Underwood Elliott Fisher Sundstrand Bookkeeping Machine with Stand
date: label: date made
content: 1944
name: label: maker
content: Underwood Elliot Fisher Company
notes: label: Description
content: This machine reflects the consolidation that occurred in the American office machine business in the 1920s and 1930s. The ten-key, printing Sundstrand adding machine had its origins in the work of Rockford, Illinois, machine tool makers and inventors Oscar and David Sundstrand, who first put an adding machine on the market around 1915. In January of 1927, the assets and business of Sundstrand Corporation were acquired by the Elliott Fisher Company of New York, a maker of accounting machines. At the end of that same year, the combined firm merged with the Underwood Typewriter Company, also of New York. By 1933, Underwood Elliotr Fisher Company sold three forms of accounting machines, patterned after Underwood, Elliott Fisher and Sundstrand products.
label: Description
content: This machine is in the Sundstrand tradition, with a ten-key adding machine at its center. It has a metal case and stand painted black. To the left of the keyboard is a column of four function keys. Left of this is a column of keys indicating years (71, 70, and 69) and types of transactions. The year keys are a different shape from the other keys. Left of this column is a column of keys for indicating days of the month and another column indicating months of the year. To the right of the number keys are a variety of function keys and levers. On the right side is an operating lever.
label: Description
content: At the back of the machine is a wide rubber carriage on a metal frame, a printing mechanism, and a paper tape. the ribbon is on the left. There is an electric cord. A mark above the keyboard reads: UNDERWOOD ELLIOTT FISHER (/) SUNDSTRAND (/) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. A metal tag on the right side near the base reads: 415022 (/) A114090.
label: Description
content: The open metal stand for the machine has four rubber feet and rubber wheels. At the front of the stand is an indented space, possibley for pens and pencils. The motor is attached to the stand under the machine. Dimensions given are without stand. Dimensions of stand: 65 cm. w. x 55 cm. d. x 68.6 cm. h. A metal tag on the stand reads: 61434 (/) SUNDSTRAND.
label: Description
content: According to the Fédération Nationale des Chambres Syndicales de la Mécanographie, serial number 293,000 of Underwood Sundstrand was produced in 1939 and number 451,000 in 1945, Hence the rough date of 1944 assigned. In 1959, Underwood was acquired by the Italian firm of Olivetti.
label: Description
content: References:
label: Description
content: Fédération Nationale des Chambres Syndicales de la Mécanographie, <I>Fédération de Reprise officielle des Machines à Ecrire, Machines à Calculer . . .</I>, Lyon, 1970, p. 86.
label: Description
content: Information about the mergers of Sundstrand, Elliott Fisher, and Underwood appeared in <I>Typewriter Topics</I>.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
label: Subject
content: Business
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
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content: Bookkeeping Machines
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Products Incorporated
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MA.330689
label: catalog number
content: 330689
label: maker number
content: 415022
label: accession number
content: 304212
objectType: label: Object Name
content: bookkeeping machine with stand
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 33 cm x 68 cm x 54 cm; 13 in x 26 25/32 in x 21 1/4 in