Thanks everybody for the fascinating and helpful replies, both on and off list. Just to summarize wrt to this specific document, in case anyone's interested:

* A typescript of a patent application, dated 9 April 1936 on the headed notepaper of patent attorney Dr-Ing. Bruno Wolf, is in the Deutsches Museum archives, and there's a photo of the first page on Ulf's book page at http://www.deutsches-museum.de/forschung/forschungsbereiche/bereich-wtug/schwerpunkt-i/cluster-2/konrad-zuse/ There's a handwritten note that says "angemeldet [registered?] 11.4.1936" and gives an application number (?) Z 23 139 IX/42 m.

* A transcription of the German text (no diagrams) is at http://zuse.zib.de/album/Uc4YiqKixaG2NAnK/item/EYgALUJiKnCyc9MH

* Brian Randell's "Origins" collection contains a partial English translation (omitting the claims). The bibliographic reference at the end of the book (the 3rd edition) gives a different patent application number, Z23624.

I don't know if the application ever resulted in an actual patent being awarded. The DEPATISnet website doesn't list a Zuse patent with an application date in April 1936 (on a quick "beginners search", anyway :-) The 9 May 1936 application that Con referred to is different - the issued patent was for a "Mechanisches Schaltglied" ("Mechanical Switching Element"?)

Cheers,

Mark

On 24 January 2017 at 10:58, Mark Priestley <m.priestley@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear list,

Zuse's 1936 patent "Method for Automatic Execution of Calculations with the Aid of Computers" is reprinted in Brian Randell's "Origins of Digital Computers" collections. Does anyone know if/where I can get hold of the German original?

Thanks in advance.

Mark