programmable, and the LOCI II, which was.

  The desktop machine has nine digit keys arranged in an array, as well as a zero bar and a decimal point key. Depressing other keys changes the sign of the number, shifts the decimal point, shifts from the logarithmic to the work register, and shifts from the work to the logarithmic register. Further keys are for arithmetic operations, squares, square roots, inverse squares, inverse square roots, inverse logarithms, and clearance of various registers. To the right are controls for the decrement counter, the program counter, and the operation code. According to company advertising, the machine offers ten-digit precision in addition and subtraction and eight-digit precision in multiplication, division, exponentiation, root extraction, and logarithm computation. It has five storage registers of ten-digit capacity and a ten-digit display, plus a display for the sign of the answer. A cooling fan and a cord are at the back. The card reader attachment that plugs into the back holds program cards.

  A tag on the front of the machine reads: LOCI-2. A tag on the back reads: ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DEVICES (/) LOCI II (/) MODEL NO. 2AB (/) SERIAL NO. 2734 (/) TEWKSBURY, MASS. U.S.A. A paper tag on the back of the machine indicates that it was serviced 4/28/68, 9/12/68, and 2/9/71.

  According to a 1964 flier, the machine was to sell for $4,750.00. Kenney says that the initial price was $6,500. Wang Laboratories would go on to sell the 300 series of calculators (from 1966) and the 700 series (from 1969), and to manufacture minicomputers and networked microcomputers.

  For related objects and documents, see 1980.0096.02 through 1980.0096.10.

  Compare 1980.0096.01 with the later 1983.0171.01 (a Wang Series 700 calculator), and the even later 2011.0022.01 (a Wang Series 600 calculator).

  References:

  There is an extensive discussion of the LOCI II at the website of the Old Calculator Museum. See:http://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/wangloci.html

  Wang Laboratories, Inc., “LOCI-2 Open New Vistas to your Personal Computing . . .,” Tewksbury, Ma., 1964. This is 1980.0096.08. A similar leaflet describes the LOCI-1 and has museum number 1980.0096.07.

  Charles C. Kenney, Riding the Runaway Horse: The Rise and Decline of Wang Laboratories, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1992.

  date made

  1965 or later

  date received

  1980

  maker

  Wang Laboratories

  ID Number

  1980.0096.01

  catalog number

  1980.0096.01

  accession number

  1980.0096

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Sony Sobax ICC-500 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  By the early 1960s, Sony Corporation had gained an international reputation for such consumer electronics products as a pocket transistor radio and a transistorized television. It exhibited a prototype desktop electronic calculator in 1964. In 1967, it released the SOBAX, or solid state abacus. It was called an "ICC" or integrated circuit calculator. By 1968, the machine sold in the United States for $1,250.

  The non-printing, four-function desktop electronic calculator has an array of nine digit keys at the center front. Zero and decimal point keys are below these. Immediately to the right are cancel, subtraction, and addition keys. Right of these keys are memory clear, memory input, and total keys, as well as a round-off switch.

  Immediately to the left of the digit keys are division, multiplication, and result keys. Left of these are repeat and memory out keys. Still further left are the on/off switch and the clear key. Behind is a fourteen-digit display window. A decimal point lever is below the result display, and a minus lamp is at the far left. The case includes a plastic handle at the top. A cord extends from the back and can be wound around protruding “cord anchors” for storage.

  A mark on the left front of the machine reads: SOBAX. A tag at the top reads: SONY.

  Compare CI*334388.

  References:

  Sony Corporation of America, SOBAX: SONY Solid State Calculator ICC-500W Owner’s Instruction Manual, New York: Sony Corporation, no date. This is CI*313986.10.

  Sony Corporation, “Press Release: Sony Portable Electronic Calculator ‘SOBAX ICC-500’.” May 15, 1967. This is CI*313986.07.

