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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LOCI-2 Punch Card
- Description
- This is one of a series of forty-column perforated punch cards designed for use with the programmable Wang LOCI-2 electronic calculator. Each card is marked in the bottom left corner: IBM D56709. Each card is marked on the left side: LOCI (LOGARITHMIC COMPUTER) PROGRAM.
- For the calculator, see 1980.0096.01. For the card reader, see 1980.0096.01.1. For the card punch, see1980.0096.02.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1965 or later
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1980.0096.03.6
- catalog number
- 1980.0096.03.6
- accession number
- 1980.0096
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
LOCI-2 Punch Card
- Description
- This is one of a series of forty-column perforated punch cards designed for use with the programmable Wang LOCI-2 electronic calculator. Each card is marked in the bottom left corner: IBM D56709. Each card is marked on the left side: LOCI (LOGARITHMIC COMPUTER) PROGRAM.
- For the calculator, see 1980.0096.01. For the card reader, see 1980.0096.01.1. For the card punch, see1980.0096.02.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1965 or later
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1980.0096.03.5
- catalog number
- 1980.0096.03.5
- accession number
- 1980.0096
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
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
-
CDC 88157 Punch Card
- Description
- This eighty-column paper punch card is cream-colored. It has square corners and the top left corner is truncated. A mark at the top of the card reads: FORTRAN STATEMENT. A mark on the bottom toward the left reads: CDC 88157. Both Control Data Corporation and IBM issued cards with the number 88157 specifically for entering programs in the language FORTRAN. The first five columns on the card were a label field, the sixth a continuation field (e.g. if the column was not blank or a zero, the problem statement was assumed to be continued on the next card) , and columns 7 through 72 gave that problem statement).
- The programming language FORTRAN was introduced by IBM in 1956 and 1957, and proved popular in the 1960s. Hence the rough date assigned to the card.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s
- maker
- Control Data
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.02
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.02
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
IBM 5081 Punch Card Used with Punch Card Gauge
- Description
- This standard eighty-column paper punch card was received with a punch card gauge (1990.0113.01). A mark near the bottom edge at the left reads IBM5081.
- These materials were used in Robert A. McConnell's research on parapsychology.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s
- Maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1990.0113.03
- accession number
- 1990.0113
- catalog number
- 1990.0113.03
- 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
-
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
-
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
-
Punch Cards used with a PDP-9 Minicomputer
- Description
- In the mid-1960s, the Computer Science Department at RAND Corporation turned its attention to developing computer graphics. A set of programs written in the programming language FORTRAN for the PDP-9 minicomputer were used to plot contour lines useful in determining the line of sight for microwave radiation emitted from a given point on a map. These cards have some of the data for one of these programs. The cards are white with a pink border on the top (occasional cards have a green border). Groups of cards are not numbered but groups of data are designated by black marks on the edge. A mark on the first card reads: 3000 500. A printout of a related program has non-accession number 1990.3046.10.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1968
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1990.3046.05
- catalog number
- 1990.3046.05
- nonaccession number
- 1990.3046
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
JTC 73752 Punch Card Associated with the MIT Information Processing Center
- Description
- This cream-colored eighty-column punch card has an orange stripe across the top. It shows the logo of the MIT Information Processing Center. A mark along the left edge reads: INFORMATION PROCESSING CENTER. A mark along the right edge reads: MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. A mark along the bottom edge at the left reads: JTC73752. A mark along the bottom edge toward the right reads: Printed in U.S.A.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- user
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- maker
- Jersey Tab Card Corporation
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.26
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.26
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
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
-
Library of Congress Punch Card
- Description
- The late 1960s were a time of rapid change in processes for cataloging and circulating books at the U.S. Library of Congress. Computers were introduced for preparing cataloging records for libraries across the nation and for tracking and distributing books sent out on interlibrary loan. This is one card used in the process. It relates to a volume entitled Apparatus and Experiment SD Int. by Weiss, which had call number QP461 W4 1916. It was checked out on 12-22-72 to Borrower OS500. A mark on the bottom edge of the card reads: HP/ECC-1294-0.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1972
- 1972
- date made
- 1972
- maker
- Library of Congress
- ID Number
- 2002.3058.02
- nonaccession number
- 2002.3058
- catalog number
- 2002.3058.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Punch Card Probe
- Description
- This cylindrical metal stainless steel rod is about 8" long and resembles a crochet hook. The metal is serrated along the middle part of the rod. One end is hooked, the other is flattened and U-shaped. The donor worked with tabulating machines and then computer equipment from the 1940s into at least the 1960s.
