American Arithmometer

Full keyboard adding segment machine with printing unit

1900

William Seward Burroughs (1857 - 1898) developed a printing adding machine from 1880 onwards, whose transfer element, the adding segment, was an invention that could hardly be improved for most other constructions of printing calculators: Here, the value set in the keyboard is transferred to the summing mechanism when the lever is pulled and printed on a paper strip by means of printing types. The movement of the individual adding segments is limited according to the set digit. The first patent for this invention was applied for in 1885.

In 1886, the American Arithmometer Company was founded in St. Louis, which was renamed Burroughs Adding Machine Company in 1905. In 1907 the 50 000th machine was produced.

The very early machine with the number 5391 was produced around 1898. Only a short time later, the copy with the machine number 7515 (FDM 7286), which is in the Arithmeum, was produced. Both do not yet have the technically sophisticated car of the later models. They document the technical state of the machine at the death of the designer and company founder.

The machine works, but the paper transport is a bit inaccurate or limited sincethe drum is worn out.