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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Book, The Business Machines and Equipment Digest
- Description
- This is a detailed catalogued of business equipment available in 1927, compiled by a Chicago firm headed bty J. H. McCarthy.
- This copy of the book is from the Patent Library of the Marchant Calculating Machine Company.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1927
- maker
- Equipment Research Corporation
- ID Number
- 1979.3084.160
- catalog number
- 1979.3084.160
- nonaccession number
- 1979.3084
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Book, Office Equipment Catalogue, First Annual Edition
- Description
- The full title of this catalogue well reflects its content. It is: Office Equipment Catalogue A Compilation of Condensed and Standardized Catalogue Data of Office Appliances and Devices, Furniture and Equipment, Office Supplies, Buisness Systems and Business Services, that contribute directly or indirectly to Office Efficiency, the uses of which are not obvious, with a General Directory of such Equipment, Materials, Systems and Services, Classified and Cross-Indexed, and A Book Section - Cataloguing and briefly describing a list of the Most Important Business Books selected by the Publishers, for the convenient reference of practising [sic] Accountants, Purchasing Agents, Systematizers and Office Executives." This copy of the book is from the Patent Library of the Marchant Calculating Machine Company.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1924
- maker
- Office Equipment Catalogue, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1979.3084.159
- catalog number
- 1979.3084.159
- nonaccession number
- 1979.3084
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Sheets, Office Equipment Catalogue, Third Annual Edition
- Description
- Tis document is a continuation of the Office Equipment Catalogue, First Annual Edition (1979.3084.15), now published from Chicago. President of the publisher is Stanley H. Twist.
- This example is from the Patent Library at the Marchant Calculating Machine Company.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1926
- maker
- Office Equipment Catalogue, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1979.3084.161
- catalog number
- 1979.3084.161
- nonaccession number
- 1979.3084
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Brandt Automatic Cashier
- Description
- By the late 19th century, many American workers were paid in cash. Putting together packets with precisely the right bills and coins was a tedious task. In the 1890s, Edward J. Brandt, a cashier at the Bank of Watertown in Watertown, Wisconsin, invented a machine that could dispense change automatically.
- The machine dispenses change in amounts between 1 cent and 99 cents. It has eight channels across the front, three for pennies, one for nickels, two for dimes, one for quarters and one for 50-cent pieces. Above and behind the channels is an array of 99 plastic keys, numbered from 1 to 99. Pressing another key, marked "5," releases five pennies. On the right are keys marked 10, 25, 25 and 100 that give change for these amounts. The entire coin holder can be removed from the mechanism for storage of coins. Pushing down a key moves a bar that pushes coins from a channel into a compartment with a trap door at its base. Pushing the trap door back releases change into the hand.
- A mark on the front and the back of the machine reads reads: BRANDT AUTOMATIC CASHIER. A mark on a brass plate on the back of the machine reads: PATENTED (/) JULY 11, 1899. . . (/) DEC. 12, 1916 (/) 48184 93421 10014 PATENTS PENDING (/) T.M.Reg.U.S.Pat.Off. (/) Brandt Manufacturing Company (/) WATERTOWN, WISCONSIN. The serial number, marked on the right side at the front, is 22446.
- Brandt’s machine received medals at the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris and the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. This example dates from the 1920s.
- References:
- James H. McCarthy, The American Digest of Business Machines, Chicago, 1924, p. 196–197.
- Charles J. Wallman, Edward J. Brandt, Inventor, Watertown, WI: Brandt, Inc., 1984.
- Accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1925
- maker
- Brandt Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 2001.0011.01
- accession number
- 2001.0011
- catalog number
- 2001.0011.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Powers Tabulating Machine Components
- Description
- This object consists of two identical shaped steel pieces from the printer section of a Powers tabulating machine. Each carries ten pieces of type that fit into the arch of the piece. At the top is a 0, at the bottom a 9.
- Powers took out patents for tabulating machines in the early 20th century. These pieces are similar but not identical to those shown in patents of 1917 and 1921, and to pieces from a Powers Accounting Machine Corporation parts catalog from 1923. They are more similar to drawings in a patent filed in 1926 by Joseph R. Merkle and assigned to Remington Rand, Inc., the successor firm to Powers Accounting Machine Company.
- References:
- Powers Accounting Machine Corporation, Powers Tabulating Equipment, Book 3, New York: Powers Accounting Machine Corporation, 1923, Plate 507, Plate 510. This document is 1992.3215.03.
- James Powers, "Tabulator-Printer for Statistical Purposes," U.S. Patent 1,245,502, November 6, 1917.
