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
21
Page 1 of 2
-
National Cash Register, Eight-Drawer
- Description
- This machine has a metal case painted brown, and sits on top of eight cash drawers arranged in two columns of four drawers. It has four columns of plastic keys for registering dollars and cents ($10 to $90, $1 to $9, 10 cents to 90 cents, and 1cent to 9 cents). A column right of the number keys keys lettered A, B, D, E, H, K, L and M. A keyhole is right of each of the lettered keys. Right of these is a lever for setting the operation to be carried out and the motor bar.
- Left of the keyboard are registers marked with the same letters as those in the column of lettered keys. Left of this is the space for the paper tape. The machine has serial number 390234. It also is marked: X 094(4) RS-8C.
- This particular cash register was used at Lansburgh Department Store in downtown Washington, D.C. When City Stores Company purchased Lansburgh, they gave the machine to the Smithsonian.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1940
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.334908
- maker number
- 3905234
- accession number
- 314157
- catalog number
- 334908
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
St. Louis Cash Register
- Description
- This cash register has a wooden case with glass-covered pop-up indicator numbers at the back. A metal lever that moves laterally across the front of the machine points to multiples of 5 from 5 to 95. On the right is an auxiliary lever for indicating amounts from 0 cents to 4 cents. On the left is another auxiliary lever for indicating 0, 1, or 2 dollars, hence the cash register indicates amounts up to $2.99. When the pointer-lever is depressed, the dollar, multiple of 5 cents, and 0 cent to 4 cent amounts are indicated on separate indicators at the back of the machine.
- A window in the front of the machine is above the scale for the pointer. It is supposed to be covered with a shutter which can be opened only with a lock and key, keeping a secure record of transactions. No lock or key is evident.
- The wooden cash drawer has six compartments for coins and three for paper bills. A spring at the back of the drawer keeps it in place.
- The Model 106 is not listed in McCarthy in 1924, although other St. Louis cash registers are. The company is not mentioned in the 1928 edition of the book.
- References:
- Richard R. Crandell and Sam Robbins, The Incorruptible Cashier, vol. 2, Vestal, N.Y.: Vestal Press Ltd., 1990, pp. 80–84, 319, 320.
- James H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago, 1924, pp.160–162, 585.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1915
- maker
- St. Louis Cash Register Company, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1982.0735.01
- catalog number
- 1982.0735.01
- accession number
- 1982.0735
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
National Cash Register, Model 1544-(4D-1)
- Description
- This machine has four wooden drawers arranged in a single column in a wooden case. The register, in a brown metal case, sits atop the drawers. It has four columns of digit keys (red for dollars, black for cents, with a red five-cent key). Right of these is a column with keys marked A, B, D, E. Right of these is a lever now broken, a motor bar, and a section for the paper tape. The indicators are above the keys. The machine is electric. It has serial number 3672484 and model number 1544-(4D-1).
- The machine was used at the Lansburgh Department Store in downtown Washington, D.C. When City Stores Company purchased Lansburgh, they gave the machine to the Smithsonian.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1937
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.334907
- maker number
- 3672484
- accession number
- 314157
- catalog number
- 334907
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
National Cash Register, Model 79
- Description
- This large, nickel-plated, manually operated cash register is an NCR Model 79. It has three columns of keys for entering numbers, and a fourth column of function keys. The operating crank is on the right side, the cash drawer is below, and a receipt dispenser on the left side. Pop-up indicators above the keys indicate the total purchase. The Model 79 was introduced by NCR in 1892, this example dates from 1894. Principles introduced with this cash register would prove important on numerous later NCR cash registers. For a model of part of the mechanism of this machine, see MA.316703.
- Reference:
- Richard R. Crandall and Sam Robins, The Incorruptible Cashier, vol. 2, Vestal, N.Y.: Vestal Press (1990), pp. 157–169.
- date made
- 1894
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.316701
- accession number
- 225455
- catalog number
- 316701
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Mechanism from National Cash Register, Model 79
- Description
- By 1894, when this device was made, the National Cash Register Company had developed an adding mechanism in which digits were indicated on the rim of rotating wheels. This is such a mechanism. The three wheels could rotate to show totals as high as $9.99. Four other wheels on the left side each have the digits from 0 to 9 around the edge. The mechanism is mounted on a white wooden display board.
