Bowmar 905 Handheld Electronic Calculator
date: label: date made
content: 1972
name: label: maker
content: Bowmar/Ali
notes: label: Description
content: The Bowmar Instrument Corporation was established in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1951 by Edward A. White, an engineer who had attended Tufts University. The firm came to sell solid-state light emitting diodes, but was unable to persuade Japanese calculator companies to use them in calculator displays. This prompted Bowmar to enter the calculator business in 1971. This is a relatively early Bowmar calculator.
label: Description
content: This handheld electronic calculator has a plastic case colored tan and brown with a plastic display window and keys. It has an array of nine digit keys above the zero and decimal bars. Four keys for arithmetic functions are right of these. At the top is a constant switch, a clear entry key, a clear key, and an on/off switch. Behind this is a red eight-digit LED display. A mark at the top reads: BOWMAR.
label: Description
content: A plug for a power cord is on the right side. This example lacks a cord.
label: Description
content: An "OPERATING OUTLINE" in raised characters on the back of the case gives instructions. A tag at the bottom reads: MODEL 905 Serial (/) NUMBER 118910 (/) BOWMAR/ALI Inc. Acton, Mass. 01720 U.S.A. (/) Made in U.S.A.
label: Description
content: Four screws hold the back of the case to the front. Removing these reveals one small and two large circuit boards. A mark inside the case near the top reads: E905-010.The same mark is on the inside bottom of the case. A mark on the upper circuit board reads: D905-300. A space for a battery or battery pack is empty. The calculator has no separate battery compartment.
label: Description
content: A different form of the Bowmar 905, with a percentage key rather than a constant switch, was advertised in the <I>Washington Post</I> in 1973. A January 28, 1973 advertisement gives a price of $99.99. The ad, which included several electronic calculators, was entitled "if you're still using your head, you're not using your head."
label: Description
content: References:
label: Description
content: Robert Metz, "Market Place: Keeping Figures in Your Pockets," <I>New York Times</I>, May 27, 1972, p. 36.
label: Description
content: <I>Washington Post</I>, January 28, 1973, p. K10.
label: Description
content: Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, <I>The Complete Collector's Guide to Pocket Calculators</I>, Tustin CA: Wilson/Barnett, 1997, pp. 35–36.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Computers
label: See more items in
content: Computers & Business Machines
label: See more items in
content: Handheld Electronic Calculators
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of John B. Priser
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1986.0988.204
label: catalog number
content: 1986.0988.204
label: accession number
content: 1986.0988
objectType: label: Object Name
content: electronic calculator
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (case; keys; display; feet material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (circuitry material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1 3/8 in x 3 in x 5 3/4 in; 3.4925 cm x 7.62 cm x 14.605 cm