Editorial New Members Change of Address IM 2005

ISSN 1466-3570
February 2005
No. 19
NEWSLETTER of the UK SLIDE RULE CIRCLE
Editor: Colin Barnes, 189 Mildenhall Road, Fordham, Ely, Cambs. CB7 5NW England
Tel: 01638 720317 e-mail: models@claranet.com
Editorial
New Members
A warm welcome to the following new
members:
I think we can be justifiably proud of
the fact that this is the twentieth issue of our
newsletter and that our international
membership now stands at over 100.
Gareth Morris
56 Rimswell Road
Stockton-on-Tees
TS19 7LJ
01642 896724
garethmorris@hotmail/com
Jim Quinn
72 Lansdown
Stroud
Gloucestershire GL5 1BH
01453 757898
George Singer
9 Mountfield Gardens
Tunbridge Wells
Kent
01892 536822
Change of Address
Paul Garcia
Skid Stick, Pilot Issue 0, August, 1998
6 Westgate Terrace
Westgate Street
Long Melford
Suffolk C1O 9DW
01787 313152
When I consider that, when I started
collecting slide rules, I thought I was the only
idiot with such an interest, it is comforting to
know I am not alone. I am sure most of us
were in the same situation, collecting in
isolation, so our meeting together is of great
benefit to us all. This raises the question
regarding the number of ‘lost souls’ who may
still be wandering in the wilderness! Whilst
blowing our own trumpet, we must not forget
that the formation of the Oughtred Society was
probably the biggest catalyst in creating a
greater awareness of the slide rule which in
turn led to the formation of not only the
UKSRC but also the Dutch Kring and German
RST. With the considerable cross membership
among the groups, there must be some 800
known slide rule enthusiasts around the world.
Again a puzzle has been solved.
Thanks to all those who took part in our little
competition to identify last issue’s mystery
object. The results and names of the winners
are to be found below. Thank you all for your
contributions.
Heinz Joss
From March 1st, 2005 Heinz’s telephone and fax numbers
change to:Tel: 0041 44 844 0156
Fax: 0041 44 844 5844
Hugh Tidy
New email address:hughtidy@onetel.com
Willy Robbrecht
New email address:w.robbe@tiscali.be
Peter Soole
Now using his UK address:58 Granville Way
Sherborne
Dorset DT9 4AT
IM 2005
Members will already have received
registration details for IM 2005 to be held in
Cambridge. It now remains for the organising
committee to finalise details which, as those
who have previously undertaken this task will
know, is something of a juggling act! With
1
©2004 The UK Slide Rule Circle and the contributors
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
this in mind your cooperation is earnestly
requested to help ease the load. The following
points have already been raised in the
Registration Pack but it is important to
emphasise them.
Organising committee, speakers, enquiries
and Proceedings –
Colin Barnes
models@claranet.com
Peter Hopp
peter.hopp@clara.co,uk
Correction
Did anyone notice the mistake?
Despite checking, an error crept into the IM
2005 Information Pack.
The Delegate
Registration form gives a date of Friday 25th,
this should, of course, read Friday 21 st. Many
apologies, I hope this hasn’t caused too much
confusion!
Venue: Quy Mill Hotel, Cambridge
Alternative accommodationFor details of other hotels, guest
houses and bed & breakfast accommodation in
the Cambridge area, contact:
The Tourist Information Centre
www.visitcambridge.org
Please consider at the earliest
opportunity the presentation of papers. Your
committee will welcome all approaches from
potential speakers whether from home or
abroad. Apart from any formal talks, short
presentations on a special subject will also be
welcome. In addition to helping in preparing
the agenda, early notification of contributions
will assist in ensuring that these presentations
can be included in the “Proceedings”.
At IM 2002 at Leamington Spa, a
fantastic display of Fuller calculators provided
an excellent opportunity to make comparisons
and view the design developments that had
taken place over the years of production. This
year a similar display is planned with the
subject being the slide rules of Aston &
Mander (including those bearing various
initials of Aston etc.). Those who have an
Aston & Mander rule are asked to bring them
to the meeting for display. Perhaps you might
also borrow rules from non-attendees to help
complete the picture. (It is only fair to note
however that this must be at the owner’s risk).
Ray Hems is preparing a database of these
rules and will welcome details of any A & M
rules that you or fellow collectors have. Please
supply details of type, size, material and
address given for A & M. As part of this
survey, Ray would also like to record any
known examples of Instruction Books relating
to A & M slide rules.
Finally please register your attendance
or intention to do so at the earliest opportunity.
The same applies with regard to arranging your
hotel accommodation.
Aston & Mander Survey –
Ray Hems
rayhems@btinternet.com
Registration –
Tom Martin
martin@43-the-lawns.freeserve.co.uk
Help!
Charles Hoare
In searching for information and
products from A & M (see above) it has
become obvious that Charles Hoare had a close
association with this company. They appear to
have been the sole makers of his general and
specialist engineering slide rules and were his
post restante address.
We hope to have a short presentation
or informative article on Hoare to add to the
Cambridge Proceedings. In addition to telling
Ray Hems about any relevant A & M
products that you would be willing to lend to
the Cambridge exhibition could you please
send any information on Hoare to Tom Martin?
In particular would owners of copies
of “The Slide Rule and How to Use it” by
Chas. Hoare CE please let Tom have the
following information on any copies in your
possession:
Impression/Edition; Date; Publisher;
Printer; Pouch (present or not, paper/cloth,
size); Slide rule (size); Comments (anything
particular about the edition).
Any biographical information on
Charles Hoare would also be very welcome.
martin@43-the-lawns.freeserve.co.uk
Pickworth
In a similar vein will owners of copies
of C.N.Pickworth’s “The Slide Rule” please let
Peter Hopp have information on the Edition
and date. He will contact you for any further
information.
2
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
peter.hopp@clara.co.uk
Poly and multi-slide
In my paper on Poly-slide Rules for
IM 2002 at Cambridge I discussed about 50 of
these rules, defined as having two or more
contiguous slides. I am now updating the
paper to add more poly-slide rules, and also to
include a new section on multi-slide rules,
those with two or more non-contiguous slides.
I have found the following poly-slide rules
not in my first paper.
 Dutch cubic equation solver
 Pickworth
 Cotton,
 Hoelscher,
 Essex,
 Brown,
 Robertson.
 Child.
 Gisholt
 Miller
 Pictures of the Barth slide rules
 Bowles compressed air
 Fox & Co metallurgical slide rule by
Blundell with a slide within the single
main slide. I have an example, thanks
to a member.
 Anonymous well made wooden rule
apparently for pricing timber.
If any members can inform me of any
other poly slide rules, I would be most grateful.
 I have only just started on Multi-slide
rules, having acquired a Watson
“Performaster” Road Haulage slide
rule with three slides and, a rule by
Dring & Fage with three slides that
relate to the duty on spirits and has
monetary scales in shillings and
pence, Peter Hopp has a similar rule.
made new solutions accessible. And I could go
on with more and more….
Looking ahead to the year 2014 my
plan is to compile all that knowledge of
logarithms which is available right now. 2014
is the 400th anniversary of the first publication
of logarithms by John Napier (Mirifici
Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio). So, for
that year a proper publication should be ready.
