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Please Note: Not all of the objects on this website are on display at the museum.
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PALANTYPE MACHINE, 1960's Palantype or Stenography machine, they are very similar. Stenography is American Palantype is British. The former has less keys than the latter, making certain words ambiguous as both machine use Phonetic sounds as a means of typing information, similar to shorthand, but typed instead. Palantype machines can differentiate certain words better because of the extra keys. In spite of this the Palantype was less favourable amongst users and fell out of favour. Words can be typed on these machines at over 200 words per minute. They can often be seen in movies containing courtroom Dramas as the spoken word could be recorded quickly. A1588 |
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DICTAPHONE RECORDING MACHINE, circa 1940 The name "Dictaphone" was trademarked by the Columbia Graphophone Company in 1907, which soon became the leading manufacturer of these machines. This continued the use of wax cylinders for voice recording. They had fallen out of favour for music recordings, in favour of disc technology. Dictaphone was spun off into a separate company in 1923 headed by C. King Woodbridge. A1552 |
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DICTAPHONE PLAYBACK MACHINE, circa 1940 Playback machine for the recordings made on the equipment above. Item A1552 A1553 |
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DICTAPHONE SCRAPING MACHINE MODEL 7 TYPE 'S', circa 1940 Machine for scraping the cylinders ready for the next recording after being played on the equipment above. Item A1553 A1554 |
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DICTAPHONE RECORDING MACHINE AND CYLINDER, 1940's Dictaphone was an American company, that produced sound recording devices most commonly used to record speech for later playback, or to be typed into print. The name "Dictaphone" is a trademark, but in some places it has also become a common way to refer to all such devices. A1189 |
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CHRONOSTAMP TIME STAMP, 1950's Time stamp for items such as documents received at a Solicitors office for legal purposes. Be the first to write a comment about this objectA1550 |
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REMINGTON STANDARD No 7 TYPEWRITER, 1896 This machine has wooden keys and is poor condition but all the marks and transfers still remain. Its Serial Number is 159,878 so it is probably made in the early 1900's. A1345 |
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SMITH PREMIER TYPEWRITER No 10, circa 1908 This was the only full-keyboard front strike typewriter ever built. A1367 |
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ROYAL No 10 TYPEWRITER, 1927 Production of the Royal No 10 started in 1914. It had glass windows on each side so you could view the workings; earlier models had two on each side, later types had only one. A1368 |
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UNDERWOOD TYPEWRITER No 5, 1930's This model of office typewriter was in use for many years, and was still popular when computers replaced mechanical typewriters. This model has patents dating back to September 26 1899. The model number has not yet been identified; we think it's possibly a Number 5 A0099 |
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BURROUGHS STANDARD ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER of 1932 Burroughs produced more calculators than typewriters, this is their Electric carriage return machine that continued in production for many years but did not alter much in that time. A1372 |
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IMPERIAL MODEL 58 TYPEWRITER, 1940's Imperial typewriters originated in 1908 in England and were made until personal computers became popular in the 70's. The company was sold to Litton Industries in 1966 and the typewriters were no longer made in England as of 1974 A1370 |
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IMPERIAL TYPEWRITER WITH WAR FINISH 1940's Imperial typewriters originated in 1908 in England and were made until personal computers became popular in the 70's. The company was sold to Litton Industries in 1966 and the typewriters were no longer made in England as of 1974. This machine was made during or shortly after WW2 when factory's were being used for the War effort and the normal Stove Enamel was in short supply. Be the first to write a comment about this objectA1548 |
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REMMINGTON 'SUPER RITER' STANDARD TYPEWRITER of 1950 Remington 'Super-Riter' (1950) standard desktop manual typewriter made in USA by Remington Rand. This one is probably 1960's A1374 |
