Object Details
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
Description
Edwin Thacher, the inventor of the cylindrical slide rule bearing his name, published instructions for using the instrument as Thacher's Calculating Instrument or Cylindrical Slide-Rule (New York: Van Nostrand, 1884). Keuffel & Esser of New York, which distributed and, later, manufactured Thacher slide rules, reprinted the booklet in 1903 and 1907 as Directions for Using Thacher's Calculating Instrument. This copy was printed in 1907 and sold for one dollar.
The booklet explained the processes for calculations involving multiplication, division, proportion, powers, and square and cube roots. Thacher also provided solved examples for practice. He suggested "special applications" for his instrument, including conversion of weights and measures; currency exchange; pro-rating among accounts; calculating taxes, investment returns, and payrolls; and physical computations such as mechanical power, centrifugal force, and mensuration. K&E's Improved Reckoning Machine is advertised at the back of the booklet.
See also MA.327886.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
date made
1907
ID Number
MA.271855.01.03
accession number
271855
catalog number
271855.01.03
Object Name
book
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 22.3 cm x 14.8 cm x .5 cm; 8 25/32 in x 5 13/16 in x 3/16 in
place made
United States: New York, New York City
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Science & Mathematics
Slide Rules
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Subject
Mathematics
Education
Rule, Calculating
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_904532