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Origin of Modern Calculating
Machines

A chronicle of the evolution of the

principles that form the generic

make-up of the Modem

Calculating Machine

CHICAGO, 1921
FMuhtd uFhicT the aiupicti of
The Western Society of Engint

aoTZS

Ss*

^^^203

21 I$f22
5CT

Foreword

THERE is nothing romantic in figures, and
the average man takes little interest in any
subject pertaining to them. As a result of
this antipathy, there is plenty of historic evidence
of man's endeavor to minimize the hated drudgery
of calculation.

While history shows that, from prehistoric man
down to the present age, human ingenuity has
turned to mechanical means to overcome the brain
fatigue of arithmetical figuring, it is within quite
recent years that he has really succeeded in devis-
ing means more rapid than the human brain.

Of this modem product little has been written,
except in disconnected articles that have in no case
offered a complete understanding as to who were
the great benefactors of mankind that gave to the
world the first concrete production of these mod-
em principles of mechanical calculation.

The writer, believing that there are many who
would be interested to know the true facts rela-
tive to this subject, has given to the public, in that
which follows, a chronicle of the evolution of the
principles disclosed in these modem machines,
along with the proofs that form the foundation
for the story in a way that all may understand.

Although the subject has been handled in a way
that makes it unnecessary for the reader to be
carried through a jangle of tiresome mechanical
construction, the writer believes that there are

Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

many interested in the detail workings of these
machines, and has for that reason provided an
interesting and simple description of the working
of each illustrated machine, which may be read by
those who wish, or skipped over, if the reader
desires, without the danger of losing knowledge
of the relation of each of these machines to the
Art.

Chapters

PAGE

Foreword 1

Types of Ancient and Modem Machines 5

The Early Key-Driven Art 17

The Key-Driven Calculator 50

Early Efforts in the Recording Machine Art 79

First Practical Recorders Ill

Introduction of the Modem Accounting Machine 144

The High-Speed Calculator 149

The Improved Recorder 163

The Bookkeeping and Billing Machine 174

A Closing Word 190

Illustrations

PAGE

Frontispiece, **Stone Age Calculating"

One of the Pascal Madiines 10

Photo of Blaise Pascal 11

Parmelee Patent Drawings 16

Hill Patent Drawings 23

Chapin Patent Drawings 28

From the Stark Patent Drawings 32

From the Robjohn Patent Drawings 36

From Drawings of Bouchet Patent 314,561 40

Drawings of Spalding Patent No. 293,809 46

' 'Macaroni Box ' ' Model 53

Photo of Dorr E. Felt 55

The First "Comptometer" 57

From Drawings of Felt Patent No. 371,496 58

Bill for First Manufacturing Tools of the Comptometer. ... 68

Early Comptometer 69

Letter from Geo. W. Martin 71

Testimonial 72

Testimonial 73

Letters from Elliott and Rosecrans 74

From Drawings of Barbour Patent No. 133,188 : . . .. 78

From Drawings of Baldwin Patent No. 159,244 83

Baldwin Machine 83

From Drawings of Pottin Patent No. 312,014 88

From Drawings of Burroughs Patent No. 388,118 94

Photo of Wm. S. Burroughs 95

Drawings of Ludlum Patent No. 384,373 104

From Drawings of Felt Patent No. 405,024 112

Testimonial 117

Felt Recording and Listing Machine 118

From Drawings of Felt Patent No. 465,255 121

Felt Tabulator 126

One of the Early "Comptographs" 130

Photo of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz 132

Leibnitz Calculator 133

From Drawings of Burroughs' Patents Nos. 504,963 and

505,078 136

Burroughs' Recorder 137

From the February 1908 Issue of Office Appliances Magazine 142

The High-Speed Calculator 148

Two Pages from Wales Adding Machine Co. Booklet 165

Moon-Hopkins Billing and Bookkeeping Machine 176

Napier's Bones 179

From Drawings of Barbour Patent No. 130,404 180

Photo of John Napier 181

From Drawings of Bollee Patent No. 556,720 186

The Modern Accounting Machine

THE term "adding machine*' or "calculating
machine" to most of us represents the ma-
chine we have seen in the bank. The average
person is not familiar with the different tjrpes of
accounting machines, to say nothing of the many
uses to which they are put; but he has a vague
idea that to hold any value they should produce a
printed record, he doesn't know why and he hasn't
stopped to reason why; but those he has seen in
the bank do print, and any machine the bank uses,
to his mind, must be all right.

There are, of course, people who do know the
different types of accounting machines, and are
familiar with their special uses, but there are very
few who are familiar with the true history of the
modem accounting machine.

Articles written by those not familiar with the
true facts relative to the art of accounting ma-

, . , , . ^ • mi« • 1- General knowl-

chmes have wrought confusion. Their errors have edge lacking
been copied and new errors added, thus increasing
the confusion. Again, claims made in trade adver-
tisements and booklets are misleading, with the
result that the truth is but little known.

These facts, and the psychological effect of see-
ing a certain type of machine in the bank would
lead the average man to believe that the recording-
adding machine was the only practical machine;

6 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

and also (as someone stated in the December, 1915,
issue of the Geographic Magazine) that Burroughs
was the inventor of the recording-adding machine.

Although the history of accounting machines
dates way back into the tenth century, the modem
accounting machines are of quite recent origin,
and are especially distinguished by the presence
of depressable keys. The keys in these machines
act as a means of gauging the actuation which
determines the value in calculation, whether the
machine is key-driven or key-set with a crank or
motor drive.

These modem machines, which come within the
classification of key-driven and key-set, have their
respective special uses.

Key-driven The key-driven machine, which was the first
of%€ ^nwdern produced of these two types of modern machines,
machines (Joes not print, and is used for all forms of calcu-
lation, but is generally behind the scenes in the
accounting rooms of all lines of business, and for
that reason is not so well known as the key-set
crank-operated or motor-driven machine, which
is designed to print and is always in full view in
the bank where it is used to print your statement
of account from the vouchers you have issued.

When we stop to analyze the qualities of these
two types of machines, we find that each has its
place and that neither may truly serve to displace
the other. The organization of each is designed
.with reference to the special work it was intended
to do.

The calculating machine, having only to perform
the work of revolving the numeral wheels in
calculating addition, subtraction, multiplication
and division in its many forms and combinations.

Types of Ancient and Modern Machines

may be key-driven (on account of the slight
mechanical resistance met with in action), and
thus, as a one-motion machine, requiring only the
depression of the keys, may also be much more
rapid of manipulation than the two-motion record-
ing-adding machine which, after depressing the
keys for each item, requires the secondary opera-
tion of pulling a crank forward or operating a
push bar that connects the motor.

The recording-adding machine being designed to
print the items and answers of addition, requires
power for the printing which cannot be supplied
by key depression. Thus an extra means for sup-
plying that power must be provided in the form of
a crank lever, or in the latest machines by a motor.
The keys in such machines serve only as digital
control to gauge the setting of mechanism which
prints the items and adds them together. The
secondary motion operates the mechanism to print
and add and finally to clear the machine for the
setting up of the next item. The recording of
added columns of figures requires that the answer
must always be printed. This demands special
operation of devices provided for that purpose,
which also adds to the time spent in the operation
of such machines as compared with the key-driven
calculator.

To state which of these two types of machines
is the more useful would cause a shower of com-
ment, and has nothing to do with the object of
this article. Suffice it to say that where a printed
record of items added together with their answer
is required for filing purposes, or to bring together
loose items like those in your bank statement, the
recording-adding machine serves ; but when rapid

Recording, the
primary feature
of adding ma-
chines that print

8 Origin of Modern Calcttlating Machines

calculation in addition, multiplication, subtraction
or division, or when combinations of these forms
of calculation are required, the key-driven calcu-
lator is the practical machine for such work.

Although the key-driven calculator is generally
not so well known, it is, as stated, the oldest of the
modem accounting machines, and its usefulness
places it in the accounting room, where it is oft-
times found employed by the hundreds in figuring
up the day's work of accounting.

VaiidUy and Th© purpose of this book is based wholly upon
priority of showing the Validity and priority of invention
which constitute true contributions to the Art of
these two types of modem accounting machines;
to place the facts for once and all time before the
public in such a way that they may judge for
themselves to whom the honor is due and thus
settle the controversy that exists.

The quibbling of court contests over the termin-
ology of claims of patents owned by the various
inventors have been set aside and only the true
contributions to the Art which pertain to the
fundamental principles that have made the modem
machines possible, are here dealt with.

The dates of patents on inoperative or imprac-
tical machines have from time to time been held
up to the public as instances of priority of inven-
tion; but when the validity of these patents, as
furnishing any real contributions to the Art, is
questioned, they are not found to hold the theme
or principle that made the modem machines pos-
sible, and as inventions, fade into obscurity.

The Art of either the calculating machine or the
adding-recording machine is not new; it is, as a
matter of fact, very old. As before stated, the Art

Figure 2
One of the Pascal Ma«hin

Ttpeb of AwasNT and Modebn Machines

of "accounting: machine" dates back to the tenth
century, but the first authentic evidence of a work-
ing machine is extant in models made by Pascal
in 1642 (see illustratioQ).

The Pascax, Machdie

Referring to the illustration, Fig. 1, of Pascal's
machine on the opposite page, it will be noted
that there are a series of square openings in the
top of the casing; under these openings are drums,
each numbered on its cylindrical surface.

As the machine illustxated was made to figure
English currency, the two right-hand wheels are
numbered for pence and shillings, while the six
wheels to the left are numbered from 1 to 9 and
for pounds.

The pounds register-drums, or numeral wheels,
are each operated by a train of gearing connecting
them with a ten-armed turnstile wheel which form
the hub and spokes of what appears to be a series
of wheels on the top of the casing. While the
spokes and hub are movable, the rims of these
wheels are stationary and are numbered from 1 to
9 and 0.

The geared relation between the turnstile wheels
and the numeral wheels is such that rotating a
turnstile will give like rotation to its numeral
wheel.

Assuming that the numeral wheel of any one of
the different orders registered through its sight
opffliing and the turnstile of the same order was
moved one spoke of a rotation, it would move the
wheel so that the would disappear and the figure
1 would appear; now if we should move the same
turnstile three more spokes the numeral wheel

12 Origik of Moderk Calculating Machines

would move likewise three spaces and the 4 would
appear.

A stop in the form of a finger reaching over the
spokes is provided to stop the turnstile at the right
point so that the figures on the numeral wheels |

may register properly with the sight openings in
the casing.

Consiruciional The figures on the wheel rims fast to the casing
features of the are arranged anti-clockwise to register with the

Pascal machine . . .- , m ^ • m •

space between the spokes, the registering
with the first space, the 1 with the second space
and so on around the wheel. Thus by use of the
finger or a stylo inserted in a space opposite the
number to be added, the operator may move the
spoked wheel or turnstile clockwise until stopped
by the stop finger. By repeated selection and
operation for each figure to be added, the wheels
will be revolved through their cycles of rotation
caused by the accumulation. I

As the numeral wheels complete each rotation
the will appear, so that a registration of the tens
must be made. Pascal provided for the accumula-
tion of the tens by automatically turning the |
wheel of next higher order one point through the
action of the lower wheel.

The novel means employed for this transfer of
the tens consisted of a one-step ratchet device
operated by a pin in the train of gearing connected
with the lower numeral wheel, which, as the lower
wheel passed from 9 to 0, forced the lever to which
the ratchet pawl was attached in a direction to
cause the gearing of the higher numeral wheel to
be ratcheted forward far enough to add one to the
higher numeral wheel.

Types op Ancient and Modern Machines 13

iiy of mttdcni
calculator

The direct actuation of a numbered wheel througrh
its various degrees of rotation and the secondary
feature of effecting a one-step movement to the
numbered wheel of higher order (which seems to
have been originated by Pascal) is the founda-
tion on which nearly all the calculating machines
have since been constructed to calculate the com-
binations of the Arabian numerals represented in
Addition, Multiplication, Subtraction and Division.

In Fig. 2 of the illustration of Pascal's machine,
the machine has been reversed, and the bottom of
the casing, which is hinged, thrown back, show-
ing the numeral wheels and gearing of the differ- .
ent orders and the transfer levers for the carry of
the tens.

The Art of the modem machines is far removed im^rca.^ni rapm
from the older Art by its greatly increased
capacity for rapid calculation which is found
emanating from the provision of keys as the means
of manipulation.

To the unsophisticated, such a simple thing as
applying keys to the ancient type of calculating
machines that have been made and used for cen-
turies, would seem but a simple mechanical appli-
cation that the ordinary mechanic could accom-
plish. But it was too great a problem for the many
renowned inventors of the older Art to solve.

Even though the use of depressable keys was com-
mon to many machines, especially the piano, they
knew that the organized make-up of their machines
could scarcely stand, without error, the slow action
received from the crank motion or other means
employed as manipulating devices. To place it
within the power of an operator to operate their
machines at such a speed as would obtain in the
sudden striking of a key would result in chaos.

14 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Patent office a There is HO room for doubt that some of these
'^^^ffeciuai ^rly inventors had the wish or desire to produce
efforts such a key-driven machine and may have attempted
to produce one. But as they lacked the advantage
of an institution like the Patent Office in which
they could leave a record of their inoperative in-
ventions, and in view of the fact that they were
dependent on producing an operating machine for
credit, there is no authentic proof that they made
attempts in this line.

mmmammmmmm

D. D. PARMELEE.
Calculator.

No. 7,074.

Patented Feb. 5. 1850.

* rCICW PSmtimm^'

Parmelee Patent Drawings

M**^"^^'^^"-^*?^ ' **' ' • *•- -^"^ 5^»^•'*, < '■ic^^^\ti!^r'Ut»y^H^>^ftf^?^i^

The Early Key-Driven Art

MLE COLONEL D'OCAGNE, Ingfinieur des
Fonts et Chauss^es, Prof esseur k ?£cole
* des Fonts et ChaussSes, R6p£titeur a
r£cole Folytechnique, in his ^'Le Calcul simplifie/'
a historical review of calculating devices and ma-
chines, refers to the key-driven machine as having
first made its appearance in the Schilt machine of
1851, but that the Art reached its truly practi-
cal form in America. In the latter part of his
statement the professor is correct, but as to the
first appearance of the key-driven machine the
U. S. Fatent Ofiice records show that a patent was
issued to D. D. Parmelee in 1850 for a key-driven
adding machine (see illustration) •

The Pabmelee Machine

By referring to the illustration of the Parmelee '^^"^ attempi to

machine reproduced from the drawings of the ^e%foradding

patent, the reader will notice that the patentee ^J^^ ^^^^ '^

America

deviated from the established principle of using
numeral wheels. In place of numeral wheels a
long ratchet-toothed bar has been supplied, the
flat faces of which are numbered progressively
from the top to the bottom.

As shown in Fig. 2 of these drawings, a spring- ,

pressed ratchet pawl marked k, engages the teeth
of the ratchet or numeral bar. The pawl k, is piv-
oted to a lever-constructed device marked E, the
plan of which is shown in Fig. 3. This lever

18 Origin of Modebn Calculating Machines

device is pivoted and operated by the keys which

are provided with arms d, so arranged that when

5*^J^foJ any one of the keys is depressed the arm contacts

machine with and Operates the lever device and its pawl k

to ratchet the numeral bar upwards.

Another spring-pressed ratchet pawl marked m
(see Fig. 2) is mounted on the bottom of the cas-
ing and serves to hold the numeral bar from re-
turning after a key-depression.

It will be noted from Fig. 1 that the keys extend
through the top of the casing in progressively
varying heights. This variation is such as to
allow the No. 1 key to ratchet up one tooth of
the numeral bar, the No. 2 k^y two teeth, etc, pro-
gressively. By this method a limited column of
digits could be added up by depressing the keys
corresponding to the digits and the answer could
be read from the lowest tooth of the numeral bar
that protruded through the top of the casing.

It is evident that if the Parmelee machine was
ever used to add with, the operator would have to
use a pussyfoot key-stroke or the numeral bar
would over-shoot and give an erroneous answer,
as no provision was made to overcome the momen-
tum that could be given the numeral bar in an
adding action.

Foreign diyii The foreign machines of the key-driven type
"^" were made by V. Schilt, 1851 ; F. Arzberger, 1866 ;
Stetner, 1882; Bagge, 1882; d'Azevedo, 1884;
Petetin, 1885; Maq Meyer, 1886. These foreign
machines, like that of Parmelee, according to
M. le Colonel d'Ocagne, were limited to the capacity
of adding a single column of digits at a time. That
is, either a column of units or tens or hundreds,
etc, at a time. Such machines, of course, required

The Early Key-Driven Art 19

the adding first of all the units, and a note made of ^. ^ ^. .^
the total ; then the machine must be cleared and aMers lack
the tens figure of the total, and hundreds, if there capacity
be one, must then be added or carried over to the
tens column the same as adding single columns
mentally.

On account of these machines having only a
capacity for adding one order or column of digits,
the unit value 9 was the greatest item that could
be added at a time. Thus, if the overflow in adding
the units column or any other column amounted to
more than one place, it required a multiple of key-
depressions to put it on the register. For example,
suppose the sum of adding the units columns
should be 982, it would require the depression of
the 9-key ten times and then the 8-key to be
struck, to put the 98 on the machine. This order
of manipulation had to be repeated for each denom-
inational column of figures.

Another method that could be used in the man-
ipulation of these single-order or digit-adding
machines was to set down the sum of each order
as added with its units figure arranged relative to
the order it represents the sum of, and then men-
tally add such sums (see example below) the same
as you would set down the sums in multiplication
and add them together.

Example of method that may be used with single column
adder.

982
563
384
125

170012

»♦

Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Some early U,S,

patents on single'

digit adding

machines

Such machines, of course, nefver became popu-
lar because of their limited capacity, which re-
quired many extra movements and caused mental
strain without offering an increase in speed of cal-
culation as compared with expert mental calcula-
tion. There were a number of patents issued in the
United States on machines of this class which may
well be named single digit-adders.

The machines of this type which were patented
in the United States, preceding the first practical
multiple order modem machine, were patented by
D. D. Parmelee, 1850; W. Robjohn, 1872; D.
Carroll, 1876; Borland & Hoffman, 1878; M.
Bouchet, 1883 ; A. Stettner, 1883 ; Spalding, 1884 ;
L. M. Swem, 1885 and 1886 ; P. T. Lindholm, 1886 ;
and B. F. Smith, 1887. All of these machines
varied in construction but not in principle. Some
were really operative and others inoperative, but
all lacked what may be termed useful capacity.

To those not familiar with the technical fea-
tures of the key-driven calculating machine Art;
it would seem that if a machine could be ipade to
add one column of digits, it would require no
great invention or ingenuity to arrange such
mechanisms in a plurality of orders. But the im-
possibility of effecting such a combination with-
out exercising a high degree of invention will
become evident as the reader becomes familiar
with the requirements, which are best illustrated
through the errors made by those who tried to
produce such a machine.

As stated, the first authentic knowledge we have
of an actual machine for adding is extant in models

The Early Key-Driven Art

made by Pascal in 1642, which were all multiple-
order machines, and the same in general as that
shown in the illustration, page 10.

History shows that Europe and other foreign
countries have been using calculating machines
for centuries. Like that of Pascal's, they were all
multiple-order machines, and, although not key-
driven, they were capable of adding a number of
columns or items of six to eight places at once with-
out the extra manipulation described as necessary
with single-order digit adding machines. A num-
ber of such machines were made in the United
States prior to the first practical multiple-order
key-driven calculator.

This fact and the fact that the only operative
key-driven machines made prior to 1887 were
single-digit adders are significant proof that the
backward step from such multiple-order machines
to a single-order key-driven machine was from
the lack of some unknown mechanical functions
that would make a multiple-order key-driven cal-
culator possible. There was a reason, and a good
one, that kept the inventors of these single-order
key-driven machines from turning their invention
into a multiple-order key-driven machine.

It is folly to think that all these inventors never
had the thought or wish to produce such a machine.
It is more reasonable to believe there was not
one of them who did not have the wish and who
did not give deep thought to the subject. There is
every reason to believe that some of them tried it,
but there is no doubt that if they did it was a
failure, or there would be evidence of it in some
form.

Calculating ma-
chines in use
abroad for
centuries

First key-driven
machines no
improvement
to the Art

22 Origin op Modern Calculating Machines

Hill machine

The Hill Machine

The U. S. Patent Office records show that one
ambitious inventor, Thomas Hill, in 1857 secured
a patent on a multiple-order key-driven calculating
machine (see illustration), which he claimed as a
new and useful invention. The Hill patent, how-
ever, was the only one of that class issued, until
the first really operative modem machine was made
thirty years later, and affords a fine example by
which the features that were lacking in the make-
up of a really operative machine of this type may
be brought out.

Descriptionofihe The illustrations of the Hill machine on the

opposite page, reproduced from the drawings of
the patent, show two numeral wheels, each having
seven sets each of large and small figures running
from 1 to 9 and th6 cipher marked on their pe-
riphery. The large sets of figures are arranged for
addition or positive calculation, and the small
figures are arranged the reverse for subtraction or
negative calculation. The wheels are provided with
means for the carry of the tens, very similar to
that found in the Pascal machine. Each of the two
wheels shown are provided with ratchet teeth
which correspond in number with the number of
figures on the wheel.

Spring-pressed, hook-shaped ratchet pawls
marked b, are arranged to be in constant engage-
ment with the numeral wheels. These pawls are
each pivotally mounted in the end of the levers
marked E, which are pivoted at the front end of
the casing.

The levers E, are held in normal or upward posi-
tion by springs f , at the front of the machine.

T. HILL.

ASITHMOHGTEfi.

Patented Nov. 24. I857.

Hill Patent Drawings

24 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Above each of these levers E, are a series of keys
which protrude through the casing with their
lower ends resting on the levers. There are but six
keys shown in the drawing, but the specification
claims that a complete set of nine keys may be
supplied for each lever.

The arrangement and spacing of the keys are
such that the greater the value of the key the
nearer it is to the fulcrum or pivot of the lever E.
The length of the key stem under the head or but-
ton of each key is gauged to allo\y depression of
the key, the lever E and pawl b, far enough to
cause the numeral wheel to rotate as many numeral
places as the value marking on the key.

A back-stop pawl for the numeral wheels, marked
p, is mounted on a cross-rod at the top of the
machine. But one of these pawls are shown, the
shaft and the pawl for the higher wheel being
broken away to show the device for transferring
the tens to the higher wheel.

The. transfer device for the carry of the tens is
a lever arrangement constructed from a tube F,
mounted on the cross-rod m, with arms G and H.
Pivoted to the arm G, is a ratchet pawl i, and
attached to the pawl is a spring that serves to
hold the pawl in engagement with the ratchet of
the higher-order numeral wheel, and at the same
time, through its attachment with the pawl, holds
the lever arms G and H retracted as shown in the
drawing.

As the lower-order numeral wheel passes any
one of its points from 9 to 0, one of the teeth or
cam lugs n, on the wheel will move the arm H, of
the transfer lever forward, causing the pawl i, to
move the higher-order wheel one step to register
the accumulation of the tens.