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IMPERIAL 66 TYPEWRITER , 1961 In 1954 Imperial announced a new machine, the 66. In 1967 they began to import cheaper machines from Japan and in the 1970's they were taken over by Litton Industries the American electronics company who also took over the Royal Company. Soon after the imperial name disappeared altogether. A1373 |
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IBM SELECTRIC 82 GOLF BALL TYPEWRITER, 1978 In 1865, Rev. Rasmus Malling-Hansen of Denmark invented the Hansen Writing Ball, which went into commercial production in 1870. A1375 |
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FLEXOWRITER PUNCH TAPE CODING MACHINE, 1950's Able to punch cards or tape using 5 bit code (tape has five readable holes per character). Its uses included fast transmission of telegraphy messages, paymaster data storage, or control of automatic equipment in a factory. A0096 |
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FRIDEN ELECTRO MECHANICAL CALCULATOR TYPE CW8, 1960's An electromechanical calculator that will perform the four basic mathematical functions automatically. A1371 |
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MULDIVO MENTOR MECHANICAL CALCULATOR, 1960's An Odhner-type rotary pin-wheel machine. A1369 |
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ADDO-X ELECTRIC ADDING MACHINE, 1960's AB Addo Is a Company in Malmo Sweden, with a subsidiary in England, they merged with a Company called Facit around 1968. This machine was probably assembled in this country. A1335 |
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PRECISA MECHANICAL CALCULATOR, 1950's Mechanical calculating machine driven by three handles, Modell 117 Fabr. Nr. 353974 Made in Switzerland. Thanks to Kadri Balakci for identifying this model. A1329 |
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OLYMPIA MECHANICAL CALCULATOR, 1960's This is a copy of the original 'Brunsviger' calculator invented by E.T.Odhner in 1890. It is very heavy and quite complicated to use. View 4 comments about this objectA0888 |
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OLIVETTI MECHANICAL CALCULATOR 'SUMMA PRIMA 20', 1960's Italian Olivetti mechanical calculator popular in the 1960's. Prints on paper by pulling handle down. A0921 |
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COMPTOMETER CALCULATOR, 1950's The comptometer was invented by Dor Eugen Felt in the 1980's in America. Dorr E Felt started his first prototype during the Thanksgiving holidays of 1884. Because of his limited amount of money, he used a macaroni box for the outside box, and skewers, staples, and rubber bands for the mechanism inside. This prototype, called the macaroni box, is in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Units like the one shown were leased in large numbers by companies such as Sumloc Comptometer, who Purchased the rights in England in 1960, until electronic adding machines replaced them. See Item A1157. The machines worked by adding only and other functions were completed by progressive use of the keys. A0101 |
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COMPTOMETER CALCULATOR 509/S, 1950's This Model No 509/S/94.317 and models like this one were leased in large numbers by companies such as Sumloc Comptometer, until electronic adding machines replaced them. The machines worked by adding only and other functions were completed by progressive use of the keys, ladies often complained that the long strokes of pushing down the keys broke their finger nails. The curator of this museum used this model when she worked at Marks and Spencer in the 1960's and had the reputation of being the quickest operator in the office. The Plus and Sumlock are machines of the "Comptometer" type; the Sumlock being the full-keyboard version and the Plus the abbreviated-keyboard version. They are intended primarily for addition, but can also be used for subtraction, multiplication and division using learned techniques. A0786 |
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SUMLOCK COMPTOMETER CALCULATOR MODEL 912/S , 1960's In 1960 the Bell Punch Company gained the right to the name Comptometer from the U.S. Comptometer Corporation. A1456 |
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ANITA CALCULATOR 1021, 1970 This calculator uses 10-digit "Nixie"-type tube display, and memory, In 1970 it cost £431. With Square root capability. The electronics is similar to that of the Anita 1011. It uses mainly transistors, but also has integrated circuits made by Marconi-Elliott Microelectronics using "MOST" (Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Transistor) technology. These machines were marketed by Sumlock-Comptomter in the UK. A1157 |
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ABM ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR 312PD, 1970's ABM electronic calculator of the 1960/70's with printer and illuminated display. A0922 |