  P. H. Wiggins, “Calculators Hold Answers for Business,” New York Times, June 2, 1968, p. F26.

  An extensive discussion of the development of the SOBAX 500 is at the online Old Calculators Web Museum.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1968

  maker

  Sony Corporation of America

  ID Number

  CI.334389

  accession number

  313986

  catalog number

  334389

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Sony Model ICC-2500 Sobax Desktop Electronic Calculator

  Description

  In 1967 Sony Corporation of Japan began to sell commercial electronic calculators under the name SOBAX, or solid state abacus. This is a later Sony “integrated circuit calculator,” the SOBAX ICC-2500, released in the United States in 1969. The calculator carried out routine arithmetic operations and took square roots automatically. Using various memory keys, it could be programmed to perform routine numerical calculations with diverse constants. There are 15 places in the register.

  A mark on the right front of the machine reads: SOBAX (/) 2500. A mark on the front left reads: SONY. A mark behind the keyboard reads: SOLID STATE ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR. A mark on the back reads in part: SERIAL NO. 602827.

  Compare CI*334388 and CI*334389.

  References:

  Sony Corporation of America, SOBAX Solid State Calculator ICC-2500W Owner’s Instruction Manual, Long Island City, N.Y., no date. This is CI*313786.15.

  Sony Corporation of America, [Press Releases], October 22, 1969. These are CI*313986.11 and CI*313986.12.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1969

  maker

  Sony Corporation of America

  ID Number

  CI.334390

  accession number

  313986

  catalog number

  334390

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Sony Model MD-6 Prototype Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This is a prototype for a non-printing desktop electronic calculator made by Sony Corporation of Japan. It has an array of nine digit keys, with a zero bar and a decimal point key below these. The keyboard also includes keys for the four arithmetic operations and an equals key. The machine also has an on/off switch, a clear key, and an “attention” light on the left and five further keys on the right. Behind is a display for the answer. The machine shows result up to ten digits long in ten tubes.

  A mark on the front left of the machine reads: SONY. A mark on the back reads: SONY ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR (/) MODEL MD-6 NO. 7K282214.

  A slightly earlier Sony prototype calculator was exhibited at the World Electronics Show in New York in the latter part of March 1964, and the Japanese Pavilion at the New York World Exposition opening in April. Early engineering drawings for the MD-6 are dated July 18, 1964.

  References:

  Accession File

  Documentation received as part of accession 313986.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1964

  maker

  Sony Corporation of America

  ID Number

  CI.334388

  accession number

  313986

  catalog number

  334388

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  SCM Marchant Cogito 240 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This ten-key, non-printing electronic desktop calculator performs the four arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The factors and results are stored in three registers, two of twelve-digit capacity and the third, of twenty-four digits. The content of these registers appears in three rows on a cathode ray tube display. The top row (K) shows the entry from the keyboard, the second row (Q) the second factor or the quotient, and the third row (P) the total, product, or dividend.

  In front of the display is the keyboard, with an array of digit keys at the center, keys for arithmetic functions and memory on the right, and on the left reset, register transfer, register entry, recall, and exchange keys.

  A mark on the left front of the machine reads: SCM MARCHANT. A mark behind the keyboard and below the screen reads: COGITO 240.

  In the summer of 1965, the SCM Marchant Division of SCM Corporation announced that it would begin to sell the company’s first electronic calculators that fall. These were the Cogito 240 and a similar machine, the Cogito 240SR, which also had the ability to take square roots. The 240 was to sell for $2,195, and the 240SR for $2,395. The machines were manufactured at a company plant in Oakland, California.

  According to Bensene, the machine was designed by computer pioneer Stanley Frankel, who had worked on the Manhattan Project, run programs on the ENIAC computer, headed the Computation Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, and contributed to the design of minicomputers such as the LGP-30 and the Packard-Bell PB-250. Frankel worked on the design at Computron Corporation, a subsidiary of the California firm of Electrosolids. Not long after the British firm of Sumlock Comptometer released a desktop electronic calculator in 1961 (see the Anita Mark VIII), SCM acquired Computron Corporation, and Frankel and his team moved there to develop the Cogito 240.

  The calculator was quickly replaced by other electronic calculators in the SCM line. SCM dropped out of the calculator business entirely in 1972.

  References:

  R. Bensene, “SCM Marchant Cogito 240SR Electronic Desktop Computer,” at the website The Old Calculator Museum, accessed March 28, 2013.

