Davies Adding Machine
date: label: date made
content: 1867
name: label: patentee
content: Davies, A. W.
label: maker
content: Davies, A. W.
notes: label: Description
content: This U.S. Patent Office model has five continuous metal bands that move in slots across a wooden frame. Flat pieces of brass cover the top of the frame on the right and the left, keeping the bands in their slots. The bands are made up of small flat squares of metal, with nine squares silver-colored and the tenth one brass. Each square has a hole at the center for a stylus. Strips of paper attached between the bands have the numbers from 1 to 9. Moving a band to the right turns a wheel clockwise. The edge of this wheel, which is covered around the edge with a paper marked with the digits from 0 to 9, is visible through a window in the right piece of brass. The number shown increases as the wheel turns. A lever on the left side disengages the fourth and fifth columns. According to the patent description, there is a carry mechanism activated when a wheel passes 9.
label: Description
content: The machine is marked on the left top: Computing (/) Machine (/) A.W. Davies.
label: Description
content: Cleveland city directories list an Alexander W. Davies who worked off and on as a clerk, car agent, and accountant for several railroads between 1863 and 1900. It is probable that he took out two patents in 1891 for inventions relating to recording the mileage traveled by railroad cars. Railroad companies would soon become major users of business machines, including IBM tabulating equipment.
label: Description
content: References:
label: Description
content: A. W. Davies, “Improvement in Computing Machines,” U.S. Patent 65,883, June 18, 1867.
label: Description
content: Charles C. Gale, Royal Cowles, and Alexander W. Davies, “Car Mileage Report,” U.S. Patent 455197, June 30, 1891.
label: Description
content: Charles C. Gale, Royal Cowles, and Alexander W. Davies, “Car Mileage Register,” U.S. Patent 456650, July 28, 1891.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Ohio, Cleveland
label: place patented
content: United States: Ohio, Cleveland
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Adding Machines
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content: Science & Mathematics
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MA.252690
label: catalog number
content: 252690
label: accession number
content: 49064
objectType: label: Object Name
content: adding machine
label: Object Type
content: Patent Model
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 cm x 21 cm x 8.7 cm; 1 9/16 in x 8 9/32 in x 3 7/16 in