The Early Key-Driven Art

The- functions of the Hill mechanism would,
perhaps, be practical if it were not for the physical
law that "bodies set in motion tend to remain in
motion/'

Considerable unearned publicity has been given
the Hill invention on account of the patent office
model having been placed on exhibit in the National
Museum at Washington. Judging from the out-
ward appearance of this model, the arrangement
of the keys in columns would seem to impart the
impression that here was the foundation of the
modem key-driven machine. The columnar prin-
ciple used in the arrangement of the keys, how-
ever, is the only similarity.

The Hill invention, moreover, was lacking in the
essential feature necessary to the make-up of such
a machine, a lack that for thirty years held the
ancient Art against the inroads of the modem Art
that finally displaced it. The feature lacking was
a means for controlling the action of the mechan-
ism under the tremendously increased speed pro-
duced by the use of depressable keys as an actuat-
ing means.

Hill made no provision for overcoming the
lightning-speed momentum that could be given the
numeral wheels in his machine through manipu-
lation of the keys, either from direct key-action
or indirectly through the carry of the tens. Imagine
the sudden whirl his numeral wheel would receive
on a quick depression of a key and then consider
that he provided no means for stopping these
wheels; it is obvious that a correct result could
not be obtained by the use of such mechanism.
Some idea of what would take place in the Hill
machine under manipulation by an operator may

Hill machine at

National

Museum

Inoperativeness
of Hill machine

26 Origin of Modern Calculating Machinbs

be conceived from the speed attained in the oper-
ation of the keys of the up-to-date modem key-
driven machine.

High speed of Operators on key-driven machines oftentimes
key drive attain a Speed of 550| key strokes a minute in
multiplication. Let us presume that any one of
these strokes may be a depression of a nine key.
The depression and return, of course, represents
a full stroke, but only half of the stroke would
y represent the time in which the wheel acts. Thus
the numeral wheel would be turned nine of its ten
points of rotation in an eleven hundredth (1/1100)
\ of a minute. That means only one-ninth of the
\ time given to half of the key stroke, or a ninety-
\nine hundredth (1/9900) of a minute; a one hun-
dred and sixty-fifth (1/165) part of a second for
a carry to be effected.

Camera slow If you have ever watched a camera-shutter work
carry^ihelms ^^ ^ twenty-fifth of a second exposure, which is

the average time for a snap-shot with an ordinary
camera, it will be interesting to know that these
controlling devices of a key-driven machine must
act in one-fifth the time in which the shutter
allows the daylight to pass through the lens of the
camera.

Think of it; a machine built with the idea of
offering the possibility of such key manipulation
and supplying nothing to overcome the tremendous
momentum set up in the numeral wheels and their
driving mechanism, unless perchance Hill thought
the operator of his machine could, mentally, con-
trol the wheels against over-rotation.

Lack of a proper descriptive term used to refer
to an object, machine, etc., oftentimes leads to the
use of an erroneous term. To call the Hill inven-

0, H, CHiFIH.
Ko. 118,633. Fitonnd Feb. B, 1B70.

Chapin Patent Drawings

The Early Key-Driven Art

'29

tion an adding machine is erroneous since it would
not add correctly. It is as great an error as it
would be to refer to the Langley aeroplane as a
flying machine.

When the Wright brothers added the element
that was lacking in the Langley plane, a real flying
machine was produced. But without that element
the Langley plane was not a flying machine. Like-
wise, without means for controlling the numeral
wheels, the Hill invention was not an adding
machine. The only term that may be correctly
applied to the Hill invention is "adding mechan-
ism," which is broad enough to cover its incom-
pleteness. And yet many thousands of people who
have seen the Hill invention at the National
Museum have probably carried away the idea that
the Hill invention was a perfectly good key-driven
adding machine.

Lest we leave unmentioned two machines that
might be misconstrued to hold some of the fea-
tures of the Art, attention is called to patents
issued to G. W. Chapin in 1870 (see illustration on
opposite page), and A. Stark in 1884 (see illustra-
tion on page 32).

Chapin Machine

Referring to the illustration reproducing the
drawings of the Chapin patent, the reader will
note that in Fig. 1 there are four wheels marked
V. These wheels, although showing no numerals,
are, according to the specification, the numeral
wheels of the machine.

The wheels are provided with a one-step ratchet
device for transferring the tens, consisting of the
spring frame and pawl shown in Fig. 3, which is
operated by a pin in the lower wheel.

Hill machine
merely adding
mechanism, in-
complete as
operative
machine

Chapin and
Stcwk patents

Description
of Chapin
machine

80 Origin op Modern Calculating Machines

In Fig. 1 the units and tens wheel are shown
meshed with their driving gears. These gears are
not numbered but are said to be fast to the shafts
N and M, respectively (see Fig. 2) .

Fast on the shaft M, is a series of nine ratchet-
toothed gears marked 0, and a like series of gears
P, are fast to the shaft N. Co-acting with each
of these ratchet-toothed gears is a ratchet-toothed
rack F, pivoted at its lower end to a key lever H,
and pressed forward into engagement with its
ratchet gear by a spring G.

The key levers H, of which there are two sets,
one set with the finger-pieces K and the other with
the finger-pieces J, are all pivoted on the block I,
and held depressed at the rear by an elastic band
L. The two sets of racks F, are each provided
with a number of teeth arranged progressively
from one to nine, the rack connected with the No. 1
key having one ratchet tooth, the No. 2 having two
teeth, etc.
Inoperativeness gy this arrangement Chapin expected to add
machtne the units and tens of a column of numerical items,
and then by shifting the numeral wheels and their
transfer devices, which are mounted on a frame,
designed for that purpose, he expected to add up
the hundred and thousands of the same column of
items.

It is hardly conceivable that the inventor should
have overlooked the necessity of gauging the
throw of the racks F, but such is the fact, as no
provision is made in the drawings, neither was
mention made of such means in the specification.
Even a single tooth on his rack F, could, under a
quick key-stroke, overthrow the numeral wheels,
and the same is true of the carry transfer
mechanism.

--^tr.-j

The Eably Key-Driven Art 33

The Chapin machine, like that of Hill, was made
without thought as to what would happen when a
key was depressed with a quick stroke, as there
was no provision for control of the numeral wheels
against overthrow. As stated, the machine was
designed to add twp columns of digits at a time,
and with an attempt to provide means to shift the
accumulator mechanism, or the numeral wheels
and carry-transfer devices, so that columns of
items having four places could be added by such a
shift. Such a machine, of course, offered less than
could be found in the Hill machine, and that was
nothing at all so far as a possible operative «
machine is concerned.

The Stark Machine

The reproduction of the patent drawings of the
Stark machine illustrated on the opposite page
show a series of numeral wheels, each provided
with three sets of figures running from 1 to 9
and 0.

Pivotally mounted upon the axis of the numeral Description of
wheels at each end are sector gears E^ and arms E*, machine
in which are pivoted a square shaft E, extended from
one arm to the other across the face of the numeral
wheels. The shaft E, is claimed to be held in its
normal position by a spring so that a pawl, E^,
shif tably mounted on the shaft, designed to ratchet
or actuate the numeral wheels forward, may en-
gage with any one of the numeral wheel ratchets.

A bail marked D, is pivoted to standards AS of
the frame of the machine, and is provided with
the two radial racks DS which mesh with the sec-
tor gears E\ It may be conceived that the act
of depressing the bail D, will cause the actuating

34 Origin of Modern Calculating Maohinbs

pawl E*, to operate whichever numeral wheel it
engages the ratchet of.

The bail D, is held in its normal position by a
spring D*, and is provided with nine keys or fin-
ger pieces d, eight of which co-act with the
stepped plate G, to regulate the additive degree of
rotation given to the numeral wheels, while the
ninth' has a fixed relation with the bail and the
bail itself is stopped.

, The keys d, marked from 1 to 8, are pivoted to
the bail in such a manner that their normal rela-
tion to the bail will allow them to pass by the
steps on the stepped plate G, when the bail is
depressed by the fixed No. 9 key. When, however,
any one of the keys numbered from 1 to 8 is de-
pressed, the lower end of the shank of the key will
tilt rearward, and, as the bail is depressed, offers
a stop against the respective step of the plate G,
arranged in its path, thus stopping further action
of the actuating pawl E*, but offering nothing to
prevent the continuation of the force of momen-
tum set up in the numeral wheels by the key action.

There was small use in stopping the action of
the pawl E^, if the ratchet and numeral wheel, im-
pelled by the pawl, could continue onward under
its momentum.

The carry of the tens transfer device is of the
same order as that described in the Pascal and
Hill machines; that is, a one-step ratchet-motion
actuated by a cam lug or pin from the lower wheel.
The carry transfer device consists of the lever F,
and pawl f*, acting on the ratchet of the upper
wheel which is operated by the cam lugs b*', of
the lower wheel acting on the arms f^ and f * of the
lever F.

2 She>l>--Shesll.
W. ROBJOHN.

Improvement in Calculating Machines.

No, 130,244. FtUnltd A<lt. 6,1872.

*•

■'?'

. ?

® ®

®^

® ®

.1! If-1 1-.

Witntsas:

RmunL ^-J

}ttmu|i.

From the Robjohn Patent Drawings

The Early Key-Dbiven Art

The machine shown in the Stark patent was
provided with but one set of keys, but the arrange-
ment for shifting the driving ratchet pawl E*,
from one order to another, so that the action of
the keys may rotate any one of the numeral
wheels, gave the machine greater capacity than
the single digit adders; but as with the Chapin
machine, of what use was the increase in capacity
if the machine would not add correctly. That is
about all that may be said of the Stark machine,
for since there was no means provided by which
the rotation of numeral wheels could be controlled,
it was merely a device for rotating numeral wheels
and was therefore lacking in the features that
would give it a right to the title of an adding
machine.

The nine-key scheme of the Stark invention,
connectable to the different orders, was old, and
was first disclosed in the U. S. Patent to O. L.
Castle in 1857 (a machine operated by a clock-
spring wound by hand), but its use in either of
these machines should not be construed as holding
anything in common with that found in some of
the modem recording adders. The Castle machine
has not been illustrated because it does not enter
into the evolution of the modem machine.

The ancient Art, or the Art prior to the inven-
tion of Parmelee, consisted of mechanism which
could be controlled by friction devices, or Geneva
gear-lock devices, that were suitable to the slow-
acting type of manipulative means.

The first attempt at a positive control for a key-
drivei! adding device is found in a patent issued
to W. Robjohn in 1872 (see illustration). As will
be noted, this machine was referred to in the f ore-

Inoperativeness
of Stark
machine

Nine keys com-
mon to a plural'
ity of orders

38 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

going: discussion as merely a single-digit adding
machine, having the capacity for adding but one
column of digits at a time.

RoBJOHN Machine

Referring to the illustration of the patent draw-
ings of tRe Robjohn machine, it will be noted that
there are three sight openings in the casing
through which the registration of the numeral
wheels may be read. The numeral wheels, like those
of all machines of this character, are connected
by devices of a similar nature to those in the Hill
machine for carrying the tens, one operating
between the units and tens wheel and another be-
tween the tens and hundredths wheel.

Description The units wheel shown in Fig. 3 is connected by

^^nmMne fi^earing to a long pin-wheel rotor, marked E, so

that any rotation of the rotor E, will give a like

rotation to the units numeral wheel to which it is

entrained by gearing.

To each of the nine digital keys, marked B, is
attached an engaging and disengaging sector gear
device, which, as shown in Fig. 3, although nor-
mally not in engagement with the rotor E, will
upon depression of its attached key, engage the
rotor and turn it.

A stop device is supplied for the key action,
which in turn was supposed to stop the gear
action; that seems rather doubtful. However,
an alternative device is shown in Figs. 4 and 5,
which provides what may without question be
called a stop device to prevent over-rotation of
the units wheel under direct key action.

It will be noted that the engaging and disengag-
ing gear device is here shown in the form of a

(HoaslaL)

I ahicti-BUMt t.

M. BOUCHET.

&IIDIHO HAOHINE.

No. 314.561. Patented Mar. 31. 1885.

JNVENTDR.

WITNE^Stf.

^ J.?.i'j.*^'t3t~

From Drawing of Boucbet Patent 314,561

The Early Key-Driven Art 41

gear-toothed rack and that the key stem is pro-
vided with a projecting arm ending in a down-
wardly projecting tooth or detent which may
engage the rotor E, and stop it at the end of the
downward key action. While the stopping of the
rotor shows a control in the Robjohn machine
which takes place under direct action from the
keys to prevent overthrow of the units numeral
wheel, it did not prevent the overflow of the
higher or tens wheels, if a carry should take
place. There was no provision for a control
of the numeral wheels under the action received
from the carry of the tens by the transfer
mechanism.

The first attempt to control the carried wheel FirstcorUrolfora
in a key-driven machine is found in a patent issued ^jf ^ numeral
to Bouchet in 1882 (see illustration on opposite
page) ; but it was a Geneva motion gearing which,
as is generally known, may act to transmit power
and then act to lock the wheel to which the power
has been transmitted until it is again to be turned
through the same source. Such a geared up and
locked relation between the numeral wheels, of
course, made the turning of the higher wheel
(which had been so locked) by another set of key-
mechanism an impossibility.

Bouchet Machine

The illustration of the Bouchet machine on the
opposite page was reproduced from the drawings
of the patent which is the nearest to the machine
that was placed on the market. The numeral
wheels, like most of the single-digit adders, are
three in number, and consist of the prime actuated,
or units wheel, and two overflow wheels to receive

42 Origin op Modern Calculating Machines

the carry of the tens. The units wheel has fixed to
it a long 10-tooth pinion or rotor I, with which
nine internal segmental gear racks L, are arranged
to engage and turn the units wheel through their
nine varying additive degrees of rotation.

Description The segmental gear racks L, are normally out of
ofBoudiet mesh with the pinion I, and are fast to the key
mac ine Yeyers E, in such a manner that the first depres-
sion of a key causes its rack to rock forward and
engage with the pinion I, and further depression
moves the rack upward and rotates the pinion and
units numeral wheel. It will be noted that this en-
gaging and disengaging gear action is in principle
like that of Robjohn.

The transfer devices for the carry of the tens,
as already stated, belong to that class of mechan-
ism commonly known as the "Geneva motion." It
consists of a mutilated or one-tooth gear fast to
the units wheel operating with a nine-tooth gear,
marked DS loosely mounted on an axis parallel to
the numeral wheel axis. Each revolution of the
units wheel moves the nine-tooth gear three spaces,
and in turn moves the next higher numeral wheel
to which it is geared far enough to register one
point or the carry. A circular notched disc, marked
S, is fast to the units wheel, and the nine-tooth
gear DS has part of two out of every three of its
teeth mutilated or cut away to make a convex sur-
face for the notched disc to rotate in.

With such construction the nine-tooth gear may
not rotate or become displaced as long as the
periphery of the disc continues to occupy any one
of the three convex spaces of the nine-tooth gear.
When, however, the notch of the disc is presented
to the mutilated portion of the nine-tooth gear,

The Early Key-Driven Art

the said gear is unlocked. This unlocking is co-
incident to the engagement of the single tooth of
the numeral wheel-gear with the nine-tooth gear
and the passing of the numeral wheel from 9 to 0,
during which the nine-tooth gear will be moved
three spaces, and will be again locked as the notch
in the disc passes and the periphery fills the next
convex space of the mutilated nine-tooth gear.

The Bouchet machine was manufactured and
sold to some extent, but never became popular, as
it lacked capacity. Machines of such limited
capacity could not compete with ordinary ac-
countants, much less with those who could mentally
add from two to four columns at a clip. Aside from
the capacity feature, there was another reason
why these single-order machines were useless,
except to those who could not add mentally. Mul-
tiple forms of calculation, that is, multiplication
and division, call for a machine having a multi-
plicity of orders. The capacity of a single order
would be but 9x9> which requires no machine at
all — ^a seven-year-old child knows that. To multi-
ply 58964x6824, however, is a different thing, and
requires a multiple-order calculator.

It is perhaps well at this time to point out the
misuse of the term calculating where it is applied
to machines having only a capacity for certain
forms of calculating as compared with machines
which perform in a practical way all forms of cal-
culation, that is, addition, multiplication, subtrac-
tion and division. To apply the term "calculating
machine" to a machine having anything less than
a capacity for all these forms is erroneous.

An adding machine may perform one of the
forms of calculation, but to call it a calculating

Bouchet machine
marketed

Misuse of the
term''* Calculating
Machine**

44 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

machine when it has no capacity for division, sub-
traction or multiplication, is an error ; and yet we
find the U. S. Patent Office records stuffed full of
patents granted on machines thus erroneously
named. The term calculating is the broad term
covering all forms of calculation, and machines
performing less should be designated according to
their specific capacities.

It is true that adding is calculating, and under
these circumstances, why then may not an adding
machine be called a calculator ? The answer is
that it may be calculating to add ; it may be calcu-
lating to either subtract, multiply or divide; but
if a machine adds and is lacking in the means of
performing the other forms of calculation, it is
only part of a calculating machine and lacks the
features that will give it title to being a full-fledged
calculator.*

Considerable contention was raised by parties
in a late patent suit as to what constituted the
make-up of a calculating machine. One of the
attorneys contended that construction was the
only thing that would distinguish a calculating
machine. But as machines are named by their
functioning, the contention does not hold water.
That is to say: A machine may be a calculating
machine and yet its construction be such that it
performs its functions of negative and positive
calculation without reversal of its action.

Again, a machine may be a calculating machine
and operate in one direction for positive calcula-
tion and the reverse for negative calculation. As
long as the machine has been so arranged that all
forms of calculation may be performed by it with-

* Note: The title of this book does not coincide with the above
argument, but in view of the common use of the term "calculating"
its application is better understood.

C. G. SPALDING.

ADDIKO UAOHINE
No.' 293,609. Patented Feb. 19, 18:

J . L i

i ;lf^.

U\Mk\Mf

* S'-t5TsW^g^l5*.

' '

Drawings of Spalding Patent No. 293,9

The Early Key-Driven Art 47

out mental computation, and the machine has a
reasonable capacity of at least eight orders, it
should be entitled to be called a calculating machine.

The Spalding Machine

The next machine that has any bearing on the
key-driven Art of which there is a record, is illus-
trated in a patent granted to C. G. Spalding in
1884 (see illustration on opposite page). The
Spalding invention, like that of Bouchet, was pro-
vided with control for its primary actuation and
control for its secondary or carrying actuation.

Referring to the Spalding machine reproduced Description of
from the drawings of his patent, the reader will s^^in^
note that in place of the units and tens numeral
wheels, a clock hand has been supplied, co-operat-
ing with a dial graduated from to 99, showing
the figures 5, 10, 15, etc., to 95, for every five
graduations.

Another similar hand or arrow and dial to reg-
ister the hundreds is also provided, having a capac-
ity to register nineteen hundred. Attached to the
arrows, through a shaft connection at the back of
the casing are ratchet wheels, having respectively
the same number of teeth as the graduation of the
dial to which each hand belongs.

Co-operating with the hundred-tooth ratchet of
the units and tens register hand is a ratchet and
lever motion device (see Fig. 2) to turn the arrow
from one to nine points of the graduation of the
dial. The ratchet and lever-motion device consists of
the spring-pressed pawl E, mounted on the lever
arm D, engaging the hundred-tooth ratchet, the
link or push-rod F, the lever G, and its spring 0.
It will be noted that a downward action of the
lever G, will, through the rod F, cause a like down-

48 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

ward action of the lever D, causing the ratchet
pawl E to be drawn over the ratchet teeth. Upon
the release of the lever G, the spring 0, will return
it to its normal position and through the named
connecting parts, ratchet forward the arrow.

The normal position of the pawl E is jammed
into the tooth of the ratchet and against the
bracket C, that forms the pivot support for the
pivot shaft of the arrow. This jammed or locked
combination serves to stop the momentum of the
ratchet wheel at the end of the ratcheting action,
and holds the wheel and its arrow normally locked
until the Jever G is again depressed.

The means for gauging the depression and
additive degrees of action of the lever G is pro-
duced through the slides or keys marked a, hav-
ing finger-pieces c, springs f , and pins e, bearing
against the top of the lever G, combined with what
may be called a compensating lever marked K.

The specification of the patent states that the
depression of a key will depress the lever G and
the free end will engage the bent end t, of the
compensating lever K, and rock its envolute curved
arm M, upward until it engages the pin e of the
key, which will block further motion of the parts.

The effectiveness of the construction shown for
the lever K is open to question.

The carry of the hundreds is accomplished by
means of a one-step ratchet device represented by
the parts lever R, pawl T, spring P, and operating
pin g. When the hundred-tooth ratchet nears the
end of itis revolution, the pin g, made fast therein,
engages the free end of the ratchet lever R, and
depresses it ; and as the hand attached to the hun-
dred-tooth ratchet wheel passes from 99 to the

The Early Key-Driven Art

pin g passes off the end of the ratchet lever R, and
the spring P retracts the lever ratcheting the
twenty-tooth wheel and its arrow forward one
point so that the arrow registers one point greater
on the hundreds dial.

•

Although the Spalding means of control under
carrying differed from that of Bouchet in con-
struction, its function was virtually the same in
that it locked the carried or higher wheel in such
a manner as to prevent the wheel from being oper-
ated by an ordinal set of key mechanism.

And the control under key action would prevent
a carry being delivered to that order through the
locked relation of the ratchet and pawl E.

Prime actaation
of a carried wheel
impossible in the
Spalding ma-
chine

The Key-Driven Calculator

HILE these single digit adding machines
have been used to illustrate how the con-
trol, which was lacking in the Hill inven-
tion, had been recognized by other inventors as a
necessary requisite to the key-drive, it should not
be construed that such carrying control as had
been applied to their inventions was of a type that
could be used in the Hill machine or in any mul-
tiple-order key-driven machine. It was thirty
years after the first attempt to control a key-
driven machine was made before an operative
multiple-order key-driven machine, with a con-
trol that would prevent over-rotation, was finally
invented.
Theory versus Theoretically, it would seem that the only fea-
ture or element lacking in the Art prior to 1886,
to produce a real key-driven calculator was means
that would control the carrying and also leave the
carried wheel free for key actuation. It was, how-
ever, quite a different problem. Theoretical func-
tions may be patched together to make a theo-
retical machine; but that is only theory and not
the concrete.

To take f ragmental parts of such machines as
were disclosed in the Art and patch them together
into anything practical was impossible, even if
one had been familiar with the Art and could
devise mechanism to supply the new element. That
is, leaving aside the broad or generic theoretical

the concrete

The Key-Driven Calculator

elements, which today, from knowledge gained by
later inventions, serve the make-up of a key-driven
calculator, there was still lacking any concrete
example or specific design of a whole machine, as
there was no such machine disclosed in the draw-
ings of patents, or any known mechanism which,
if arranged in multiples, would be operative as a
practical machine even if mechanism to supply
the new element were to be added.

In other words, while it is conceded from our
present knowledge that all but one of the generic
theoretical elements had been solved as disclosed
in the various before-named n^chines, it required
the application of these elements in a different
way from anything before disclosed; which in
itself required a different concrete form of the
generic principles for the whole machine as well
as a generic form of invention covering the new
theoretical element.

