[SIGCIS-Members] Seeking Information on Adding Machines, Mechanical Calculators, etc. Designed and Used in the U.S. Prior to 1877

[James Cortada]

William Aspray, Computing Before Computers (1970) might be useful to look
at.  Jim Cortada

On Fri, Dec 23, 2022 at 12:38 PM Pierre Mounier-Kuhn via Members <
members at lists.sigcis.org> wrote:

> Hello Dave.
>
>
>
> I am very interested in this topic. Recently I attempted to sketch an
> economic history of this nascent industrial sector, with this exploratory
> paper written from a European point of view:
>
>
> https://www.academia.edu/41536923/Lindustrie_des_calculatrices_un_leadership_fran%C3%A7ais_suivi_dune_domination_germanique_et_am%C3%A9ricaine_The_Calculator_Industry_in_the_XIXth_century_An_Early_French_Leadership_Swept_Away_by_New_Entrants
>
>
> I would be glad to discuss the matter with you and other connoisseurs
> within SIGCIS. Certainly de Colmar’s Arithmometre made its way across the
> Atlantic, both as direct exports from the Paris workshop or as later clones
> (Burckhardt, Saxonia through Carl Reuter, etc.). That it "inspired some
> emulation or other ideas" is obvious, if only with the very name of Felt's
> "Comptometer". Toward 1900, some 15 companies in Europe were making and
> marketing Arithmometre clones, so it would be surprising not to find
> similar ventures in America, along with makers of more modern designs.
>
>
>
> Happy Holidays & New Year to all!
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Pierre
>
> Pierre Mounier-Kuhn
> CNRS, Sorbonne Université & CentraleSupélec
>
> https://cnrs.academia.edu/PierreMounierKuhn
>
> https://laboutique.edpsciences.fr/produit/1255/9782759827053/histoire-illustree-de-l-informatique
> http://www.rdv-histoire.com/mounier-kuhn-pierre-eric
>
> ------------------------------
> *De: *"Foster, David via Members" <members at lists.sigcis.org>
> *À: *"members" <members at lists.sigcis.org>
> *Envoyé: *Vendredi 23 Décembre 2022 18:48:52
> *Objet: *[SIGCIS-Members] Seeking Information on Adding Machines,
> Mechanical Calculators, etc. Designed and Used in the U.S. Prior to 1877
>
> Hello SIGCIS!
>
>
>
> I have the opportunity to do a research paper for a Spring term
> historiography course and I’d like to depart from the themes of the
> assigned readings and return to research in the realm of computing history.
> Given the chronological constraint of 1877 as the upper year, I can get
> just a bit into the beginning timeframe of James Cortada’s *Before the
> Computer* and had been thinking that devices like de Colmar’s
> Arithmometre (1820) must have made their way across the Atlantic and
> inspired some emulation or other ideas. The good people at the reference
> section of the LOC have given me some useful background and I’ve rec’d some
> valuable tips on patent search and organization methodologies. I have just
> started to search the patent history (calculators, adding machines, etc.),
> but any advice or insights on 19th century American “computing” from the
> group are greatly appreciated.
>
>
>
> Happy Holidays & New Year!
>
>
>
> Regards, Dave
>
>
>
> *Dave Foster*
>
> PhD Student
>
> Department of History
>
> *Texas Tech University*
>
> davidfos at ttu.edu
>
> linkedin.com/in/david-w-foster
>
> 806-282-4856
>
> [image: 47HZJ4QTcZx7w2e2Swgm4zzzgs9v9DxTQbyVFNkAgAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC]
>
> Learner | Intellection | Context | Ideation | Input
>
>
>
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-- 
James W. Cortada
Senior Research Fellow
Charles Babbage Institute
University of Minnesota
jcortada at umn.edu
608-274-6382
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