SLIDE RULES HISTORY

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(G) THE HISTORY OF SLIDE RULE INVENTORS: ======================================================================== 1594 JOHN NAPIER invented the logarithms to simplify multiplication and division arithmetic. (See also Chapter »Napier's Bones«!) 1620 EDMUND GUNTER used this concept and made logarithmic scales. Calculation was performed with the aid of a pair of dividers. 1622 WILLIAM OUGHTRED invented the »Slide Rule« as two linear or two circular sliding scales. 1650 EDMUND WINGATE and SETH PARTRIDGE improved the tool to our known shape with upper and lower stator and slider in between. 1850 AMEDEE MANNHEIM made a slide rule with a cursor and a useful combination of scales: X and X-square pairs on front side; sine and tangent scales on the back side of the slider - But the slider has to be turned to use these scales on front! 1902 MAX RIETZ modified and enhanced the »System Mannheim« with a X-cubic scale and mantissa scale on front and gaps with index lines on the back side: Now the slider could be read on the back side without turning the slider in the slide rule. 1925 he added a reciprocal-X scale and scales for small angles. 1934 ALWIN WALTHER in the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt modified and enhanced the »System Rietz« for the needs of engineers: A Pythagorean scale on front was added. The mantissa scale was transfered to the rear long side and the sine and tangent scales to the front long side. The back side of the slider was now free for the exponential scales. This »System Darmstadt« became the base model for all the following improvements... 1936 PHILIP DALTON filed a patent for a FLIGHT COMPUTER: A circular slide rule to calculate "True Air Speed", "Altitude Correction", "Fuel Consumption", ... In cooperation with the US Army AirForces it became the famous »E-6B« to calculate also the "Wind Drift". "Dalton's Dead Reckoning Computer" was used in WWII also by the US Navy, the British Royal Airforce, and (copied) by the Japanese and Germans. The »E-6B« ( and its modifications ) are still in use today in pilot schools and by privat pilots. (H) HISTORICAL REMARKS TO SLIDE RULE COMPANIES ... ======================================================================== ... mainly based on the book of Dieter v.Jezierski »Slide Rules« ACME KLEIN-BOTTLE, Oakland, CA / USA Clifford Stoll, Astronomer and "Computer Guru", famous for his NewYork- Bestseller »Cuckoo'sEgg« ( A good read: He discovered and helped the authorities to break up a ring of hackers during the early days of the internet - Other books are »Silicon SnakeOil« and »HighTech Heretic« ) founded ACME KLEIN-BOTTLE in 1998. For more details see his enjoyable WebSite http://www.www.kleinbottle.com ACU-MATH & STERLING / USA The »FESTUS MFG.CO.« was started in 1938 by Paul Jones in a lumber yard in Festus, Missouri. Later the company was renamed »ACU-RULE MFG.CO.« and moved to St. Louis. In 1945 the company produced wooden Trig slide rules and the 1st manual was written by P.Jones himself. Later he hired Prof.R.Middlemiss to write a new Trig-Mannheim manual. In 1946 Log-Log slide rules were produced with metal core. In 1954 the company moved to Mt.Olive, Illinois and VINYL (produced by BAKELITE) became the primary material for slide rules. For more details see the »FESTUS-HomePage« by George E. Keane: http://www.sliderulemuseum.com/isrm/acurule STERLING PLASTICS in Mountainside N.J. was founded in 1938 for the manufacture of drafting instruments. In 1961 plastic slide rules were added and STERLING became well known for its very economical models with its logo »(SP)«. To expand their successful low-cost slide rule line, they bought ACU-RULE MFG.CO. in 1968. STERLING continued using the »ACU-MATH« logo for their higher quality slide rules. ARISTO, Hamburg-Altona / Germany In 1862 the company was founded by J.C.Dennert and 1863, when M.Pape became Partner, the company's name was changed to »DENNERT & PAPE«. Theodolytes, drafting instruments and planimeters were produced. The first slide rule was made 1872. In 1888 the company got a patent for an »Unchangeable Ruler«, a celluloid veneer on mahogany. This set a new standard for slide rule design. 1936 the new material »ASTRALON« (PVC polymer) was used instead and the company's name was changed to »ARISTO«. In WWII the production was signed with »gwr« . After WWII »ARISTO« set new standards with their model lines »SCHOLAR« for students and »STUDIO« for engineers. ARISTO's Year Code ( Pressed on Rear or Side ) ----------------------------------------------- 1939 - 1959 3 or 4 figures for year and lot; =========== »G« for production in Geretsried. eg.: »G6013« = Geretsried, 1960, lot 13 1959 - 1978 3 or 4 numeric or alpha codes for factory and year =========== and 1..3 figures for its lot. Factory: Character or Figure = Factory -------------------------------- H 2 Hamburg G 3 Geretsried W 4 Woergl Year Coding: A R I S T O F L E X 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 eg.: »HFL5« = Hamburg, 1967, lot 5 As the material was changed from ASTRALON to TERLURAN, a T was added in front of the lot. eg.: »2LST4« = Hamburg, 1973, (TERLURAN) lot 4 AWF, Berlin / Germany The "AWF" stands for "Ausschuss fuer wirtschaftliche Fertigung" (~ "Commission for Effizient Production" ). It was founded in 1918 "... to encourage team-work and the creation of the basis for the communication of the latest knowledge and experience relating to production efficiency." The commission