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
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CDC 5081 Punch Cards
- Description
- These paper eighty-column punch cards are yellow, green, blue, pink and orange (two of each color). The corners of the cards are rounded, with the right top corner truncated. A mark on the lower left of the front reads: CDC 5081.
- Compare 1996.0142.18, a similar eighty-column card made by IBM.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- maker
- Control Data
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.01
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.01
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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IBM 417110 Punch Card with Bell Telephone Laboratories Logo
- Description
- This yellow paper eighty-column punch catd has rounded corners, with the uppler left corner truncated. The Bell Telephone Laboratories logo is at the center. A mark on the card reads: GENERAL APPLICATIONS CARD (/) BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES, INCORPORATED. Another mark reads: MILITARY MANUFACTURING INFORMATION DEPT. Another mark reads: IBM 417110. A final mark reads: E7583-E(7-57).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1957
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.03
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.03
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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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
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IBM B92982 Punch Card for Hewlett-Packard Educational BASIC
- Description
- In March of 1968, Hewlett Packard introduced a version of the programming language BASIC for use on its timesharing electronic computers. By 1970, the company had developed “Hewlett-Packard Educational BASIC” for use in educational settings, both with computers and especially with programmable desktop calculators. This punch card is for writing programs in that language. The card was to be marked with a pencil rather than punched, making it more affordable. Inexpensive handheld electronic calculators soon displaced desktop machines in the classroom, and cards of this type were never widely used.
- The cream-colored card has square corners and truncated left corner. There are four columns for the statement number, two columns of the statement, thirty columns for letters, numbers, or punctuation marks, and a final column to indicate whether the statement continues on the next card - a total of thirty-seven columns..
- References:
- HP Journal, November, 1968 and October, 1970.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1970
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.13
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.13
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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IBM 5076 Bicentennial Punch Card
- Description
- This cream-colored eighty-column punch card has round corners and a truncated upper left corner. It has an image of the Liberty Bell at the center. A mark there reads: 1776 1976 (/) BICENTENNIAL. A mark along the bottom edge at the left reads: IBM 5076.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1976
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.17
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.17
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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ICT 4-434 Punch Cards Associated with International Computers and Tabulators Limited
- Description
- These two blue eighty-column punch cards have square corners and are truncated in the upper right corner. Marks along the bottom edge read: I [...] C [...] T 4-354; INTERNATIONAL COMPUTERS AND TABULATORS LIMITED; and PRINTED IN ENGLAND.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- maker
- International Computers Ltd
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.20
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.20
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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IBM M70528 Punch Card for the University of Mississippi Computation Center
- Description
- This cream-colored eighty-column punch card has round corners, with the corner on the upper left side truncated. It is marked with the logo of the University of Mississippi. A mark printed on the right reads: UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI (/) COMPUTATION CENTER. A mark at the bottom left reads: IBM M70528.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.27
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.27
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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BP-16309 BSC Punch Cards for AFL-CIO Publications
- Description
- Punched cards were used not only in government, business, and universities, but by labor unions. These white, eighty-column punch cards are printed in gray. They have spaces for the name, address, local number and ledger id number of member of the AFL-CIO. A mark along the left edge reads: AFL-CIO PUBLICATIONS. A mark on the right edge reads: BP-16309 BSC. The cards were received in a tabulating machine (reproducer) with catalog number 336301.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1955
- ID Number
- MA.305981.08
- accession number
- 305981
- catalog number
- 305981.08
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Punch Card Used at the Southern Railway Company
- Description
- Herman Hollerith began manufacturing tabulating machines to compile statistics to the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The nation only compiles a census every ten years, so Hollerith sought business from foreign governments and from commercial customers.
