Unisonic 1040 Handheld Electronic Calculator
date: label: date made
content: ca 1975
name: label: maker
content: Unisonic
notes: label: Description
content: Electronic calculators were frequently advertised in March and April as aids to Americans computing personal income taxes. Federal taxes on personal income had been legalized in the United States by the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1913. A form for calculating these taxes known as the 1040 was introduced soon thereafter, and was widely known by American workers by the 1970s. Hence the name of this calculator.
label: Description
content: This handheld electronic calculator has a metal and plastic case with an array of twenty-six rectangular plastic keys. These include ten digit keys, a decimal point key, a total key, four arithmetic function keys, four memory keys, a square root key, a percentage key, a change sign key, an exchange key, a clear key, and a clear entry key. Right of the top two keys is an on/off switch. A mark above this reads: Unisonic 1040. Behind this is an eight-digit green fluorescent display.
label: Description
content: A power jack is along the back edge.
label: Description
content: A sticker on the back gives calculation examples. A mark on it reads: 1040. Another mark reads: SERIAL NO. (/) 048441 (/) MADE IN TAIWAN. Below this is a compartment for four AAA batteries.
label: Description
content: Compare five examples of the Unisonic 1040 – 1986.0988.110 (the 1040), 1986.0988.291 (the 1040-1), 1986.0988.292 (the 1040-AT), 1986.0988.109 (the 1040-C), and 1986.0988.108 (the 1040-C). The keys are not identical.
label: Description
content: References:
label: Description
content: For a timeline of historical events relating to personal income taxes, see the website of the Internal Revenue Service at www.irs.gov.
label: Description
content: [Advertisement], <I>Morning Herald from Hagerstown, Maryland</I>, November 28, 1975, p. 49. Selling Unisonic 1040 for $22.96.
label: Description
content: [Advertisement], <I>Chicago Tribune</I>, September 1, 1977; p. I2. Unisonic 1040 selling for $10.96, regularly $13.96.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Taiwan
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: 1986.0988.110
label: accession number
content: 1986.0988
label: catalog number
content: 1986.0988.110
objectType: label: Object Name
content: electronic calculator
label: Other Terms
content: electronic calculator; Handheld
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (cae; keys material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (case; circuitry material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (display material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (sticker material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1 1/4 in x 3 1/4 in x 5 1/4 in; 3.175 cm x 8.255 cm x 13.335 cm