It may be easy to analyze that which exists, but
quite a different story to conceive that which did
not exist. With reference to the Art, however,
the production of the new element is a feature
that may be credited without question. The con-
crete does not enter into it other than as proof
that a new feature has been created.

While the discussion of the Art from a scientific
standpoint brings together in after years what has
been accomplished by different inventors, it is doubt-
ful whether any of these early inventors had other
knowledge than what may possibly have been ob-
tained from seeing one of the foreign-made crank-
driven machines. All inventors work with an idea
obtained from some source, but on the whole few
copy inventions of others. When an Art is fully
established, however, and machines representing

All but one of
the generic ele-
ments solved

Originality of
inventions

52 Origin op Modern Calculating Machines

the Art are to be found on the market and the
principal features of such machines are portrayed
in a later patent, it may rightly be called a copy.
To assume, however, that a novice has taken the
trouble to delve into the archives of the patent
office and study the scattered theoretical elements
of the Art and supply a new element to make a
combination that is needed to produce a practical
key-driven calculator, is not a probable assump-
tion. But allowing such assumption were possible,
it is evident that from anything that the Art
disclosed prior to 1887 it was not possible to solve
the concrete production of a key-driven calculator.
A concepiion In 1884, a young machinist, while running a
^ finaUoluiion planer, conceived an idea from watching its ratchet
— '' " \feed motion, which was indirectly responsible for

;the final solution of the multiple-order key-driven
'calculating machine. The motion, which was like
that to be found on all planing machines, could be
adjusted to ratchet one, two, three, four or more
teeth for a fine or coarse feed.

While there is nothing in such a motion that
would in any way solve the problem of the mod-
em calculator, it was enough to excite the ambi-
tions of the man who did finally solve it. It is
stated that the young man, after months of
thought, made a wooden model, which he finished
early in 1885. This model is extant, and is illus-
trated on the opposite page.

The inventor was Dorr E. Felt, who is well
known in the calculating-machine Art as the man-
ufacturer of the "Comptometer," and in public
life as a keen student of economic and scientific
subjects. The wooden model, as will be noted, was
crude, but it held the nucleus of the machine to
come.

The Key-Driven Calcclatob

Mr. Felt has given some interesting facts re-
garding his experience in making the wooden
model.

He says: "Watching the planer-feed set me to
scheming on ideas for a machine to simplify the
hard grind of the bookkeeper in his day's calcula-
tion of accounts.

"I realized that for a machine to hold any value
to an accountant, it must have greater capacity
than the average expert accountant. Now I knew
that many accountants could mentally add four
columns of figures at a time, so I decided that I
must beat that in designing my machine. There-
fore, I worked on the principle of duplicate denom-
inational orders that could be stretched to any ca-
pacity within reason. The plan I finally settled on
is displayed in what is generally known as the
"Macaroni Box" model. This crude model was made
under rather adverse circumstances,

"The construction of such a complicated machine
from metal, as I had schemed up, was not within
my reach from a monetary standpoint, so I decided
to put my ideas into wood.

"It was near Thanksgiving Day of 1884, and I
decided to use the holiday in the construction of
the wooden model. I went to the grocer's and
selected a box which seemed to me to be about the
right size for the casing. It was a macaroni box,
so I have always called it the macaroni box model
For keys I procured some meat skewers from the
butcher around the comer and some staples from
a hardware store for the key guides and an assort-
ment of elastic bands to be used for springs. When
Thanksgiving day came I got up early and went to
work with a few tools, principally a jack knife.

66 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

"I soon discovered that there were some parts
which would require better tools than I had at
hand for the purpose, and when night came I
found that the model I had expected to construct
in a day was a long way from being complete or
in working order. I finally had some of the parts
made out of metal, and finished the model soon
after New Year's day, 1885."
The first By further experimenting the scheme of the
''Comptometer' wooden model was improved upon, and Felt pro-
duced, in the fall of 1886, a finished practical
machine made of metal. This machine is illus-
trated on the opposite page.

The Felt Calculating Machine

Referring to the illustration of Felt's first metal
machine, it will be noted that the machine has
been partly dismantled. The model was robbed of
some of its parts to be used as samples for the
manufacture of a lot of machines that were made
later. In view of the fact that this machine is the
first operative multiple-order key-driven calculat-
ing machine made, it seems a shame that it had to
be so dismantled; but the remaining orders are
operative and serve well to demonstrate the claims
held for it.
Felt patent The mechanism of the machine is illustrated in
371 A96 thg reproduction of the drawings of Felt's patent,
371,496, on page 58. The specification of this
patent shows that it was applied for in March,
1887, and issued October 11, 1887.

From the outward appearance of the machine it
has the same general scheme of formation as is
disclosed in the wooden model.

The constructional scheme of the mechanism
consists of a series of numeral wheels, marked A

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From Drawings of Felt Patent No. 371,496

The Key-Driven Calculator 59

in the patent drawings. Each wheel is provided Description of
with a ratchet wheel, and co-acting with the ^^"^^'^^^^^
ratchet is a pawl mounted on a disc E^ carried by
the pinion ES which is rotatably mounted on the
same axis as the numeral wheel. The arrangement
of these parts is such that a rotating motion
given any of the pinions ES in a clockwise direc-
tion, as shown in the drawings, would give a like
action to their respective numeral wheds ; but any
motion of the pinions in an anti-clockwise direc-
tion would have no effect on the numeral wheels,
owing to back-stop pawls K, and stop-pins T, pro-
vided to allow movement of the numeral wheels in
but one direction.

Co-acting with each pinion ES is shown a long
lever D, pivoted at the rear of the machine and
provided with a segmental gear rack which meshes
with the teeth of the pinion E^ This lever comes
under what is now generally termed a segment
lever.

Each lever is provided with a spring S, which
normally holds the front or rack end upward in
the position shown in Fig. 1, and has co-acting
with it a series of nine depressable keys which
protrude through the casing and contact with the
upper edge of the lever.

The arrangement of the keys with their segment
levers provides that the depression of any key will
depress the segment lever of that order, which in
turn will rotate the pinion E^ and its numeral wheel.

While this arrangement is such that each key
of a series gives a different degree of leverage
action to the segment lever, and in turn a degree
of rotation to the numeral wheel of the same order
in accordance with the numerical value of the key

60 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

depressed, it may be conceived that the momentum
set up by the quick stroke of a key would set the
numeral wheel spinning perhaps two or three revo-
lutions, or at any rate way beyond the point it
should stop at to register correctly.

To preserve correct actuation of the mechanism
and overcome its momentum, Felt provided a
detent toothed lever for each numeral wheel, which
will be found marked J^ in the drawings. To this
lever he linked another lever G, which extended
below the keys, and arranged the length of the
key stems so that when each key had revolved
the numeral wheel the proper distance, the key
will have engaged the lever G, and through the
link connection will have caused the detent tooth
of the lever J^ to engage one of the pins T, of the
numeral wheel, thus bringing the numeral wheel
and the whole train of mechanism to a dead stop.

This combination was timed so that the (1) key

would add one, the (2) key would add two, etc., up

to nine for the (9) key. Thus the prime actuation

of each wheel was made safe and positive.

Retxipiiulation^ Before explaining the means by which the carry

^ ^'^^cukUor of the tens was effected in the Felt machine

without interfering with multiple - order prime
actuation, it will perhaps help the reader to recap-
itulate on what the Art already offered.

Going back to the Art, prior to Felt's invention,
there are a few facts worth reconsidering that point
to the broadly new contributions presented in the
Felt invention, and combining these facts with a
little theory may perhaps give a clearer under-
standing of what was put into practice.

In most lines of mechanical engineering in the
past, the term "theory" connected with mechanical

The Key-Driven Calculator

construction was a bugaboo. But the solution of
the modem calculating machine was wholly depen-
dent upon it.

Let us summarize on the Art, prior to Felt's in-
vention. A calculating machine that would calcu-
late, if we eliminate the key-driven feature, was
old. The key-driven feature applied to adding
mechanism was old as adapted to a single-order
machine with a capacity for adding only a single
column of digits.

Hill attempted to make a multiple order key-
driven machine, but failed because he did not
theorize on the necessities involved in the physical
laws of mechanics.

Hill saw only the columnar arrangement of the
ordinal division of the keyboard, and his thought
did not pass beyond such relation of the keys for
conveyance. There is no desire to belittle this
feature, but it did not solve the problem that was
set forth in the specification and claims of his
patent ; neither did it solve it for anyone else who
wished to undertake the making of such a machine.

The introduction of keys as a driving feature
in the calculating machine Art demanded design
and construction suitable to control the new
idiosyncrasies of force and motion injected into
the Art by their use, of which the elements of in-
ertia and momentum were the most troublesome.

Hill, in the design and construction of his
machine, ignored these two elementary features
of mechanics and paid the penalty by defeat. The
tremendous speed transmitted to the parts of a
key-driven machine, which has already been illus-
trated, required that lightness in construction
which is absolutely necessary to reduce inertia to

Why Hill failed
to produce an
operaiive ma-
chine

Idiosyncrasies
of force and
motion increased
by use of keys

Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Light construe-
Hon a feature

Operative fea-
tures necessary

a minimum, should be observed. The Hill machine
design is absolutely lacking in such thought. The
diameter of the numeral wheel and its heavy con-
struction alone show this. Lightness of construc-
tion also enters into the control of momentum
when the mechanism must suddenly be brought to
a dead stop in its lightning-speed action. A heavily-
constructed numeral wheel like that shown in the
Hill patent would be as hard to check as it would
to start, even if Hill had provided means for check-
ing it.

Strength of design and construction, without
the usual increase in weight to attain such end,
but above all, the absolute control of momentum,
were features that had to be worked out.

Robjohn partly recognized these features, but
he limited the application of such reasoning to
the prime actuation of a single order, and made
nothing operable in a multiple key-driven machine.

Spalding and Bouchet recognized that the appli-
cation of control was necessary for both prime
actuation and carrying, but, like Robjohn, they
devised nothing that would operate with a series
of keys beyond a single order.

An operative principle for control under prime
actuation was perhaps present in some of the
single-order key-driven machines, but whatever
existed was applied to machines with keys
arranged in the bank form of construction, and,
to be used with the keys in columnar formation,
required at least a new constructive type of inven-
tion. But none of the means of control for carry-
ing, prior to Felt's invention, held any feature
that would solve the problem in a multiple-order
machine.

The Key-Driven Calculator

While all the machines referred to have not been
illustrated and described here, fair samples of the
type that have any pertinence to the Art have been
discussed, and those not illustrated would add
nothing more than has been shown. A classifica-
tion of the inventions referred to may be made as
follows :

Parmelee and Stetner had no carrying mechan-
ism; Hill, Robjohn, Borland and Hoffman, Swem,
Lindholm and Smith had no control for the carry.
Carroll, Bbuchet and Spalding show a control for
the carrying action, which in itself would defeat
the use of a higher wheel for prime actuation, and
which obviously would also defeat its use in a
multiple-order key-driven machine.

One of the principal reasons why theory was
necessary to solve the problem of the key-driven
calculator existed in the impossibility of seeing
what took place in the action of the mechanism
under the lightning speed which it receives in
operation. Almost any old device could be made to
operate if moved slow enough to see and study
its action; but the same mechanism that would
operate under slow action would not operate cor-
rectly under the lightning-speed action they could
receive from key depression. Only theoretical
reasoning could be used to analyze the cause when
key-driven mechanism failed to operate correctly.

Referring again to the drawings of the Felt
patent, which illustrate the first embodiment of
a multiple-order key-driven calculating machine,
we find, what Felt calls in the claims and specifica-
tions, a carrying mechanism for a multiple-order
key-driven calculating machine. This mechanism
was, as set forth in the specification, a mechanism

Classification of
the features con-
tained in the
early Art of key-
driven machines

Carrying mech-
anism of FelVs
calculator

Origin of Modern Caculating Machines

Transfer
devices

Carrying meehemr
ism versus mere
transfer devices

for transferring the tens, which have been accu-
mulated by one order, to a higher order, by adding
one to the wheel of higher order for each accumu-
lation of ten by the lower order wheel. This, in the
Felt machine, as in most machines, was effected
by the rotation of a numbered drum, called the
numeral wheel, marked with the nine digits and
cipher.

• The term "transfer device" for such mechanism
was in common use, and as a term it fits certain
parts of all classes of devices used for that pur-
pose, whether for a crank-driven, key-driven, or
any other type of multiple-order or single-order
machine. But in the Felt invention we find it was
not the simple device generally used for trans-
ferring the tens. It was, in fact, a combination of
devices co-acting with each other which, in the
specification of the patent, was termed the carry-
ing mechanism.

Now, carrying mechanism may in a sense be
termed a transfer device, as one of its functions
is that of transferring power to carry the tens,
but a mere transfer device may not be truthfully
termed a carrying mechanism for a multiple-order
key-driven machine unless it performs the func-
tions that go to make up a correct carrying of the
tens in that class of machine, and which we find
laid down under the head of carrying mechanism
in the Felt patents, where we find the first opera-
tive carrying mechanism ever invented for a
multiple-order key-driven machine.

The functions demanded of such a piece of
mechanism are as follows: First, the storing of
power to perform the carry; second, the unlock-
ing of the numeral wheel to be carried ; third, the

The Kby-Driven Calculator 65

delivery of the power stored to perform such
carry; fourth, the stopping and locking of the
carried wheel when it has been moved to register
such carry; and fifth, clearing the carrying-lock
during prime actuation. A seemingly simple oper-
ation, but let those who have tried to construct
such mechanism judge; they at least have some
idea of it and they will no doubt bow their heads
in acknowledgment of the difficulties involved in
this accomplishment.

Mechanism for carrying the tens in single digit
adders was one thing, and such as was used could
well be called a transfer device; but mechanism
for carrying the tens in a real key-driven calculat-
ing machine was another thing, and a feature not
solved until Felt solved it, and justly called such
combination of devices a "carrying mechanism."

In the Felt machine, the carrying mechanism Details of Felt
consisted of a lever and ratchet pawl action, con- meSmnism
structed of the parts M, m^, operated by a spring
m, the pawl acting upon the numeral wheel pins
T, to ratchet the wheel forward under the spring
power. The power in the spring was developed
from the rotation of the lower wheel, which
through the means of an envolute cam* attached
to left side of each wheel, operated the carrying
lever in the opposite direction to that in which it
was operated by the spring. As the carrying lever
passed the highest point of the cam spiral and
dropped off, the stored power in the spring re-
tracted the lever M, and the pawl mS acting on the
higher order wheel pins T, and moved it one-tenth
of a revolution.

•Note: As all the drawings of the Felt patent are not reproduced
here, the cam is not shown.

66 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

This part of the mechanism was in principle an
old and commonly-used device for a one-step
ratchet motion used in the carry of the tens. It
served as a means of storing and transferring
power from the lower wheel to actuate the higher
wheel in a carrying operation, but a wholly un-
qualified action without control.

In the Felt machine a spring-actuated lever N,
mounted on the same axis with the carrying lever,
and provided with a detent stop-hook at its upper
end, served to engage the numeral wheel at the
end of its carried action, and normally hold it
locked.

An arm or pin P, fixed in and extending from
the left side of the carrying lever and through
a hole in the detent lever, acted to withdraw the
detent lever from its locking engagement with the
numeral wheel as the carrying lever reached the
extreme point of retraction ; thus the wheel to be
carried was unlocked.

Pivoted to the side of the detent lever is a catch
O. This catch or latch is so arranged as to hook
on to a cross-rod q, especially constructed to co-
act with the catch and hold the detent-lever
against immediate relocking of the numeral wheel
as the carrying lever and pawl act in a carrying
motion. The latch has a tail or arm p, which co-
acts with the pin P on the carrying lever in such
a way as to release the latch as the carrying lever
finishes its carrying function.

Thus the detent lever N is again free to engage
one of the control or stop-pins T to stop and lock
the carried numeral wheel when the carrying lever
and pawl, through the action of the spring stored
in the carrying, has moved the wheel the proper
distance.

Bill for First Manufacturing Tools of the
' 'Comptometer' '

The Kby-Dbiven Calculator

A lot of functions to take place in 1/165 of a
second, but it worked. The timing of the stop and
locking detents, of course, was one of the finest
features.

The normal engagement of the carrying detent,
it may be understood, would prevent the move-
ment of the wheel by key action or prime actua-
tion, but the patent shows how Felt overcame this.

The carrying atop and locking detent lever N is
provided with a cam-arm or pin N, which was ar-
ranged to co-act with the cam disc E (see Fig. 1),
fast to the prime actuating pinion E. The cam sur-
face was short and performed its function duringa
short lost motion arranged to take place before
the ratchet pawl would pick up and move the
numeral wheel under key actuation.

The camming action was outward and away
from the center, and thus released the carrying
stop from its locking position with the numeral
wheel, and continued rotation of the pinion and
cam disc would hold the lock out of action until
the parts had returned to normal.

With the return action of the keys, segment
lever, pinion and cam disc, through the action of
a spring attached to the segment lever, the carry-
ing stop detent will again engage and lock the
numeral wheel.

Felt really started to manufacture his calculat- Mana/acture
ing machine in the fall of 1886, after perfecting fj^ifi^'/
his invention. Having only a very limited amount
of money with which to produce machines, young
Felt, then but 24 years of age, was obliged to make
the machines himself, but with the aid of some
dies which he had made for some of the principal
parts (see reproduction of biU for dies on opposite
page), he was able to produce eight finished

Early Comptometer

Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Trade name of
Felt calculator

Felt calculator
Exhibit at Na*
tional Museum

machines before September, 1887. Two of these
machines were immediately put into service, for
the training of operators, as soon as they were
finished.

Of the first trained operators to operate these
machines, which were given the trademark name
"Comptometer," one was Geo. D. Mackay, and
another was Geo. W. Martin. After three or four
months' practice Mr. Martin demonstrated one of
these machines to such firms as Sprague, Warner
& Co., Pitkin & Brooks, The Chicago Daily News,
and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R. Co.,
and finally took employment with the Equitable
Gas Light & Fuel Co. of Chicago (see letter on
opposite page) as operator of the "Comptometer."
The Gas Co. has since been merged with several
other companies into the Peoples Gas Light &
Coke Co. of Chicago.

A very high testimonial of the qualities of the
Felt invention was given by Mr. Martin in 1888,
a year after hie entered the employment of the
Gas Co., and is reproduced on page 72.

Another fine testimonial was given by Geo. A.
YuUe, Secy. & Treas. of the Chicago Gas Light &
Coke Co., in September, 1888 (see page 74). Mr.
Mackay, the other operator, secured employment
with Albert Dickinson & Co., Seed Merchants, as
operator of the "Comptometer." Mr. Mackay was
interviewed a few months ago, and was at that
tiire, after thirty years, still with the same firm,
and a strong advocate of the "Comptometer."

In September, 1887, Felt took one of the first
eight machines to Washington and exhibited it to
Gen. W. S. Rosecrans, then Registrar of the
Treasury, and left the machine in the office of Dr.

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Letter from Geo. W. Martin

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Testimonial

The Key-Driven Calculator 75

E. B. Elliott, Actuary of the Treasury, where it
was put into constant use. Proof of the date of
this use of Felt's invention in the Treasury is set
forth in the reproduction of two letters (see oppo-
site page) , one was written by Mr. Elliott and an-
other by Gen. W. S. Rosecrans, in answer to an in-
quiry of the Hall Typewriter Co. of Salem, Mass.
Another of the first eight machines was placed
with Dr. Daniel Draper, of the N. Y. State Weather
Bureau, New York City.

Felt finally closed a deal with Mr. Robert Tarrant
of Chicago, whereby a partnership contract was
signed November 28, 1887. The partnership was
incorporated January 25, 1889, under the name of
the Felt & Tarrant Mfg. Co., who are still manu-
facturing and selling "Comptometers" under that
name.

Laying aside all the evidence set forth in the Signifyant j^roof
foregoing history of key-driven machines and ^^ priority *'"
their idiosyncrasies, significant proof of Felt's
claim as the first inventor of the modem calcu-
lating machine is justified by the fact that no other
multiple-order key-driven calculating machine was
placed on the market prior to 1902.

Lest we lose sight of a most important feature
in dealing with the Art of the Modem Calculator,
we should call to mind the fact that as Felt was
the originator of this type of machine, he was also
the originator of the scheme of operation in its
performance of the many and varied short cuts in
arithmetical calculation.

The performance of calculation on machines of
the older Art differed so entirely from the new
that any scheme of operation that may have been
devised for their use would lend nothing to the

Origin op Modern Calculating Machines

Rules for opera-
tion an import-
ant factor of
modern
calculator

derivation of the new process for operating the
key-driven machine of the new Art.

A superficial examination of one of the instruc-
tion books of the "Comptometer" will convince
most any one that it is not only the mechanism of
the machine that made the modem calculator so
valuable to the business world, but also the
schemes laid down for its use. The instructions
for figuring Multiplication, Subtraction, Division,
Square Root, Cube Root, Interest, Exchange, Dis-
count, English Currency, etc., involved hard study
to devise such simple methods and rules.

The instruction books written by Felt for the
"Comptometer, the Modem Calculator," reflect
the genius disclosed in the invention of the machine
itself.

Vife ':' "^

From Drawing oi Barbour Patent No. 133,11

Early Efforts in the Recording

Machine Art

THE Art of recording the addition of columns
of figures is old in principle, but not in
practice. Many attempts to make a machine
that would record legibly under all conditions
failed. These attempts have been pointed out
from time to time as the first invention of the
recording - adding machine, especially by those
desirous of claiming the laurels.

The first attempt at arithmetical recording for First attempt to
which a patent was issued, was made by E. D. record arithmeii-

• cat computaiion

Barbour in 1872 (see illustration on opposite page) .
E. D. Barbour has also the honor of being
the first inventor to apply Napier's principle to
mechanism intended to automatically register the
result of multiplying a number having several
ordinal places by a single digit without mentally
adding together the overlapping figures resulting
from direct multiplication. He patented this
machine in 1872 just prior to the issue of his
arithmetical recorder patent. (See page 181.)

The Barbour Machine

The printing device disclosed in connection
with the Barbour machine for recording calcula-
tions was of the most simple nature, allowing only
for the printing of totals and sub-totals.

Its manipulation consisted of placing a piece
of paper under a hinged platen and depressing the

80 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

platen by hand in the same manner that a time
stamp is used. The ink had to be daubed on the
type by a hand operation to make legible the im-
pressions of the type.

Description The patent drawings of the Barbour machine

^^ Machine ^^^ ®^ fragmentary that it is almost impossible

to draw any conclusion as to its functions without

reading the specifications.

Fig. 1 represents the base of the machine, while
Fig. 4 shows a carriage which, when in place, is
superimposed above the base as illustrated in
Figs. 3 and 5.

The operation of the machine is performed by
first pulling out the slides B (shown in Fig. 1),
which set the digital degrees of actuation of each
order; and, second, by operating the hand-lever
K, from its normal position at to 1, if it is desired
to add, or to any of the other numbers in accord-
ance to the value of the multiplier if multiplication
is desired.