- As early as 1895, the New York Central began using tabulating equipment to track goods moved by the railroad. Hollerith radically redesigned the punch card, putting information in columns with the numbers from 0 to 9. Several columns of numbers comprised a field, which contained information on a single matter. By 1907, the Central was an established customer and other railroads adopted machine accounting. The Southern Railway Company used this 45-column card. It has fields for the date, the receiving station, the waybill number, the code, the forwarding station, the junction point, "Com.", "C.L.", freight, charges, and prepaid amounts.
- Reference:
- G. D. Austrian, Herman Hollerith: Forgotten Pioneer of Information Processing, New York: Columbia University Press, 1982, pp. 111–141, 250–251.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1910
- 1910, roughly
- 1910 roughly
- maker
- Tabulating Machine Company
- ID Number
- MA.317982.01
- accession number
- 317982
- catalog number
- 317982.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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IBM C66908 Punch Cards for Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.
- Description
- Both of these cream-colored eighty-column punch cards have a green stripe across the top. The cards have rounded corners and are truncated in the left corner. The columns are labeled for a variety of accounting entries. A mark on the bottom edge near the left reads: IBM C66908. A mark on the right edge reads: GIRL SCOUTS OF THE U.S.A. A mark on the left edge reads: ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE - CARD FILE.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- user
- Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.12
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.12
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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DD-ZN12945 Punch Cards for the Iowa State University Computation Center
- Description
- Both of these cream colored eighty-column punch cards have a blue stripe across the top. They have rounded corners and are truncated in the right corner. The centers show a logo of Iowa State University. Text near the bottom of each card reads: IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY COMPUTATION CENTER AMES, IOWA 50010. Text at the bottom near the center reads: DD-ZN12945.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- maker
- Data Documents, Incorporated
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.14
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.14
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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IBM 5081 Punch Cards
- Description
- Of these eight eighty-column punch cards, two are cream-colored with rounded corners and a truncated upper left corner. The four pink and two blue cards have square corners. The blue cards and two of the pink cards are truncated in the upper left corner. The other two pink cards are truncated in the upper right corner. A mark near the bottom edge at the left reads: IBM 5081.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.18
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.18
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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MIDCO C-5081 Punch Cards
- Description
- These two green eighty-column punch cards have square corners and are truncated in the upper left corner. A mark in the lower left corner reads: MIDCO C-5081.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.22
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.22
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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IBM Australia 760068 Punch Cards for the New South Wales Institute of Technology Computer Centre
- Description
- These two cream-colored eighty-column punch cards have rounded corners and are truncated in the upper right corner. A mark in the center of each cards reads: THE NEW SOUTH WALES (/) INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (/) COMPUTER CENTRE. A mark on the right edge reads: IBM - 760068. Another mark on that edge reads: PRINTED IN AUSTRALIA.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.28
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.28
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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IBM J89620 Deposit Punch Card
- Description
- This punch card has no columns or rows of numbers. Instead, it is a form to be sent in with bill payments. It is cream-colored with blue print on the front and blue and white stripes overall on the back.
- A mark at the bottom left reads: CNB. A mark on the right side reads: IBM J89620. A mark on the center reads: TO INSURE PROMPT CREDIT TO YOUR ACCOUNT (/) PLEASE RETURN THIS CARD WITH YOUR PAYMENT.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.30
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.30
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
THS 942/3/2367 Punch Cards for Stockholm Datamaskincentral
- Description
- These two white eighty-column punch cards are rounded, with the upper left corner truncated. The columns are divided into eight equal fields of ten columns each. A mark at the center reads: STOCKHOLMS (/) DATAMASKINCENTRAL (/) QZ (/) CD 6400. A mark on the left side reads: ths nr 942/3/2367.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.32
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.32
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
OEI M73926 Punch Card for University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Computer Services Division
- Description
- This cream-colored eighty-column punch card has square corners and a truncated corner on the upper left side. A mark at the center reads: THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE (/) COMPUTING SERVICES DIVISION. A mark near the left edge reads: OEI M73926.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.34
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.34
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- 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
-
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
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