Object Details
maker
Olivetti
Description
This ten-key listing electric calculating machine has a gray plastic case with a black lid that lifts to reveal the mechanism. The nine white numeral keys are arranged in a block. Below these are three black keys. One has one white dot, one has two dots and the third has three dots (for differing numbers of zeroes).
To the right of the keys is a black bar marked +, a red bar marked -, a black T key, and a black ST key. There are three more black keys, six blue keys, and a red key on the left, as well as two levers with blue plastic knobs. Below the keyboard is a GT (grand total) bar and a switch. Above the keyboard is a place indicator. The printing mechanism behind this includes four type wheels to indicate dates, 13 for totals and two for symbols. Totals are printed in red. A serrated edge eases tearing the paper tape.
The machine has a gray cord and the 3-1/2” (8.8 cm.) wide paper tape. A mark at the top reads: olivetti. A mark on a tag attached to the back reads: Olivetti Divisumma GT 24 (/) MADE IN ITALY * FABRIQUE EN ITALIE. A nother tag attached to the back reads: PROPERTY OF (/) 112551 (/) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. The serial number, written on the inside of the back of the top and on a plate attached to the bottom, is 2866218.
The Italian artist Marcello Nizzoli designed this and other Olivetti calculating machines.
This particular example was used in the Office of the Registrar of the National Museum of American History and is dated from its property tag number.
Compare 1979.0854.01.
Reference:
S. Kicherer, Olivetti: A Study of the Corporate Management of Design, 1990, pp. 28–29.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
ID Number
1979.0932.01
maker number
2866218
accession number
1979.0932
catalog number
1979.0932.01
Object Name
calculating machine
Physical Description
metal (overall material)
rubber (overall material)
plastic (overall material)
paper (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 26 cm x 24.5 cm x 43 cm; 10 1/4 in x 9 21/32 in x 16 15/16 in
place made
Italy
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Calculating Machines
Science & Mathematics
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Subject
Mathematics
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_690099