  SCM Marchant, Cogito 240-240SR Service Manual & Parts List, Oakland, Calif.: SCM Corporation, 1965. This is 1979.3084.72.

  W. D. Smith, “Electronic Calculators Gaining,” New York Times, August 7, 1965, p. 25.

  “Presenting a new, highly advanced electronic calculator the Cogito 240,” Los Angeles Times, June 17, 1965, p. B10. Similar advertisements ran in the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and New York Times.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1966

  maker

  SCM Corporation

  ID Number

  CI.335373

  accession number

  318944

  catalog number

  335373

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Terminal Interchange from PANAMAC Airlines Reservation System

  Description

  The PANAMAC, Pan American's first worldwide airline reservation management system, was installed in 1964, and used the IBM 7080 Data Processing System. PANAMAC linked hundreds of agent sets throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean with the Pan American computing center in New York City. The IBM 1006 Terminal Interchange was part of the networked system shown in this graphic from the PANAMAC manual. Using teleprocessors networked to the computing center, agents could access Pan Am flight information and book reservations almost instantly. While this is now commonplace, at the time it was an innovative and successful system.

  PANAMAC was based on computer networks developed for the United States military where “real-time” information was necessary to calculate projected trajectories for missiles. The IBM-designed network was only the second real-time network to be installed for high-speed computing and communication in the airline industry. The first networked system developed for real-time airline reservations was American Airline's SABRE (Semi-Automatic Business-Related Environment), developed by IBM and implemented in 1961 on an IBM 7090 system. Delta's Deltamatic flight reservation system, installed in 1964, was also designed by IBM and used an IBM 7074 system. Prior to these systems, reservation information was available but quickly outdated. A few early computer systems, such as American Airlines' Reservisor, designed by Teleregister Corp., provided quick access to flight information but were not set up to receive information. Reservations still had to be taken by hand and calls placed to airlines to confirm availability.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  1962

  user

  Pan American Airlines

  maker

  IBM

  ID Number

  CI.335516

  accession number

  321704

  catalog number

  335516

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  R.C. Allen Musicwriter

  Description (Brief)

  One (1) R.C. Allen musicwriter

  Mechanical typewriter with beige body with brown keys. Four-line keyboard. 14" carriage. Keys are musical symbols and numbers.

  Inscription: "R.C. Allen", "Musicwriter" On back label: "Musicwriter Patented Typewriter - U.S. Paten No. 511,941; Great Britain, No. 712,430, Nov. 3, 1954; Switzerland, Patent No. 298,526; Germany DBP 909,101." "MUSIC PRINT CORPORATION Denver, Colorado, U.S.A."

  Description

  This Musicwriter “typewriter” was manufactured by R.C. Allen of Grand Rapids, Michigan during the mid 20th century. The Musicwriter was used to compose sheet music. Instead of a letter-writing typewriter, each key could print a different type of note, which could be raised or lowered on the musical staff.

  R. C. Allen was founded in 1932 as a manufacturer of cash registers, adding machines, and altimeters. R.C. Allen purchased the Woodstock Typewriter Company of Woodstock, Illinois in 1950 and began manufacturing typewriters and musicwriters such as this machine.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1960

  maker

  R. C. Allen

  ID Number

  1984.0914.01

  accession number

  1984.0914

  catalog number

  1984.0914.01

  serial number

  8C-2105274 14

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Anita Mark VIII Desktop Electronic Calculator with Manuals

  Description

  According to the accompanying instruction book, this is “the world’s first electronic desk calculator.” The full-keyboard, non-printing calculator has ten columns of plastic keys and shows 12-digit results. A column of keys for multiplication is on the left. Keys for arithmetic operations and for clearance are at the front. The machine used vacuum tubes—later electronic calculators would have transistors and then microchips.

  The Anita Mark VIII was one of two electronic calculators developed by the British Bell Punch Company in a team led by Norbert Kitz. Kitz had obtained an advanced degree in computer science at the University of London in 1951, studying under computer pioneer Andrew Booth. He applied for a patent for an “electronic calculating machine” as early as 1957. By 1961, Bell Punch exhibited its Mark VII and Mark VIII electronic calculators at trade fairs.