- A mechanism of this type was used in the NCR Model 79 cash register (see object MA.316701). NCR went on to develop a more compact mechanism that could represent eight totals, rather than just one, on a single shaft. See object MA.316704.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1894
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.316703
- accession number
- 225455
- catalog number
- 316703
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
McGill Cash Register Patent Model
- Description
- This is the patent model for U.S. patent 350,986, for a cash register. It has a pine box for a base and a wooden case that covers the mechanism and the back part of the box. Four notched metal wheels, mounted vertically, represent tens of dollars, dollars, tens of cents, and cents. Rotating the wheels forward enters digits, which appear in windows to the left of the wheels.
- Moving a knob on the front of the machine raises the case, which is hinged to the box at the back. This reveals the cash register mechanism, including a bell. It also shows the inside of the box, which contains several loose parts. One of these is a broken wooden disc that has a paper disc pasted to it with 26 letters around the edge (not in alphabetical order). The digits from 0 to 9 are listed next to 10 of the letters. This wheel may well not be part of the model. The patent tag with drawing and description is attached to the cash register.
- William C. McGill (1812–1890) was born in Berks County, Pa., and spent his early years at sea. He went to California at the time of the Gold Rush, then to Australia, and then to St. Louis. In 1860, he moved to Cincinnati, and soon was assisting in organizing the first company of military volunteers in that city. After the Civil War, he was a guard at the District of Columbia jail until he resigned in 1882 because of poor health. He reportedly was the first patentee of the bell punch and devoted most of his later years to his inventions.
- References:
- W. C. McGill, "Cash Register," U.S. Patent 350,986, October 19, 1886.
- Washington Post, August 23, 1890 (obituary).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1886
- patentee
- McGill, William C.
- maker
- McGill, William C.
- ID Number
- MA.309344
- accession number
- 89797
- catalog number
- 309344
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
National Cash Register, Class 51
- Description
- In the 1950s Americans increasingly bought groceries in supermarkets, which served large numbers of customers. Consumers selected their own goods, and took them to a clerk who rang up sales. To make transactions as efficient as possible, the National Cash Register Company introduced machines that dispensed coins automatically, avoiding time and errors associated with making change. This change-making cash register went on the market in 1954, with a new model in 1958. This example was given to the Smithsonian by NCR in 1959, on the occasion of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the company.
- Reference:
- Accession file.
- date made
- 1959
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.316702
- accession number
- 225455
- catalog number
- 316702
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
National Cash Register, Model 313
- Description
- This 1913 National Cash Register Company cash register has an ornate brass exterior with a marble plate above the cash drawer. In addition to the wooden cash drawer and pop-up indicators at the top, the machine had two rows of keys. Keys in the top row are numbered 90, 70, 50, 35, 25, 15,and 5 (the rightmost key is missing a label). Keys in the bottom row are labeled $1, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20, 10 (the rightmost key is missing a label). Inside a locked compartment above the keys is a register that reads dollars and cents up to $9999.99, a four-digit customer counter, and a two-digit no sale counter. The machine has no mechanism to assist the clerk in adding up totals for individual sales and no paper tape to serve as a receipt. It has serial number 1265603.
- By this time, aggressive sales tactics, numerous acquisitions, and frequent lawsuits had won NCR dominance in the cash register market. The firm also trained numerous young executives, including Thomas J. Watson. When the U.S. government found NCR in violation of antitrust law, several of these executives, including Watson, were fired. Watson was soon hired by the Computing Tabulating Machine Company of Endicott, New York, becoming the president of a firm that soon was known as IBM.
- References:
- Cortada, James. Before the Computer: IBM, NCR, Burroughs, and Remington Rand and the Industry They Created. 1865-1956, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.