- James Powers, "Combined Perforating and Printing Tabulator Mechanism," U.S. Patent 1,388,299, August 23, 1921.
- Joseph R. Merkle, "Tabulating Machine," U.S. Patent 1,884,072, October 25, 1932. This patent was filed March 27, 1926.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1926
- ID Number
- 1991.3180.02
- nonaccession number
- 1991.3180
- catalog number
- 1991.3180.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Autopoint Mechanical Pencil
- Description
- This 5-3/4" black plastic and chrome-plated mechanical pencil is marked near its top: CHICAGO Autopoint USA (/) PATD AND PATS PEND. The word "Autopoint" is in script. The end of the pencil above the mark uncaps to reveal an eraser. A metal clip allows the pencil to be secured in a shirt pocket. The pen is stored in a rectangular gray cardboard box marked: Pencil Used by H H sr. (c[h]rome plated).
- Autopoint began manufacturing mechanical pencils in Chicago in 1918. Inventors assigned at least 30 patents to Autopoint between 1918 and 1929. One of the patents referred to on this pencil was taken out by Frank Deli of Chicago, for a metal pin that screwed into a threaded cylinder inside the pencil tip and thus acted to propel the lead. The diameter of the pin suggests the lead width was about 1 mm. The body of the pencil was to be made from bakelite or a similar plastic. Deli applied for his patent in 1921, although it was not granted until 1925. Bakelite, the plastics manufacturer, owned an interest in Autopoint from the 1920s to the 1940s. After several corporate acquisitions and reorganizations, Autopoint moved to Janesville, Wisc., in 1979, where it continues operations.
- His daughter-in-law reported that Herman Hollerith Sr. owned this pencil. Hollerith (1860–1929) trained as a mining engineer. He joined the U.S. Census Office in 1879, where he pioneered the development of punch cards for tabulating machines. These machines dramatically sped up the processing of data in the 1890 census. In 1896 he founded the Tabulating Machine Company, which merged with three other companies in 1911 and became the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) in 1924. Hollerith retired in 1921 and raised cattle on a farm in Maryland until his death, so he presumably acquired the pencil during his retirement. For depictions and examples of Hollerith machines, see 1977.0503.01, 1977.0503.02, and 2011.3121.01, MA.312896, MA.335634, MA.335635, and MA.333894. See also the NMAH object group on tabulating machines, http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/tabulating-equipment.
- References: Autopoint, Inc., "About Us," http://autopointinc.com/about-us; Frank C. Deli, "Pencil" (U.S. Patent 1,552,123 issued September 1, 1925); Robert L. Bolin, "Web Resources Concerning the Mechanical Pencil Industry in Chicago," http://unllib.unl.edu/Bolin_resources/pencil_page/index.htm; William R. Aul, "Herman Hollerith: Data Processing Pioneer," Think, November 1972, http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/builders/builders_hollerith.html; United States Census Bureau, "Herman Hollerith," http://www.census.gov/history/www/census_then_now/notable_alumni/herman_hollerith.html.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1921-1929
- maker
- Autopoint, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1977.0503.03
- catalog number
- 336122
- accession number
- 1977.0503
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Powers Tabulating Machine Component
- Description
- This very small section of a Powers tabulating machine comes from the adding machine part of the device. It consists of two shaped metal pieces held together by a rivet such that one swings freely. It has no maker’s marks.
- Reference:
- Powers Accounting Machine Corporation, Powers Tabulating Equipment, Book 3, New York: Powers Accounting Machine Corporation, 1923, Plate 507, Plate 607 (AM Sec 150). This document is 1992.3215.03.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1920s
- maker
- Powers Accounting Machine Corporation
- ID Number
- 1991.3180.01
- nonaccession number
- 1991.3180
- catalog number
- 1991.3180.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Book, Financial Engineering
- Description
- Otto Berger Goldman, a consulting engineer and professor of heat engineering at the Oregon State Agricultural College, published thes "text for consulting, managing and designing engineers and for students" in 1920. It was inteneded to assist engineers in determining the "financial efficiency of undertakings." In addition to an introduction, the book includes chapters on cost segregation, fundamental financial calculations, basic costs, vestances, unit cost determination, determination of size of a system for best financial efficience, and determination of type and size of units. A second edition would appear in 1923.
- This copy of the book is from the personal library of mining engineer William F. Eberth (1905-1976), who spent fifteen years of his career with the Atomic Energy Commission working in South Africa.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1920
- maker
- Goldman, O. B.