10 years from now looks far away, but
from my recent experience with editing the
Dennert & Pape Aristo book - which took 3
years - I know that time runs fast. And, since
all contributions were made voluntarily, you
cannot put any pressure on the contributors.
That is why I am asking the slide rule
collecting community if there are interested
contributors for this “Logarithms” project. I
am looking for people who would like to
contribute in whatever form they want - as long
as it relates to logarithms. So far I only have a
rough idea of the content/title: “Logarithms tables and applications”. The publication
should be bilingual, English and German.
As a starting point for my endeavour I
considered IM 2004, where we dedicated one
day just to the logarithms, and the topics of that
day could stand as examples for contributions,
e.g. table makers (like Vlacq and Vega),
calculating logarithms (like Briggs and the
differences calculating machines), historical
background (like Archimedes, Napier, and
Buergi). Those IM articles are published under
www.rechenschieber.org.
So, if any of the reader feels triggered
to at least think about a contribution, please
contact me. I see my role as collector and
coordinator of those contributions, keeping the
whole project progressing.
I look forward to hearing from you
and would be pleased to answer any questions.
Klaus Kühn
kk@IASim.de
I would also welcome information on
more of these multi-slide devices.
Bruce Williams
bruce.o.b.Williams@btinternet.com
Feedback
Slide Rules and Hydrometers
Logarithms
I started to collect slide rules some
years ago and own a nice collection with all
kinds of different examples showing the
history of this mathematical instrument
(calculating aid). Recently my interest turned
to logarithms. Logarithms are not only the
foundation/basis of the SR, they have
contributed an overwhelmingly - have
revolutionized - the approach to astronomical,
navigational, surveying, and all kinds of
mathematical calculations.
The use of
logarithms facilitated a lot of calculations or
Tom
I read with interest your plea in Skid
Stick issue 18 regarding hydrometers. I am a
member of the Tool & Trades History Society
(TATHS) and we maintain a collection of tools
within the Amberley Working Museum near
Arundel in West Sussex.
One of the items in a cabinet of
“curiosities and novelties” is a Hydrometer,
measuring “Degrees Twaddell”. Looking at
the inventory which I inherited from the
founder of our local group, it states: “Item 28 3
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
Hydrometer for measuring specific gravity of
liquids in Degrees Twaddell (Degree Twaddell
= 200 (s.g - 1); s.g = 1+ Degrees Twaddell /
200). Distilled water =zero”
There is then a footnote: “See
Newsletter 32, page 8”. This is a report of the
Winter 1991 Meeting of TATHS, held at the
Bath Industrial Heritage Centre at the Camden
Works in Bath, the home of the Bowler
Collection. By one of those wonderful circular
coincidences, the meeting was organised by
Mark and Jane Rees. Mark sadly died a couple
of years ago, and Jane has only just stood down
as Chairman of TATHS, but Jane is credited as
the source of the photograph of George
Bousefield on page 3 of Skid Stick! The
article describes what sounds like a very
interesting day, and ends with the sentence
“We all went home with one useless piece of
information - we now know what the
expression ‘a load of twaddle’ means”. The
editor’s footnote (I think Mark was the editor
at that time) explains “Twaddle = Empty
Verbosity = Prosy Nonsense. A term in use in
the late 18th / early 19th centuries, in today’s
parlance ‘rubbish’. Mr. Twaddell in the mid19th century invented a hydrometer and scale
of measurement of density, presumably
transposed in popular use to describe sugar
fluids of (particular) density. Popular usage
then confused both words, and the term
‘twaddle’ became more generally to describe
(abusively, particularly by beer drinkers) the
sugar syrup used as the basis for most popular
soft drinks”.
access to the marvellous Clifton work, I can
send you a scanned copy if you'd like.
You also noted that you think this is a
ship builder’s rule, but I think it may more
properly be called a “ship carpenter’s” rule,
since it notes measurements for “Mizon
Top...M(ain) Top, Sprits Top and Bowsprit” all
of which I think are parts of masts and rigging
for a sailing ship. I have a ship carpenter’s rule
that I think is British made for the Swedish
trade that also references mast proportions that
a carpenter would use.
You may well have gotten this
information already from your English friends,
but since I had the information readily at hand,
I thought I send it anyway.
Best regards,
Bob Sauer
Granville, Ohio, USA
rjsauer@alink.com
Weather Forecaster
With reference to the little piece by
Heinz on his weather forecaster in the last Skid
Stick and the accompanying editor's note, I
attach heads-and-tails scans of my Negretti and
Zambra weather forecaster (bought in Geneva
four or five years ago). Identical in general
design to the one you showed, but not in
detail. Top and bottom discs white opaque
celluloid, middle disc translucent celluloid.
Overall diameter 55mm.
Best wishes
Paul Crowther
Coggeshall
Dear Werner,
I was interested in the “Heather”
Coggeshall rule you wrote about in the recent
“Skid Stick”. From the presence of both AG
and WG gauge points, the rule must date from
before 1824, when the ale and wine gallons
were made the same size. I also find that
Gloria Clifton in “Directory of British
Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851” lists
William Heather as working from 1793 to
1812 at 157 Leadenhall St., London,
apparently at the “Nautical Warehouse” as a
“Hydrographer,
Engraver,
Mathematical
instrument maker, Nautical instrument maker
and Chart & Map seller.” From 1799 to 1804
he is reported to have been in business as
“Heather & Williams”, but the given name of
the “Williams” is not noted. If you do not have
Another source (or it was at one time)
is Past Times. The one I got from them is
engraved (?) brass one side, with the
interpretation of the letters on a thin plastic
disc trying to emulate engraved brass stuck
(more or less) on the back. Made in Taiwan.
Overall diameter 56mm.
Best regards,
Francis Wells
franciswells@libertysurf.fr
Twelve of the Best
Derek Slater’s article in Skid Stick
No. 18 saying that any collection should have
no more than twelve items intrigued me. My
4
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
collection is small but this seemed to be an
interesting challenge and here is the result.
Firstly I set the following criteria:
sentimental/emotional value, nice to use (I use
my slide rules in other hobbies) and any other
reasons that seem good to me.
The sentimental value selection
yielded the following rules:
1. Hemmi electrical engineer’s rule,
model number unknown. My father bought
this when he was a student in the early 1930s
and it must have been a considerable financial
outlay for him. He gave it to me when he upgraded in the early 1950s to rules (2) and (3).
2. K+E Log-Log Duplex Decitrig,
N4081-3
3. K+E Ever-There, 4097D
My father was a chemical engineer
and in the early 1930s a colleague visited the
USA and brought back the above two K+E
rules for his own use. On a subsequent visit he
brought back two more for my father who
made good use of them until he retired in the
mid 1970s.
4. K+E Jet-log Jr. Duplex Decitrig
E4181J. This was a gift from my father in the
mid 1960s. By that time I had ceased doing
complex calculations so it has hardly ever been
used
5. Faber-Castell log-log rule of the late
1930s in a teak case. This belonged to a dear
friend who carved the box with little more than
a penknife when he was an engineer on
merchant ships on the North Atlantic Convoys
in WW II.
