Rheinmetall Adding Machine

This ten-key printing electric adding machine has a greenish gray metal case. Nine gray plastic numeral keys are arranged in a block, with the 0 bar below them. Three black keys are on the left, three black keys are right of the number keys, and a bar and key are on the far right. Above the keyboard is a place indicator and above this, a number indicator. The machine has a wide movable carriage at the back that would hold 13”-wide documents. An attachment can hold rolls of paper tape. A serrated edge is above the platen to tear off the paper tape. The motor is below the carriage and the paper tape holder. A black cord, with another cord plugged into it, extends from the back.

The machine is marked above the keyboard and on the carriage: Rheinmetall. It has serial number: 168241. It has a red tag attached to it that reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #298. This is a tag of the Burroughs Corporation Patent Department, the source of the machine.

The German firm of Rheinmetall Metallwaren und Machinenfabrik introduced a stepped drum calculating machine in 1924. In 1932 the company began making ten-key adding machines in several styles. This is a postwar example.

References:

Ernst Martin, Die Rechenmaschinen und ihre Entwicklungsgeschichte, pp. 370-372, 448-452.

Fédération Nationale des Chambres Syndicales de la Mécanographie, Fédération de Reprise officielle des Machines à Ecrire, Machines à Calculer . . ., Lyon, 1970, p. 81.

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