Suan-p'an, or Chinese Abacus
date: label: date made
content: 1958
notes: label: Description
content: This instrument has an open wooden frame held together with brass nails passing through metal bands. A wooden cross bar holds 13 columns of beads. Each column has two beads above the crossbar and five beads below. The beads are rounded, as on other Chinese abaci. There are no marks by a maker.
label: Description
content: This form of abacus was sold in combination with a book entitled <I>Abacus Arithmetic</I> by the Australian-born metallurgist, Stanford University graduate, and later Stanford professor of metallurgy Welton J. Crook (1886-1976). Crook became fascinated with the abacus on a visit to Hong Kong, and resolved to publish a clear exposition on the instrument in English. His short book was published in 1958 by Pacific Books in Palo Alto, California, and sold tens of thousands of copies. For a copy of this paperback, see 1989.0709.03. The abacus and the related book were given to the Smithsonian by Washington, D. C., clockmaker Elton L. Howe in 1989.
label: Description
content: On Crook, see: Stanford University Faculty Memorials, “Memorial Resolution Welton J. Crook (1886-1976)," digitized by the Stanford Historical Society .
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
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content: Abacus
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Elton L. Howe
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1989.0709.01
label: catalog number
content: 1989.0709.01
label: accession number
content: 1989.0709
objectType: label: Object Name
content: abacus
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 2 cm x 28.6 cm x 14 cm; 25/32 in x 11 1/4 in x 5 1/2 in