We now come to rules selected for other
reasons:
6. Faber-Castell student’s Rietz 111/87.
This was recommended to students on my
physical chemistry course and I suspect that it
was probably one of the most popular rules
ever made.
7. Faber-Castell Advanced Rietz-N
57/88. While I find that this rule looks
cluttered and lacks the elegance of the 111/87
it is much easier to do vectors on it.
8. Faber-Castell
Mannheim
with
reciprocal scale, 1-60. This rule lives in my
den and is the one that I use for most of my
hobby calculations. I believe that it is a good
example of a rule that will do everything most
people need.
9. Hemmi Mannheim rule of the 1930s
with horseshoe cursor. This rule is a real gem.
Its only drawback is the lack of a reciprocal
scale and if I broke the delicate cursor I would
be heartbroken, hence it is for looking at only.
10. Hemmi RK40 pocket rule. A very
nice polyphase rule. It has rearside cursors at
both ends of the stock so that when looking up
log9 you don’t have the problem of slide nearly
falling out. Why oh why didn’t Faber-Castell
adopt such a useful idea, even if it meant
having only two scales on the rear of the slide?
I now have two more to find and have
selected:
11. An Otis King. This tended to be the
rule of choice for industrial analytical chemists
who liked the higher accuracy. Also they only
needed to multiply and divide short functions.
Having worked in the chemical industry I have
some sentimental attachment even though I
never used one in anger.
12. Faber-Castell students rule 52/82.
This is a very nice rule which I often use for
my more advanced calculations. I prefer it to
the K+E Log Duplex Decitrig as you can find
trig values without first aligning the slide in the
stock.
Well this is my selection. If allowed one
more I would choose the Thornton PIC 132,
electrical engineers 20" rule with magnifying
cursor. I have added this only to include a 20"
rule in my selection. I don’t need higher
accuracy and find it to be very cumbersome to
use. No wonder they were not very popular.
Gerald Stancey
Be’spoke Calc.
In response to last issue’s mystery
object, Bill Thacker has received three answers
all giving the same explanation for the
Be’spoke Calculator.
from Tom Martin:
My Granny had one. It immediately
brought back memories of the 1940's with her
sitting by her paraffin lamp on a Tuesday night
using it for randomised lines for her
Littlewoods football pools.
from Mike Minihane:
a similar response.
from Francis Wells a more detailed
reply:
“Skid Stick” has been somewhat slow
in reaching me in the Alps, so you
probably already have the answer to your
query. If not, here goes.
Various details - the 1,2,X and the
number of cylinders – irresistibly bring to my
mind the old "Penny Points" section of the
football pools. In case you or anyone else
needs reminding, in this section 1 was entered
for a home win and if correct counted one
point, 2 was for an away win and counted
5
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
two points and X was for a draw and counted
three points. Obviously, those scoring the
most points in any week took the really big
dividend and I think there were two minor
dividends for slightly smaller scores. Entries
were made for 12 matches, corresponding to
the 12 brown cubes, but it was also common to
"perm" any 12 from 13 (or 14 or 15), which
would explain the three additional orange
cubes. (Permuting from more than 15 was
regarded
as
snobbishly expensive, even at a penny a go.)
For some reason, the penny points
pool later lost out in popularity to the
draw-based Treble Chance, which used only
Xs, so that the 1s and 2s faded
out of the picture somewhat (although they still
exist very prominently here in the French
pools).
What I believe this gadget (it can
hardly be called a calculator) did was to
spare the punter the intellectual effort of
wondering whether Accrington Stanley was
actually going to grind Scunthorpe United into
the dust, or probably the mud -- not to mention
having to ponder over the likely results
of the other 11,12,13 or 14 matches -- by
simply letting him twirl the cubes
individually or collectively (I assume they turn
fairly freely) and trust to what came up.
I find it slightly puzzling that there
should be two faces of each cube
giving a home win as the result, but this may
simply be to give a closer, if still very crude,
approximation of the actual distribution of
probabilities.
Dredging up all this now largely
useless information has brought back one
slightly ironic memory. I once, with a few
friends, actually won a dividend. However,
when the cheque actually arrived, it paid for
only about a tenth of the party we had thrown
on learning the news. But at least it
was a good party.
worry USE HOW? Boss new year day her
palm roll Limited and press down on table.
Brown cube monthly ration collect item for
collect. Orange cube bonus special days
borne or family start. All happy now. If no
suggest Standard six mean FamilyCollectlimited or largest eighteen happy
Family-Collectlimited but warn pouting
squabble silence with false choose. For Pat
Applid”
When I saw your gadget picture I had
just been looking up some Curta references on
a computer-translated German website, the
inventor of the Curta being referred to as Curt
Heart Strongly for Curt Herzstark!
The following alternative and
intriguing suggestion has been put forward by
John St Clare:
I have been away and have only just
seen the issue of Skid Stick No 18 with your
funny object in it. It seems pretty obvious to
me that the illustrated object is an abacus for
adding numbers to the base of three. The “x”
represents zero or (a la Roman) ten. Just turn
set the cubes to “xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx” i.e.
“000000000000000” and start adding your
numbers. So for 5 plus 3 just turn cube one
until it reaches 2 and then the next one
indicates that you turn cube two to one and so
on. Once you have done the addition you will
have “22” on the first two cubes.
On the basis that four answers the
same must be the correct answer, the first one
received shall adjudged (by e-mail times) to be
the winner. Congratulations to Mike Minihane
who wins by a whisker. In the humorous
category Mike Williams wins for his
magnificent translation. Prizes are on their
way.
Meeting Reports
and from Mike Williams:
IM 2004 Bad-Driberg, Germany
I guess it’s a randomising gadget fir
football pools. You place it between your
palms, roll it to and fro, then press it flat onto
a table. You read your pool entries from the
vertical column. However …
I have traced an instruction sheet
which I believe refers to this device. It reads:
“Purchase for thank you a large
fifteen Family-Collectlimited. For one use this
each January the Family-Collect be allowed
mean value fifteen extra collect items new
yearr. Never he more than thirty random
manner satisfactory control well family tension
The “10th International Meeting for
Slide Rule and Calculating Machine
Collectors” consisted of a 3-day meeting held
at Bad Driburg near Paderborn in Germany, 24
-26 September 2004.
Our hosts had selected a spacious
hotel, health and conference centre off the
main tourist routes that proved an ideal venue
for all the events and the delegates and partners
attending. In all there were some 43 delegates
from Germany and another 24 from as far
afield as Australia and the USA. Inevitably the
6
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
bulk of the contributions were given in German
but we were most appreciative of the efforts
made by Klaus Kühn and his fellow committee
members to provide excellent translations of all
major points.
The first day included an interesting
lecture on “Calculating on Lines” (a sort of 2D abacus) by Manfred Weidauer, a series of
talks on the collection and construction of
calculating machines and an extensive display
and swap market.
