Mathematical Table, Pierson Machine For Calculating Interest
date: label: date made
content: 1867
name: label: patentee
content: Pierson, Albert C.
label: maker
content: Pierson, Albert C.
notes: label: Description
content: In the nineteenth century, several American inventors devised moving tables that allowed one to calculate interest. This is the U.S. Patent Office model for a device designed to calculate the amount of interest upon any amount less than one thousand dollars for any number of days less than eighty-five at two rates, six and seven percent. It was invented by Albert C. Pierson of Rahway, New Jersey.
label: Description
content: The instrument has three ten-sided rotating prisms, with the sides of each prism marked at the top with the digits from 0 through 9. The rightmost prism represents units, the middle one tens, and the leftmost hundreds in the amount of money borrowed or lent. Each side of each prism has two columns of 84 numbers, corresponding to interest charges for 1 to 84 days. The left column has interest charged at 6%, the right at 7%. Setting the prisms to the correct amount and then summing the numbers on the three prisms for the appropriate number of days gives the interest. A rotating strip on the left allows one to determine the number of days between two dates of the year.
label: Description
content: This is the model for the first of two patents taken out by Albert C. Pierson (probably 1836–1870). Both relate to calculation.
label: Description
content: Reference:
label: Description
content: A. C. Pierson, “Improvement in Calculating Machines,” U.S. Patent 62,882, March 12, 1867 (the machine illustrated by this model).
label: Description
content: A. C. Pierson, “Improvement in Calculating Machines,” U.S. Patent 73,995, February 4, 1868.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New Jersey, Rahway
label: place patented
content: United States: New Jersey, Rahway
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: Mathematical Charts and Tables
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content: Science & Mathematics
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MA.252689
label: catalog number
content: 252689
label: accession number
content: 49064
objectType: label: Object Name
content: mathematical table
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: 7.1 cm x 28.3 cm x 34.5 cm; 2 25/32 in x 11 5/32 in x 13 19/32 in