The movement of the handle K, from one figure
to the other, gives a reciprocation to the carriage,
so that for each figure a reciprocation will take
place.

Each of the slides B, has a series of nine gear
racks; each rack has a number of teeth ranging
progressively from 1 tooth for the first gear rack
to 9 teeth for the last rack, thus the pulling out of
the slides B will present one of the gear racks in
line to act upon the accumulator mechanism of the
carriage as the carriage is moved back and forth
over it.

The accumulator mechanism consists of the
register wheels M^ and M^ and the type wheels M*

Early Efforts in the Recording Machine Art 81

and M* mounted on a common arbor and a carry
transfer device between the wheels of each order.

Operating between the accumulator wheels and
the racks of plate B are a pair of gears, one in the
form of a lantern wheel loosely mounted on the
accumulator wheel shaft but connected thereto by
a ratchet wheel and pawl connection ; the other, a
small pinion meshing with the lantern wheel on
a separate axis, protrudes below the carriage into
the path of the racks.

Thus as the carriage is moved by the recipro-
cating device connected with the hand-lever K,
the pinions of the accumulator will engage what-
ever racks have been set and the numeral wheels
and type wheels will be operated to give the result.

The numeral and type wheels have two sets of
figures, one of which is used for addition and mul-
tiplication, while the other set runs in the oppo-
site direction for negative computation or sub-
traction and division.

A plate arranged with sight apertures covers
the numeral or register wheels, while the type
wheels are left uncovered to allow a hinged platen
F, mounted on the top of the carriage (see Fig. 3) ,
to be swung over on top of them and depressed.

Attached to the platen F, are a series of spring
clips d, under which strips of paper may be slipped
(as shown by D, in Fig. 4), and which serves to
hold the paper while an impression is taken.

Thus the Barbour invention stands in the Art Barbour machine
as something to show that as early as 1872 an ^^'^''-''-^
effort was made to provide means to preserve a
record of calculations by printing the totals of
such calculations.

82 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

The Baldwin Machine
The next effort in this class of machines is illus-
trated in a patent issued to Frank S. Baldwin
in 1875 (see illustration on opposite page). The
Baldwin machine is also of moment as having the
scheme found in the machines known as the
Brunsviga, made under the Odhner patents — a
foreign invention, later than that of Baldwin, used
extensively abroad and to a limited extent in this
country.

The contribution of Baldwin to the Art of record-
ing-calculating devices seems to be only the roll
paper in ribbon form and the application of the ink
ribbon. The method used by Barbour for type im-
pression was adapted and used by Baldwin; that
is, the hinged platen and its operation by hand.

Of the illustrations shown of the Baldwin
machine, one is reproduced from the drawings of
the patent while the other is a photo reproduction
of the actual machine which was placed on the
market, but, as may be noted, minus the printing
or recording device shown in the patent drawings.

Description Referring to the photo reproduction, the upper
^^^^hiZ ^^^ ^^ figures showing through the sight aper-
tures in the casing are those of the numeral wheels
which accumulate the totals, and which in the
patent drawings would represent the type of
the accumulator wheels for printing the totals of
addition and multiplication or the remainders of
subtraction and division.

The figures showing below serve to register
multiples of addition and subtraction which would
read as the multiplier in multiplications or the
quotient in division. These wheels are the type

From Drawings of Baldwin Patent No. 159,244

Baldwin Machii

Early Efforts in the Recording Machine Art 86

wheels N, in the patent drawings, which serve the
puri)ose of recording the named functions of cal-
culation.

The means by which the type wheels of the
upper row are turned through the varying degrees
of rotation they receive to register the results of
calculation, consists of a crank-driven, revolvable
drum, marked E, which is provided with several
denominational series of protectable gear teeth h,
which may be made to protrude through the drum
by operation of the digital setting-knobs g, situ-
ated on the outside of the drum.

These knobs, as shown in the patent drawings,
are fast to radial arms, each of which serves as
one of three spokes of a half -wheel device, operat-
ing inside the drum and pivoted on the inner hub
of the drum.

These half wheels marked F, in the drawings,
by means of their cam faces hS serve to force the
gear teeth out through the face of the drum, or
let them recede under the action of their springs
as the knobs g, are operated forward and back in
the slots X, of the drum provided for the purpose.

As will be noted from the photographic repro-
duction of the machine, these slots are notched
to allow the arms extending through them to be
locked in nine different radial positions, and that
each of these positions are marked progressively
from to 9.

This arrangement allows the operator to set up
numbers in the different orders by springing the
setting-knobs g to the left and pulling them for-
ward to the number desired, where it will become
locked in the notch when released. This action
will have forced out as many gear teeth in each

86 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

order as have been set up by the knobs g in their
respective orders.

The lateral positions of the projectable gear-
teeth correspond to the spacing of the type-
wheels, and an intermediate gear G, meshing with
each type, or register wheel, is loosely mounted
on the shaft H, interposed between the said wheels
and the actuating drum E, so that when the drum
is revolved by the crank provided for that purpose,
the gear-teeth protruding from the drum will
engage the intermediate gears G, and turn them
and their type or register wheels as many of their
ten points of rotation as have been set up in their
respective orders of the setting devices of the
drum.

Revolving the drum in one direction adds, while
revolving it in the opposite direction subtracts,
and repeated revolutions in either direction give
respectively the multiple forms of addition or sub-
traction which result in either multiplication or
division, as the case may be.

The actuating drum E, is provided with means

by which it may be shifted to the left to furnish
means for multiplying by more than one factor
and to simplify the process of division.

The means for the carry of the tens consist of
a series of teeth i, formed by the bent end of a
pivoted spring-pressed lever arm which is pivoted
to the inside of the actuating drum with the tooth
protruding through a slot in the drum, so arranged
as to allow motion of the tooth in a direction paral-
lel to the drum axis.

Normally these teeth are held in a position to
escape engagement with the intermediate gears
G, but provision is made for camming the teeth i.

EIarly Efforts in the Recording Machine Art 89

to the left into the path of an intermediate gear
of one order as the type or register wheel of the
lower order passes from 9 to 0.

The parts which perform this function are the
cam m, located on the left side of each wheel, the
plunger M, which operates in the fixed shaft H,
and which has a T-shaped head that, when pro-
jected into the path of the carrying teeth i, serve
to cam them sidewise and bring about the engage-
ment referred to, which results in the higher type
or numeral wheel being stepped forward one space.

The cam-lugs j on the drum serve to engage and
push back the T heads of the cam plungers M,
after they have brought about the one-step move-
ment of the higher wheel.

The printing device consists of a hand-manipu- Baldwin's print-
lated frame pivoted to the main frame of the ^^^^^hanism
machine by the shaft t. The paper is supplied
from a roll about the shaft t, and an ink-ribbon is
fed back and forth from the rolls u and u^ over
bars of the printing-frame which protrude through
slots in the casing and act as platens for the im-
pression of the paper and ink-ribbon against the
type.

It is presumed that the paper was torn off after
a record was printed in the same manner as in the
more modem machines.

The Pottin Machine

Eight years after the Baldwin patent was issued,
a Frenchman named Henry Pottin, residing in
Paris, . France, invented a machine for recording
cash transactions, which he patented in England
in 1883 and in the United States in 1885 (see illus-
tration on opposite page) .

Origin op Modern Calculating Machines

First keyset crank-
operated machine
and first attempt
to record the items
in addition

The form and design of the machine, as will be
noted, correspond quite favorably with the scheme
of the present-day cash register, although it lacks
the later refinement that has made the cash regis-
ter acceptable from a visible point of view.

The Pottin invention is named here as the first
in which two of the prime principles of the record-
ing-adders of today are disclosed; one is the de-
pressable key-set feature and the other is the
recording of the numerical items. The Pottin
machine was the first known depressable key-set
crank-operated machine made to add columns of
figures and the first machine in which an attempt
was made to print the numerical items as they
were added.

Turning to the illustration of the U. S. patent
drawings of the Pottin machine, the reader will
note that there are four large wheels shown,
marked B. These wheels are what may be called
the type-wheels, although they also serve as indi-
cator wheels for registering cash sales. The type
figures are formed by a series of needles fixed in
the face of the wheels.

The means employed for presenting the proper
type figure for printing and likewise the indica-
tor figures to indicate the amount set up in each
denominational order was as follows :

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be noted that to each
tjrpe-wheel is geared a spring-actuated segmental
rack marked D, which, as shown in the drawing,
is in contact with a pin marked i, which protrudes
from the side of the depressed number (9) key.

The normal position of the rack D, is indicated
in dotted lines showing the next higher sector
which has not been displaced by key depression.

Early Efforts in the Recording Machine Art 91

Each key, as will be noted from Fig. 7, is pro- Description of
vided with one of the pins i, which is normally out ^«"'" '""^^^"^
of the path of the lug j, as the racks D, drop for-
ward; but when any key is depressed the pin is
presented in the path of the lug j, and stops fur-
ther forward action of the rack.

It will be noted that the arrangement of the
keys is such as will allow progressively varying
degrees of action to the segmental racks D. This
variation, combined with the geared relation of
the type-wheels and racks is equivalent to a tenth
of a rotation of the t3T)e-wheel for each succes-
sive key in the order of their arrangement from 1
to 9.

The means provided for holding the segmental
racks D, at normal, also serves to hold a key of the
same order depressed, and consists of a pivoted
spring-pressed latch-frame marked E (see Figs.
7 and 8) .

With such a combination, the depression of keys
in the several orders will unlatch the segmental
racks, and the racks, through the tension of their
actuating springs, will turn the wheels and present
a type corresponding to the numerical value of
each key depressed.

A hand lever, marked R, located on left side of
the machine provides power for printing the items.
Another hand lever, marked J, serves to restore
the segmental racks, type-wheels and the keys to
normal, and through the co-operation of the lever
R, adds the items to the totalizer numeral wheels,
which are shown in Fig. 1 as the numbered wheels
marked v.

92 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

The paper is supplied from a roll mounted on a
hinged platen frame PS supported in its normal
position by a spring P«. The paper passes under
the roller P, which acts as a platen for the impres-
sion of the type. A shaft Q, passing under the
frame PS is fast and rigidly connected on the left-
hand side of the machine with the hand lever R,
and acts as a pivot for the said lever and by means
of lateral projections q, serves when the lever R is
operated to engage the frame PS and depresses it
until the needle types have pricked the numerical
items through the paper.

A slit in the casing provided means for printing
the item on a separate piece of paper or bill.

Although there is no means shown by which the
paper is fed after an item is printed, it is claimed
in the specification that the well-known means for
such feeding may be employed. The actuating
lever J referred to, is connected by a ratchet and
geared action with the shaft F*, so that a revolu-
tion is given the said shaft each time the lever is
operated.

To the shaft F, (see Fig. 1) is attached a series
of arms H, one for each order, which, as the shaft
revolves in the direction of the arrow, engages a
lug marked I, on the segmental racks D, thus rock-
ing the segments back to normal, turning the type-
wheels with them.

The return of the segment racks D, cause the
back of the latch tooth fS (see Fig. 8) to engage
the latch tooth f , of the latch bar E, camming it
out of engagement with the keys so that any key
that has been set will return by means of its own
spring.

♦Note: All the drawings of the Pottin patent are not shown here.

Early Efforts in the Recording Machine Art

The total or accumulator numeral wheels are
connectable with the type or indicating wheels B,
by an engaging and disengaging gear motion set
up by the combined action of the hand levers R
and J, which first cause such gear engagement,
and then, through the return of the tjrpe wheels
to zero, turn the accumulator wheels, thus trans-
ferring the amount of the item set upon the type
wheels to the accumulator wheels.

The specification claims the machine is intended
for use by cashiers, bank-tellers, and others, to
record receipts or disbursements.

It is also claimed in the specification that instead
of the needle type ordinary type may be used in
combination with an inking ribbon if so desired.

One of the next attempts to produce a recording-
adder was made by Wm. S. Burroughs, whose
name sixteen years later was used to rename the
American Arithmometer Co., now known as the
Burroughs Adding Machine Co.

The first patent issued to Burroughs, No. 388116,
under date of August 21, 1888, like the machine of
Barbour and Baldwin, was designed to record only
the final result of calculation.

On the same date, but of later application, an-
other patent. No. 388118, was issued to Burroughs
which claimed to combine the recording of the
numerical items and the recording of the totals in
one machine. Some of the drawings of this patent
have been reproduced. (See opposite page.)

Machine of Early Burroughs Patent

Referring to the drawings of the Burroughs
patent, it will be noted, that in outward form,
the machine is similar to the Burroughs machine

Ectrly efforts of
Wm, S, Burroughs

Wm. S. Burroughs

96 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

of today. To give a detailed description of the
construction of the machine of this Burroughs
patent would make tedious reading and take un-
necessary space.
General scheme The principle involved in the mechanism for

first immUons recording the items is very similar to that of the

Pottin invention; the setting of the type wheels
being effected as in the Pottin machine by means
of segment gears which the depression of the keys
serves to unlatch, and acts to gauge the additive
degree of their movement.

Burroughs used the inking form of type pro-
posed as an alternative by Pottin in his patent
specification instead of the needles shown in the
Pottin drawings.

In the Burroughs patent, as in the Pottin, it will
be noted that there are two sets of wheels bearing
figures, one set of which, marked J, situated at
the rear, are the tjrpe-wheels, and the other set,
marked A, at the front of the machine, are for the
accumulation of the totals.

For each denominational order of the type and
total wheels, there is provided an actuating seg-
mental gear, consisting of a two-armed segmental
lever pivoted to the shaft C, and having the gear
teeth of its rear arm constantly in mesh with the
pinion gear of the type-wheel J, and the gear teeth
of the forward arm normally presented to, but out
of mesh with the pinion gear of its total wheel A.

Each of these denominational actuators or seg-
ment gears is provided with a stop projection X^,
at the top end of its forward gear-rack, which serves
as a means for interrupting the downward move-
ment of that end of the segment lever, and thus
controls its movement as a denominational
actuator.

Eauly Efforts in the Recording Machine Art

It will be noted that instead of the key-stems
acting directly as a stop for the denominational
actuators, as in the Pottin invention, Burroughs
used a bell crank type of key lever and the stop-
wire C^ as an intermediate means, and in this man-
ner produced a flat keyboard more practical for
key manipulation.

The stop-wires CS as will be noted, are arranged
to slide in slots of the framework, and while nor-
mally not presented in the path of the stop-pro-
jection X^, of the denominational actuators, it may
be observed that by the depression of the proper
key any one of them may be drawn rearward and
into the path of the stop projection X^, of its re-
lated actuator, and thus serve as a means to inter-
cept the downward action of the actuator.

The denominational actuators in the Burroughs
machine were not provided with spring tension
that would cause them to act as soon as unlatched
by depression of the keys as has been described in
relation to the Pottin invention.

While the keys in the Burroughs machine, as in
the Pottin invention, served also to unlatch the
denominational actuators in their respective
orders, no movement of the said actuators or type-
wheels took place until a secondary action was per-
formed.

The secondary action, or the operation of the
hand lever, marked C, attached to the shaft C, on
its initial or forward stroke dragged the denomi-
national actuators down by means of friction and
thus set the tsrpe-wheels, and by means claimed in
the specification, brought about the type impres-
sion to print the result of the key-setting or the
item so set.

Brief description
of machine of
early Burroughs
patents

98 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

The backward or rear stroke of the hand lever
caused the accumulator or total numeral wheels to
be engaged and the item to be added to them.

From this single lever action It will be noted
that there is an Improvement shown over and
above the Pottln invention in the fact that but one
lever motion is required; Pottln having provided
two levers so that in the event of error the opera-
tion of one lever would reset the machine without
performing any addition or printing.

In the Burroughs invention, the motion of de-
nominational actuators and their type-wheels not
being effected through depression of keys, as in
the Pottin machine, allowed any error in the set-
ting up of an item to be corrected by the resetting
of the keys and relatching of the gears, which it
is claimed was provided for by operation of the
lever marked B^ (Fig. 1 of the drawings) .

As a means of supplying power to his denom-
inational actuators. Burroughs provided what may
be called a universal actuator common to all orders,
composed of a rock frame (arms D^, loose on each
end of actuating shaft C, and having their out-
ward ends rigidly connected by the bar a*) and
the arms E, fixed to each end of the shaft C.

Projecting from the inside of each of the arms
E, are two lugs, b^ and b^, which contact with the
arms D^ of the rock frame as the shaft C is rocked
back and forth by its hand crank 0% and thus
lower and raise the rock-frame.

The means employed to transmit the reciprocat-
ing action of the universal actuator to such de-
nominational actuators as may be unlatched by
key depression, consists of a series of spring-
pressed arc-shaped levers DS pivoted to the rock-

Eablt Efforts in the Recobdino Machine Abt 99

frame bar a®, which bear against a pin b^ fixed in
the front arm of the denominational actuators.

Each of the levers DS is provided with a notch
y, which serves on the downward action of the
rock-frame to engage the pins b^, of the denomi-
national actuators and draw down with them such
actuators as have been unlatched by key depres-
sion and to pass over the pins of such actuators
as have not been unlatched.

When in the course of such downward move-
ment the denominational actuators are intercepted
by the stop-wires O, the yielding spring pressure
of the levers DS allow the notches y, to slip over the
pins b^, and leave the denominational actuators
and their type-wheels set for recording the item
thus set up.

The means provided for impression of the type
is shown in other drawings of a patent not repro-
duced here. The means provided consisted of a
universal platen, which, the specification states,
serves to press the ink-ribbon and paper against
the type after all the figures of each item were set.

While Barbour, Baldwin and Pottin all used the
universal platen to print the collective setting of
type represented in the items or totals, as the case
may be, each varied somewhat in detail. Baldwin
used a toggle to press the platen toward the t3Tpe,
while Burroughs used a spring to press the platen
against the type and a toggle to press it away
from the type.

Burroughs claimed to have combined in his in-
vention the printing of the totals, with the print-
ing of the items, each of which it has been shown
was claimed by the patentees of previous inven-

100 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

tions but had not been combined in one machine
prior to the Burroughs attempt.

The process for recording these totals in the
Burroughs patent consisted of utilizing the action
of the total wheels during their resetting or zero-
izing movement to gauge the setting of the type-
wheels.

The specification shows that, during the down-
ward motion or setting of the denominational
actuators, as they set the type wheels, the numeral
wheels are out of gear and receive no motion
therefrom; and that after the recording of each
item and during the return motion of denomina-
tional actuators, the numeral or total wheels are
revolved forward in their accumulative action of
adding the items and thus registering the total.

Provision is made, however, when it is desired
to print the totals, to cause the totalizing wheels
to enmesh with the denominational actuators on
their downward or setting movement, and for the
unlatching of all the racks so that by operating
the hand lever C^ the downward action of the
racks will reverse the action of the totalizing
wheels, which will revolve backward until the
zeros show at the visible reading point, where they
will be arrested by stops provided for that pur-
pose. By this method the forward rotation accu-
mulated on each wheel will, through the reverse
action of zeroizing, give a like degree of action to
the type-wheels through the denominational actu-
ators. Thus the registration of the total wheels,
it is claimed, will be transferred to the type-wheels
and the record printed thereof as a footing to the
column of numerical items that have been added.

Early Efforts in the Recording Machine Art 101

To pass judgment on the recording machines of All early arUh-

the patents that have been described, from the 3^^ ^"''*'*'*^

invention of Barbour to that of Burroughs, de- impractical
mands consideration, first, as to whether in any
of the machines of these patents the primary fea-
tures of legible recording were present.

The question as to operativeness respecting other
features is of no consideration until it is proven
that the means disclosed for recording was prac-
tical. As non-recording adding or calculating ma-
chines they were not of a type that could compete
with the more speedy key-driven machines dealt
with in the preceding chapters ; therefore without
the capacity for legible recording, these patents
must stand as representing a nonentity or as statu-
tory evidence of the ineffective efforts of those
who conceived the scheme of their makeup and
attempted to produce a recording-adding machine.

Without the capacity for legible recording, of
what avail is it that the machine of one of these
patents should disclose advantages over another?
It may be conceded that there are features set
forth in the Pottin and Burroughs patents that if
operatively combined with legible recording would
disclose quite an advanced state of the Art at the
time they were patented. But credit for such an
operative combination cannot be given until it
exists.

There is no desire to question the ingenuity dis-
played by any of these inventors, but in seeking
the first practical recording-adding or calculating
machine we must first find an operative machine
of that type ; one which will record in a practical
and legible manner regardless of its other quali-
fications.

102 Origin of Modebn Calculating Machines

Practical meihod The fact that the fundamental principle used for

^^ ^^^Josed later the impression of the type in the practical recorder

of today is not displayed in any of these inventions,
raises the question as to the effective operative-
ness of the printing scheme disclosed in the pat-
ents of these early machines.

In each of the four alleged recording-adding ma-
chine patents described, it will be noted that the
means employed for printing was that of pressing
the paper against the group of type by means of a
universal platen or plate.

While with such a combination it may be pos-
sible to provide a set pressure great enough to
legibly print a numerical item or total having eight
to ten figures through an ink ribbon, it would not
be practical to use the same pressure to print a
single-digit figure, as it would cause the type to
break through the paper. And yet in the numeri-
cal items and totals that have to be recorded in
machines of the class under consideration, such
wide variation is constantly encountered.

We are all familiar with the typewriter and the
legible printing it produces. But suppose instead
of printing each letter separately the whole word
should be printed at once by a single-key depres-
sion, then, of course, single-letter words, such as
the article "a" or the pronoun "I" would also have to
be printed by a single-key depression. In this sup-
position we find a parallel of the requirements of
a recording-adding machine.

If it were possible to so increase the leverage of
the typewriter keys enough to cause a word of ten
letters to be printed as legibly as a single letter is
now printed, ten times the power would have to
be delivered at the type-head. Then think what

.t"

lj ii II

V '°/a

I'T

Drawings of Ludlum Patent No. 384,373

Early Efforts in the Recording Machine Art

105

would happen with that same amount of power
applied to print the letter "a," or letter "I." You
would not question that under such conditions the
type would break a hole in the paper. And yet the
patentees of the said described inventions wanted
the public to believe that their inventions were
operative. But to be operative as recordingr-adding:
machines, they must meet such variable conditions
as described.

It is useless to believe that a variation of from
one to ten or more type could be printed by a set
amount of pressure through an ink-ribbon and be
legible under all circumstances.

While the needle-type of Pottin may have printed
the items legibly enough for a cash-register, it
would not serve the purpose of a record for uni-
versal use. The use of regular type and the inking
ribbon proposed in his specification would bring it
within the inoperative features named.

The Ludlum Machine

In 1888, about two months prior to the issue of
the Burroughs recording machine patent just re-
ferred to, a patent was issued to A. C. Ludlum for
an adding and writing-machine. (See illustration
on opposite page.)

It will be noted by reference to the drawings
that the scheme is that of a typewriter with an
adding mechanism attached.

