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

Sat Dec 24 00:03:01 PST 2022

Hi All,

Since Peggy didn’t mention it, I will: Her essay “Mathematical Instruments Changing Hands at World’s Fairs, 1851–1904” is a great and highly relevant, too!

Best, Bernard

From: Members <members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Kidwell, Peggy via Members <members at lists.sigcis.org>
Date: Friday, 23 December 2022 at 23:26
To: Foster, David via Members <members at lists.sigcis.org>, Pierre Mounier-Kuhn <mounier at msh-paris.fr>, Foster, David <davidfos at ttu.edu>
Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Seeking Information on Adding Machines, Mechanical Calculators, etc. Designed and Used in the U.S. Prior to 1877
You might also wish to check out the “web object groups” on adding machines, calculating machines, and adders on the web page of the Smithsonian’sNational Museum of American History. In addition to a general introduction and a list of resources, there are descriptions of individual types of machine. Within each section, the machines are arranged chronologically. Be sure to click on the title of an object to bring up more information.
Good luck!

Peggy Kidwell
NMAH
________________________________
From: Members <members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Foster, David via Members <members at lists.sigcis.org>
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2022 2:09 PM
To: Pierre Mounier-Kuhn <mounier at msh-paris.fr>
Cc: members <members at lists.sigcis.org>
Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Seeking Information on Adding Machines, Mechanical Calculators, etc. Designed and Used in the U.S. Prior to 1877

External Email - Exercise Caution

Thank you, sir! I just downloaded your paper.

I will follow up! Greatly appreciated.

Best/Dave

From: Pierre Mounier-Kuhn <mounier at msh-paris.fr>
Date: Friday, December 23, 2022 at 12:36
To: Foster, David <davidfos at ttu.edu>
Cc: members <members at lists.sigcis.org>
Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Seeking Information on Adding Machines, Mechanical Calculators, etc. Designed and Used in the U.S. Prior to 1877

This email originated outside TTU. Please exercise caution<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faskit.ttu.edu%2Fphishing&data=05%7C01%7Ckidwellp%40si.edu%7Ca1ed774fc32f4e36a8fb08dae5238934%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C638074238055546676%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2BkjLmqqzkYVcuBaCWthWQpvUh7v5Ezaglj39WkQmWhk%3D&reserved=0>!

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<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.academia.edu%2F41536923%2FLindustrie_des_calculatrices_un_leadership_fran%25C3%25A7ais_suivi_dune_domination_germanique_et_am%25C3%25A9ricaine_The_Calculator_Industry_in_the_XIXth_century_An_Early_French_Leadership_Swept_Away_by_New_Entrants&data=05%7C01%7Ckidwellp%40si.edu%7Ca1ed774fc32f4e36a8fb08dae5238934%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C638074238055546676%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Cu0i34FW2l2n0tdAlndIIYL4rJWPStp1%2BIEcBGIw5w8%3D&reserved=0>

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

[47HZJ4QTcZx7w2e2Swgm4zzzgs9v9DxTQbyVFNkAgAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC]

Learner | Intellection | Context | Ideation | Input

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