Object Details
maker
Texas Instruments
Description
This handheld electronic calculator has a black plastic case with metal trim around the edge. It has an array of nineteen square plastic keys. This includes ten digit keys (all but the zero key white). It also has a decimal point key, a total key, four arithmetic function keys, a clear key, a clear entry key, and a percentage key. The on/off switch is at the top left of the keyboard.
A mark above keyboard on the right reads: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS. Behind the keyboard is an eight-digit LED display.
A jack for a power outlet is along the back edge. A sticker on the back reads: TI-1500 electronic calculator (/) Texas Instruments Incorporated. It also reads in part: Serial number (/) 1500 256747. The sticker indicates that the calculator should be recharged using an AC9140 adapter/charger. A mark scratched on the side of the calculator reads: NAU (/) 068499.
The TI-1500 was the successor to TI’s 2500 Datamath series of calculators, and hence early in the history of the company as a producer of electronic calculators. The online Datamath Museum describes three forms of the TI-1500—this is the third form. It dates a calculator of this model with serial number 1500 219114 to the spring of 1976.
References:
[Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, May 4, 1974, p. B2. TI-1500 selling for $69.95.
[Advertisement], Boston Globe, August 18, 1974, p. 81. TI-1500, regularly $69.95, on sale for $56.50.
[Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, October 26, 1974, p. C2. TI-1500 selling for $59.95.
[Advertisement], Chicago Tribune, April 4, 1975, p. A6. TI-1500 selling for $49.95.
[Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, December 18, 1975, p. G14. TI-1500 selling for $39.95.
[Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1976, p. A4. TI-1500 selling for $27.95.
Online Datamath Museum, accessed June 1, 2015.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of John B. Priser
date made
ca 1976
ID Number
1986.0988.196
accession number
1986.0988
catalog number
1986.0988.196
Object Name
electronic calculator
Other Terms
electronic calculator; Handheld
Physical Description
plastic (case; keys material)
metal (trim; circuits material)
paper (sticker material)
Measurements
overall: 1 in x 2 1/2 in x 5 in; 2.54 cm x 6.35 cm x 12.7 cm
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Computers
Computers & Business Machines
Handheld Electronic Calculators
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_334610