- Reportedly the hook was used to line up punched cards and the flattened end to complete holes that had not punched properly.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1950
- 1950, roughly
- ID Number
- 2006.3088.01
- nonaccession number
- 2006.3088
- catalog number
- 2006.3088.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
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
-
Punch Cards used with a PDP-9 Minicomputer
- Description
- In the mid-1960s, the Computer Science Department at RAND Corporation turned its attention to developing computer graphics. A set of programs written in the programming language FORTRAN for the PDP-9 minicomputer were used to plot contour lines useful in determining the line of sight for microwave radiation emitted from a given point on a map.
- This group of cards is labeled: Last version using SC4020 plot routine. The cards have the data for a FORTRAN program with non-accession number 1990.3046.10. Theys are white with a green border along the top. A mark on the first card reads: $IBFTC CLAQR REF.
- The SC4020 was a computer-controlled microfilm printer and plotter produced by the Stromberg-Carlson Corporation. It was one of the first devices sold specifically to visualize computer calculations.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1968
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1990.3046.07
- catalog number
- 1990.3046.07
- nonaccession number
- 1990.3046
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
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
-
Punch Cards for Recording Attendance at Francis Lewis High School
- Description
- Two of these paper punch cards are green, two gold, two blue, and one pink. All have square corners and are truncated in the upper left corner. They are designed for reporting students absent or late to class. The eighty-column cards are all marked on the left: FRANCIS LEWIS HIGH SCHOOL. They are marked on the right: OFFICIAL CLASS CARD and: 647176.
- There is a Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows, New York.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.10
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.10
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
SDC A968 Punch Cards
- Description
- This bright yellow punch card has eighty columns of digits, with the digits from 0 to 9 in each column. It is rounded at the corners except at the upper right corner, which is cut off in a straight line. The card contains 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. According to the donor, the card was from a firm of dry cleaners that used tabulating equipment in the 1960s (and perhaps the 1950s) for record keeping.
- A mark in the lower left corner reads: SDC A968.
- Compare 1997.3099.01.
- The mark looks somewhat like the trademark of Systems development Corporation of Santa Monica, California.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s
- ca 1960s
- ID Number
- 1997.3099.02
- nonaccession number
- 1997.3099
- catalog number
- 1997.3099.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Punch Cards used with a PDP-9 Minicomputer
- Description
- In the mid-1960s, the Computer Science Department at RAND Corporation turned its attention to developing computer graphics. A set of programs written in the programming language FORTRAN for the PDP-9 minicomputer were used to plot contour lines useful in determining the line of sight for microwave radiation emitted from a given point on a map.
- Groups of the punch cards are not numbered but some are grouped by black marks on the edge. The cards have the data for a FORTRAN program with non-accession number 1990.3046.10. The cards are white with a pink, green or no border on the top. A mark on the first card reads: 8258, CLAF6, D7300, 04M, 100CD, 150P, C.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1968
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1990.3046.06
- catalog number
- 1990.3046.06
- nonaccession number
- 1990.3046
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
LOCI-2 Punch Card
- Description
- This is one of a series of forty-column perforated punch cards designed for use with the programmable Wang LOCI-2 electronic calculator. Each card is marked in the bottom left corner: IBM D56709. Each card is marked on the left side: LOCI (LOGARITHMIC COMPUTER) PROGRAM.
- For the calculator, see 1980.0096.01. For the card reader, see 1980.0096.01.1. For the card punch, see1980.0096.02.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1965 or later
- Maker
- IBM
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 1980.0096.03.1
- catalog number
- 1980.0096.03.1
- accession number
- 1980.0096
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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