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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Pamphlet, SOBAX Solid State Calculator ICC-2500W Owner's Instruction Manual
- Description
- This spiral-bound pamphlet describes in English the operation of the Sony SOBAX ICC-2500W desktop electronic calculator.
- For a related object, see CI*334390.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1969
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.15
- catalog number
- 313986.15
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Pamphlet, SOBAX Sony Solid State Calculator ICC-500W Owner's Instruction Manual
- Description
- This pamphlet gives instructions in English for Sony's "solid state abacus," an early desktop electronic calculator. The instructions were printed in Japan and distributed by Sony Corporation of America in Long Island City, New York.
- For a related object, see CI*334389.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1968
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.10
- catalog number
- 313986.10
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Press Release, Sony Demonstrates Desk Top Programmable Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This is a photocopy of a press release by Sony Corporation of America announcing the demonstration of the ICC-2500 desktop electronic calculator at the New York Hilton Hotel on October 22, 1969.
- For a related object see CI*334390.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1969-10-22
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.12
- catalog number
- 313986.12
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Documentation, Sony SOBAX ICC-500W: The World's Most Advanced Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This square white leaflet describes a very early commercial Sony desktop calculator, the SOBAX ICC-500W.
- For a related object, see CI*334389.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1968
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.08
- catalog number
- 313986.08
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Press Release, New from Sony - Programmable Electronic Calculator Shown
- Description
- This is a photocopy of a press release by Sony Corporation of America announcing the display of the ICC-2500 desktop electronic calculator.
- For a related object, see CI*334390.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1969-10-22
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.11
- catalog number
- 313986.11
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Press Releases in Japanese, SOBAX ICC-2500 and SOBAX ICC-500
- Description
- One photocopy of a press release in Japanese describes the Sony SOBAX ICC-2500 desktop electronic calculator. A second press release in Japanese describes the SOBAX ICC-500.
- For related objects, see CI*334390 and CI*334389.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1967-1969
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.13
- catalog number
- 313986.13
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Pamphlet, SONY SOBAX ICC-2500
- Description
- This pamphlet describes in Japanese the operation of the Sony SOBAX ICC-2500.
- For a related object, see CI*334390.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1969
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.14
- catalog number
- 313986.14
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Press Release, All-Electronic Desk Calculator Developed by Sony
- Description
- This documentation consists of a photocopy of a press release in English, copy of a press release in Japanese, and a copy of a photograph of a prototype Sony all-electronic desk calculator. The calculator was to be exhibited in the Japanese Pavilion at the New York World Exposition opening in April 1964.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1964
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.04
- catalog number
- 313986.04
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Pamphlet on the SOBAX ICC-500 Desktop Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This pamphlet describes the operation of the SOBAX ICC-500, an early desktop electronic calculator made by Sony Corporation. The pamphlet is written in Japanese.
- For a related object, see CI*334389.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1968
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.09
- catalog number
- 313986.09
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Blueprints, Description of Modifications Prior to Public Announcement of the MD-6, Dated July 18, 1964
- Description
- These documents describe modifications to the initial trial model of this early Sony desktop electronic calculator. Photocopies.
- For a related object, see CI*334388.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1964
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.06
- catalog number
- 313986.06
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Press Release, Sony Portable Electronic Calculator "SOBAX ICC-500"
- Description
- These four sheets are photocopies of a three-page press release and two photographs of an early desktop electronic calculator sold by Sony Corporation.
- For a related object, see CI*334389.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1967
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.07
- catalog number
- 313986.07
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Blueprints, First Engineering Report on the MD-6, Dated July 18, 1964
- Description
- These blueprints describe the materials and components used in the SONY MD-6 desktop electronic calculator. They may be photocopies.
- For a related object, see CI*334388.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1964
- maker
- Sony Corporation
- ID Number
- CI.313986.05
- catalog number
- 313986.05
- accession number
- 313986
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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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
-
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
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Monroe EPIC 3000 Electronic Calculator
- Description
- In 1966, Monroe International, Inc., a descendent of the Monroe Calculating Machine Company and a division of Litton Industries, introduced its EPIC electronic programmable printing calculator. The device includes a desktop keyboard and printing unit, and an attached calculating unit that sits on the floor. It has transistors, but not microprocessors.
- At the center of the desktop part of the machine is an array of nine digit keys with a 0 bar below it. To the right of these keys are function keys for the four arithmetic operations as well as a square root key and enter and print bars. To the left of the digit keys are keys for start, decimal point placement, interchange of the contents of two registers, repeat, and other operations. The printing mechanism is behind the keyboard. It displayed entries as well as the answer. A mark next to the paper tape reads: EPIC 3000. A mark below this reads: MONROE li.
- Monroe also sold a similar electronic calculator called the EPIC 2000.