- ID Number
- MA.319872.05
- accession number
- 1975319872
- catalog number
- 319872.05
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Model Relating to Powers Tabulating Equipment
- Description
- The wooden base of this model holds a metal container with a paper punch card that fits in it. A metal piece swings from a crosspiece above the card. The base also holds supports for another metal crosspiece. Three metal pieces rotate with this crosspiece. The base also holds two larger, facing metal rectangles. One rectangle has a plastic piece screwed to the top.
- A mark on the right side of the punch card reads: POWERS ACCOUNTING MACHINE COMPANY (/) ACCOUNTS PAYABLE. A mark on the left side of the punch card reads: P1384. The punched holes are round.
- A piece of paper pasted to the top of the base reads: This model represents my new (/) invention of a tabulator in connec- (/) tion with perforated cards, elimina- (/) ting a pin box of 540 pins and sub- (/) stitution forty-five levers instead. (/) Also eliminating connection box, with (/) both of these improvements the speed (/) will be doubled and such machine will (/) be small in size, cheaper to build, (/) more flexible and easier to manipulate. (/) August 19, 1924 (/) James Powers. Also signing the document were Fred J. Dole, Charles E. Whiteman and Achilles Rovegno, all of whom had associations with Francis H. Richards of New York, Powers’s patent attorney.
- No patent corresponding to this invention has been found.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1924
- maker
- James Powers
- ID Number
- 1991.0871.03
- accession number
- 1991.0871
- catalog number
- 1991.0871.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
National Cash Register, Model 1852-E
- Description
- This large cash register has a wood and metal exterior painted black, and five columns of keys. The keys in the leftmost column indicate the type of transaction. Right of these keys are four columns of 9 keys, the leftmost for $90 down to $10, the next for $9 to $1, the next for 90 cents to 10 cents, and the last for 9 cents to 1 cent. Hence the machine can have purchases entered of up to $99.99. It is a National model 1852-E, made by National Cash Register Company of Dayton, Ohio. It has serial number 2925055 and dates from 1929.
- The paper tape for dispensing receipts is on the left. Above the keys are indicators showing the type of transaction and the amount. A wide cash drawer is at the bottom of the machine. The machine is electrically operated, but there is a place for an operating crank on the right side.
- According to the donor, the register was used at Mosely's Jewelry Store on U Street in Washington, D.C. It has an indentation from a 32-caliber bullet, produced in one of the many times the store was robbed. The base price for this machine new was $350.00 in 1927.
- References:
- Equipment Research Corporation, Business Machines and Equipment Digest, 1928, vol. 1, section 10–1, p. 18.
- Accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1929
- maker
- National Cash Register Company
- ID Number
- 1986.0899.01
- catalog number
- 1986.0899.01
- accession number
- 1986.0899
- maker number
- 2925055
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Gang Punch Made by the British Tabulating Machine Company
- Description
- In the 1880s American engineer Herman Hollerith devised a system to compile statistical information by entering data on individuals onto punched cards, allowing holes in the cards to admit wires and complete electrical circuits, and using electric counters to accumulate totals.
- Hollerith devised this kind of punch, which he called a gang punch, to punch data that was common to several cards. For data on a census, this might be the enumeration district. For payroll applications, it would be the date of payday.
- In 1904 a British firm organized to lease Hollerith machines in Britain and much of the rest of the wold. A subcontractor manufactured punch cards. From the 1920s. the British Tabulating Machine Company manufactured punch card equipment itself. This gang punch is one of its products.
- This punch has a 12x10 array of holes.The rows of holes are labeled Y, X, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Six metal cylinders fit into the holes for punching, with a manually operated press to push them down. Cards are fed and removed by hand, from right to left. On the left is a metal plate with zigzag rows of holes on its top front and top back edge. These may be used to indicate the position of the card before punching.
- A tag on the right side of the punch under the card bed reads: THE (/) BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE Co (/) VICTORIA HOUSE, SOUTHHAMPTON ROW, LONDON, W.C.1 (/) GREAT BRITAIN AND U. S. A. - BRITISH BUILT. A stamp on the press reads: 5390.
- References:
- M. Campbell-Kelly, ICL: A Business and Technical History, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989.
- H. Hollerith, "Quick Setting Press," U. S. Patent 1,193,390, August 1, 1916. The machine shown in this patent has levers for setting the pins. This is not true with this object.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1920s
- maker
- British Tabulating Machine Company
- ID Number
- MA.320563
- accession number
- 241402
- catalog number
- 320563
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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