- Crandall, Robert L. and Sam Robins. The Incorruptible Cashier, vol. II, Vestal, N.Y.: The Vestal Press, 1990.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1913
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.333754
- accession number
- 302254
- catalog number
- 333754
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Ritty Model 1 Cash Register, Possibly a Replica
- Description
- After the Civil War, as American cities and businesses grew, business owners increasingly hired strangers to assist customers. At the time, it was all too easy for clerks and barkeepers to keep part of the money they received. The cash register, invented by the Ritty brothers of Dayton, Ohio, had a large display to indicate the sums customers paid. It also had a locked compartment that tallied total receipts. This is the Rittys' first machine, or an early replica of it. It was the basis for a commercial product called "Ritty's Incorruptible Cashier."
- By 1884 the Rittys were out of business, but their patents were purchased by the National Cash Register Company. NCR made and sold much improved cash registers. By 1904, they were ready to convey the history of their company by showing this model at the St. Louis World's Fair. NCR went on to successfully make not only cash registers and accounting machines but electronic computers.
- date made
- ca 1904
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.316700
- accession number
- 225455
- catalog number
- 316700
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
McCaskey Credit Register
- Description
- The McCaskey Register Company of Alliance, Ohio, manufactured systems for keeping track of accounts and credit registers from its organization in 1903 until its purchase by Victor Adding Machine Company in 1953. The firm was started by Perry A. McCaskey, a grocer in Lisbon, Ohio, who took out a patent May 19, 1896, for a “bill and account file” (#560523). He also patented a more complex “credit-accounting appliance” on December 30, 1902 (#717247). McCaskey contiinued to assign patents to the McCaskey Register Company through 1907, although ownership of the firm passed to others and several other inventors contributed to the product.
- This particular machine combines a system for keeping accounts with a cash drawer. It has a wooden base with a wooden roll-top cover. A slatted panel designed for holding credit slips fits over the cash drawer and a piece of glass that fits over the panel. A silver-colored metal compartment is on the front of the cash drawer, with five buttons at the top. A bell is at the back on the inside.
- McCaskey patents describe a system of credit slips that fit on bill-holders in the back of the machine. This machine has no bill-holders or slips.
- The donor dated this machine to 1893. However, it was made after the McCaskey Register Company was founded in 1903 and resembles McCaskey’s 1907 patent, hence the later date assigned.
- References:
- P. A. McCaskey, “Credit-Accounting Appliance,” U.S. Patent 717247, December 30, 1902.
- Craig Bara and Lyle Crist, Alliance, Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press, 1998, 29.
- Richard R. Crandall and Sam Robins, The Incorruptible Cashier, vol. 2, Vestal, N.Y.: Vestal Press, 1990, pp. 318–319.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1910
- maker
- McCaskey Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.336597
- accession number
- 1977.0174
- catalog number
- 336597
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Sperry Remington Cash Register
- Description
- This combination adding machine and a cash drawer (AMOD) was made by Sperry Corporation in Searcy, Arkansas. It has four columns of keys for dollars and cents, three additional columns of digit keys, and three columns of keys with various functions on them. An addition bar and cancel button are across the base, and a paper tape at the top. Sales are not displayed visually by any indicator. The metal cash drawer has plastic divisions for change and cash. A key received with the machine controls a lever on the left side.
- Marks on the front and back read: Sperry Remington. A mark in marker on the underside reads: 686155. A label attached to the underside reads: MANUFACTURED BY (/) REMINGTON RAND (/) OFFICE MACHINES DIVISION (/) MADE IN SEARCY, ARK.. U.S.A. This label also reads: MODEL 146308-10.
- The Remington Rand Division of Sperry Rand Corporation began manufacturing cash registers in 1960, when the corporation acquired the adding machine and cash register division of Clary Corporation, including its factory in Searcy. The form of Sperry Remington trademark on the machine is from about 1968. By 1978, the name of Sperry Rand Corporation had changed because of other mergers, and electronic cash registers were becoming common. For these reasons, the approximate date of the machine is 1970.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1970
- maker
- Sperry Remington
- ID Number
- 2002.0281.01
- accession number
- 2002.0281
- catalog number
- 2002.0281.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
National Cash Register, Model 211 (1)
- Description
- This gray-green machine has metal exterior and mechanism, and a black plastic plate above the cash drawer, plastic keys and a plastic window. Four columns with nine digit keys each are on the right front and then five columns, each with nine keys, for entering amounts from hundreds of dollars down to cents. Right of these keys are keys indicating types of transactions, as well as TOTAL and SUBTOTAL keys. Right of these is a column of keys labeled with Roman numerals from I to VIII. Next to this are eight windows in a column. Right of these is the operating bar. Indicators are at the top. A space at the front may be meant for a paper tape. The machine has an electric cord, whose measurements are not included in the dimensions. The paper tape is missing.