For UK slide rule collectors the meat
of the meeting was on the Saturday, entitled
the “Aristo Day”. A series of 12 lectures
celebrated the publication of a comprehensive
440 page book “Dennert & Pape ARISTO
1872 – 1978” edited by Klaus Kuhn and Karl
Kleine. The book brings together a series of
biographical and technical articles produced by
our German friends to outline the history of
slide rule and mathematical instrument
production by this famous company. The book
is accompanied by two CD ROMs giving –
supplementary material
selected English translations
catalogues
patents and registered designs
slide rule instruction manuals
picture gallery of D&P/ARISTO slide
rules
and more
These CDs provide material of as much
interest to the practical collector as the book
itself. Obviously it was not possible to provide
all this information in book form but what is
the life of a CD?
Members should take the opportunity
of adding this publication to their libraries as
advertised elsewhere in this issue (see
Bookworm).
We were privileged to have Hans
Dennert’s widow, Mrs Irene Dennert at the
meeting. We learnt that Hans Dennert had
deposited some company material with the
Museum des Arbeits in Hamburg. Since then
much material and the company papers have
gone to the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
The two museums are now collaborating on a
combined catalogue. It is intended that the
main archive will be in Munich and a
representative selection displayed in Hamburg.
Two other books of interest also
appeared at the meeting –
“Albert Nestler, Innovation und Qualitaet,
Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Herstellern und
mit Erfindern” by Guus Craenen. This book
contains a series of articles on the Nestler
family, Nestler slide rule development and
work for other manufacturers.
A brief
paragraph in English at the start of each
chapter indicates its contents.
“De
LOGA
Calculators”
by
Nicco
Smallenburg surveys LOGA calculating drums
and discs. The main text is in Dutch but a 16
page English summary provides model lists
and example calculations. This book is also
accompanied by a CD which provides a
comprehensive photographic record of LOGA
models.
The morning session on the third day
included an interesting session of four papers
on the history of logarithm tables, starting with
Archimedes idea of logarithms!
Other
contributions included a paper on the
calculating machines of Mueller, Babbage,
Schuetz, Wiberg etc. and short presentations on
items of special interest.
For the partners programme there
were guided tours of Bad Driburg and
Paderborn
and
district
including an
unscheduled choral rehearsal in the cathedral.
The meeting concluded with a
combined visit to the Heinz Nixdorf Museums
Forum (HNF) in Paderborn. This is reputedly
the largest museum for computer history in the
world and has an excellent display in a purpose
built building. It’s well worth the visit if you
are in the area and has hands-on interest if you
are with the family. For a virtual tour go to
www.hnf.de
This short note cannot adequately
survey more than 20 major contributions to the
meeting.
Unfortunately those outside the
Aristo Day exist only as a series of hand-outs –
it is to be hoped that they are published. The
D & P ARISTO book is a major achievement
but it is perhaps a matter of regret that the
sequence has been broken and there is nothing
labelled “10th International Proceedings”.
Pictures taken at IM 2004 can be seen
at: www.Rechenschieber.org
Tom Martin
[For future planning, please note that there
has been a reversal of the usual venue/date
sequence. IM 2006 will be back in Germany
followed by IM 2007 in The Netherlands. Ed.]
UKSRC Autumn Meeting, Bocking
In attendance:
Peter Hopp
John St Clare
Colin Barnes
Rod Lovett
Derek Slater
Victor Burness
Gerald Stancey
Nigel Panrucker
Jim Bready
Tom Martin
John Hunt Snr
Dave Nichols
Bruce Williams
Ray Hems
7
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
The Autumn meeting of the UKSRC
took place on 10th October at the villa of Peter
and Carol Hopp in downtown Bocking - a sort
of dormitory of Braintree, Essex. Some 14 UK
members managed to find this obscure location
to exchange pleasantries and the occasional
rule or two.
The theme of the meeting was
Meteorological slide rules and several
interesting specimens were on display,
including several versions - or 'Marks' as
government departments and the military tend
to term corrections to previously recognised
shortcomings - of the rather nice Blundell
Harling pilot balloon rule. These were used by
Met Office operatives to calculate upper air
speed and direction based upon the track of a
small weather balloon. The Mark V version,
with its 4 cursors, shiny knobs at each end of
the slide (to facilitate movement) and the well
made wooden box in which it was stored, was
particularly impressive. To the uninitiated,
operation of these devices probably required
some dexterous manipulation of the cursors
whilst observing a fast disappearing balloon in
order to resolve some dynamic trigonometry
calculations.
Under such conditions, the
appearance of the computer was probably a
blessing.
Small groups of members clustered to
discuss their latest discoveries and exchange
thoughts and ideas - some attendees seemed to
continue discussions which had been started at
the previous meeting - always a good sign of
active involvement. One nice aspect of these
meetings is that there will inevitably be one
member who knows some obscure facts about
a specific rule or a manufacturer about which
others can learn to their benefit.
Such
expertise is priceless for an interest such as
ours.
One surprise at the meeting was the
appearance of a very rare Aristo No. 10065,
System Grüter rule with its 3 extra slides stored
neatly in its box. The only other example of
this desirable rule was thought to be on the
inventory of the Deutsches Museum in
Munich.
After a sumptuous lunch with suitable
refreshments, the formal part of the meeting
was devoted to addressing the likely events and
topics for the next International Meeting to be
held near Cambridge in October, 2005. The
meeting ended late afternoon upon conclusion
of these discussions.
Attendees would like to express their
appreciation to Peter and Carol Hopp for
opening their house for this meeting and a
special thanks to their daughter, Sue, who
helped manage the catering and maintained a
good supply of coffee, tea and bickies.
David Nichols
Musings 19
Peter Hopp
Firstly, Happy Xmas and New Year
for 2005; secondly, thank you all for the lovely
feedback from both SS 18 and Gazette 5!
Answers to SS queries have come from our
world-wide readers, it is much appreciated.
There is much I agreed with in the Editorial,
and Derek’s “12 slide rules” are being mused
on as I write.
There have been some super
examples of sellers’ “bulls..t” in Skid Stick, I
again had a great chuckle at the delightful
conversation between the antique shop owner
and his wife also reported in SS18 courtesy of
Derek. As a keen fan of human frailty I have
reported my own sightings from the mere odd,
through to the genuinely crazy in the world of
buyers and sellers. It is always amusing to try
and figure out what “impression” the seller is
trying to create, and I would classify as
“merely odd” the standard response from some
antique shop owners to a request for slide
rules: “Oh we had one of those, I sold it just
last week, they are extremely rare”. My
response depends very much on mood and
whether there is anything else of interest in the
shop that requires continued good manners.
The one that has happened to me and our
esteemed editor, in different shops which had
better remain nameless, and which left me
absolutely speechless (a rare occurrence!) is
the shop owner who introduced himself with
“Oh you can’t afford that…!”. The TV
programme “Grumpy Old Men” approaches
human frailty in a refreshing way and finds my
family disappearing in different directions with
me punching the air and shouting at the
television in pleased agreement that others find
our new Britannia not as “cool” as some would
wish! A great friend, an ex submariner, and
they really are a rare and exceptional breed,
told me a tale that I have been itching to find
an opportunity of translating into a real-life
situation. The scene: a post WW2 dieselelectric sub under way, the Captain is in his
cabin. There is a knock on the curtain. Capt:
“Come in!”.
