Bouchet

Single row adding machine

ca. 1885

The machine was used to add up the amounts listed in account books column by column (column addition), i.e. first all the units below one another - you get the last digit of the total and a multi-digit carryover relevant to the next digit - then the tens, and so on. Michael Bouchet's first patent for the machine dates back to 1883, and the machine was produced in a version more in line with the 1885 patent. The ten keys are used to operate a three-digit totalizer in which the entered numerical values are added up. The necessary transfer of tens is handled in a form that is close to the principle of the odometer. An extinguishing device complements the mechanism. The machine was produced over a period of several years, but could not be widely used because it was too limited for the interested parties: professional accountants were able to add three or four-digit numbers quickly in their heads.