- The machine was made by the National Cash Register Company of Dayton, Ohio in 1943. It is a size 211 (1) and has serial number 4060872. According to a label on the bottom of the cash drawer, it was made for the Mary Webb Beauty Salon on Orange Street in Wilmington, Delaware.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1943
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- 1987.0734.01
- accession number
- 1987.0734
- catalog number
- 1987.0734.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Burroughs Cash Register Model
- Description
- This manufacturer's model of a cash register has a metal case painted black and four columns of black and white digit keys. To the right of these is an operating bar and various function keys. At the left is a paper tape. At the top are indicator digits in an enclosed case. At the front are two rows of register wheels. A box below is in the shape of a cash drawer. The clearance key is on the right front.The machine has a black cord.
- This example is from the collection of the Patent Department of Burroughs Corporation. According to the accession file, it was an invention of Walter Pasinski. A patent case relating to it was abandoned March 5, 1953.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1950
- maker
- Burroughs Adding Machine Company
- ID Number
- 1982.0794.19
- catalog number
- 1982.0794.19
- accession number
- 1982.0794
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
National Cash Register, Model 1054X-6
- Description
- This cash register has a wooden frame covered with brass and a metal mechanism. It has four columns of keys for entering amounts, an operating button, five function keys, a paper tape, a cash drawer, and pop-up indicators.
- Above the keys is a locked door. Lifting it reveals counters for numbers of customers and amounts spent. This is National Cash Register Company’s model 1054X-6, with serial number 1703570. It dates from 1919.
- date made
- 1919
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.319500
- accession number
- 238759
- catalog number
- 319500
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
National Cash Register, Eight-Drawer
- Description
- This machine has eight cash drawers, arranged in two columns of four drawers each. The register, with its brown metal case, sits atop these. It has four columns of digit keys (red for dollars, white for cents, and a red 5-cent key). Right of these are eight letter keys (A, B, D, E, H, K, L, and M) and a total key. Right of these is a lever which can be set at the desired operation, and a motor bar. The machine also has an operating handle. The paper tape is on the left and the glass-covered indicators are at the top.
- The machine has serial number 390234. It also is marked: X 094(4) RS-8C.
- This cash register was used at the Lansburgh department store in downtown Washington, D.C. When City Stores Company purchased Lansburgh, they gave the machine to the Smithsonian.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1939
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.334909
- maker number
- 3848004
- accession number
- 314157
- catalog number
- 334909
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Mechanism from National Cash Register
- Description
- By 1959 the mechanism for accumulating totals on NCR cash registers had become relatively compact. This cash register component from that period has the counters needed to represent eight totals along one shaft. It is somewhat smaller than the mechanism for a single total used in 1894. This smaller mechanism was used in cash register MA.316702.
- Reference:
- Accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1959
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.316704
- accession number
- 225455
- catalog number
- 316704
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
McCaskey Credit Register
- Description
- The McCaskey Credit Register Company of Alliance, Ohio, was in business from 1903 until its acquisition by the Victor Adding Machine Company in 1953. It manufactured a variety of devices to assist in accounting, including this one for keeping track of the accounts of customers.
- The instrument is made of ferrous metal, painted black. The outside frame holds eight panels or leaves that rest vertically but may be opened out horizontally. The back of the front leaf and the front of the second are divided to allow an alphabetic index of the later leaves, with small paper slips giving the names of customers and a number for each name. The back of the second leaf, the front and back of the third through seventh leaves, and the front of the eighth leaf are divided into compartments, each of which has a clamp to hold the sales slips in place. These compartments are numbered from 1 to 200. Patent dates listed on the front of the machine range from October 10, 1899, to February 4, 1913.