Enter one very large and
extremely oily stoker who salutes: “Sir, I am
not allowed to call you a twit, am I?” (You
may substitute the most vulgar/rude description
you can think of here). Capt: “Er, No
Williams, you can’t!” Stoker: “But you can’t
stop me thinking you’re a twit can you?”,
8
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
salutes and exits with considerable aplomb
having made his point perfectly in an
extremely “proper” way! Generally I must
admit to thinking bad thoughts and not saying
them, perhaps real curmudgeonlyness only
comes with ever increasing age and gout!
Recently I read something that came as
a bit of a shock – initially! This was that the
slide rule was also the mark of “lack of couth”.
I say initially, because on further musing I did
think that perhaps I have met some in the
engineering profession who have been
somewhat lacking in social graces. To be fair,
some were hardly house-trained and rather like a
surly teenager in any company! The particular
reference that started this train of thought comes
from Genius by James Gleick, the story of
Richard Feynman and modern physics.
Feynman, another of my heroes, was quite some
guy.
Apart from “discovering” Quantum
Physics and a Nobel Prize he was also one of
the leading lights on the Manhattan Project
while still in his early 20’s. “Let none say that
the engineer is an unsociable creature who
delights only in formulae and slide rules.” So
pleads The Tech, the MIT 1938 yearbook.
Gleick continues: Some administrators and
students did worry about the socialisation of
this famously awkward creature. One medicine
prescribed by the masters of student life was
Tea, compulsory for all freshmen. (“But after
they have conquered their initial fears and
learned to balance a cup and saucer while
conversing with the wife of the professor,
compulsion is no longer necessary.”)
an old favourite from an Aristo catalogue, which
complements the similar image I used in
Musings 10. The poor lad in that image has
obviously been bedevilled by the same girl for a
number of years, and here he is, several years
before, still wishing he had a slide rule while his
smarty-pants neighbour was still showing off to
“Sir” with her rotten slide rule! The course of
true love never did run smooth. I wonder
whether there was a third picture in the series
with them as young married couple (and who is
“wearing” the slide rule?)
Reminder
To those who have renewed their
subscriptions to Skid Stick, my thanks. May I
remind others that fees are now due for 2005
and also the fact that subscriptions to the
Oughtred Society may also be paid (£25.00) by
forwarding your cheque, made payable to Colin
Barnes, within the next three weeks.
Bookworm
The following three titles have been briefly
reviewed in Tom Martin’s report on IM 2004:
Dennert & Pape ARISTO 1872-1978. Klaus
Kühn and Karl Kleine, ISBN 3-88603-863-7,
Pub. W. Zuckschwerdt Verlag GmbH.
Price: €65.00 + postage.
I feel sure that no English or European
University ever went so far as to try and
“socialise” its engineering, physics or
mathematical inmates, am I right?
This work is a comprehensive history
of D & P of some 430 pages in hardback
format plus two CDs which are of particular
practical value to collectors. For further
information and ordering contact:
Klaus Kühn
KlacksKuehn@t-online.de
ALBERT NESTLER Innovation und
Qualität. Guus Craenen, published by the
author. Price:€50.00 + postage.
Which image to use in this Musing has taxed me
somewhat, there has been a particularly rich
crop latterly, with even two obits on succeeding
days which included pictures of the person with
a slide rule (see last SS). I finally decided to use
9
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
This is a companion volume to
Craenen’s book published in 2001 and
provides further information particularly with
regard to the ‘special’ slide rules manufactured
by Nestler. P/back, A4 format
Further information and ordering
contact:
Guus Craenen
a.craenen@wolmail.nl
Further UKSRC Reprints
Instructions for the use of the Vector Slide Rule. The
Vector Slide Rule by Blundell Rules Ltd. A 10 page
transcript of the mimeographed instruction sheet that
accompanied the rule. Code 16/14. Price £0.50p + postage.
A. G. Thornton “P.I.C.” Catalogue (abridged edition).
Leaflet No. L194. Illustrated price list of slide rules and
accessories. 8pages. Code 16/15. Price £0.50p + postage.
De LOGA Calculators, Nicco Smallenburg,
published by the author. ISBN 90-9018513-5
Price, €30.00 + €10.00 p&p UK
The Slide Rule Extended by Major-General Hannyngton,
published by Aston & Mander, 1884. 32 pages. Code:
16/16. Price, £2.50 inc. p&p (UK)
A Description of Major-General Hannygton’s Slide
Rule by Joseph A Galbraith, A,M, published by Aston &
Mander. 18 pages. Code: 16/18. Price, £1.50 inc. p&p
(UK)
The book is in the Dutch language, but it has a
Summary through the whole book of about 16
pages. The photo CD has about 200 pictures of
all the produced LOGA Calculators and
circular slide rules. For further information
and ordering contact:
n.smallenburg@hetnet.nl
Barometer Makers and Retailers 1660-1900,
Edwin Banfield, ISBN 0-948382-06-6, Pub.
Baros Books. Price £9.95
The “P.I.C.” A. C . Electrical Slide Rule leaflet No. L
193, 4 page with illustration, description and prices. Code:
16/19. Price 75p inc p&p (UK).
Masterpieces of Slide Rule Art, published by A. G.
Thornton c.1933? 24 pages illustrated with descriptions
and prices of rules and accessories. Code: 16/20. Price
£2.00 inc. p&p (UK).
Despite its name, the scope of this book goes
far beyond the makers of barometers to include
makers and dealers in mathematical, nautical,
optical and philosophical instruments. Entries
are short and concise but will be found
extremely useful and a valuable initial source
for further research. Each entry gives the name
and location of the retailer. Where known, a
range of dates giving the life span, active
period etc of the maker concerned is included.
A highly recommended book.
Faber-Castell
Yellowing & Staining
Gareth Morris
In September 2004 I contacted the
UKSRC through the web with an enquiry
regarding the slight yellowing of the plastic of
Geroplast Faber-Castell rules. I had heard that,
despite received wisdom, this could be
reversed by exposing the rule to bright sunlight
10
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
and wondered if this was in fact true.
Subsequently I also made enquiries regarding
the brown staining resulting from what
appeared to be result of the ink leaching from
the scales.
The rumour that yellowing could be
reversed by sunlight was known but there
seemed little definite evidence. The idea of the
ink leaching from scales seemed generally
accepted but the reason unknown.
I also put these questions to Larry
Stewart at Sphere Research in Canada who has
obviously researched this subject and kindly
supplied the comprehensive results of his
findings in the following two messages.
for about a year and they are stable. I
recommend that you leave them out of their
cases unless you are transporting them. The
staining effect happens regardless of the
materials that their cases are made from. One
of my rules was in a plastic case, the other one,
leather.
Larry Stewart
Well, I told you that I would try to
respond with a little more alacrity, right? So,
here I am. I'm going to address the points of
your letter in their order to avoid confusion.
I'm puzzling over your report of a "funny
smell" from your Rules. I can't remember such
a phenomenon, but then again, I'm a smoker so
I might not have noticed. The other possible
culprit for the smell is the environment where
the Slide Rules were stored for the intervening
years before they found their way to you.