The details of the typewriter may be omitted, as
most of us are familiar with typewriters. A fea-
ture that differed from the regular typewriter,
however, was that the machine printed figures only
and the carriage operated in the opposite direction,
thus printing from right to left instead of left to
right.

InopercUive
features of early
recording
mechanism

Adding mechan'
ism attached to
typewriter

106 Origin of Modebn Calculating Machines

Description of A series of numeral wheels and their devices for
machine ^® transfer of the tens, desi^nied to register the
totals, are shown mounted in a shiftable frame
connected with the bar marked F, with the type-
writer carriage, and is claimed to move therewith.

Each numeral wheel is provided with a gear
marked G, which, as the carriage moves after
writing or printing each figure of the item, is sup-
posed to slide into mesh one at a time with an adding
gear marked H, the engagement taking place from
right to left. Or beginning with the right or units
numeral wheel a higher order numeral wheel gear
is supposed to shift through movement of the car-
riage into engagement with the adding gear H,
each time a key is depressed.

The adding gear H, is supposed to receive vary-
ing degrees of rotation from the keys according to
their numerical marking and to rotate the num-
eral wheel with which it happens to be engaged, a
corresponding number of its ten marked points of
registration.

Between the adding gear H, and the keys which
act to drive it, is a ratchet and gear device consist-
ing of the ratchet pawl pivoted to the adding gear
H, the ratchet I®, and its pinion gear, the segment
gear I^ fast to the rock shaft I, the nine arms I^ fast
to the rock shaft and the pins IS which are arranged
in the key levers to contact with and depress the
arms I^ of the rock shaft varying distances, accord-
ing to the value of the key depressed. That is, sup-
posing that the full throw of the key-lever was
required to actuate the rock shaft with its gear
and ratchet connection to give nine-tenths of a
revolution to the numeral wheel in adding the
digit nine, the pin I^ in the (9) key-lever would in

Early Efforts in the Recording Machine Art 107

that case be in contact with its arm IS of the rock
shaft, but the pins I*, of each of the other key
levers would be arranged to allow lost motion be-
fore the pin should engage its arm I^ of the rock
shaft, in accordance with the difference of their
adding value.

According to the specification, Ludlum evidently
had the idea that h)e could stop the adding gear H,
while under the high rate of speed it would receive
from a quick depression of a key, by jabbing the
detent J between the fine spacing of the gear teeth
shown in his drawing. But to those familiar with
the possibility of such stop devices, its inoperative-
ness will be obvious; not that the principle pro-
perly applied would not work, for its application
by Felt prior to that of Ludlum proved the possi-
bilities of this method of gauging additive actua-
tion.

The detent lever J, as shown in the drawings, is
operated by the hinged plate D, through action of
the key levers, as any one of them are depressed.

Under depression of a key, the hinged plate D,
being carried down with it, engages the arm J* of
the detent and throws the tooth at its upper end
into the teeth of the gear H.

The timing of the entry of the tooth of the de-
tent is supposed to be gauged to enter the right
tooth, but as the action of these parts is fast,
slow or medium at the will of the operator, con-
siderable time must be allowed for variation in the
entry of the detent tooth, which requires space, as
certain parts will fly ahead under the sudden im-
pact they may receive from a quick stroke, where
they would not under a slow stroke, but no allow-
ance was provided for such contingency.

108 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

The means provided for the carry of the tens
consist of the gears GS meshing with the numeral
wheel gears and the single gear tooth g^, attached
to it, which, at each revolution of the lower wheeL
as it passes from 9 to 0, engages the gear of the
numeral wheel of higher denomination and was
supposed to turn the higher gear one-tenth of a
revolution, thus registering one greater.

On account of the Gears G% of one order and the
gear tooth g®, of another order operating on the
same numeral wheel gear, the transfer gears are
arranged alternately on separate shafts, one at the
side and one below the numeral wheels.

Ludlum machine The mechanical scheme disclosed in the Lud-
inoperative lum patent, to the unsophisticated may seem to

be operative. But to those familiar with the Art of
key-driven adding mechanism it will at once be
obvious that even if the t3ri)ewriter feature was
constructed properly the possibility of correctly
adding the items as they were printed was abso-
lutely impossible.

Laying aside several other features of inopera-
tiveness, obvious to those who know such mechan-
ism, the reader, although not versed in the Art of
key-driven adding mechanism, will observe from
the preceding chapter, that the means provided for
transferring the tens without any control for the
numeral wheels against over-rotation, would make
correct addition impossible.

The drawings and specification of the Ludlum
patent disclose a. mere dream and show that they
were not copied from the make-up of an operative
machine.

It was a daring scheme and one that none but a
dreamer would undertake to construct in the

[Eably Efforts in the Recording Machine Art 109

method shown. There have in later years been
some successful ten-key recording machines made
and sold, but they were of a very different design
and principle.

There have also been several adding attach-
ments made and sold that could be adjusted tn a
regular commercial typewriter that are claimed to
be dependable, but none of these machines were
early enough to be claimed as the first operative
recording-adding machine, or the first adding ma-
chine in which the principle used for the legible
recording of the numerical items used in the ma-
chines of today may be found.

First Practical Recorders .

THE fact that Barbour, Baldwin, Pottin, Lud-
lum and Burroughs attempted to produce a
recording-adding machine shows that as far
back as 1872, and at periods down to 1888, there
was at least in the minds of these men a concep-
tion of the usefulness of such a machine, and the
fact that there were five with the same thought is
fairly good evidence of the need for a machine of
this class.

In some of the human-interest articles issued
through the advertising department of the Bur-
roughs Adding Machine Co. it is stated that Wm.
Seward Burroughs was a bank clerk prior to his
efforts at adding-machine construction. It is con-
ceivable, therefore, that his first efforts at adding-
machine invention should be directed toward the
production of a machine that would be of service
in the bank for the bringing together of the loose
items of account that are to be found in the form
of checks, drafts, and the like, by printing a record
of the items and their totals during the process of
adding them together.

It is not surprising, therefore, that a manufac-
turer of a successful calculating machine should,
through his contact with the trade, come to the con-
clusion that there was use for a machine of this
class in the banks. As proof of this, we find that
an application for a recording-adding machine

111

Burroughs a
bank clerk

Felt inieresfed in
recorder Art

1..

I I

;

g^ — in — ' """ " -^<^sL

^3 grii;! -rj- 1 ^

r '

- - 1^ ~^ I — J
IB ® «'.® © ® » eiw:^; o ^|]

5^^^ i I

From Drawings of Felt Patent No. 405,024

FiBST Practical Recorders

113

patent was filed January 19, 1888, by D. E. Felt,
which was allowed and issued June 11, 1889.

Some of the drawings of this patent will be
found reproduced on the opposite page, from
which the reader will note that Felt combined his
scheme for recording with the mechanism of the
machine he was then manufacturing and selling
under the trade name of "Comptometer."

In this patent is shown the first application of
the type sector combined with the individual type
impression for printing the figures of the items as
they were added, thus giving equal impression,
whether there were one or a dozen figures in the
item or total to be printed.

While the average mechanical engineer would not
at a glance recognize any great advantage in plac-
ing the t3rpe figures directly on the sector instead
of using the type-wheel and segment gear to drive
it, as shown in two of the previously described
patents, there is plenty of evidence of its advan-
tage in the fact that all the later successful in-
ventors have followed the Felt scheme. It provided
more simple construction for the narrow space these
parts must occupy for practical linear spacing.

As the adding mechanism of this machine corres-
ponds to that of the Felt patent 371,496, previ-
ously described in the preceding chapter, it is not
necessary to duplicate the description here. Sufiice
it to say, that by the depression of a key in any
order, the value of that key is added to the numeral
wheel of that order, and if the figure added is
great enough when added to that previously regis-
tered on the wheel, a ten will be transferred to
the higher wheel by a carrying mechanism spe-
cially provided to allow the said higher wheel

FeWs first re-
cording machine

Fell recording
mechanism com*
bined with his
calculating
machine

114 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

being in turn operated by an ordinal series of keys,
thus providing the means whereby a series of de-
nominational orders of key-driven adding mechan-
ism may be interoperative.

Description of In Fig. 2 of the drawings is shown the result of
^^fecorder striking the (8) key, which may be considered
illustrative of such action in any order, whether
units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.

The depression of the (8) key is shown to
have carried the lever D down eight of its nine
additive points of movement, causing the plunger
15, bearing against its upper edge, to drop with it
under the action of the plunger spring 17.

To the upper end of this plunger, is pivotally
attached an arm of the type sector U, which is in
turn pivoted to the rod y, and by the lowering of
the plunger 15, is rocked on its pivot, raising the
type-head until the number (8) tsrpe is presented
opposite the printing bar or platen T, which is
hung on the pivot arms TS so that it may be swunjr
forward and backward.

An ink-ribbon w, and its shifting mechanism is
provided, as shown in Fig. 1 ; the paper v, is sup-
plied in ribbon form from a roll and passes between
the ink-ribbon and the platen T.

Normally, the platen, the paper and the ink-rib-
bon are in a retracted position, allowing space for
the type sector to raise and lower freely. But, as
shown in Fig. 2, a type impression is taking place
through the escapement of the cam wheel R^.
which is located back of the platen, and which, as
shown, has forced the cam lever 1 forward, press-
ing the spring p, against the platen T, thus forcing
the paper and ribbon forward against the type,
and printing the figure 8.

First Practical Recorders

115

After the cam-tooth passes, the platen, paper,
ink-ribbon and spring return to normal, allowing
the type sector freedom to drop when the key is
released.

The cam wheel R is propelled by a spring S (Fig.
1), wound by the hand-knob S^, and is released
for action through the escapement of the pallet
wheel R attached to the cam wheel R and the
pallet c.

The pallet c is tripped each time a key is depressed
and is shown in the tripped position operated by
the link P and the plural-armed lever 0, N, which
through its manifold arms N, may receive action
through pins a, of any of the rock bars L, as they
are depressed by the keys.

The cycle of action described takes place with
every key depressed, except that the movement of
the type sector varies according to the key
depressed.

As the printing in this Felt invention was by in-
dividualized type impression, legibility of recording
as well as accurate addition was obtained. Although
this patent shows that Felt had produced such an
operative combination, there are two features in
this patent which would prevent its becoming a
marketable machine.

One of these features was that of having to wind
the motor spring that furnished power for the
type impression. The other feature was that there
was no provision for printing the ciphers. Al-
though the ciphers were always omitted from the
keyboard of non-recording adders, as they could
perform no function in addition or other forms of
calculation, they could not without inconvenience,
be eliminated from items in recording.

First individual-
ized type
impression com-
bined with
printing sector

116

Obigin op Modern Calculating Machines

First practical

arithmetical

recorder

The first sale of

a recording-add'

ing machine on

record

The Second Felt Recorder

While the last-described Felt patent was still
pending, Felt improved his mechanism for record-
ing, installing new features and eliminating the
objectionable features referred to. These improve-
ments were of such a satisfactory nature that the
Felt & Tarrant Mfg. Co. made twenty-five record-
ing-adders, with the new features, which were sold
to various banks. The first of these machines was
placed on trial with the Merchants & Manufac^
turers National Bank of Pittsburgh, Pa., in Decem-
ber of 1889.

Good evidence of the practical features of this
machine was set forth in a testimonial given at
the time by W. A. Shaw, the cashier of the bank,
after it had been given a six months' test. This
testimonial is extant and has been reproduced on
opposite page.

Records show that the bank purchased that
"Comptograph," which was the trade name given
the Felt recording-adder, and used it until 1899, at
which time this machine, along with others of the
same make purchased at a later date, were re-
placed by the bank with "Comptographs " of more
modem type.

This Felt recording machine was without ques-
tion the first practical recording-adding machine
ever sold that would produce legible printed records
of items and totals under the variable conditions
that have to be met in such a class of recording.

After ten years of service this first practical
recording-adding machine was still in excellent
condition, and in 1907 was secured by the Compto-
graph Co. from the Bank of Pittsburgh, into which
the Merchants & Manufacturers National Bank,

W^,CiftMM(-M/

^^^^''-^ a^ (3^c*^

?■■

^i. (

M^ ■•-

:g»: siii;^ tl'

Testimonial

»™

Fell ReRording and Listing Machine.
Purchased and Used for Ten Years by the Merchants & Manufacturers Bank

FiBST Practical Recorders 119

along with other banks, had been merged. It was
finally procured by Mr. Felt and presented to the
National Museum of Washington, D. C, where it
may now be found on exhibit along with other in-
ventions produced by Felt. A photo reproduction ^
of this machine as it appeared before it was pre-
sented to the Museum, is shown on the opposite
page.

Lake the machine of the first Felt recorder patent, Features of first

it was a visible printer, each figure being printed P'^^^^^^rder
as the key was depressed, the paper being shifted
by the hand lever shown at the right.

Unlike the former machine, however, the oper-
ator was not called upon to perform the extra
operation of winding up a spring to furnish power
for the printing.

Power for the printing was stored by the action
of the paper shift-lever and an entirely different
printing device was used. Provision for printing
the ciphers automatically was also a feature of
this machine. It was not necessary to operate
cipher keys, and there were no such keys to be
operated. To print an item having ciphers in it
required only the omission of the ciphers as the
ciphers would automatically fill in.

The arrangement of the paper shows a good im-
provement over the first machine, as it was more
accessible, being fed from a roll at the top down
and around rolls below and looped back so that it
is moved upward on the printed surface, where it
may be torn off as desired.

The mechanism of this machine is not illustrated
in any one patent. The Felt patents Nos. 441,233
and 465,255 cover the new feature, but the later
patent. No. 465,255, shows it best. Some of the

120 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

drawings of the last-named patent are reproduced

on the opposite page to help in explanation of the

details of the new features.

Description of By referring to the drawings, it will be noted

^'^^ 'recorder ^^at the fonn of the front of the casing differs

from the machine. Other drawings of the patent,
not shown here, disclose features of still later in-
vention than were in the machine of the photo
reproduction. But it is with the printing device
that we are now interested, and it was in this
patent that it was first shown in the form used in
the first marketed machine referred to.

The type sector marked 81 is like that of the
first patent, except that it is provided with the
ciphers as well as the nine digits.

The cipher type are always presented iot print-
ing when the sectors are resting at normal. Thus,
if an impression can be made without depressing
the keys in that order, a cipher will be printed, as
will be shown later.

Back of the paper and pivoted to the rod 97, are
a series of printing hammers 87, one for each type
sector.

The hammers are operated by the spring 88, and
are shown retained against the tension of their
springs by the trigger latches 89.

These trigger latches are pivoted on the fixed
shaft 171^, and actuated by the springs 92 to cause
their engagement with the notch 90 of the print-
ing hammers.

Each of the trigger latches are provided with a
laterally extending lug 93, formed on their lower
arm, and each lug overlaps the back of the lower
arm of the adjacent trigger latch to the right of
it, so that if any trigger latch should be operated

D. E. FELT.

HECOEDINQ COKPUTINO MACHINE.
No. 485,255. Patented Bao. 15, 1891.

From Drawings of Felt Patent No, 465,255

122 Obigin of Modern Calculating Machines

so as to extricate it from the notch 50 of its print-
ing hammer, its overlapping lug 93, would cause
a like action of the trigger latch to the right of
that, and so on; thus releasing all the trigger
latches to the right of the latch originally released.
Such releasing, of course, allowed the printing-
hammers 87, to spring forward in all the orders so
affected.

The long-stop actuating lever marked 16, corre-
sponds with the lever G of the Felt key-driven
calculator shown in a preceding chapter, and per-
forms the same function as the rock bars L of the
first Felt recorder patent. These stop levers 16
are pivoted at 17, and are provided with rear arms
86, extending upward with their ends opposite the
lateral extending lug 93, of the trigger latch,
which corresponds to the order of keys which the
lever 16 serves.

In the rear upwardly-extending end of each of
these levers 16, an adjusting screw 91, is pro-
vided as a tappet for tripping the trigger latch
corresponding to its order.

From the above-described combination of mech-
anism, it may be seen that if a key in any order is
depressed, it will, as it comes in contact with the
stop lever 16, not only cause the adding mechan-
ism to be stopped through the stop 19, but it will
also, through its rear arm 86, cause the trigger
latch of its order to trip, and likewise all the trigger
latches and printing-hammers to the right, thus
printing the figure presented on the printing sec-
tor in the order in which the key was operated and
the ciphers in the orders to the right in case the
keys in the order to the right have not previously
been operated.

First Practical Recorders 123

The individual presentation of the type figures
upon key depression, except for the ciphers which
were normally presented for printing, required
that in striking the keys, to give correct record-
ing of the items, the operation must be from right
to left. That is, for example, if the item to be
added was $740.85, the operator would depress the
(5) key in the units cents column, the (8) key in
the tens of cents column ; the cipher in the units
dollars column would be omitted, the (4) key in
the tens of dollars, and the (7) key in the hun-
dreds of dollars column would be struck.

The printing hammers were provided with means
for resetting after being tripped in the recording
action. This means is connected with the paper
shift-lever, so that as the paper was shifted or fed
upward, ready for recording the next item, the
printing-hammers were all reset and latched on
their respective trigger latches, ready for a new
item.

Fixed to the shaft 97, on which the printing-
hammers are pivoted, is a bail, marked 98, part
of which is shown in the drawing, the horizontal
bar of which normally lies under and out of the
way of the hammers as they plunge forward in
printing. And attached to the right-hand end of
the shaft 97, is a crank arm connected by a link to
the paper-shift hand-lever, which may be seen on
the right in the photo reproduction of the machine.
This connection is arranged so that depressing the
lever causes the shaft 97 to rock the bail 98 rear-
ward, thus picking up any tripped printing-ham-
mers and relatching them.

The totals had to be printed, as in the first-
described Felt recorder, by depressing a key cor-

124

Origin op Modern Calculating Machines

Felt principle of
printing adopted
by all manufac-
turers of recorders

Wide paper

carriage for

tabulating

responding in value to the figure showing on the
wheel in each order.

The principle involved in the individual ham-
mer-blow, combined with the ordinal type sector
for recording in a recording-adder was new, and
was the feature that has made the adding-record-
ing machine of today possible, as is well in evi-
dence by the presence of this combination in all the
recorders that have been made by the successful
manufacturers of listing or recording-adding and
calculating machines. Some manufacturers have
substituted a vertical moving type bar for the
pivoted sector, but the scheme is the same, as the
purpose is to get the arrangement of the type in
columnar order, and does not change the funda-
mental features of the combination which furn-
ished the practical means for the individual type
impression.

The Felt Tabulator

The next feature in the Art, that has served in
the make-up of the up-to-date recorders, was the
wide paper-carriage. This feature will probably be
recognized by many as a means supplied for the
recording of columns of items in series on sheet-
paper.

As will be noted, roll-paper in ribbon form had
been used in all the previously illustrated and des-
cribed recorders. While the Ludlum patent shows
a carriage, it had no capacity for handling more
than a single column of numerical items. The
carriage in the Ludlum machine was a feature
necessary to the typewriter construction and of-
fered no solution to the feature of tabulating.

The first disclosure of the wide carriage feature
for tabulating was in a machine made by D. E. Felt

First Practical Recorders

127

in 1889, which he exhibited to the U. S. Census
Bureau at Washington, D. C, in 1890. The ma-
chine was also exhibited at the World's Fair in
Chicago, in 1893, along with other products in this
line of the Felt & Tarrant Mfg. Co. A photo repro-
duction of this machine is shown on opposite page.

The machine was left at the Census Bureau,
where it was used for several weeks, and was very-
much liked. Felt made a contract to furnish ten
machines of this type^ and the machine was recom-
mended for purchase by G. K. Holmes, Special
Agent of the Census Bureau, but like many other
government department requisitions, the purchase
order was never issued.

Although this feature is now found in all first-
class recording-adders, the recording machine Art
was too new in 1890 for the new feature to be ap-
preciated, and was not pushed, as there seemed
to be no demand for the wide carriage then. On
this account Felt delayed applying for a patent
on his invention until 1899.

In 1904 a license under the patent was granted
the Burroughs Adding Machine Co., but soon after
the granting of the license another manufacturer
of recording-adders brought out a machine with a
wide carriage, which was the start of a series of
long-drawn-out infringement suits. The fact that
Felt had delayed taking out his patent formed
the grounds on which the Court finally decided
that Felt, from lack of diligence in applying for a
patent, had abandoned his invention, which made
it public pr6perty.

The tags which may be seen tied to the carriage
of the machine are the ofiicial tags used to identify
it as a court exhibit during the long term of years
the suits were pending in litigation.

The wide paper
carriage machine

Litigation on
tabulator patents

128 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Outside of the tabulating scheme^ the machine
was in other respects the same as the recorder just
described as the roll-paper "Comptograph."
*'Cro8s Tabu- The paper, as may be noted, is held in a shif table

laiing" carriage and is operated by two levers, one to feed
the paper vertically and reset the printing-ham-
mers, while the other moved the carriage laterally
for the spacing of the columns of items or the cross-
printing when desired. Besides the lever action for
shifting and paper-feeding, means were provided
on the right-hand end of the carriage for perf onn-
ing these functions; one of these is the thumb
knob which served to feed the sheet of paper into
the rolls ; the other is a small lever which allows
the operator to shift the carriage by hand inde-
pendent of the carriage shift-lever.

The Third Felt Recorder

While the first lot of recording-adders manufac-
tured by Felt were wholly practical, as was well
proved by the statements of those who purchased
them, it is easy to pick out features in their make-
up that today, when compared with the new
highly-developed Art, would seem to make them
impractical.

The necessity of operating from right to left and
the necessity of printing the totals by key depres-
sion were features that, in view of there bein^
nothing better in those days, did not seem objec-
tionable to those who used them. They were fea-
tures, however, that Felt overcame and eliminated
in the next lot of machines manufactured and
placed on the market in 1890.

This lot of machines, one hundred in number (a
goodly number in those days) , were equipped with
a special hand-knob in front on the left side for

One of the Early "Complographs"

^ FiBST Practical Recorders

131

automatically printing the totals, and with means
by which the ciphers were printed only on
operation of the paper shift-lever, which allowed
the operator to depress the keys from left to right
or any way he pleased.

The best evidence as to what these machines
looked like is to be found in the reproduction on
the opposite page of an illustration which appeared
in "Engineering" of London, in 1891.

It will be noted that the patent drawings of the
Felt calculator are also displayed. They were used
to describe the adding mechanism of the recorder.

The total printing device is shown and described
in patent No. 465,255, while the patent for the
printing of the ciphers by the hand shift-lever was
not applied for until 1904.

It may be argued, and argued true, that these
two later features in their generic application to
the recording-adding machine Art were anticipated
by Burroughs in his invention herein previously
described. But, assuming that these features
were operative features in the Burroughs machine,
they could not be claimed in combination with a
printing mechanism that was operative to give
practical results and in themselves did not make
the recording-adder possible. Nor was the means
shown for recording the totals of use except with
means for legible recording.

