Sharp EL-8152 A Elsi-Mate Handheld Electronic Calculator
date: label: date made
content: 1979-1980
name: label: maker
content: Sharp Corporation
notes: label: Description
content: In the second half of the 1970s, taking advantage of the introduction of liquid crystal displays, manufacturers of handheld electronic calculators designed and built ever-thinner products. In this Sharp calculator the usual keys have been replaced by a single thin membrane. This reduces the thickness of the calculator itself to about .16 cm (less than 1/8”). Pushing numbers on such a calculator produces no tactile sensation. To give users a sense that they indeed had entered information, the calculator could be set so that a tone sounded whenever a digit or function was entered. Pushing the section of the membrane with a musical note on it (called the sensor key) activated this part of the calculator.
label: Description
content: The calculator has a total of twenty-six “keys” In addition to the sensor key, these include ten digit keys, a decimal point key, a total key, four arithmetic function keys, and three memory keys. Behind these are a % key, and a clear entry key, as well as a STR key for storing a number in the memory and a COMP key for computing conversions by multiplying the stored value by the number shown on the display. Behind these are keys for off and for on/clear. Text next to these last two keys reads: ELSI MATE (/) EL-8152 (/) STORAGE COMPUTER. Behind this is the eight-digit LCD display. Text behind this reads: SHARP.
label: Description
content: Text on the back of the calculator reads: SHARP (/) ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR (/) EL-8152. It also reads: SHARP CORPORATION MADE IN JAPAN BM. The most recent U.S. patent number listed is 3976994, a patent issued in 1976 and assigned to Sharp. A label below this reads: 07004741. The calculator ran on two squat cylindrical silver oxide batteries.
label: Description
content: The calculator has a dark blue cloth carrying case. Text on the front of it reads: SHARP. This case, in turn, fits into a cardboard box with a small pamphlet. The cover of the manual reads: SHARP COMPET ELSI MATE (/) ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR (/) EL-8152 (/) INSTRUCTION MANUAL. Also included loose in the manual is a warning not to carry the calculator in a back pocket. The sleeve for the box reads: SHARP (/) ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR (/) EL-8152 A.
label: Description
content: An example of the Sharp EL-8152 was shown in a 1994 exhibition on modern Japanese design, held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
label: Description
content: Sharp membrane calculators in the collections include 1997.0032.01 (Sharp EL-8152 or EL-8152A), 1987.0435.13 (Sharp EL-8130A), and 1986.0988.316 (Sharp EL-8145).
label: Description
content: References:
label: Description
content: [Advertisement], <I>Chicago Tribune</I>, December 23, 1979, p. B1. Calculator advertised (EL-8152) said to be 1/16” thick, selling for $39.95.
label: Description
content: [Advertisement], <I>Los Angeles Times</I>, May 1, 1980, p. 17. This advertisement lists the Sharp EL-8152 calculator (not the EL-8152 A) as on sale for $32.97.
label: Description
content: [Advertisement], <I>Los Angeles Times</I>, September 4, 1980, p. B13. Sharp EL-8152 (not EL-8152 A) advertised as on sale for $39.99.
label: Description
content: Kathryn B. Hiesinger and Felice Fischer, <I>Japanese Design: A Survey Since 1950</I>, Philadelphia; Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1994, p. 123.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Japan
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Computers
label: See more items in
content: Computers & Business Machines
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content: Handheld Electronic Calculators
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Cameron J. La Clair, Jr.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1997.0032.01
label: catalog number
content: 1997.0032.01
label: accession number
content: 1997.0032
objectType: label: Object Name
content: electronic calculator
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (case; circuitry material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (display material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (center material)
label: Physical Description
content: velvet (case material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (box; instructions material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: .3 cm x 5.4 cm x 9.6 cm; 1/8 in x 2 1/8 in x 3 25/32 in