  A mark on the front of the machine read: ANITA. A tag on the bottom reads near the top: MODEL NO. C/VII/I006852/A. The tag also includes an extensive list of patent and patent application numbers. The last British patent listed is 868761, which was issued May 25, 1961. A mark on the plastic cover for the machine reads: ANITA

  The operating instructions for the Mark VIII received with the machine were distributed by the Inter-Continental Trading Corporation of New York, N.Y. Also received with the machine is a booklet of operating instructions for the Anita Mark 9, a similar machine.

  Norbert Kitz filed for a U.S. patent for this machine December 9, 1961(he had filed for earlier U.S. patents in 1957 and 1959), and was granted it October 18, 1966.

  References:

  Norbert Kitz, "Key Controlled Decimal Electronic Calculating Machine," U.S. Patent 3,280,315, October 18, 1966. There are extensive online discussions of the Anita electronic calculators.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1961

  maker

  Sumlock Comptometer LTD

  ID Number

  1999.0143.01

  accession number

  1999.0143

  catalog number

  1999.0143.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Epson EP-101 Printer

  Description

  The EP-101 was an electronic mini-printer developed at Seiko. It evolved from the timing printer that Epson built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic games. After the games were over, the company realized that the printing technology they had created had a potential market of its own. In 1968, they released the EP-101 (Electronic Printer 101) micro-printer, which was the smallest and lightest printer in the world at that time. The printer soon became extremely popular for use with the new electronic calculators that were coming into the market. Many versions were developed for attachment to different types of equipment, and ultimately millions of the printers were sold around the world. This printer also gave Epson its name. The word was coined to mean "son of EP," or "Epson." It became the trade name for Seiko's printer business. Over the years, this printer and other products that the Epson division produced overshadowed the traditional Seiko watch business.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  1968

  maker

  Seiko Epson Corporation

  ID Number

  2001.0003.01

  accession number

  2001.0003

  catalog number

  2001.0003.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Burroughs Punch Cards DSG 623 618013 for Gardner-Denver Wire Wrap Machine

  Description

  Each of these pink punch cards has square corners and is truncated in the upper left corner. They apparently are designed for use with a wire wrap machine, and do not have the standard arrangement of rows and columns of numbers.

  Each card is marked with the Burroughs logo. Each is marked: GARDNER-DENVER (/) WIRE WRAP (/) MACHINE (/) CARD. Each is marked near the bottom edge: DSG 623 4/68. Each is marked: 618013.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1968

  maker

  Burroughs Manufacturing Corporation

  ID Number

  1996.0142.11

  catalog number

  1996.0142.11

  accession number

  1996.0142

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Printing Cylinder for IBM Punch Cards

  Description

  This chrome-plated hollow brass cylinder has embossed on its outer surface the numbers and letters for an 80-column IBM punch card. Sections of the card are for several quantities associated with shipping (amount, miles, hours, job number, account number, rate per hour, department number, order number, day, month, etc.) The cylinder was used to print the IBM cards. According to the donor, the object dates from the early 1960s.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1960s

  maker

  IBM

  ID Number

  1995.0248.01

  accession number

  1995.0248

  catalog number

  1995.0248.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Leaflet, UNIVAC 60 Computer Simplifies Order Filling and Accounting for Wholesale Drug Firm

  Description

  This leaflet presents an account of the installation of a Univac 60 computer at the Walker Drug Company, a wholesaler in Birmingham, Alabama. The document has Remington Rand Univac form number U3212.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1960

  ca 1957

  author

  Remington Rand Univac. Division of Sperry Rand

  ID Number

  1997.3012.04.24

  catalog number

  1997.3012.04.24

  nonaccession number

  1997.3012

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Sheets, PDP-8 Users Handbook