- A mark on the front of the machine reads: The McCASKEY (/) McCASKEY SYSTEMS (/) THE McCASKEY REGISTER CO. (/) ALLIANCE, OHIO. A mark on a metal tab on the borrom of the inside of the front reads: 110831. A mark on a small slip on the first panel reads: 68 - York Springs Fire Co. A mark on a small slip on the second panel reads: Huntington Township. York Springs is a town in Adams County (near Gettysburg), Pennsylvania. The town of Huntington is the county seat of Huntington County, Pennsylvania.
- Reference:
- Rand-McNally Library Atlas, 1912.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1913
- maker
- McCaskey Register Company
- ID Number
- 1989.0186.01
- accession number
- 1989.0186
- catalog number
- 1989.0186.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Hough's Security Cash Recorder
- Description
- In the late 19th century, as American shopkeepers hired strangers to work in their stores, they showed a new concern for keeping track of retail transactions. Azel Clarence Hough (1859-1946), the son of a creamery owner in South Butler, New York, took out a range of patents for the design and improvement of cash drawers between 1892 and 1899 (U.S. patents 484501, 486107, D22024, 534795 and 618034). His ideas served as the basis of the products of the Hough Cash Recorder Company of Indian Orchard, Massachusetts.
- This example of Hough’s Security Cash Recorder is a large oak box with an oak lid. At the front on the right is a lock for the cash drawer; the drawer is on the lower left front. On top is an opening that shows a roll of paper. Salesclerks were required to enter a total on this paper roll and advance it in order to open the cash drawer.
- This model is quite similar to the Hough Security Cash Register No. 70 shown in an advertisement reproduced in Crandall and Robins, p. 318. This machine sold for $15. Hough Cash Recorder Company advertised in Hardware Dealer’s magazine as late as June, 1906. However, its products were soon outpaced by the autographic registers sold by NCR.
- In the early 20th century, Hough became interested in the manufacture of wooden blinds, and took out several related patents. He first manufactured shades in South Butler, then in Worcester, Massachusetts, and then in Janesville, Wisconsin. The Hough Shade Corporation he formed survives under the name of Hufcor.
- References:
- Dorothy Wiggins, “Town of Butler Agricultural & Comprehensive Plan," South Butler Public Forum – September 15, 2008, pp. 1–2.
- American Lumberman, vol. 1, 1940, p. 58.
- Richard R. Crandall and Sam Robins, The Incorruptible Cashier, vol. 2, Vestal, N.Y.: Vestal Press, 1990, pp. 316–318.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1895
- maker
- Hough Cash Recorder Company
- ID Number
- 1983.0881.01
- accession number
- 1983.0881
- catalog number
- 1983.0881.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
National Cash Register, Model 1544 (4D-1)
- Description
- This NCR cash register has four drawers in two columns. It has four columns of plastic digit keys, white for dollars, tens of dollars, and 5 cents, and black for cents. A column of four keys right of the number keys has keys labeled A1, 6, B2 and B2. Right of these is a lever, which can be set on the operation desired, and a motor bar. The paper tape holder is on the right side, the indicators are above the keyboard, and the electric cord is at the back. The serial number is 4931871, the model number 1544 (4D-1).
- The machine was used at Lansburgh department store in downtown Washington, D.C. When City Stores Company purchased Lansburgh, they gave the machine to the Smithsonian.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1952
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- MA.334906
- maker number
- 4931871
- accession number
- 314157
- catalog number
- 334906
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
National Cash Register, Size 45
- Description
- The National Cash Register Company of Dayton, Ohio, expanded rapidly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It soon offered not only registers that kept digital records of transactions, but so-called autographic registers that simply allowed one to maintain written records of sales. This example consists of an oak box with a hinged lid, an opening in the lid that reveals a paper tape on which sales may be recorded, and a cash drawer. The decoration at the back of the register, the frame around the paper tape, and the handle on the door are of brass.
- The National Size 45 autographic register sold in 1908 for $20.00. For related documentation see 1987.0751.03 and 1987.0751.04.
- Reference: Richard R. Crandall and Sam Robins, The Incorruptible Cashier, vol. 2, Vestal, N.Y.: Vestal Press, 1990, pp. 304–315, esp. 312.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1913
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- 1987.0751.01
- accession number
- 1987.0751
- catalog number
- 1987.0751.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Pages
Filter Your Results
Click to remove a filter:
