Locke Adder

The first American-made adder to enjoy modest commercial success was developed by Clarence E. Locke (1865-1945). A native of Edgerton, Wisconsin, he graduated from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa in 1892. Locke worked for a time as a civil engineer in Minnesota, and then joined his father operating a lumberyard in Kensett, Iowa.

This version of the device has a metal base with grooves for nine sliding metal rods that move crosswise. Each rod represents a digit of a number being added. Protruding knobs on the rods represent different numerals. The rods are held in place by metal covers, painted black, that extend over the right and left thirds of the instrument. When the device is in zero position, all the rods are in their rightmost position. Numbers are entered by sliding rods to the left, and the result appears in numbers immediately to the left of the cover on the right. The rods are color-coded to distinguish units of money. They lock when depressed, so that they will not slide if the instrument is tilted.

The locking mechanism, the color-coded rods, and the oval shape of the knobs on the rods are all improvements featured in Locke’s second calculating machine patent, taken out in 1905. This patent is not listed on the instrument. There is no carry mechanism. The instrument sits in a wooden box with no lid. The base of it is covered with red cloth.

The instrument is marked on the right cover: C.E. LOCKE (/) MFG. Co. It is also marked: KENSETT, IOWA. [/] U.S.A. It is marked on the left cover: THE (/) LOCKE (/) ADDER. It is also marked: PATENTED DEC. 24. 1901. This example came to the Smithsonian from the collection of Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company (later Victor Comptometer Corporation).

References: C. E. Locke, “Calculating Machine,” U.S. Patent 689680, December 24, 1901.

C. E. Locke, “Calculating Machine,” U.S. Patent 779088, January 3, 1905.

Robert Otnes, “Sliding Bar Calculators,” ETCetera #11 (June 1990): pp. 6-8.

P. Kidwell, “Adders Made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 8, (1994): pp. 78-96.

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