There is no desire to discredit what Burroughs
did, but let the credit for what Burroughs accom-
plished come into its own, in accordance with the
chronological order in which it may be proved that
Burroughs really produced a machine that had a
practical and legible recording mechanism. Then
we will find that to produce such proof we must

Fell recorder in
"Engineering** of
London, Eng,

Total recording a
Felt combination

Origin of Modern Calcui.&tino Machines

legible listing of

ilems and auh-

malic recording

of totals first

achieved by Fell

accept the fact that in all the successful recording
machines manufactured and sold by the Burroughs
Adding Machine Co., the printing type-sector, the
printing type-hammers and the overlapping ham-
mer-triggers with their broad functioning fea-
tures forming a part of Pelt's invention, have been
used to produce legible recording, and that the
combination of practical total printing was de-
pendent on Felt's achievement.

We might say that broadly Burroughs invented
means that could be worked in combination with
the Felt printing scheme to automatically print
the totals, which is in evidence in all the practical
machines put out by the Burroughs Co.

But such a combination was first produced by
Felt in 1890, and was not produced by Burroughs
until 1892.

As has been shown, Felt built his recording
scheme into his key-driven calculating machine,
and added the paper shifting-lever to furnish the
power which was utilized finally for setting the
printing-hammers and tripping them for the
ciphers.

Such a combination divided the work, but made
a two-motion machine, whereas the adding mech-
anism was designed on the one-motion principle.
Now the principle of the two-motion machine was
old, very old. The great Giottfried Leibnitz in-
vented the first two-motion calculator in 1694.
(See illustration on opposite page.)

The Leibnitz machine was a wonderful invention
and there seems to be a question as to its opera-
tiveness. As a feature of historic interest, how-
ever, it created considerable commotion in scien-
tific circles when exhibited to the Royal Society of
London.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz

Leibnitz Calculator, made in 1694

The First Two-Motion Machine Designed to Compute

Multiplication by Repeated Addition

First Practical Recorders 135

The first really practical machine of this type,
however, was invented by a Frenchman named
Charles Xavier Thomas, in 1820, and has since
become known as the "Thomas Arithmometre."

The Thomas machine is made and sold by a

number of different foreign manufacturers, and is
I used to a considerable extent in Europe and to a
j limited extent in the United States.

; But two-motion calculators, from Leibnitz down r/ic key-set
j to date, have always been constructed so that the ^^^'^/^^/^^''^
I primary or first action involved merely the setting recorders

of the controlling devices and performed no f unc-
i tion in the supplying of power to operate the

mechanism which does the adding. With such ma-
j chines the load was thrown on to the secondary

action.

This, of course, made the primary action of
setting, a very light action, especially when keys
came into use,, and as there are several key de-
pressions to each secondary or crank action, it
may be understood that while the action of Felt's
printing or paper shift-lever was light, the action
of the keys which were called upon to perform
most of the work was much harder than it would
have been if his adding mechanism had been de-
signed on the key-set crank-operated plan of the
regular two-motion machine such as illustrated in
the Pottin or Burroughs patents described.

Thus, when Burroughs applied the Felt record-
ing principle to his key-set crank-operated adding
mechanism, he produced a type of recording ma-
chine which proved to be more acceptable from an
operative standpoint than the recorder made by
Felt; and yet the writer has read testimonials
given by those who had both the Felt key-driven

= il

FiHST Practical Rbcohdehs

recorder and the Burroughs key-set crank-operated
recorders, who claimed they could see no advantage.
Probably the best proof lies in the fact that
Felt finally abandoned the key-driven feature in
his recorders, as may be noted from the later-day
"Comptograph."

The FiRSr Practical BnitRotjGHS Recorder

The first Burroughs patent to show the success-
ful combination referred to was No. 504,963, ap-
plied for May 5, 1892, and issued September 12,
1893. The printing scheme, however, while indi-
cated in the said patent, was applied for in a
divisional patent. No. 505,078, issued on the same
date. Drawings from both these patents are shown
on opposite page.

The new printing device, as will be noted, in- bescriptionof
stead of operating at the bottom of the machine, IT^^ST'
operates at the rear and prints the paper against recorder
a roll mounted outside of the casing.

Outside of adopting the Felt method of printing,
the general scheme of construction used in the
machine of the former-described Burroughs patent
was maintained, except that the levers D, used to
drag the denominational actuators down, were
omitted, and a series of springs, one for each actu-
ator, was supplied to pull such levers down as are
released by key-depression when the common ac-
tuator drops under crank action.

Thus the description previously given will suf-
fice for a general understanding of the mechanical
functions of the adding mechanism and the gen-
eral scheme for the setting up of the type in these
later patents.

The construction of the type sectors, the print-
ing-hammers and the trigger-latches used to re-

138 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

tain the hammers against the action of their oper-
ating springs is best shown in the drawings of
patent No. 505,078 on page 136. Fig. 1 shows
the normal relation, while Fig. 2 illustrates the
same mechanism in the act of printing.

The type sector as shown in drawings of patent
No. 505,078 is marked K, while in the drawings of
No..504,963 it will be found marked 611^ They are
formed from a continuation of the denominational
actuators for the total register in the same man-
ner that the type-wheel gear-racks h, of the pre-
viously described Burroughs patent were formed.

The type u, are arranged on movable blocks
marked 618, which are shown held in their re-
tracted or normal position by springs 682, but
when pressure is brought to bear against these type
blocks in a direction outward from the sector, the
spring 682 will give and the type blocks will slide
outward in the slots provided to guide their action.

The paper, as will be noted, is fed from a roll,
up between the type and the printing-roll 599, in
the same manner as the paper of a typewriter, and
through the interposition of an ink-ribbon between
the type and the paper, the pressing of the type
against the ink-ribbon, paper and roll gives imprint.

The pressure brought to bear on the type is
through the hammer-blow of the printing-ham-
mers 715, of which there is one for each ordinal
printing sector. These hammers are pivoted to
the rod 701, and are spring-actuated through the
medium of the pin 741, the lever 716, and spring
780, which, combined with the cam-slot w, in the
printing-hammers, serve to force the printing-
hammers into the position shown in Fig. 2.

First Practical Recorders 139

The printing-hammers are normally retracted
and latched by a series of trigger latches 117,
through the latch-tooth b, which engages the lever
716 at V.

Each trigger-latch 117, is pivoted on the rod
700, and provided with an overlapping lug as shown
in Fig. 4. These overlapping lugs, like those de-
scribed on the trigger-latches in the Felt patent,
serve as an automatic means of filling in the ci-
phers in the same manner as described in the Felt
machine.

The means for tripping the overlapping trigger
latches naturally differed from the means shown
in the Felt machine, as the Burroughs machine
was not ^ey-driven.

A very ingenious means for the tripping of the
trigger-latches is shown, consisting of the dogs
718, and rock-frame 711, and tie-rods 703-704,
which co-operate with a cam-shoulder y on the
arm of the printing-sectors, to remain neutral or
to disengage the trigger-latches through a recip-
rocating action, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,
patent No. 505,078.

The trippiiig action takes place at the end of
the forward motion of the actuating hand-crank
through connections not shown in the drawings.

It may be understood that on account of the
overlapping of the trigger-latches of the printing-
hammers that if, as described in relation to the
Felt recording-machine, one of the trigger-latches
in any order to the left of the units order should
be tripped, it would cause all th« trigger-latches
to the right to be also tripped, and the printing-
hammers thus released to spring forward, giving

140 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

an individual hammer-blow for each type impres-
sion.

Thus, if the five-hundred^doUar key should be
depressed, only the trigger latch in that order
need be tripped. This is brought about through
the fact that normally the tripping-dogs 718 are
held out of tripping engagement by the cam sur-
face y of the type-sector, as the rock-frame in
which the dogs are mounted is moved forward in
its tripping action. But as the hundred-dollar order
type-sector has been lifted through the setting of
the (5) key in that order, it allows the tripping-
dog to engage the trigger-latch of that order, and
through the overlapping feature of the trigger-
latches to trip and print the ciphers to the right.

It will be noted that the application of the print-
ing-hammers varied in detail from that of Felt
much the same as placing the latch on the gate
post instead of on the gate. In the generic prin-
ciple, however, the individual hammer-blow for
each individual impression was maintained.

DaUofuseof There have been many conflicting statements
^Bwrou^ made regarding the date of the first Burroughs
recorder listing or recording machine, which is probably
due to the fact that the statements were not quali-
fied by such terms as "practically operative" or
"legible recording."

Dates given as that of the first Burroughs re-
cording machine range from 1884 to 1892. In a
book published by the Burroughs Co. in 1912, un-
der the title of the "Book of the Burroughs," there
was a statement that the first practical machines
were made in 1891.

H. B. Wyeth, at one time sales agent for the
Burroughs Co., and whose father was president

-I

Fii^tinUse(1892)
First in Usefulness l2S '" "*""' '-™ °'
First in the Hearts of Over 63,000
Users

The Burroughs

Adding and Listing Machine

ttW«

old 13,314 mach

nes in 1007

ttThis

fttmariy"^kf

f BURROUGHS
ichines Juringall 1
E as the BURROt

ar"

l^"^iS

on the HHnbinBl sales of iJl other
jmce - and some oi them have b

lies

have mi
Seward
history

other makes" includes some twenty

Siuroughs fifteen years SKO. Man

Some of them were weU financed

[.ereiai success. Surely there was b

compete with the known reliabilit

or more different slvl« of adding and list
he perfection ol the adding and listing r

of these atherdevios have now passed i
and ably Drganiied, yet they failed to w
o™ fault in the machines themselves wh

of .he BURROUGHS,

nachine by
oh made th

CRcgimlmg those mac

hineswhiohhavesu

r^■ived.then

aremon

BURROUGHS in u

« to-day m

ngl

State than any other maker of adding and listing machines has sold in the whole United Slates.
O. Tlie BURROUGHS lofcl more machines in a single Stale in lilOJ than some ol its leading competi-
tors produced in the same period,
a Th*ae facts indicate the place which the BURROUGHS occnples m the estimatioQ ol the purchasing

That lie ^S Dil1«:nT Slyla ol BURROUGHS— One Baill ioi Eveiy Lux ol BuimcH

63.574 Burroughs Users Qua. 18. '08)

Burroughs Adding Machine G)mpany

67 Anuterdam Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, U. S. A.

From the February 1908 Issue ot
Office Appliances Magazine

FiBST Practical Recorders 143

of the company in 1891 and several years there-
after, testified in court that the first sale of a Bur-
roughs recording machine was made about Decem-
ber, 1892. Corroboration of his testimony is set
forth in a Burroughs advertisement which ap-
peared in the February number of Office Appli-
ances Magazine in 1908, a reproduction of which is
shown on the opposite page.

That Burroughs was experimenting as early as
1885 is no doubt correct ; and that in this respect
he antidated Felt's first attempt to produce a re-
cording-adder, is not questioned. But when it
comes to the question of who produced the first
practical recording-adder, there is no room for
doubt in face of the evidence at hand.

Introduction of the Modern
Accounting Machine

S the reader has been carried along through
the tangle of mechanical efforts of the men
who have racked their brains to produce
means that would relieve the burden of those who
have to juggle with arithmetical problems and
masses of figures in the day's accounting, there
was one phase of subject that has not been touched
upon. While these* inventors were doing their
best to benefit mankind and, without doubt, with
the thought of reaping a harvest for themselves,
the public, who could have been the prime bene-
ficiary, Hid not hasten to avail themselves of the
opportunity.
OpposUion to the In the early days, when the key-driven calcula-

"^fofj^rdlZ *^^ ^^ marketed, and later when the recording-
adder was also placed on the market, the efforts
of the salesmen for each of these types of ma-
chines, in their endeavor to interest possible pur-
chasers, were met with anything but enthusiasm.
Of course, now and then a wide-awake business-
man was willing to be shown and would pur-
chase, but ninety-nine out of the hundred who
really had use for a machine of either type could
not at that early date be awakened to the fact.

Although the calculator and the recording-adder
are indispensable factors in business today, and
have served to improve the lot of the book-keeper
and those employed in expert accounting in gen-

144

Introduction of the Modern Accounting Machine 145

eral, they met with very strong opposition for the
first few years from employers of this class. It
was strongly evident that the efforts of book-
keepers and counting-house clerks to prevent these
machines entering their department were inspired
by the fear that it would displace their services
and interfere with their chance of a livelihood.

Again, men of this class, and even those in
charge of large departments, took the mere sug-
gestion that they had use for a calculator or re-
cording-adder as an insult to their efficiency, and
would almost throw the salesman oilt. Others
would very politely look the machine over and tell
the salesman what a wonderful machine it was,
but when asked to give the machine a trial, they
would immediately back up and say that they had
absolutely no use for such a machine ; whereas pos-
sibly now the same department is using twenty-
five to a hundred such machines.

Of the two classes of machines, the recording, Banks[more
or listing machines, as they are commonly called, J.g^^iJ^^
although a later product, were the first to sell in
quantities that may be called large sales. This
was probably due to the fact that they were
largely sold to the banks, who have always been
more liberal in recognizing the advantages of
labor-saving devices than any other class of busi-
ness.

The presence of these machines in the bank also
had a tendency to influence business-men to install
recorders where the key-driven calculator would
have given far greater results in quantity of work
and expense of operating. In these days, however,
the average business-man is alive to his require-
ments, and selects what is best suited to his n.^eds

146

Origin op Modern Calculating Machines

Improvements

slow for first

few years

instead of being influenced by seeing a machine
used by others for an entirely different purpose.
The theory of using the printed list of items as a
means of checking back has blown into a bubble
and burst, and the non-lister has come into its
own, not but what there has always been a good
sale for these machines except for the first four
years.

On account of the years it took to educate busi-
ness into the use of these two types of accounting
machines, and the fact that the sales of both were
small at first, there were few improvements for
several years, as improvements depend upon pros-
perity.

Such changes as have been made since were
largely aimed at refinements, but there are some
very noteworthy features added to the perform-
ance of both types of machines, which are ex-
plained and described in following chapters, where
the subject will be treated under the class of ma-
chines they affect.

The High-Speed Calculator

As previously stated, the calculating machine
was old when Felt improved the Art by com-
bining the key-drive with a plurality of co-
operative orders of adding mechanism. The ad-
vantage in the machine he produced existed in the
great increase in rapid manipulation which it of-
fered over the older Art, especially in addition. To
improve upon Felt's contribution to the Art of cal-
culating machines from a commercial standpoint
demanded a combination that would give still
greater possibilities in rapid manipulation.

The patent records show that Felt again came Felt improve-
to the front and gave to the public a new machine ^rUson
containing many new combinations of highly-or-
ganized mechanism that produced the above-named
result. The patents showing these features are
Nos. 762,520 and 762,521, the two patents being
divisional patents of the same machine.

Although there were several patents on key-
driven calculators issued to others and a key-
driven calculator placed on the market, which was
sold to some extent, none of these calculators of-
fered anything that would increase the possibility
of more rapid manipulation than was to be had
from Felt's old Comptometer.

There is one feature about the machine of these
two divisional patents which stands out very prom-
inently to those acquainted with the fine points of
the physical laws of mechanics. It is a feature that
was not printed into the specifications. It may be
found only in the time allowed for the mechanical

149

160 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

movements to take place, which shows that theoret-
ical reasoning was the foundation for the distribution
of the functions in the machine of these patents
into increments of time, and that the arrangement
of mechanism was especially designed to carry
Scientific out this primary theoretical reasoning. While it

o//ufw;'lJoni ^® obvious that such procedure must accompany
successful invention of mechanism, it is seldom
that we find such fineness displayed as may be
found in the timing of the mechanical functions
of the later Comptometer.

The force of the above statement may be real-
ized by study of the mechanical motions of the old
Comptometer and then trying to improve on them
to attain greater speed of operation. Such a possi-
bility would depend on more rapid key-strokes.

According to the physical laws of force and mo-
tion, to attain greater speed of action demanded
a decrease in resistance. Thus, less key resistance
must be attained to increase speed of operation.

Felt probably knew from experience that lighter
key action could not be had by juggling with
springs or by polished surfaces. He was also aware
of the infinitesimal space of time allotted to each
function, as the parts of the mechanism flew
about in the merry dance they performed in whirl-
ing the numeral wheels around while under the
manipulation of an expert operator. He couldn't
see the parts work — he could only theorize when
there was trouble ; thus he alone knew the difficul-
ties to be met in attempting to make a more rapid
calculator.

To describe the mechanism of the new machine
from drawings of these patents would leave the
reader still in the dark. What was really accom-

The High-Speed Calculator 151

plished can best be understood by reference to
the mechanical action in the old Comptometer.

In order that the reader may understand the
significance of what was accomplished, let him con-
sider this fact; that the key action of the old
"Comptometer" measured as high as eighty-six
ounces to a key depression, while in the new ma^
chine made under the two named later patents the
key depression was reduced to but twentyrtwo
ounces maximum, or a little over a fourth of the
power required to operate the keys of the old
"Comptometer."

Facts show that a very large part of the resist- ^^ consumed
ance met with in the key depression of the old meSiod^'^^^
machine was caused by the high tension of the
springs which performed the carrying. This high
tension was necessary on account of the extremely
small fraction of a second allowed for the perform-
ance of their function of supplying the power that
turned the higher wheel in carrying.

By referring to the description of the inopera-
tive features of the Hill machine (page 25) a
parallel example of the time for the carry of the
tens in the old Comptometer may be found, show-
ing that but a 1/165 of a second was the allowance.

The carrying means employed in the old Compt-
ometer consisted of levers with dogs or pawls
hinged on their free ends, which co-acted with the
ten pins of the higher numeral wheels to ratchet
them forward a step at a time. The power for sup-
plying such ratcheting action, in the delivery of a
carry, was produced in a spring attached to the
carrying-lever to actuate it.

The means used to produce the power in the
carrying-lever actuating springs, or best termed

162 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Cam and lever carrying springs, was through the turning of an
c<uTym envolute cam attached to the lower order numeral
wheels, which, acting upon an arm of the carrying
levers, forced them away from the wheels, and
thus tensioned the carrying springs. The cam and
lever is best shown in Fig. 7, page 130.

The timing of the delivery of the carry, as the
numeral wheel passed from nine to zero, was
brought about by the high point of the cam pass-
ing from under the arm of the carrying lever,
which, when released, allowed the carrying springs
to act and ratchet the higher wheel forward a
tenth of a revolution.

This form of carrying action had a peculiarity
of reaching a certain set tension when three wheels
were employed, so that for all the wheels employed
in greater numbers no higher tension was re-
quired and no lower tension could be attained.
Another feature about this type of transfer de-
vice was the fact that to get the set tension as low
as possible required that at least eight-tenths of
the rotation of the lower wheel should be utilized
in camming back the carrying lever or storing the
power for the carry. A decrease in this timing
meant an increase in the resistance offered in turn-
ing the lower wheel by the steeper incline of the
cam, and when the wheel in turn received a carry,
the increase of resistance increased the work of
carrying, and so on by a geometric ratio.

In a recent patent suit, a physical test was made
as high as three orders with a one-point cam ; that
is, a cam operating to store power during a one-
tenth rotation of the lower wheel (not an uncom-
mon combination as shown in patents that have
been issued), and it was found that by the time
the third carrying was reached the springs were

The High-Speed Calculator

153

so large and powerful that to turn the next wheel
would require a railway-coach spring, and that
under the same ratio a fifty-four ton hydraulic
press would be required to depress the keys in the
eighth order.

The foregoing illustration of the idiosyncrasies
of mechanical construction offer a good example of
why perpetual motion is not possible, viz., that no
mechanism was ever made that would not consume
a certain per cent of the power delivered to it,
through friction and inertia. Of course, expert
knowledge of the physical laws of mechanics allow
of the application of force along the lines of least
resistance, and it is with this feature that the new
improvements in the Comptometer have to do.

It would seem that the old carrying means
could not be improved upon under the circum-
stances, but Felt conceived a means which gave
more time for the storage of power for the carry
and all kinds of time for its delivery, which de-
creased the power required for carrying by a very
large per cent. The means he devised was a motor-
type of carrying mechanism that could receive and
deliver power at the same time without interfer-
ence. Thus the full revolution of the lower wheel
could be utilized in storage and the same amount
of time could be consumed in delivery if necessary,
but it was never required.

This tremendous reduction in power required to
turn the higher wheel in a carrying operation so
decreased the resistance of turning the numeral
wheels that the former means used to control the
wheels during actuation was unsafe; that is, the
old method of jabbing the stop-detent between the
pins of the numeral wheel to stop it was not depend-

One-point carry-
ing ccan
impossible

FelVs improved
method of
carrying

154 Origin op Modern Calculating Machines

able with the increased speed that the numeral
wheels revolved, under the reduced resistance.

Again, the f eatureof time was at issue. The wheels
could be whirled at tremendous speed or at a very
slow speed. A sudden jab at a key with the finger
sent the numeral wheels kiting ahead of the rest
of the mechanism so that the detent could not be
depended upon to enter between the right pins,
which would result in erroneous calculation.

In the new machine, we find that to overcome
this unevenness of action, Felt reversed the ratchet
action of the denomination actuators, so that no
wheel action occurred on their down stroke under
the action of the keys, but on the upstroke of the
actuators the numeral wheels were turned by the
power of the actuator springs stored by the key
depression, thus giving an even set rotating action
that could not be forced and that could be con-
trolled by a stop detent.

As the timing of this stop-action was coincident
with the stopping of the actuators on their up-
stroke, the actuator was used to perform this
function in combination with a detent device that
could be released from the wheel independent of
the actuators to allow a carry to be delivered.
Gauging and con- A feature worthy of note connected with this
trolling prime change is displayed in the method in which Felt

a^tuaiwn

overcame the timing of the stop action of the actu-
ators in the downward action they received from
the keys, which would have been as hard to control
as it was to control the wheels under direct key
action.

The scheme he devised gave more than double the
time to perform the function of intercepting the
lightning action with which the actuators moved
under a quick key-stroke. The scheme shows a

The High-Speed Calculator " 165

dual alternating stop-action constructed by the use AUerrMng
of two stops acting at different levels and co-act- * ^ * '^
ing alternately with five equi-spaced stop-shoul-
ders onihe front end of the actuators, which were
also arranged in different levels.

The two stops were actuated by the keys in a
similar manner to the single stop which co-oper-
ated with the pins of the wheel in the old "Compt-
ometer," except that the odd keys operated one
stop while the even keys operated the other.

Thus in the new "Comptometer" the (1) key
acted to throw the higher level stop into the path
of ^the lowest stop-shoulder on the actuator, and
the (2) key acted to throw the lower level stop in-
to the path of the same stop-shoulder on the actu-
ator. In the same manner the (3) and (4) keys
caused the odd and even stops to engage the next
higher stop-shoulder on the actuator and so on
with the rest of the keys.

As the spacing was doubled by the use of but
five stop-shouldei:s, the stops were allowed double
the time for entry between the stop-shoulders
plus the space that the pin occupied as compared
with former method, which was considerably more
than double the time allowed for the same func-
tion in the old machine.

Besides the redistribution of mechanical func-
tions, another very noteworthy feature is found
in these patents which, in the specific means dis-
closed, constituted another distribution of time for
mechanical action. This in the capacity of the
machine was what has become commercially known
as the "Duplex" feature.

