Autopoint Mechanical Pencil
date: label: date made
content: 1921-1929
name: label: maker
content: Autopoint, Inc.
notes: label: Description
content: This 5-3/4" black plastic and chrome-plated mechanical pencil is marked near its top: CHICAGO Autopoint USA (/) PATD AND PATS PEND. The word "Autopoint" is in script. The end of the pencil above the mark uncaps to reveal an eraser. A metal clip allows the pencil to be secured in a shirt pocket. The pen is stored in a rectangular gray cardboard box marked: Pencil Used by H H sr. (c[h]rome plated).
label: Description
content: Autopoint began manufacturing mechanical pencils in Chicago in 1918. Inventors assigned at least 30 patents to Autopoint between 1918 and 1929. One of the patents referred to on this pencil was taken out by Frank Deli of Chicago, for a metal pin that screwed into a threaded cylinder inside the pencil tip and thus acted to propel the lead. The diameter of the pin suggests the lead width was about 1 mm. The body of the pencil was to be made from bakelite or a similar plastic. Deli applied for his patent in 1921, although it was not granted until 1925. Bakelite, the plastics manufacturer, owned an interest in Autopoint from the 1920s to the 1940s. After several corporate acquisitions and reorganizations, Autopoint moved to Janesville, Wisc., in 1979, where it continues operations.
label: Description
content: His daughter-in-law reported that Herman Hollerith Sr. owned this pencil. Hollerith (1860–1929) trained as a mining engineer. He joined the U.S. Census Office in 1879, where he pioneered the development of punch cards for tabulating machines. These machines dramatically sped up the processing of data in the 1890 census. In 1896 he founded the Tabulating Machine Company, which merged with three other companies in 1911 and became the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) in 1924. Hollerith retired in 1921 and raised cattle on a farm in Maryland until his death, so he presumably acquired the pencil during his retirement. For depictions and examples of Hollerith machines, see 1977.0503.01, 1977.0503.02, and 2011.3121.01, MA.312896, MA.335634, MA.335635, and MA.333894. See also the NMAH object group on tabulating machines, http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/tabulating-equipment.
label: Description
content: References: Autopoint, Inc., "About Us," http://autopointinc.com/about-us; Frank C. Deli, "Pencil" (U.S. Patent 1,552,123 issued September 1, 1925); Robert L. Bolin, "Web Resources Concerning the Mechanical Pencil Industry in Chicago," http://unllib.unl.edu/Bolin_resources/pencil_page/index.htm; William R. Aul, "Herman Hollerith: Data Processing Pioneer," <i>Think</i>, November 1972, http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/builders/builders_hollerith.html; United States Census Bureau, "Herman Hollerith," http://www.census.gov/history/www/census_then_now/notable_alumni/herman_hollerith.html.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Illinois, Chicago
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
label: Subject
content: writing implements
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Pens and Pencils
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content: Computers & Business Machines
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of the Hollerith Family
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1977.0503.03
label: catalog number
content: 336122
label: accession number
content: 1977.0503
objectType: label: Object Name
content: pencil
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1.7 cm x 15.2 cm x 2 cm; 21/32 in x 5 31/32 in x 25/32 in