  Description

  This illustrated manual describes the basic operation of the PDP-8 minicomputer. It has DEC form number F-85.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966

  maker

  Digital Equipment Corporation

  ID Number

  1994.3128.16

  catalog number

  1994.3128.16

  nonaccession number

  1994.3128

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Pamphlet, PDP-8 Course Work

  Description

  This spiral-bound document, prepared by the training department of DEC, was designed to assist students in understanding PDP-8 computer systems. It has DEC form number I-85.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1965

  maker

  Digital Equipment Corporation

  ID Number

  1994.3128.17

  catalog number

  1994.3128.17

  nonaccession number

  1994.3128

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  SDC A1004 Punch Cards

  Description

  These bright yellow eighty-column punch cards are rounded at the corners except at the upper right corner, which is cut off in a straight line. The cards contain fields in which the date was indicated with two digits for the year, two for the month and two for the day of the month. A mark in the bottom left corner reads: SDC A1004. According to the donor, they were from a firm of dry cleaners that used tabulating equipment in the 1960s (and perhaps the 1950s) for record keeping.

  Compare 1997.3099.02.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1960s

  ID Number

  1997.3099.01

  nonaccession number

  1997.3099

  catalog number

  1997.3099.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Reel of Magnetic Tape with COBOL Compiler

  Description

  Programs and data were entered into many early computers, including those made by Univac and RCA, using reels of magnetic tape like this one. This particular tape carried a compiler for the programming language COBOL. It was used in December 1960, when a COBOL program first ran successfully on computers made by two different manufacturers. Thus it stands as a symbol of the birth of one of the first common programming languages. Computer programmers would come to expect that different brands of computers ran the same languages. COBOL became a routine tool for business programming.

  The reel is marked: UNIVAC. It is also marked: COBOL. A piece of tape attached to the back reads: 12/6/60 UNIVAC COBOL COMPILER 2319 UC.

  date made

  1960

  maker

  Remington Rand Univac

  ID Number

  CI.317980.01

  catalog number

  317980.01

  accession number

  317980

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  JTC E-7583 1967 Punch Cards with Bell Telephone Laboratories Logo

  Description

  One of these eighty-column punch cards is blue, the other yellow. The corners are rounded with the upper left hand corner truncated. A Bell Telephone Laboratories logo is at the center of both cards. A mark along the bottom edge of both cards reads: BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES, INCORPORATED JTC 1967 MILITARY MANUFACTURING INFORMATION DEPT. E-7583-E(7-57). A mark along the left side reads: GENERAL APPLICATIONS CARD.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1967

  maker

  Jersey Tab Card Corporation

  ID Number

  1996.0142.04

  catalog number

  1996.0142.04

  accession number

  1996.0142

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  JTC E-8450 6698 Punch Cards Marked with Bell System Logo

  Description

  These two eighty-column paper punch cards were made for Bell Telephone Laboratories. One is cream-colored with a blue stripe, the other cream-colored with an orange stripe. The cards have rounded corners and are truncated in the uppler right corner. Columns 1 to 50 and 73 to 80 have the digits 0 to 9 in each column. The intervening columns have a variety of letters and punctuation marks. A Bell System logo is in the center of the card. A mark on the right side reads: GE 600 SELF INTERPRETING CARD. A mark along the bottom toward the left reads: BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES, INCORPORATED. A mark along the bottom toward the right reads: GE 600 CHARACTER SET. A mark along the left side reads: E-8450 (10-65) JTC 6698.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1965

  maker

  Jersey Tab Card Corporation

  ID Number

  1996.0142.06

  catalog number

  1996.0142.06

  accession number

  1996.0142

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  UCLA Computer Club Punch Card

  Description

  In the 1960s, when UCLA (the University of California at Los Angeles) purchased a commercial computer from IBM, students formed a club where they could share their knowledge of the new machines. At that time, data and programs were entered onto computers using punched cards like this one. The decoration of the card was up to the individual customer. This is a pink eighty-column punch card for an IBM computer. Each column contains the digits from 0 to 9. The background of the card shows the head of a moose propped in front of a log. An open book lies on the left, and magnetic tape is in the mouth of the moose.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1960s

  maker

  IBM

  ID Number

  1996.0142.25

  catalog number

  1996.0142.25

  accession number

  1996.0142

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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