Leather cases, cardboard, and paper can really
absorb (or produce) a very acrid smell from
humidity, mould, mildew, or very stale air.
This sort of thing just adds to the chemical
"soup"
surrounding
the
Slide
Rule,
exacerbating the problem.
Now, as to the stain you show in your
picture, that is indeed the chemical reaction
from the mould release agent used in the
production of the Rule. It seems to really
cluster along the edges of the slide and the
stator. Since the actual structure of the parts is
complicated by the tongue and groove, they
really concentrated the release agent in these
areas to assure that they would come out
cleanly from the mould. If you look at the
stain with a good loupe or other magnifying
glass (10-20X) you will see that it is really
very deep into the plastic. If the stain was
more shallow, that could be explained by the
ink losing its oil, but you will notice that other
areas on the Rule that are filled with the very
same black pigment remain unaffected. Also,
the amount of stain is disproportionate to the
amount of pigment in the incised lines. I
know, I wished fervently that the ink was the
culprit because that would have been relatively
easy to fix. In fact, on my 2/83N the stain is all
along the edge of the plastic, on both faces, far
beyond the presence of any pigment. It is a
thoroughly nasty situation!
I am flattered that you consider my
previous reply worthy of publishing. If you
think that others would be interested, feel free
to pass it along, and thank you very much. I do
hope that you will be able to stop the
progression of staining on your Rules before
they become extremely ugly. I have several
Faber-Castell pocket Rules that were a horror
to see. I nearly died the first time that I took
them out of their cases and discovered the
From Larry Stewart, Ottawa, Canada:
I am very sorry for the long delay in
replying to your query on the yellowing that is
so prevalent in Faber-Castell rules. I have a
number of different rules including the 2/83N,
2/82N, and the 1/54. Interestingly enough, it
seems to be only the solid plastic body rules
that suffer from this staining. Michael O'Leary
found out that the likely culprit was the mouldrelease agent used to get the plastic parts out of
the mould. Over time, (roughly 30-40 years), a
chemical reaction takes place that causes the
plastic to yellow, and in some cases the plastic
also shrinks. It is almost as if the plastic
structure collapses. You might notice this by
tilting the affected rule and allowing the light
to slant off the surface. You will see a shadow
where the plastic has shrivelled and now lies
lower than the original surface. Thoroughly
nasty!
I have had quite good success with
placing these rules in the window and letting
the sun restore the whiteness of the plastic.
This process can take months, (my rules were
really stained), and I alternated faces on the
parts each day. You should examine the
pigments in the incised lines and figures to see
if the colours that you DO want are fading. If
there is any indication that they are, remove the
rule from the sunlight immediately.
The analysis that I have done leads
me to believe that there is an “outgassing”
from the chemical reactions in the plastic.
Since the bleaching of the affected rules by
sunlight, I have left them on my drawing table,
in the open air, so that the gases do not remain
enclosed with the rule itself. Amazingly
enough, the staining has not returned.
Eventually the chemical reaction will cease
because the chemical agent will have
precipitated out of the plastic's matrix. How
long this will take is anyone's guess, really. I
have left the two worst rules “open air” now
11
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
stain. It made the discolouration on the bigger
Rules look like slight blemishes!
Speaking of degrees of staining, keep
a careful watch of your affected Rules. I
noticed that the stain began to appear in other
areas on the Slide Rule later on. My 2/82N had
been fine for years, then one day I noticed that
the same thing was starting on it, but not along
the edges. It began along the bottom edge of
the Slide Rule, on the LL3 scale, between the
2.5 and the 3 marking. I immediately removed
it from its case, cleaned the Rule with soap and
water, (I even tried Windex), placed it in the
sunlight for several days, and I have, as
previously stated, left the Rule in the open air
since that time. Interestingly enough, the stain
faded and there has been no further occurrence
of that stain, nor have any new ones started
anywhere on the Rule.
As to the 2/83N, I am happy to report
that it is about 85% better. There is still a faint
stain along the slide and adjacent body
sections, but it much improved. I am not
certain whether I can ever get the Rule back to
its original condition, certainly I can do
nothing about the areas where the plastic has
shrunken and collapsed, those are permanent
scars, I'm afraid. However, the Rule still
functions beautifully and remains a prized
instrument. I hope that you will have the same
success and you will have the satisfaction of
having saved a wonderfully crafted tool from a
saner, more amazing time! Let me know
how it goes, okay?
Larry Stewart
[Ed’s note: Our thanks to Larry for his
interesting replies and his permission to
reprint his findings. If members have any
further information on this subject your
comments would be appreciated for future
publication. Larry mentions the possible
contamination resulting from storage in
paper, card and leather containers. The
problem with leather cases was the subject
of correspondence in SS. See “Letters”,
Gerald Stancey SS 8 and John Knott SS 9.
The idea of wrapping in ‘clingfilm’ may be
sound but I seem to recall warnings about
certain types of film being used in contact
with food. So beware.]
three centuries. Its use in all imaginable
professions is, in my opinion, a valid reason for
putting the slide rule on an international list of
“Objects of World Heritage”
How to reach this goal? My proposal
is as follows: Let us try personally, or as
representatives of our respective national
collector’s organisations, to find ways to make
contact with those officials who are responsible
for formulating such procedures as outlined
above. Using the coming year to research this
proposal we can report the results of these
activities at IM 2005 when perhaps, as an
international group, we can form a coordinated proposal for submission to an official
responsible for a “World Heritage List”.
I hope these proposals will start in
European countries and the USA. I talked with
some friends during IM 2004 in Bad Driberg,
and all of them had positive reactions.
Let me have your thoughts on this
idea. Success!
IJzebrand Schuitema
Maria van Boechoutlaan 8
3984 PH Odijk
The Netherlands
tel: 00 31 30 6563315
Sir,
I would like to thank you for
publicising the sale of the Vade Mecum slide
rule that we offered on eBay in October.
Considerable interest was
shown in this item and it
realised a figure well beyond
our expectations.
Thank you
Carol Smith
STAEDTLER,
Nürnberg
Letters to the Editor
Sir,
With this letter I would ask for the
attention of members to an idea that has
been with me for some time.
All of us collectors will agree that
the slide rule has occupied an important
place in our social history for more than
Fig. 1 Staedtler slide rule
Rietz system no. 4860 from
1937 (Faber-Castell 1/87)
12
www.sliderules.org.uk
Dieter von Jezierski
Staedtler slide rules before
WW II
In
the
German
version of my book on page
107
Rechenschieber-eine
Dokumentation (not in the
English version “A Journey
through three Centuries”), I
give some information about
Staedtler.
Here follows a
translation:
The J. S. Staedtler–Mars Lead
Pencil Factory added slide
rules to its sales program
especially for the export
market in 1959. The models
were then being purchased
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
from the German maker Nestler.
The original product range was
of 12 variants of the most
popular systems in 10 inch and 5
inch versions. Duplex 10 and 5,
Darmstadt 10 and 5, Elektro 10
and 5, Rietz 10 and 5, SchulRietz 10, Schul loglog 10,
Multiplex 5, Kaufmann 10 and 5,
all classified as 54…-series.