- The calculator was given to the Museum by George C. Davis, who apparently used it in work as a consulting engineer in radio and television in Washington, D.C.
- References:
- Accession file, instructions 1983.0471.03.
- Personal Communication, Monroe Systems for Business.
- Vintage Calculators Web Museum.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1966
- maker
- Monroe International Corporation
- ID Number
- 1983.0471.01
- accession number
- 1983.0471
- catalog number
- 1983.0471.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Ribbon for a Monroe EPIC 3000 Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This two-color ribbon is for a Monroe EPIC 3000 electronic calculator, with its paper box. One feature of the machine highly touted in advertisements was its ability to print entries and results of calculations, unlike some other electronic calculators.
- For related objects, see the rest of accession 1983.0471.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1966
- ID Number
- 1983.0471.02
- accession number
- 1983.0471
- catalog number
- 1983.0471.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Logic Unit for the Green Machine, A Prototype Desktop Electronic Calculator
- Description
- As a graduate student in electrical engineering at the University of California – Berkeley, Thomas E. Osborne began thinking about the design of a desktop electronic calculator that could compute 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 a prototype keyboard and display (1978.0311.01), as well as this prototype logic unit.
- The framework of the logic unit is a group of five rectangular perforated boards, arranged in the shape of a box. Numerous smaller boards are perpendicular to the base and to three of the sides. Metal supports are along the base of two opposite sides. Circuit components include transistors, resistors, capacitors, diodes, and a plug. A second plug is loose in the box.
- 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. 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.
- 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
- 1978.0311.02
- accession number
- 1978.0311
- catalog number
- 1978.0311.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
HP9100 Prototype Desktop Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This transistorized electronic calculator is the prototype for the first electronic calculator sold by Hewlett-Packard Company, the HP 9100. The machine was notable for its ability to compute transcendental functions at the push of a button, and for the range of values that could be computed.
- The prototype has a metal case painted gray. At the right center is an array of nine digit keys and a 0 bar, with clear display, enter exponent, and change sign keys above these. To the right of these keys is an array of fourteen programming keys. Left of the digit keys are keys for arithmetic operations, square roots, and shifting the position of variables within the x, y, and z registers of the calculator . The fifteen further keys to the left are for a variety of trigonometric, hyperbolic, and exponential functions.
- Above these keys are four switches. The leftmost determines whether angles entered and computed are in radians or degrees. The second switch from the left determines whether the decimal point is floating or fixed. The third switch turns the power on or off. The rightmost switch sets the mode as run or program. A display and a dial that may be set between 0 and 9 are behind the keyboard and switches. At the back are a power cord and a connector.
- The prototype brought together ideas of Thomas Osborne, Malcolm McMillan, and others at Hewlett-Packard. For Osborne’s earlier prototype, see 19780311.01 and 1978.0311.02. For a production model of the HP9100B, see 2012.0044.01.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1966
- date received
- 1978
- maker
- Hewlett-Packard Company
- Osborne, Thomas E.
- ID Number
- 1978.0311.03
- accession number
- 1978.0311
- catalog number
- 1978.0311.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Friden Model 1150 Desktop Electronic Calculator
- Description
- This electronic calculator was introduced by the Friden Division of Singer Company in 1968. It was the first printing calculator sold by that company. The instrument has an array of nine square plastic keys for entering digits as well as a zero bar and a decimal point bar. Right of the digit keys are addition and subtraction keys. Left are other function keys. Above these keys are memory, clearance and duplication keys. At the top left is a place for a paper tape.
- A mark on the front of the calculator reads: Friden. Another mark there reads: 1150 ELECTRONIC PRINTING CALCULATOR. According to the accession file, the machine has serial number 532. According to contemporary newspaper advertisements, it sold for $1,495 at a time when rival electronic printing calculators cost between $2,250 and $3,800.
- References:
- Accession File.
- [Advertisement], Washington Post, March 19 1968, p. 23.
- [Advertisement], New York Times, February 27 1968, p. 68.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1968
- maker
- Friden, Inc.
- ID Number
- CI.334381
- catalog number
- 334381
- accession number
- 313935
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Wang Loci-2 Card Reader
- Description
- The Wang LOCI II is one of relatively few calculators that had a variety of peripheral equipment. Included in the price of the machine was this metal card reader, painted light blue. It read specially designed punched program cards. A card is in the reader.
- A mark on the bottom of the card reader reads: Wang Laboratories, Inc. (/) ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DEVICES (/) LOCI CARD READER (/) MODEL NO. [blank] (/) SERLAL NO. 22806 (/) TEWKSBURY, MASS. U.S.A.
- For further information about the LOCI II, see 1980.0096.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1965 or later
- maker
- Wang Laboratories
- ID Number
- 1980.0096.01.1
- accession number
- 1980.0096
- catalog number
- 1980.0096.01.1
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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