#adding machine

[thepopculturearchivist]

SATURDAY EVENING POST, June 28, 1930

[detroitlib]

On this day in history, August 21, 1888 – The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs. (Fun fact - he was the writer William S. Burroughs' grandfather)

View of adding machine manufactured by the Burroughs Adding Machine Company. Handwritten on back: "Office equipment, 1911. Burroughs Adding Machine Co."

National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

[twoseparatecoursesmeet]

Payment, 1950s

[my-sacred-art-2]

Actor Anita Ekberg (Swedish, Sep. 29, 1931 - Jan. 11, 2015).

1955 Facit TP1, Sweden. Designed by Sigvard Bernadotte (Swedish, Jun. 7, 1907 - Feb. 4, 2002).

Read About Sigvard Bernadotte!

Sigvard Bernadotte was not just a designer — he was also Swedish royalty, the second son of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden, but he distinguished himself through his own achievements as a graphic and industrial designer.

Facit-Odense pinwheel adding machine

His design career blossomed in the 1930s, when he became known for clean, functional designs rooted in Scandinavian modernism. He was one of the chief designers of silver for the Georg Jensen Company. Household wares and luxury items by Bernadotte are in the decorative arts collections of museums worldwide.

The FACIT TP1 is a classic example of Bernadotte’s uncluttered and modern style. Vertical anterior lines are simultaneously flat and curvaceous. They transition between assertive, unbroken planes which suggest, in miniature, a monumentality reminiscent of Brutalist architecture.

Facit (later Facit-Odhner) a company known for its precision engineering, hired Bernadotte to make office machines more appealing and ergonomic. The TP1 is now celebrated as a mid-century-modern design icon.

[nicknumber]

Ad for the Burroughs Corporation, founded by William S's grandfather, from Time, January 27, 1930

[commodorez]

Usagi Electric's relay logic adding machine

[fuzzkaizer]

Olivetti - Quanta 20R adding machine

"apparently @garystewarthurst brought one of these back to London from Italy - it became the inspiration for the Marshall Supa Fuzz enclosure."

cred: instagram.com/goodfuzzysounds

[misforgotten2]

"Highly magnified here"? Oh good, having a knob the size of softball would have been a wee bit cumbersome.

Saturday Evening Post - November 17th 1956