In the old "Comptometer" it was necessary to
operate the keys alternately, as a carry from one
order to a higher order might be taking place and

156

Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Multiplex
key action

Control of the

carry by the next

higher actuator

thus be lost in the action of the higher order wheel
while rotating under key-action.

In the machine of the later patents the carry
was delayed while the higher-order wheel was
under key-action. The construction shown con-
sisted of a latch operated by the actuators, which,
when the actuator was depressed, latched up the
delivery end of the motor carrying-device so that
a carry due to take place at that time would be
intercepted until the actuator returned to normal
again, at which time the carrying motor device
was again free to deliver the carry. This feature
allowed the striking of keys in several or all the
orders simultaneously, alternately, or any way the
operator pleased, which was a great improvement
in speedy operativeness.

While the genus of this elastic keyboard inven-
tion consisted of control of the carry by the next
higher actuator, the specie of the generic feature
shown was the delayed control. The first produc-
tion of this generic feature of control of the carry
by the next higher actuator that gave the elastic
keyboard-action is shown in the two Felt patents.

It may be argued that this new keyboard fea-
ture was simultaneity of key-action and that simul-
taneity of keyboard-action was old. True it was
old, but the flexible simultaneity was new and
depended upon individuality of ordinal control for
its creation, and Felt created the ordinal control
that gave the flexible keyboard.

Simultaneity of key-action was old in key-driven
cash registers; such invention as had been dis-
closed in this line, however, would defeat the use-
fulness of simultaneity in a key-driven calculator.
The useful feature of depressing keys in several

The High-Speed Calculator

157

orders at once in a key-driven calculating machine
lay only in the increased speed of manipulation
that it could offer.

Now such simultaneous key-action as had been
invented and used on cash registers was not de-
signed with the thought of increasing the speed
of manipulation in such machines. The simul-
taneity of the cash register was designed to com-
pel the operator to depress the keys, which repre-
sented the amount of the purchase, exactly simul-
taneous; otherwise, by manipulation the proper
registration could be made to show on the sight-
register and a short amount on the total-register.
It was a device to keep the clerk or salesman
straight and prevent dishonesty.

If you have ever watched an expert operator
using a "Conjptometer," try to imagine that opera-
tor hesitating to select a group of keys and de-
pressing them exactly simultaneously as one is
compelled to do on one of the key-driven cash
registers. And then, on the other hand, if you have
ever seen a key-driven cash register operated, try
to imagine its being operated at the lightning
speed at which the "(Comptometer" is operated.*

It must be understood that the exact or forced
simultaneity of the cash register scheme, if ap-
plied to a calculating machine, would lock the
whole keyboard if one of any of a group of keys
the operator wished to strike was depressed ahead
of the others, and would thus prevent the rest of
the group from being depressed until the return
of the first key.

* In making: this comparison, the reader should be careful not to
confuse the later' key-set crank-driven type like that of Pottin de-
scribed in the preceding chapter. It was the old key-driven type of
cash register which contained the forced simultaneity of key-action.

Forced simulta-
neous key-Ojction
old

Forced simulta-
neity applied to
a calculaton
impossible

158

Okigin or MoDEBN Calculating- Machines .

Flexible simul-
taneity of key-
action a Felt
invention

It is within reason that a locking action of that
character would even defeat the speed of key-
action that was possible on the old "Comptometer,"
since an operator could overlap the key strokes in
that machine to a certain extent; whereas the
forced simultaneity of the cash register, if applied
to the "Comptometer," would prevent any overlap-
ping or the depression of a second key until the
first depressed key returned.

The only simultaneity of key-action that could
provide a means of speeding up the old "Comp-
tometer," or any machine of its type, was a means
that would leave key-depression free as to matter
of time; one that would be perfectly flexible in
group manipulation, offering a complete fluidity of
motion such as not to hinder the fingering of the
operator.

The purpose of the mechanical means employed
to give simultaneity in the cash register was to
lock all the keys depressed together and lock all
others against depression until the former re-
turned. The purpose of mechanical means em-
ployed in the -Felt patent was to give perfect free-
dom of key-action, whereas formerly the key man-
ipulation of the old "Comptometer" was restricted
in the freedom of key-action, to the extent of being
limited to seriatum action.

The above discussion has been somewhat elab-
orately detailed to offset statements that simul-
taneity was old in the key-driven Art. There is no
question as to the cash-register type of inflexible
simultaneity of action being old before Felt pat-
ented his flexible type of simultaneity of key-
action for a key-driven calculating machine; but
any statement intended to convey the idea that
Felt's contribution of the flexible simultaneity of

The High-Speed Calculator

159

key-action to the Art was not new, must come from
ignorance of the facts or malice aforethought.

This flexible keyboard "Comptometer" was given
the trade-name of "Duplex Comptometer;" the
term "Duplex" meaning that two keys could be
depressed, as distinguished from the seriatum one
at a time key-action formerly required. The term,
however, fell short of setting forth the capacity of
such action, as it was, in fact, not restricted to
mere duplex-action — it was really a multiplex key-
action having no limit except the lack of fingers on
the part of the operator to depress the keys.

The validity of these patents has been sustained
in litigation. The technical scope of the mere
claims has been disputed, as patent claims some-
times are ; but the broad newness and imix)rtance
of the practical calculative capacity achieved is
beyond dispute. The recent machine called the
"Burroughs Calculator" has multiplex key-action,
but it did nothing to advance the practical capacity
of key-driven calculating machines.

The operation of key-driven machines has al-
ways been attended more or less with a feeling
that a key-stroke may not have been completed,
especially by a novice in operating. Recognition
of the possibility of errors occurring through in-
complete key-strokes in key-driven adding mech-
anism was first disclosed as early as 1872 in the
Robjohn patent (see page 36), in which a full-
stroke device is shown co-acting with the keys.

In the drawings it will be noted that for each
key there is provided a ratchet device co-operat-
ing with the key to compel a full-stroke. This
scheme, like other similar later attempts, was
aimed at: the prevention of an error in the opera-

Duplex
Comptometer

Introduction of

full-stroke

mechanism

160 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

tion of adding mechanism, but as a means of pre-
vention of an error it was lacking, because unless
the operator noticed that the key had not returned
the next key depressed would, through the action
of the rotor, pull the partly depressed key way
down until it was released, when it would rise
again, possibly without the knowledge of the oper-
ator. There still remained the fact that the occur-
rence of the error was not made known to the
operator until it was too late to correct it.
^^'^T*fc^°j That Felt was interested in the solution of
^ '' the problem for detection and correction of the
errors in key-strokes is shown in the several
patents issued to him on features pertaining
to this subject After numerous experiments
Felt came to the conclusion that it was futile to
lock a key in event of a partial stroke and that the
solution lay in the locking of the keys in the other
orders from that in which the error had been
made, thus signaling the operator and compelling
correction before further manipulation could be
accomplished.

Again we find, as with the simultaneity of key-
action, that a question may be raised as to the
novelty of invention by those who wish to say that
there are full-stroke mechanisms in the key-driven
cash register Art that lock the rest of the key-
board. But the key-locks disclosed in the cash
register were directed to a continuity of stroke
engroup, as distinguished from the individualism
necessary to the key-driven calculator.

The mechanical means employed, of course,
varied greatly from that which would be of any
value in the calculating machine Art, and the theo-
retical scheme was aimed at a widely different re-
sult. Flexibility was necessary.

The High-Speed Calculator

161

The feature sought by Felt for his calculator
was a signal to the operator that an error had
been made — ^if an error should occur — and to
block the operation of any of the other orders until
the error was corrected. This he accomplished by
causing all the other orders to be locked against
manipulation, through the occurrence of an error
in a key-stroke; thus preventing manipulation
of another order until the error was corrected.

Now it may be said that the locking of other
orders was old in the cash register; but let us
analyze the scheme and action of both. The de-
pression of a key of the key-driven cash register
immediately locked all other keys not depressed,
and retained such locking-action during depres-
sion and until the complete return of such key-
depression; thus the keyboard was locked, error
or no error.

A correct depression of a key in Felt's new in-
vention, as applied to key-driven calculators, does
not lock the rest of the keys. In fact, no key of
Felt's invention is locked until an error occurs.

The lock of the key-driven cash register is a
lock that takes effect without an error having
occurred — one that is always present with respect
to the keys not depressed simultaneously, and a
feature designed to force simultaneity of group
key-action to prevent, as before explained, dis-
honesty.

The lock of the key-driven calculator inventions
referred to are in no way connected with simul-
taneous key-action — as in the cash register — and
never act to lock the other orders except when
there is an error in a key-stroke. As the writer
has explained respecting the simultaneous feature

Locking of the
other orders by a
short key-stroke

Inactive keys
locked during
proper key-action
in cash register

Inactive keys not
locked during
proper key-action
in ^'Compto-
meter**

162 Okigin op Modern Calculating Machines

of the cash register, the locking of the other orders
in the cash register interfered with the flexibility
of the key-action and for that reason would be
impossible in a key-driven calculator, where rapid
manipulation is dependent on flexibility.

The scheme of the new key-driven calculator in-
ventions referred to, were designed to allow per-
fect freedom of individual key-action and to block
such action only when an error in any individual
key-stroke should be made. There is nothing in
common in the two schemes. The time, purpose
and mechanical means employed differ entirely.
"Oori6t)^c^*fy This new idea of Felt's is embodied in what is
^^^ ^ commercially known as the "Controlled-key Duplex

Comptometer/' The term "Controlled-key" was
coined to fit this broadly new combination, but a
word coined to fit the functions of a new mechan-
ism is seldom enough to convey a complete under-
standing of its true qualities.

Aside from the broad newness of the Felt "Con-
trolled-key" feature referred to, even the mechan-
ical means for safeguarding the individual key-
action was new in its application as a full-stroke
device. The means employed operated directly on
the accumulator mechanism, locking it against
registration until the error was corrected, which
differed greatly from the devices applied to the
keys or actuators designed by others to bring
about a similar result. But the locking of all the
other orders of mechanism, through any key-action
short of a full stroke, as a signal or error, has no
mechanical equivalent or simile in the Art.

The Improved Recorder

SINCE the general installation of the record-
I ing-adder by the banks, the minds of "get-
rich-quick" inventors have been turned to-
ward this type of machine. The result has been
that a vast number of patents on such machines
were issued, a large proportion of which represent
worthless and impossible mechanism purported by
their inventors to contain improvements on the
Art. Some of these patents on alleged improve-
ments describe and purport to contain features,
that, if really made operative in an operative ma-
chine, would be useful to the public. But as inven-
tions, they merely illustrate the conceptions of a
new and useful feature that can never be of use to
anyone until put into concrete operative form.

To describe these features would be useless, as
they have not advanced •the Art ; they merely act
to retard its advancement through the patent
rights that are granted on the hatched-up inoper-
ative devices or mechanism purported to hold such
features.

Of the vast number of patents issued, but few
of the machines represented therein have ever
reached the market, and of these machines, except
those previously mentioned, there is little that
may be said respecting new elementary features
that may be called an advancement of the Art. It
is to be expected, of course, that the manufacturer
of such machines will not hold the same opinion as
the writer on this subject. But the fact that the

The mass of
recorder irwen-
iions patented

Bui few of the
recorder patents
of value

163

164

Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Reserve inven-
tion as good
insurance

Erroneous
advertising

generic principles of recording the items and totals
were worked out before they even thought of con-
structing such a machine leaves little chance for
anything but specific features of construction for
them to make that may be considered new.

Another feature to be considered in this line is
that while these new manufacturers were work-
ing out the "kinks" or fine adjustments, which can
only be determined after a considerable number
of machines have been put into service, the older
manufacturers were working or had worked out
and held in reserve new improvements that were
not obvious to those new at the game.

It is quite common for manufacturers to have
a reserved stock of improved features to draw
from. In fact, such a stock is sometimes the best
insurance they have against being run out of busi-
ness by a competitor who places a machine on the
market to undersell them. Of course, all manufac-
turers believe they purvey the best and advise the
public relative to this point in their advertise-
ments.

One manufacturer of a recording-adder, a much
later invention than either the Felt or Burroughs
recorder, circulated some advertising pamphlets
once which contained a statement that their ma-
chine was the first visible recorder. A reproduc-
tion of this pamphlet is shown on the opposite
page. The reader will at once recognize the error
in such a statement, as the first Felt recorder was
a visible printer.

The statement seems extremely peculiar after
paying tribute to Felt as the pioneer in the Art of
adding machines. One would suppose that having
knowledge enough of the Art to offer such trib-

Two pHgee from Booklet Issued by
WaleB Adding Machine Co.

166

Origin op Modern Calculating Machines

Error key

Sub-total

Repeat key

Locked key-
board

Quick paper
return

ute would have left them better advised on the
subject of visible recording.

The first of the later improvements in the key-
set crank-operated recorder were made by Bur-
roughs and consisted of the features which formed
a part of Burroughs patent No. 504,963 of 1893. One
of these features consisted of means provided in the
shape of a special key that when depressed would
clear the key-setting, thus allowing of an erroneous
key-setting to be corrected by clearing and reset-
ting the correct item.

Another feature was provision for printing a
total at any time without clearing the machine,
thus allowing printing of what may be called a
sub-total, w]iile the grand total is carried on to be
printed later.

The third feature consisted of means for repeated
addition and recording of the same item. The means
provided consisted of a key, which, if depressed
after setting an item on the keys, would prevent the
keys from being cleared ; thus by repeated opera-
tion of the hand-crank the item set up would be
printed and added repeatedly.

The next feature was one of construction, as it
was designed to overcome the possibility of the
setting of two keys in the same order, by locking
all the other keys in that order. The invention was
shown applied to the Burroughs machine, but was
applied for by Wm. H. Pike, Jr., and was issued
January 13, 1898.

In 1900 Felt perfected a quick paper return for
his wide paper-carriage and applied for a patent,
which was issued March 11, 1902, the number of
which is 694,955. The feature was, that by oper-
ating a lever, it served to return the paper after
recording a column of items and automatically

The Improved Recorder 167

shifted the carriage ready for the recording of
another column of items, thus facilitating speedy
operation.

In March, 1902, a patent was allowed Felt on Paper slop
means to lock the mechanism in a recorder when
the paper was about to run out of the rolls ; a fea-
ture which, in tabulating, served as a check against
the paper running out of the rolls and prevented
further operation until the paper was shifted to
commence a new column of items, thus insuring
the printing of each record on the paper which
formerly depended upon the vigilance of the
operator.

The next feature in the recording machine Art Cross tabulating
which shows a new operative feature, that may be
considered an improvement, is cross-tabulating. It
consisted of means for horizontal tabulating or
recording across a sheet of paper as well as in
vertical columns. While this feature was for
special use, it served to broaden the usefulness of
the recorder in bringing together classified bal-
ances by dates with cross-added totals, and many
other similar uses. This feature was the invention
of D. E. Felt, who applied for a patent April 29,
1901, which was issued October 21, 1902; the
patent number is 711,407.

Another special feature serving to broaden the item stop
usefulness of the recording-adder was invented by
Felt, and may be found in patent No. 780,272, ap-
plied for March 30, 1901, and issued January 17,
1905. This feature was a device which controlled
the printing of a predetermined number of items
which could be set by the operator, and which,
when the predetermined number had been printed,
would lock the mechanism against further action
until the paper was shifted to print a new column.

168

Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Motor drive

Distinguishing

marks for dear,

totals and <u6-

totals

Adding cutout

Prior to May 9, 1901, there is no record of any
recording-adder having been operated by electric
motor drive. But on that date Frank C. Rinche
applied for a patent showing such a combination
with the recorder, which became commercially
known as the Universal Accountant. The patent,
No. 726,803, was issued April 28, 1903, and is the
first of a series issued to Rinche on various com-
binations of mechanical driving connections.

A feature common to recording of added columns
of numerical items is the distinguishing characters
for clear, sub-totals and totals by the use of letters,
stars and other marks. The first patent on any-
thing of this nature that has come into general
use was applied for June 9, 1903, by A. Macauley,
and was issued June 12, 1906. This patent is No.
823,474, and shown connected with the Burroughs
recorder to register with a star when the first item
is printed if the machine is clear and when a total
is printing. Provision was also made for printing
an S when a sub-total was printed.

The use of recording-adders is often applied
when it is desired to record dates along with tabu-
lating added columns of recorded items. Of course
there is no use of adding the dates' together, and
again if they were allowed to be added to the
totals an erroneous total of the columns added may
result under certain conditions. Means for auto-
matically cutting out additions at certain positions
of the paper carriage in cross-line tabulating was
devised by H. C. Peters, and a patent showing
such combination operative on the Burroughs re-
corder was applied for by him May 12, 1904. The
patent. No. 1,028,133, was issued June 4, 1912.

The Improved Recorder

160

With the introduction of the key-set crank-oper-
ated feature on the Felt Comptometer, the key
action, like in the Burroughs recorder, became a
feature to be considered ; but unlike the organism
of the Burroughs, the Felt construction allowed
of the use of a self -correcting keyboard without
the possibility of error occurring from its use.
This feature is shown in a patent issued to Felt &
Wetmore applied for December 27, 1904, and
issued May 14, 1907. The patent number is 853,543,
and provides a means of correcting errors made in
setting the keys by merely depressing the proper
key or keys, which will release any previously set
in the respective orders.

In some classes of recording it is desirable to print
more than one column of items without shifting
the paper carriage laterally. A means providing
for such an emergency is shown in patent No.
825,205, issued to C. W. Gooch July 3, 1906. The
patent was applied for December 2, 1905, and shows
a means applicable to any order that may intercept
the printing of the ciphers in that order, and there-
by the ciphers in all other orders to the right from
any key depression to the left of such order. This
made what has been generally known as the split
keyboard, but differs from that now in general use
in that it was set to certain orders and not selec-
tive at the will of the operator.

With the coming of the motor-operated record-
ing-adders, the extra time allowed the operator,
through being relieved of having to work the crank
back and forth, left a lapse of time until the motor
finished its cranking of the machine. In other
words, there could be no gain in the speed of
operation because it took as much time for the

Self-correcting
keyboard

Split keyboard

Dual action key-
board

170 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

motor to operate the machine as it did by human
power. In a patent granted to McFarland, No.
895,664, applied for October 19, 1905, is shown a
means for utilizing the lapse of time which the
operator was formerly obliged to lose while wait-
ing for the motor to finish its operation of crank-
ing the machine. It is shown in combination with
the keyboard of the Pike recorder and consists of
a change that allows the keys for the next item
to be set while the motor is cranking the machine
to print and add the item previously set, thus util-
izing the time formerly lost.

Non-add signal In adding and recording columns of figures, it

quite often happens that it is desirable to print
a number without adding it into the total, which
may be accomplished in general by depressing the
non-add key or knob, or what may be supplied for
that purpose. These numbers, however, were not
provided with any means by which they could be
distinguished from those added into the total until
Jesse G. Vincent conceived the idea of printing a
distinguishing mark beside them to designate that
they were mere numbers not added to the total.
The means for accomplishing this feature is shown
in patent No. 1,043,883, applied for September 24,

1906, and issued November 12, 1912.

Selective split A new improvement in the split keyboard for-
merly devised by C. W. Gooch is shown in a patent
issued to Wetmore & Niemann applied to the Felt
"Comptograph." This improvement consists of a
selective device for splitting the keyboard into
four different combinations selective to any com-
bination. The patent was applied for April 24,

1907, and issued February 2, 1915 ; the number is
1,127,332.

The Improved Recorder

171

In some classes of recording it is desirable at
times to cut out the printing of some of the orders
and in others the whole of the printing mechanism.
Mr. Fred A. Niemann patented a means for such
a contingency. The patent was applied fot April
24, 1907, but was not issued until March 9, 1920.
The feature was shown applied to the Felt Comp-
tograph for tabulating or printing vertically a
series of added and footed columns of figures.

It is sometimes desirable to print the sum of all
the totals of the footed columns or what may be
called a- grand total. William E. Swalm, in patent
No. 885,202, applied for October 24, 1907, and
issued April 21, 1908, shows how this feature may
be accomplished on the Burroughs recorder. It
consisted of an extra series of accumulator wheels
that could be meshed with the regular accumula-
tor wheels, and thus receive actuation resulting in
accumulation, the same as the regular wheels.
When, however, the regular wheels are zeroized in
printing the individual totals, the extra accumu-
lator wheels are left out of mesh. Thus the grand
totals are accumulated. The printing of the grand
total is accomplished by the meshing of the grand
total wheels with the regular and the usual opera-
tion of taking a regular total. The regular wheels,
however, must be cleared first.

The shuttle carriage, a means devised to print
two columns of figures by printing a number in
one column and a sum in the other by alternate
action, was the conception of Clyde E. Gardner,
and is shown applied to the carriage of the Pike
recorder in patent No. 1,052,811 of February 11,
1913. The patent was applied for September 24,
1908, and consists of means for automatically
shifting the carriage back and forth.

Selective printing
cut-out

(Wand totalizer

Alternate' cross
printing

172

Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Determinate
item signal

Subtraction by
reverse action

Sdedioe split for
keyboard

Rapid paper in-
sert ana ejector

Another means than that invented by Felt to
signal the operator when a predetermined number
of items have been recorded, consists of a bell,
which rings to notify the operator to that effect.
This signal was the invention of J. G. Vincent, and
is shown in patent No. 968,005 of August 23, 1910,
and was applied for December 3, 1909, as an at-
tachment to the carriage of the Burroughs machine.

Although subtraction has always been accom-
plished on this type of machine as a means of
correcting an error, it was always accomplished
on the Burroughs recorder by the use of what is
generally known as the complimental method,
which, without special provision, is rather objec-
tionable. On the 22d of April, 1910, Wm. E.
Swalm applied for a patent which was issued June
4, which shows means connected with the Bur-
roughs machine that allowed subtraction to be
made by the direct method by setting the keys
the same as for addition. The patent number is
1,028,149.

A further improvement on the split keyboard
feature is shown in a patent issued to Fred A.
Niemann in which is shown an individually selective
cipher cut-out that splits the keyboard into any
combination at the will of the operator. The said
patent is No. 1,309,692, applied for October 7,
1912, and issued July 15, 1919, and shows the im-
provement in combination with the Felt "Compto-
graph."

In some classes of listing or tabulating it is
an advantage to enter the paper and eject it with
a rapidity that will facilitate the handling of a
large number of sheets, such for instance as the
usual bank statements. In patent No. 1,208,375

The Impboved Recordeb 173

F. C. Rinche shows how he accomplished this fea-
ture on the Burroughs recorder. The patent was
applied for July 21, 1913, and issued December 12,
1916.

Of the named improvements, of course, all are
designed to fit the requirements of the machines
they are shown as a part of in the drawings of the
patent. They are also claimed as adaptable to
other machines of the type, but some are so spe-
cific to the machine they form an improvement on
that they are not adaptable to other makes. Again
some give results on the machine they form a part
of that was accomplished in a different way in .
another make.

Most of the improvements named, however, are
of such a nature that the broad feature disclosed
is adaptable to all makes if mechanism should be
specially designed to suit such machines that will
function to give the result.

