Object Details
maker
Hollerith, Herman
Description
This wooden board has six switches on it, and six metal nubs. The nubs and one end of each switch are screwed into the board. On the opposite side are contacts for electrical wires. Twelve nails in the board on top assure that one switch can only meet one nub. Holes at opposite ends of the board allow it to be attached to a table, with a groove in the back for wires.
Compare to switches on the Hollerith tabulating system with museum number MA.317982.05.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of the Estate of Herman Hollerith, Jr.
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
MA.335637
accession number
1977.0114
catalog number
335637
Object Name
contact board
Physical Description
rubber (overall material)
wood (overall material)
brass (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 3.8 cm x 8.3 cm x 6 cm; 1 1/2 in x 3 9/32 in x 2 3/8 in
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Computers & Business Machines
Tabulating Equipment
Data Source
National Museum of American History
web subject
Mathematics
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_694430