Skip to main content

Search

My Visit  Donate
Home Smithsonian Institution

Site Navigation

  • Visit
    • Hours and Locations
    • Entry and Guidelines
    • Mall Museum Map
    • Dining
    • Shopping
    • Accessibility
    • Group Visits
  • What's On
    • Exhibitions
      • Current Exhibitions
      • Upcoming
      • Past Exhibitions
      • Online Exhibitions
    • Today's Events
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX & Planetarium
  • Explore
    • Art & Design
    • History & Culture
    • Science & Conservation
    • Collections
      • Open Access
      • Smithsonian Snapshot
    • Research Resources
      • Libraries
      • Archives
        • Smithsonian Institution Archives
        • Air and Space Museum
        • Anacostia Community Museum
        • American Art Museum
        • Archives of American Art
        • Archives of American Gardens
        • American History Museum
        • American Indian Museum
        • Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art
        • Freer and Sackler Archives
        • Hirshhorn Archive
        • National Anthropological Archives
        • National Portrait Gallery
        • Ralph Rinzler Archives, Folklife
        • Libraries' Special Collections
    • Blogs
    • Podcasts
    • Mobile Apps
  • Learn
    • For Kids and Teens
    • For Educators
      • Resources
      • Field Trips
      • Professional Development
      • Events
    • Youth Programs
    • Fellowships and Internships
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
      • Behind-the-Scenes
      • Digital Volunteers
      • Smithsonian Call Center
      • Visitor Information Specialist
      • Docent Programs
    • Citizen Science
    • Work with Us
      • Office of Human Resources
        • Working Here
        • Employee Benefits
        • Job Opportunities
        • How to Apply
        • Job Seekers with Disabilities
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • SI Civil Program
        • Contact Us
      • Affiliations
      • Global Partners
  • Support
    • About Membership
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Your Membership
    • Make a Gift
  • About
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Research Centers
    • Cultural Centers
    • Education
    • Our Organization
      • Leadership
        • Secretary Bunch
        • Advancement
        • Communications
        • Administration
        • Education
        • Museums and Culture
        • Science and Research
      • Board of Regents
        • Members
        • Committees
        • Reading Room
        • Bylaws, Policies and Procedures
        • Contact
        • Schedules and Agendas
        • Meeting Minutes
        • Actions
        • Webcasts
      • General Counsel
        • Legal History
        • Internships
        • Records Requests
          • Records Request Reading Room
        • Tort Claim
        • Subpoenas & Testimonies
        • Events
      • Equal Employment Office
        • EEO Complaint Process
        • Individuals with Disabilities
        • Special Emphasis Program
        • Supplier Diversity Program
          • Doing Business with Us
          • Policies and Procedures
          • Additional Resources
          • Goals and Accomplishments
      • Sponsored Projects
        • Policies
          • Animal Care and Use
          • Human Research
        • Reports
        • Internships
    • Reports and Plans
      • Annual Reports
      • Metrics Dashboard
        • Dashboard Home
        • Virtual Smithsonian
        • Public Engagement
        • National Collections
        • Research
        • People & Operations
        • One Smithsonian
      • Strategic Plan
    • Newsdesk
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • Photos and Video
      • Media Kits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Visitor Stats
      • Secretary and Admin Bios
      • Filming Requests

Patent Model for an Adder with Carry Invented by George Farmer

National Museum of American History

Addthis Share Tools

    • Print

Object Details

patentee
Farmer, George
Farmer, George
Description
This patent model for an adder has three concentric, linked discs that revolve on a central pivot. The bottom disc is numbered from 1 to 99 clockwise around its toothed edge, to represent hundreds and thousands. Above it is a smaller disc, also with teeth around the edge, numbered from 00 to 99 clockwise to represent units and tens. A window in the third, top, largest disc shows the result on the dials below. The largest disc is numbered from 1 to 100 around the edge. Atop this disc is a rotating arm. Moving the arm counterclockwise advances the inner disc proportionally, allowing one to enter numbers up to 99.
A lever extends from the side of the disc and bends over the top. If the arm rotates around a full 100 units, it pushes this lever, causing a carry. The lever also may be used to zero the hundreds and thousands digits. See U.S. patent 69,647 for “Improvement in Tallying Instrument.” According to the patent, the invention “relates to a new and improved method of registering or tallying the quantity of lumber measured, or keeping account of sums of money paid out or received . . .”
There was a George Farmer (born about 1831 in England, died 1880 in Saginaw, Michigan) who worked as a miller and shingle maker in Illinois and in Michigan. He is listed in the 1860 U.S. Census as living in Elmira in Stark County, Illinois, working as a miller. That same year he received a patent on August 21for an improvement in harvesters (#29685). By 1870, he was living in Saginaw, Michigan, still working as a miller. In the 1880 Census he is listed as a shingle manufacturer. He and his son, Albion, ran a shingle-making business in Saginaw under the name of George Farmer & Son. It is listed in the 1878 city directory for the town. The George Farmer who received the patent for this adder was a resident of Flint, which is near Saginaw.
Reference: George Farmer, “Improvement in Tallying Instrument,” U.S. Patent 69,647, granted October 8, 1867.
Location
Currently not on view
1867
ID Number
MA.252692
accession number
49064
catalog number
252692
Object Name
adder with carry
Object Type
Patent Model
Physical Description
brass (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 1.2 cm x 10.7 cm x 10.7 cm; 15/32 in x 4 7/32 in x 4 7/32 in
place made
United States: Michigan, Flint
place patented
United States: Michigan, Flint
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Adder
Science & Mathematics
National Museum of American History
subject
Mathematics
Record ID
nmah_690832
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-24e2-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Related Content

  • Adders:Untitled

    American History Museum
Adder of George Farmer, 1867
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Footer logo

Link to homepage

Footer navigation

  • Contact Us
  • Press Room
  • Human Resources
  • Host Your Event
  • Access Smithsonian
  • EEO & Supplier Diversity
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

Social media links

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Email signup form

Email powered by BlackBaud (Privacy Policy, Terms of Use)
Back to Top