From 1971 there was an
additional series 544A, 544S,
544LL, 544DLL, for schools,
purchased from the Japanese
maker FUJI KEIKI, Tokyo.
Robert has also a Staedtler
Darmstadt no. 54108 (identical to
Nestler 21)
My thanks to Robert Adams for his
information.
Yet another pencil making
company (opened in 1878) was that
of Johan Faber, brother of Lothar
von Faber of Nürnberg. In 1885 the
company
became
a
family
corporation (Johan Faber A.G.).
There was serious competition
between Johan and the A.W.Faber
firms until 1931 when the two firms
merged. Johan Faber also supplied
slide rules. These were obtained
from Nestler and supplied especially
to the South American market.
From 1905 these contained the
series 9201, 9202, Technical Pocket
model, 9203 – 9205, (Rietz) as
standard technical rules and 9206,
Electro. These were sold up to the
1930s with the “crossed hammers”
logo of Johan Faber. A glass cursor
with folding magnifying glass was
also supplied.
In September I bought on
ebay.com,
an
interesting
Staedtler slide rule from 1931. It
was, no doubt, made by FaberCastell, the greatest lead pencil
company and also known as a
slide rule maker at that time.
It is a slide rule made of
pear-wood with celluloid facings,
a metal frame cursor of that time
with glass, the metal strips
imbedded in the stator and the
wooden pegs to secure the
laminated celluloid. It can be
identified as 12/37 (made in
September 1937). System Rietz.
It is Staedtler no. 4860 – J.S.
Staedtler—MARS
Made in
Germany.
Conclusion:
Three known lead
pencil factories in Nuremberg
supplied slide rules, too.
Johan Faber from 1905 until 1931
(purchased from Nestler, another
slide rule maker).
Fig 3 Staedtler slide rule no. 54106
J.S. Staedtler from 1937 (from FC
(identical to Nestler no. 37)
only 1/87, and from Nestler and Fuji
Fig. 2a
Keiki) until 1975.
Detail of the cardboard box
A.W.
Faber-Castell
from 1882 as slide rule
with an at that time used logo of
maker
until
1975.
Staedtler with MARS
J.S.Staedtler Bavaria
A.G. Thornton Booklets
Nigel Panrucker
Fig. 2b
the reverse side of the stator
with part of the label and with
the identifiable manufacturing
date no. 37 blind stamped
The ten-year period from 1930 to
1940 was a very productive one for this
company.
It devised, patented and
manufactured not just one additional system of
trigonometrical scales for their slide rules but
two. The first was patented in 1933 (No.
411090) and known as their differential series.
This series comprised four different
arrangements of scales known as models ‘A’,
‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’. With three different lengths
of rule, there were thus twelve rules in all in
this particular series. The second was patented
in 1938 (No. 468257) and appeared as models
‘E’ and ‘F’. Model ‘F’ is the A.C. Electrical
slide rule detailed in my article in Gazette 3
(2002) and entitled “Which Trig Scales? –
Fig. 2c
reverse side of the slide with
sin, sin/tg and tg
The International Meeting 2004 in
Bad Driburg brought to light a further fact
about Staedtler slide rules before WW2.
Collector friend Robert Adams from Australia
reported on his Staedtler items which includes
no. 54106 Electro, identified by him as a
Nestler 37, see Fig 3.
13
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
Take Your P.I.C.” This may have been made
in the three usual lengths. However it would
appear that model ‘E’ (a simplified version of
model ‘F’) was only made in one size – 10”
long.
A fairly wide range of booklets was
produced to introduce the new scales and the
concepts behind their compilation. Others
were intended to help slide rule users to get the
best out of all the scales available. Just
recently two most informative booklets have
come to light. The first is an abridged
catalogue giving brief details of rules with the
standard trig scales, together with those with
differential trig scales as well as those with the
A.C Electrical scales. (Thornton booklet No.
194 – UKSRC reprint No. 16/15). The second
is a full catalogue for just the twelve slide rules
with the differential trig scales only including
cursor types and numbers plus excellent
illustrations. (Thornton booklet No. 181 –
UKSRC reprint 16/20).
Thornton slide rules will be featuring
quite prominently at the forthcoming IM 2005.
May I suggest that copies of these reprints will
be of benefit to those attending and also those
unable to do so. Finally, may I ask, who could
resist a copy of the second booklet bearing the
title “Masterpieces of Slide Rule Art”?
it, cannot get one to do it. So I got Cocker the
famous writing master, to do it, and I sat an
hour beside him to see him design it all, and
strange it is to see him, with his natural eyes, to
cut so small at his first designing it, and
reading it all over, without any missing, when,
for my life, I could not with my best skill, read
one word or letter of it’ (10 Aug. 1664). ‘On
the next day comes Cocker with my rule,
which he hath engraved to admiration for
goodness and smallness of work. It cost me
14s. the doing.’
Apparently the machines attracted
some little notice but the man in the street was
not impressed, as is so usual when a new
invention is brought out. Pepys saw one at a
dinner and this is his observation:
14 March 1668: ‘ ...and there, among many
other things my Lord [i.e. Hinchingbroke had
Sir Samuel Morland’s late invention for casting
up of sums of £.s.d. which is very pretty but
not very useful.’
From SLIDE RULES IN
GUNTER, EARLY
SCIENCE AT OXFORD
pp61-74
Samuel Morland’s adding machine dated 1666
Robert Hooke was another one who
disparaged them. In his Diary 31 January
1672./3 he records: ‘Saw Sir S. Morland’s
Arithmetic engine Very silly-‘, but then Hooke
was a rival inventor.
The machines were advertised for sale
in the London Gazette, as witness the
following advertisement which appeared in the
issue of 16-20 April 1668: ‘Sir Samuel
Morland has found out two very usefull
instruments; the one serving for addition and
subtraction of any numbers of Pounds,
Shillings, Pence and Farthings or of any other
coins, Weights, and Measures, the other for the
ready performance of Multiplication and
Division, together with the Extraction of the
Square and Cube Roots and that to any number
of Places required.’
The time was not ripe for the
extended use of such machines because the
need had hardly yet been felt. Still more to the
point is that methods of interchangeable
manufacture, which alone could make possible
the production of such machines on any
Bruce Williams
During the second half of the
seventeenth century spiral forms of the slide
rule were devised. The earliest is attributed to
Milburne, a Yorkshireman, by Hutton, 1 and
another to T. Brown, who projected Gunter's
line ‘into a kind of spiral of 5, 10, or 20 turns,
more or less’, and used ‘flat compasses, or an
opening, index’.2 Of Brown little is known,
but Professor Cajori3 conjectures that he may
be the instrument-maker named by Pepys in his
diary.
‘Abroad to find out one to engrave my
tables upon my new sliding-rule with silver
plates, it being so small that Brown who made
1
Art. ‘Gunter s Line' in Philos. and Math.
Dictionary, London, 1815.
2
Stone, Mathematical Instruments, p. 16,
London, 1723
3
History of the Logarithmic Slide Rule, p. 16,
1909.
14
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
considerable scale and at any reasonable price,
had not then been thought of, much less
developed; nevertheless we can say with
confidence that Morland’s machines marked a
distinct advance in design and construction.