The Bookkeeping and Billing

Machine

4N outgrowth of the recording-machine Art
/a is represented in a new type of recording
^ -^ machine especially adapted to bookkeeping
and the making out of invoices or reports where
t3T)ewriting combined with arithmetical recording
is necessary. This class of work demands a com-
bination of the tjrpewriter with adding and multi-
plying mechanism, having a capacity for printing
the totals of either addition or multiplication.

Early Several attempts have been made to combine
Combinations ^he t3T)ewriter and adding-recorder ; and there

have been combinations of multiplying and re-
cording. Another combination that has been used
to some extent for bookkeeping and billing is an
adding attachment for typewriters, but all these
combinations were lacking in one feature or
another of what may be called a real bookkeeping
machine and billing machine.

The combination of the typewriter and multiple-
order keyboard recording-adders was too cumber-
some, and the means employed for multiplication
on such machines required too many manipulative
motions from the operator. In simple cases of mul-
tiplication as high as fifty manipulative motions
would be required to perform an example on such
a machine.

The combination of multiplying mechanism,
either direct or by repeated stroke, with the

174

"Moon- Hopkins" Billing and Bookkeeping
Machine

The Bookkeeping and Billing Machine

177

multiple keyboard has been made, but without
the typewriting feature they do not serve as a real
bookkeeping and billing machine.

The combination of the typewriter and the add-
ing attachment lacks automatic means to print
totals. The operator must read the totals and print
them with the tjrpewriter. Multiplication on such
a combination is, of course, out of the question.

The culmination of the quest for a practical
bookkeeping machine is a peculiar one, as it was
dependent upon the ten-key recorder, which has
never become as popular as the multiple-order key-
board on account of its limited capacity. The sim-
plicity of its keyboard, however, lent to its combi-
nation with the typewriter, and the application of
direct multiplication removed a large per cent of
the limitation which formerly stood as an objec-
tion to this class of machine when multiplication
becomes necessary.

For the combination, which finally produced the
desired result, we must thank Mr. Hubert Hop-
kins, who is not only the patentee of such a com-
bination, but also the inventor of the first practical
ten-key recording-adder which has become com-
mercially known as the "Dalton" machine.

His bookkeeping machine is commercially known
as the "Moon-Hopkins Billing Machine." See illus-
tration on opposite page.

The term "Bookkeeping Machine" has been mis-
used by applying it to machines which only per-
form some of the functions of bookkeeping.

It is unnecessary to go into the history of the
Hopkins Bookkeeping Machine to show the evolu-
tion of the Art relative to this class of machines,
as the features that have made such a machine
practical were developed by Hopkins himself, and

First

Practical

Combination

Moon-Hopkins

Billing

Machine

The principle of " Napier's Bones " niay be easily explained by imagining
ten rectangular slips of cardboard, each divided into nine squares. In the
top squares of the slips the ten digits are written, and each slip contains in
its nine squares the first nine multiples of the digit which appears in the top
square. With the exception of the top square, every square is divided into
parts by a diagonal, the unils being written on one side and the tens on the
other, so that when a multiple consists of two figures they are separated by
the diagonal. Fig. i shows the slips corresponding to the numbers 2, 0, 8, 5,
placed side by side in contact with one another, and next to them is placed
another sUp containing, in squares without diagonals, the first nine digits.
The slips thus placed in contact give the multiples of the number 2085, the
digits in each parallelogram being added together ; for example, correspond-
ing to the number 6 on the right-hand slip we have 0, 8+3, 0+4, a, I , whence
we find 0, i, 5, 2, i as the digits, written backwards, of 6x2085, The use
of the slips for the purpose of multiplication is now evident , thus, to multiply
2085 by 736 we take out in this manner the multiples corresponding to
6, 3, 7 and set down the digits as they are obtained, from right to left,
shifting them back one place and adding up the columns as in ordinary
multiplication, viz., the figures as written down are
12510
6z35
14595

1534560

Napier's rods or bones consist of ten oblong pieces of wood or other
material with square ends. Each of the four faces of each rod contains
multiples of one of the nine digits, and is similar to one of the slips just de-
scribed, the first rod containing the multiples of 0, t, 9, 8, the second of
0, 3, 9. 7, the third of 0, 3, 9, 6, the fourth of 0, 4, 9, 5, the fifth of i, 2, 8, 7,
the sixth of I, 3, 8, 6, the seventh of i, 4. 8, g, the eighth of 2, 3, 7, 6, the
ninth of 2. 4, 7, 5. and the tenth of 3, 4, 6, 5. Each rod, therefore, contains

'Al

•A

/f,

•A

'At

°A

'/t

•A

1/^

•A

''B

•A

on two of its
other two fa
in position,
from fig. 2.
rods is thus

faces multiples
ces ; and the mul

The arrangemen
which represents

digits whicli are con
iples of a digit atid i
ts of tlie numfjors o
tlie four faces of tlie
r sets of slips as des

Flo, !,

piemen tary t

n the rods w^
fifth bar. T
ribed above.

those on the
are reversed
1 be evident
he set of ten

The Bookkeeping and Billing Machine

181

at the present date there is none to dispute the
title since his is the only machine having the re-
quired combination referred to. The scheme used
by Hopkins for multiplication in his billing ma-
chine is, as stated, direct multiplication or that of
adding the multiples of digits directly to the accu-
mulator numeral wheels instead of pumping it into
the accumulator wheels by repeated addition of
the digits as is more commonly used.

The direct method of multiplying is old, as a
matter of fact, the first mechanical means em-
ployed :^or multiplying worked by the direct
method. But its combination with recording and
typewriter mechanism invented by Hopkins was
new.

Napier, in 1620, laid the foundation of the me-
chanical method of direct multiplication when he
invented his multiplying bones. The scheme of
overlapping the ordinal places is shown in the
diagonal lines used to separate units from the tens
in each multiple of the nine digits (see illustra-
tion, page 179), thus providing a convenient means
by which the ordinal values may be added together.

The first attempt to set Napier's scheme to me-
chanism that would add and register the overlap-
ping ordinal values was patented by E. D. Barbour
in 1872. See reproduction of patent drawings on
opposite page.

The Barbour Multiplier
The accumulator mechanism of the Barbour
machine, including the numeral wheels and their
devices for transferring the tens, is mounted in a
sliding carriage at the top of the machine (see
Fig. 1), which may be operated by the hand-knob.
Extending through the bottom of the carriage
are a series of pinions, one for each ordinal nu-

Napiers bones
first direct mul-
tiplier

First direct mul-
tiplying machine

/''\. ,

•v.

/•

John Napier

182

Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Description
of Barbour
KfvUipUer

meral wheel, and connected thereto by a ratchet
and pawl action. The pinions are each so arranged
as to be operative with a gear rack beneath the
carriage when the carriage is slid back and forth.

Thus the wheels received action from one direc-
tion of the motion of the carriage and remain idle
during the movement in the other direction. The
degree of motion so received would, of course, de-
pend upon the number of teeth in the racks below
encountered by the pinions.

The gear racks employed by Barbour were nu-
merous, one being provided for each multiple of
the nine digits, arranged in groups constituting
nine sets mounted on the drums marked B (see
Fig. 4) . Each of these sets contain nine mutilated
gear racks, the arrangement of the teeth of which
serve as the multiples of the digit they represent.

The teeth of the racks representing the mul-
tiples of the digits were arranged in groups of
units and tens. For instance: 4x6=24, the rack
representing the multiple of 4x6 would have two
gear teeth in the tens place and four gear teeth in
the units place, and likewise for the eighty other
combinations.

Adding Qie multiples of the digits by overlap-
ping the orders was accomplished by a very simple
means, the arrangement of the racks being such
that as the carriage was moved from left to right
the numeral wheel pinions would move over the
units rack teeth of a multiplying rack of one order
and the tens rack teeth of a multiplying rack in
the next lower order.

By close examination the reader will note from
the drawings that the lower one of the sets of
multiplying gear racks shown on the drum B, to

The Bookkeeping and Billing Machine 183

the left in Fig. 4, is the series of one times the nine
digits, the next set or series of racks above are the
multiplying racks for the multiples of two, the
lowest rack in that series having but two teeth,
the next higher rack four teeth, the next rack six
and the next eight.

So far no multiple of two has amounted to more
than a units ordinal place, therefore these racks
operate on a lower-order numeral wheel, and are
all placed to the right of the center on the drum B,
but the next rack above for adding the multiple of
two times five requires that one shall be added to
a higher order, and is therefore placed on the left
side of the center of the drum.

Thus it will be noted that by reading the num-
ber of teeth on the right of each rack as units and
those on the left as tens, that running anti-clock-
wise around the drum, each series of multiplying
racks show multiples of the digits from one to
four, it being obvious that the racks for adding the
multiples of the higher digits are on the opposite
side of the drums.

From the layout of the racks it is also obvious
that the starting or normal position of the car-
riage would be with the numeral wheel pinions of
each order in the center of each drum, so that as
the carriage is moved to the right the units wheel
will receive movement from the units teeth of the
rack on the units drum, while the tens wheel will
receive movement from the units teeth of the
tens drum and the tens teeth of the units drum,
and so on with the higher wheels, as each numeral
wheel pinion except the units passes from the
center of one drum to the center of the next lower
and engages such teeth as may be presented.

184 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Each of the drums B are independently mounted
on the pivot shaft C, and are provided with the
hand-operating setting-racks I and E, co-acting
with the gears R and D, to help in bringing the
proper racks into engageable positions with the
pinions of the accumulator numeral or total wheels.

The hand-knob G, Fig. 4, and the gears f , fast
to a common shaft, furnish a means for operating
the whole series of drums when the right multiple
series of racks of each drum have been brought
into position.

As an example of the operation of the Barbour
calculator, let us assume that 7894 is to be multi-
plied by 848. The first drum to the right would
be moved by its setting racks until the series
of multiplying racks for adding the multiples of
four are presented, the next higher drum to the
left would be set until the series of multiplying
racks for adding the multiples of nine were pre-
sented, the next higher drum would be set for the
multiples of eight, and the next higher drum, or
the fourth to the left, would be set for the mul-
tiples of seven. Then the hand-knob G, first turned
to register zero, may be shoved to the right, en-
gaging the pinions f with the gears D, and by
turning the knob to register (8) , the first figure in
the multiplier, the racks are then set ready to
move the numeral wheels to register as follows:
The drum to the right or the units drum has pre-
sented the multiplying rack for adding the mul-
tiple of 8x4, thus it will present three teeth for
the tens wheel and two teeth for the units wheel.
The tens drum presenting the rack for adding the
multiple of 8x9 will present seven teeth for the
hundreds wheel and two for the tens wheel. The

3 I

From DriiwiDga of BoUee Patent No. 556,720

The Bookkeeping and Billing Machinb 187

hundreds drum presenting the rack for adding the
multiple of 8x8 will present six teeth for the
thousands wheel and four for the hundreds wheel.

The rack of the thousands drum representing
the multiple of 8x7 will present five teeth for the
tens of thousands wheel and six for the thousands
wheel. Thus by sliding the carriage to the right
one space, the numeral wheel pinions will engage
first the units teeth on one drum, then the tens
teeth on the next lower drum and cause the wheels
to register 63152. The operator, by turning the
knob G to register (4) , the next figure of the mul-
tiplier, turns the drum so that a series of multi-
plying racks representing multiples of 4 times
each figure in the multiplicand are presented, so
that by sliding the carriage another space to the
right, the multiple of 4x7894 will be added to the
numeral wheels. The operator then turns the
knob to register three and moves the carriage one
more space to the right, adding the multiple of
8x7894 to the wheels in the next higher ordinal
series, resulting in the answer of 2747112.

There are, of course, many questionable fea-
tures about the construction shown in the ma-
chine of the Barbour patent, but as a feature of
historic interest it is worthy of consideration, like
many other attempts in the early Art.

The Bollee Multiplier
Probably the first successful direct multiplying
machine was made by Leon Bollee, a Frenchman,
who patented his invention in France in 1889. A
patent on the Bollee machine was applied for in
this country and was issued March 17, 1896, some
of the drawings of which are reproduced on the
opposite page.

188 Origin of Modern Calculating Machines

Description oj Instead of using eighty-one multiplying gear
Bailee Machine ^Sicka for each Order as in the Barbour patent,

BoUee used but two gear racks for each order ; one
for adding the units and the other for adding the
tens; these racks operate vertically and are
marked respectively Bb and Be. (See Fig. 3.)

The racks are frictionally held against gravity
in the permanent framework of the machine, and
are moved up and down by contact at each end,
received from above by bar le, and from below by
pins of varying length set in the movable plates Ab.

The bar le forms part of a reciprocating frame
which moves vertically and in which are slidably
mounted the pin plates Ab. These plates are what
Bollee called his ^'mechanical multiplication tables."

The arrangement of the pins and their lengths
are such as to give degrees of additive movement
to the units and tens gear racks equal to the mul-
tiplying racks in the Barbour multiplier.

The pin plates are moved by the hand-knobs
Ab^, and the plate shown in Fig. 3 is positioned
for multiples of nine.

The means for setting the multiples correspond
to the index hand-knob of the Barbour machine,
and consists of the crank Am, which, when oper-
ated, shifts the whole series of plates laterally.
A graduated dial serves the operator to set the
multiple that the multiplicand, set by the position-
ing of the plates, is to be multiplied by.

The accumulator mechanism is mounted in a
reciprocating frame which moves horizontally,
causing the gears of the numeral wheels to engage
first the units racks on their upstroke under action
of the pins, and then the tens racks on their down-
stroke under the action of the top bar of the ver-
tically moving frame, the downward motion, of

The Bookkeeping and Billing Machine 189

course, being regulated by the upward movement
it receives from the pin that forces it up.

As may be noted in Fig. 1, the multiplying plates
are held in a laterally movable carriage that is
shifted through the turning of the multiplier
factor setting hand crank Am, by means of the
rack and pinion action. This gearing is such that
each revolution moves the multiplying plates
under a higher or lower series of orders, thus al-
lowing the multiples of a higher or lower order
series to be added in the process of multiplication
or subtracted in division, as the case may be.

Although the Bollee machine is reputed to be a
practical machine, as is attested from the models
on exhibit in the Museum of Des Arts and Metiers
of Paris in France, it was never manufactured and
placed on the market.

BoUee's principle has, however, been commercial- BolUe" s principle
ized by a Swiss manufacturer in a machine made comimrcmlized.
and sold under the trade-name of "The Million-
aire," the U. S. patents of which were applied for
and issued to Steiger.

Hopkins constructed his multiplying mechanism
on the Bollee scheme of using stepped controlling
plates for his reciprocating racks to give the mul-
tiples of the digits, but the ingenious method of
application shown in the Hopkins patent drawings
illustrates well the American foresight of sim-
plicity of manufacture.

During the past ten years there have been a
large number of patents applied for on mechanism
containing the same general scheme as that of
Bollee and Steiger, but up to the present writing no
machines with direct multiplying mechanism have
been commercialized except "The Millionaire,'*
which is non-recording, and "Moon-Hopkins Book-
keeping Machine/'

A Closing Word

AS previously stated, it is impossible to de-
f\ scribe or illustrate the thousands of inven-
"*" -^ tions that have been patented in the Art of
accounting machines, and some of the inventors
may feel that the writer has shown partiality. The
subject of this book, however, has to do only
with the Art as it stands commercialized and those
who are responsible for its existence.

In the arguments to prove validity of contribu-
tions of vital importance to the Art, many other
patented machines have been used which really
have no bearing on the Art. But the writer was
obliged to show their defects, otherwise the mis-
conception derived from articles written by au-
thors incompetent to judge would leave the public
in error as to the real truth relative to the Art of
the modem accounting machines.

That all inventors deserve credit, even in the
face of failure, is without question. The hours,
days, months, and sometimes years, given up to
the working out of any machine, intended to bene-
fit mankind, whether the result brings a return or
not, — ^whether the invention holds value, or no, —
leaves a record that the world may benefit by,
in pointing out the errors or productive results.

If it were not for the ambitions and untiring
efforts of men of this type, who give heart and
soul to the working out of intricate problems, the
world would not be as far advanced as it is today.

190

A Closing Word 191

The writer has kept in close touch with the Art
of calculating machines since 1893, and made ex-
haustive research of it prior to that period. There
have been thousands of patents issued on machines
of the class herein set forth, but outside of the
features reviewed there have been no broadly new
ones of practical importance that have as yet
proved to be of great value to the public. What is
in the making, and what may be developed later,
is open to conjecture. It is a safe conjecture, how-
ever, that in the present high state of the Art it
will tax the wits of high-class engineers to offer
any substantial and broadly-new feature which
will be heralded as a noticeable step in the Art.
And that, as in the past, thousands of mistakes,
and impractical as well as inoperative machines
will be made and patented, to one that will hold
real value.

Index to Subjects

Types of Ancient and Modern Machines Page

General knowl^ge lacking 5

Key-driven machine,fir8t of the modem machines 6

Recording, the primary feature of adding machines that

print 7

Vsdidity and priority of invention 8

Description of Pascal's invention 11

Constructional features of the Pascal machine 12

Increased capacity of modem calculator 13

Patent office a repository of ineffectual efforts 14

The Early Key-Driven Art
First attempt to use depressable keys for adding was

made in America 17

Description of Parmelee machine 18

Foreign digit adders 18

Single-digit adders lack capacity 19

Some early U. S. patents on single-digit adding machines 20

Calculating machines in use abroad for centuries 21

First key-driven machines no improvement to the Art ... 21

Description of the Hill machine 22

Hill machine at National Museimi 25

Inoperativeness of Hill machine 25

High speed of key drive 26

Caurnera slow compared with carry of the tens 26

Hill machine merely adding mechanism, incomplete as

operative machine 29

Chapin and Stark patents 29

Description of Chapin machine 29

Inoperativeness of Chapin machine 30

Description of Stark machine 33

Inoperativeness of Stark machine 37

Nine keys common to a plurality of orders n . 37

Description of Robjohn machine 38

First control for a carried ntimeral wheel 41

Description of Bouchet machine 42

Bouchet machine marketed 43

Misuse of the term "Calculating Machine" 43

Description of Spaulding machine 47

Prime actuation of a carried wheel impossible in the

Spalding machine 49

193

194 Obigin of Modern Calculatino Machines

The Key-Driven Calculator Page

Theory versus the concrete 50

All but one of the generic elements solved 51

OriginalitY of inventions 51

A conception which led to the final solution 52

Evolution of an invention 55

Trials of an inventor 55

The first "Comptometer" 56

Felt patent 371,496 56

Description of Felt calculator 59

Recapitulation of Art prior to Felt calculator 60

Why Hill failed to produce an operative machine 61

Idiosyncrasies of force and motion increased by use of keys 61

Light construction a feature 62

Curative features necessary 62

Classification of the features contained in the early Art

of key-driven machines 63

Carrying mechanism of Felt's calculator 63

Transfer devices 64

Carrying mechanism versus mere transfer devices 64

Details of Felt carrying mechanism 65

Manufacture of the Felt calculator 69

Trade name of Felt calculator 70

Felt calculator exhibit at National Museum 70

Significant proof of Felt's claim of priority 75

Rules for operation an important factor of modem

calculator 76

Early Efforts in the Recording Machine Art

First attempt to record arithmetical computation 79

Description of Barbour machine 80

Barbour machine not practical 81

Description of Baldwin machine 82

Baldwm's printing mechanism 89

First key-set cranK operated machine and first attempt to

record the items in addition 90

Description of Pottin machine 91

Early efforts of Wm. S. Burroughs 95

General scheme of Burroughs* first inventions 96

Brief description of machine of early Burroughs' patents 97

All early arithmetical printing devices impractical 101

Practical method for recording disclosed later 102

Inoperative features of early recording mechanism 105

Adding mechanism attached to typewriter 105

Description of Ludlum machine 106

Ludlum machine inoperative 108

First Practical Recorders

Burroughs a bank clerk. . .' Ill

Felt interested in recorder Art HI

Felt's first recording machine ; . . 113

Felt recording mechanism combined with his calculating
machine 113

Index to Subjects 195

First Practical Recorders— Cont'd. Page

Description of Felt's first recorder 114

First individualized type impression combined with

printing sector 115

First practical arithmetical recorder 116

The first sale of a recording adding machine on record . . . 116

Features of firet practical recorder 119

Description of Felt's second recorder 120

Felt principle of printing adopted by all manufacturers of

recorders 124

Wide paper carriage for tabulating 124

The wide paper carriage machine 127

Litigation on tabulator patents 127

"Cross Tabulating" 128

Felt recorder in "Engineering" of London, England 131

Total recording a Felt combination 131

Legible listing of items and automatic recording of totals

first achieved by Felt 132

The key-set prinaple more practical for recorders 135

Description of first practical Burroughs recorder 137

Date of use of first practical Burroughs recorder 140

Introduction of the Modern Accounting Machine

Opposition to the use of machines for accounting 144

Banks more liberal in recognition 145

Improvement slow for first few years 146

The High-Speed Calculator

Felt improvements on Comptometer 149

Scientific distribution of functions 150

Power consimied by old carrying method 151

Cam and lever carrying mechanism * 152

One-point carrying cam impossible 153

Felt's improved method of carrying 153

Gauging and controlling prime actuation 154

Alternating stop scheme 155

Multiplex key action 156

Control of the carry by Uie next higher actuator 156

Forced simultaneous key action old 157

Forced simultaneity applied to a calculator impossible. . . 157

Flexible simultaneity of key action a Felt invention 158

Duplex Comptometer 159

Introduction of full-stroke mechanism 159

Error signal keyboard 160

Locking of the other orders by a short key-stroke 161

Inactive keys locked during proper key-action in cash

Inactive keys not locked during proper key-action in

"Comptometer" 161

"ControUed-key Comptometer" 162

The mass of recorder inventions patented 163

But few of the recorder patents of value 163

Reserve invention as good insurance 164

Erroneous advertising 164

196 Origin op Modern Calculating Machines

The High-Speed Calculator— Cont'd Page

Error key 166

Sub-total 166

Repeat key 166

Locked keyboard 166

Quick paper return 166

Paper 8t(i> 167

Cross tabulating 167

Item stop 167

Motor drive 168

Distinguishing marks for clear, totals, and sub-totals . . . 168

Adding cut-out 168

Self-correcting keyboard 169

Split keyboard 169

Dual action keyboard 169

Non-add signal 170

Selective split keyboard 170

Selective printing cut-out 171

Grand totalizer 171

Alternate cross printing 171

Determinate item signal 172

Subtraction by reverse action 172

Selective split for keyboard 172

Rapid paper insert and ejector 172

The Bookkeeping and Billing Machine

Early combinations 174

First practical combination 177

Moon-Hopkins Billing machine 177

Napier's Bones first direct multiplier 181

First direct multiplying machine 181

Description of Barbour Multiplier 182

Description of Bollee machine 188

BoUee^ principle commercialized 189

A Closing Word

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Full text of "Origin of modern calculating machines; a chronicle of the evolution of the principles that form the generic make up of the modern calculating machine"

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