Keuffel & Esser 4097C Ever-There Simplex Slide Rule

This five-inch solid Xylonite (celluloid) slide rule is one of several "Ever-There" pocket slide rules made by Keuffel & Esser. This line was noted for its light weight and small size. There are A, D, and K scales on the base, with B, CI, and C scales on one side of the slide and S, L, and T scales on the other side of the slide. The glass indicator has a metal frame, plastic edges, and metal screws. The top of the base is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. N.Y.; PAT. 1,875,927; MADE IN U.S.A. The right end of the slide is marked: < 4097C >.

The back of the slide rule has a scale of 5 inches divided to sixteenths of an inch and a scale of 13 centimeters divided to millimeters. The left ends of the back of the rule and of the back of the slide are marked with a serial number: 38642. The rule fits in a leather sheath marked: K&ECO.

After Adolf Keuffel applied for a patent on what became the Ever-There product line on October 29, 1930, K&E introduced this version of slide rule as model 4098 in 1931. It was renamed model 4097C in 1936 and was discontinued around 1951. With a case, it cost $4.15 in 1936 and $5.75 in 1949. By 1959, it was replaced by model 4153-1. Compare to 1981.0933.05 and 1981.0922.08. An instruction booklet, received separately, is 1981.0933.09.

This example was given to the museum by Myron R. Smith (1911–2007), an electronics engineer who used it in a long career at Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids, Ia., then at Honeywell in Minneapolis, and then at Honeywell in Seattle. Smith used the rule to solve problems relating to the testing of broadcast equipment, the design of electronic temperature controls, the design of power transformers, and corporate management.

References: Adolf W. Keuffel, "Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 1,875,927 issued September 6, 1932); Bob Otnes, "Adolf Keuffel and the Later K&E Slide Rules," Journal of the Oughtred Society 8, no. 1 (1999): 37–38; K&E Slide Rules and Calculating Instruments (New York, 1931), 17; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser Co., 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 324; K&E Price List Applying to the 41st Edition Catalog (New York, 1949), 32; K&E Price List Applying to the 41st Edition Catalog (New York, 1951), 35; K&E Price List Applying to the 42nd Edition Catalog (New York, 1959), 73; accession file.

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