Had Morland done no more than this, he would
have deserved credit for having made the
calculating machine available for general use
and of such a size that it could be carried
conveniently in the pocket.
£abour Saving device. The September reprint
has been rubber stamped in blue:
A. KING & CO.,
GROCERS, CONFECTIONERS,
AND TOBACCONISTS,
CENTRAL STOKE STORES
44 Brays Lane,
COVENTRY
This reprint indicates the price of the calculator
is 12/6, however, by the time of the article in
October’s “Grocers’ Journal” the figure is
quoted as 15/- …”decided on by Mr. King in
order to stimulate employment and to give
expression to his fraternal attitude towards his
fellow-tradesmen and with the reduction of
‘selling costs’ in view”.
Other facts to emerge from the
documents are that Otis was a Fellow of the
Institute of Inventors, a member of the
Coventry Grocers’ Association and that his
calculator was shown for the first time at the
stall of the Institute of Certificated Grocers at
the Grocers’ Exhibition.
The calculator was found in a box
without its lid but, unlike most examples
known, this one is of a mottled grey colour
rather than black. It does look to be original
and of the period.
There is one anomaly – the “cursor” is
stamped with the number 130. The only other
example that I know of from this date is
number 131 and it has its cursor stamped with
the same number 131. My example would
seem therefore to be a “marriage” but is it too
fanciful to surmise that, given the above facts
and documentation, that this was Otis Kings
personal calculator, either used in his shop or
as a demonstration model?
[Transcripts of the above mentioned
documents are available at 50p, post free]
Otis King – latest
Colin Barnes
At an East Anglian antique fair last
year I was lucky enough to find a very early
and fine example of Otis King’s calculator at a
very reasonable price. As important as the
calculator itself was some documentation
which throws further light on the story of Otis
King and his invention. The base of the
calculator is stamped:
15/-
OΔAB
24
This is typical of the earliest examples
as are the construction details. The 15/- relates
to the selling price which is confirmed by a
statement in the paperwork that accompanied
the calculator. The significance of the OΔAB
is not known but is recorded on other early
examples. 24 is the number in the sequence of
the first production run made by Otis King and
his assistant prior to passing manufacture to
Carbic Ltd. The upper cylinder carries the
monetary scale and the lower the logarithmic
scale both printed white on a black
background.
Reading the accompanying
documents it is apparent that Otis designed his
calculator solely for costing calculations, the
introduction of a purely logarithmic calculator
coming later possibly after production moved
to Carbic.
The documentation included a set of
instructions is dated October, 1921 quoting A.
King & Co. as “Sole Vendors”. Previously the
earliest instructions (with the same wording
and format) are dated Nov. 1921 and the name
Tuck & Blakemore, Ltd. “Wholesale
Distributors”. Other papers included a torn
sheet from “The Certificated Grocer” magazine
(undated) titled A New Pocket Calculator, a
short reprinted article from “The Grocers’
Journal” of 10th September, 1921 titled The
Little Marvel and another reprint from “The
Grocers’ Journal” of 1st October, 1921 titled
Herman van Herwijnen
Memorial
Dear Circle members,
A few months ago, we lost our dear friend
Herman van Herwijnen. As you all know, he
is the author and creator of the “Slide Rule
Catalogue” on CD and DVD. This work is of
international acclaim and immense value to all
slide rule enthusiasts.
Members of the ISRG (International Slide Rule
Group) discussion group on Yahoo (in which
Herman participated very actively during the
last four years) have arranged to have Concise
make a Stadia Computer circular slide rule in
memory of Herman. This is a 3.75 inch
circular duplex slide rule with scales: front; D,
15
www.sliderules.org.uk
Skid Stick Issue 19
February 2005
sin*cos, cos^2. and back; D, C, C', S, T1, T2,
ST. The slide rule and the case will carry the
inscription “Herman van Herwijnen Memorial
Edition 2004”. The case will have, in addition,
the logo for the International Slide Rule Group.
This project is coordinated by Gary Flom,
email: gflom@prodigy.net
Derek Slater has once again
generously volunteered to host our ‘local’
meeting. The date set for our Spring Meeting
is Sunday, May 15, 2005 with our usual start at
about 10.30/11.00. Your usual contribution to
the cost of lunch will be appreciated.
Please contact Derek at least two
weeks in advance of your intention to attend
when he will be able to provide directions to
his address.
With this being the last opportunity
for plans to be discussed for the forthcoming
International Meeting, no other special subject
is on the agenda. Please, however, bring along
any interesting or unusual finds that you have
to enliven the discussions.
Note that the disc contains some smaller texts
in the Japanese language, but the full manual
will be translated to English. If you wish to
place an order for one or more of these
memorial discs, please send Gary Flom an
email with your wishes. We don't have a final
price yet due to exchange fluctuations,
but expect the cost to be about $30 per unit. If
the order is substantial, the shipping costs will
be low per unit. The aim is to ship the
memorial discs end of first quarter 2005,
depending on how fast we get your orders for
the last 70 units of a minimum bulk order to
Concise.
see also:
http://www.concise.co.jp/eng0731/circle02.htm
l#08
Remember that all are welcome, your
thoughts and input will be appreciated.
Derek Slater
Grange Farmhouse
Geddington
Kettering
Northants. NN14 1AL
01536 742288
molehill@clara.net
“The Good Old Days”
In Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly
Everything” (page 512) is a possibly recordbreaking example of the “good old days” of the
slide rule which could have been dramatically
improved by a simple PC. He describes the
work in the early 1900’s of the Serbian
academic Milutin Milankovitch, trying to relate
the three celestial motions of obliquity,
procession and eccentricity, but these being
complicated
by
their
very
different
periodicities, 20,000; 40,000 and 100,000 years
respectively. This required “a nearly endless
amount of exceedingly devoted computation”.
Cutting a long story (!) short, he writes,
“Happily, this was precisely the sort of
repetitive toil that suited Milankovitch’s
temperament. For the next twenty years, even
while on holiday, he worked ceaselessly with
pencil and slide rule computing the table of his
cycles – work that would now could be
completed in a day or two with a computer”.
The work culminated in a book in 1930, his
calculations having moved forward swiftly
during WW1 when he was under loose house
arrest as a Serbian reservist, and spent all his
time calculating.
“He was possibly the
happiest prisoner of war in history.” concludes
Bryson.
Peter Hopp
RST Germany
News has been received from our friends in
Germany that they now have a new website at:
www.Rechenschieber.org
This site is now operational and the previous
address discontinued.
Oughtred Society
The new Oughtred Society website is
now online at:
www.oughtred,org
Jim Cerny did the design work and
created the site. He will continue to serve as
our Webdesigner and will manage and
maintain the site.
Kate Matthews provided guidance as
the project progressed. Her creativity and
previous experience with the original website
was very helpful to us.
I did most of the text writing. If you
don't like something you read, don't fuss at
Jim! Please contact me if you have
suggestions.
The Oughtred Society Swap Sheet
Online, which will appear about the beginning
of February.
Ted Hume
Tedhume@aol.com
UKSRC Spring Meeting
16
www.sliderules.org.uk