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CASIO PRINTING CALCULATOR, 1980's Small Electronic Calculator with mechanical thermal printer. Model HR 10 A0920 |
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SINCLAIR POCKET CALCULATOR, 1973 Cambridge calculator, the first of seven calculators produced by the company. This model was launched in August 1973 replacing the earlier Executive model and cost £32.95 inc VAT. Also in kit form for £27.95. Weighing less than 3.5oz. Nowadays we can get calculators for £1.00, how times change. View 1 comment about this objectA0769 |
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EXACTUS POCKET CALCULATOR, 1955 A mechanical pocket calculator for addition and subtraction of pounds shillings and pence. The calculator is made from pressed metal and enamelled in black and silver. The calculator consists of eight columns of figures and operates by using a stylus to move the metal slides inside each of the columns. When not in use the stylus clips to the side of the calculating machine. The calculating machine has a hinged metal panel that flips up when in subtraction mode and down when in addition mode. At the top of the calculator there is a metal handle that also functions to zero the calculator. View 2 comments about this objectA1140 |
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EMIDICTA DICTATION MACHINE MODEL 2400E, 1950's Recorded magnetically on a flat disk of magnetic material this item was used as a dictation machine. A1130 |
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EMIDICTA PORTABLE DICTATION MACHINE, 1950's Recorded Magnetically on a flat disk of magnetic material and was used as a dictation machine. The machine uses the same method as a disc-cutting lathe; the head is guided by a stylus running on the black disc in the centre of the turntable. The recording head runs over a flat magnetic disc for recording, this is made of the same material as ordinary recording tape. Date of manufacture could be as early as 1948. In spite of cheap tape recorders being available after the second World War, (Magnetic tape was invented by Germany during this period) EMI made these expensive machines to compete with Edison’s wax cylinder Dicta-phones which were popular world wide. A1679 |
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HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT DIVISION BELL, 1930's Believed to be one of the bells connected to the Transmitter No2 A1137 |
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POST OFFICE TRANSMITTER NO.2, 1900's It has been said that this transmitter was used to ring the Division Bell in the Houses of Parliament and that one of the units was destroyed by a bomb during the Second World War; this however is unit No 2 and is alive and well. Only five units were made, so we believe. A0226 |
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GESTETNER DUPLICATOR, 1950's At a young age Gestetner began to work at the stock market in Vienna. One of his tasks was to make copies of the stock market activity at the end of the day by copying the results over and over for each copy. He decided that there had to be a better method, and his experiments eventually led him to invent the first method of reproducing documents by use of a stencil. A1139 |
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DICTOGRAPH OFFICE INTERCOM, 1950's When offices started to use the Dictograph, the main drawback of the system was the need to install extensive wiring, and businesses were reluctant to change to such an expensive system to replace their tried and tested speaking tubes. Lamson Engineering was a major worldwide provider of office equipment at this time, and added Dictograph to their range of products. The suggestion may have come from Lamsons that Dictograph should rent their systems rather than sell them outright, and spread the buyer's cost over many years. By 1908 Dictograph systems rented from as little as five dollars and fifty cents a month for one master console and five stations. It was not an original idea. Companies in England such as General Electric had already launched into the rental market in the late 1890s , and the New System Private Telephone Company began in the late 1890s as well. Telephone Rentals began in 1902. A1198 |
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GRUNDIG EN3 DICTATION POCKET RECORDER AND TAPE, 1960's The Grundig EN3 is an early attempt to put all the functions required of a voice memo recorder in one box. It's a truly hand-held machine, somewhat larger than a modern mobile phone. A1276 |
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ADANA PRINTING PRESS, 1950's Production of the range of Adana machines was between 1935 and the 1950's, and the 'Adana Agency' was founded in 1922 in Twickenham by Donald Affleck Aspinall Adana. All the machines were destined for the amateur market. A0935 |