worked on a multitude of practical problems and solutions. The "Committee for Calculating Technology" ( = ART = Arbeitsgemeinschaft fuer Rechentechnik ) was responsible for slide rules. BRUNING CO. / USA ( Based on a text from http://americanhistory.si.edu/ ... ) Charles Bruning (1866-1931) was an immigrand from Denmark. In 1897 he set up a blueprinting company in Manhattan. Around 1920 he purchased American Blue Print Company of Chicago, and the firm became the "Charles Bruning Company". The company's 1921 catalog lists 11 slide rules. By 1952 most slide rules sold by Bruning were all-metal slide rules manufactured by Pickett & Eckel. In 1963 the Charles Bruning Company merged with the Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation. CONCISE CO, LTD., Tokyo / Japan CONCISE CO., LTD. was established in 1949 as a manufacturer of circular slide rules. Since than additionally they made drawing and measuring tools, traveling goods and stationery as quality products until today... DIETZGEN, Chicago / USA The firm was found 1885 from the German immigrand EUGEN DIETZGEN. Besides slide rules they produced and imported drawing materials and surveying instruments. After 1910 there was a cooperation with German's Faber(-Castell) until the end of the slide rule era. 1943 a cooperation with K&E started with the »MANIPHASE« models. DIWA, Gentofte / Denmark DIWA was founded 1924 for making measuring devices and became a well-regarded maker of slide rules especially in the Scandinavian countries. ECOBRA, Nuernberg / Germany The firm was founded in 1893 under the name EICHMUELLER & CO. to make drafting compasses. Eugen Dietzgen was major (American) customer. His partner Joseph Dietzgen acquired the factory in 1909 after the death of Eichmueller. In 1922 the name was changed to BAYERISCHE REISSZEUGFABRIK. The company made slide rules just before WWII under the brand name ECOBRA, derived from Eichmueller & CO.-Bayerische Reisszeugfabrik AG. And here again Eugen Dietzgen was the main customer. The slide rules were made of aluminum alloy and after 1950 in an improved version. The metal was sprayed with white enamel, the scales were printed and finally a coat of lacquer was applied. FABER-CASTELL, Stein bei Nuernberg / Germany In 1861 Baron Lothar v.Faber founded the famous pencil factory in Stein and a factory for drafting equipment in Geroldsgruen. In 1892 their first slide rule with the »Mannheim« scale on boxwood came on the market. In 1935 F-C marketed first successfully A.Walther's »System Darmstadt«. Before WWII, F-C was the first company to offer a slide rule with an ADDIATOR on its back side. After 1952, with new production techniques, inexpensive, but high quality slide rules were made for students (eg. »Duplex D-Stab« 52/82 with a T2-scale!). With F-C's famous model »NOVO-DUPLEX« an old idea was adopted: An »extended« root scale was folded at the square root of 10. It let a 10" slide rule have the precision of a 20" - or a pocket-sized 5" have the precision of a 10" slide rule. GILSON SLIDE RULE CO., Stuart, Florida / USA ( Based on a text from WWW.SLIDERULEMUSEUM.COM ... ) Clair A. Gilson founded the company in 1915, in Niles, Michigan. His 1st circular slide rule was printed paper glued to a 4" diameter steel disk. He purchased the Richardson's Rule Works around 1919 presumably to obtain the printing process for scales used on the Richardson Rules. The family relocated to a small island near Stuart, Florida, after 1927. The founder's son, Richard A. Gilson, computed the scales for the Gilson Atlas while still a teenager. The company was sold in 1960 to Daniel W. Fagen. Clair died that same year. GRAPHOPLEX, Paris / France GRAPHOPLEX was a major slide rule maker in France, based in Paris. Their SRs were made of plastic and have a very attractive design. HEMMI, Tokyo / Japan HEMMI was found in 1895 and became one of the top slide rule makers. They where famous for using veneered bamboo: Resistant, light weight and slides easily. In 1917 the trademark of HEMMI became the logo »SUN« between "Sunrise" and "Sunset". HEMMI's Year Code ( Pressed on Rear or Side ) ---------------------------------------------- HEMMI introduced a year code, starts with 1950 = »A« ... and the month code starts with January = »A« ... eg.: »BF« = June 1951 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 ============================================================================= A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z JAN. FEB. MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. ======================================================================== A B C D E F G H I J K L HOEHLER, Hohenneuendorf / (East-) Germany The HOEHLER logo »HH« is printed on the table on its back side ... ( under construction ) ... Later the same slide rules are produced by Praezisions Mechanik Oranienburg with the logo »PMO«. HUGHES-OWENS, ___ / Canada ( under construction ) IWA, Denkendorf / Esslingen / Germany "IWA" stands for "Ingenieurbuero fuer wirtschaftliches Arbeiten" (~ "Engineer's Office for Efficiency"). The company, founded 1926 by Franz Riehle, became a leading source of special purpose slide rules in Europe. IWA's predecessor in this field was the AWF company. KEUFFEL & ESSER, Hoboken, New Jersey / USA In 1867, as a mail-order house for art and drafting supplies, the firm was founded by William J.D.Keuffel and Herman Esser. 1900 »K&E« build a factory in Hoboken and started to produce its own celluloid veneered mahogany slide rules. Dividing machines were imported from D&P/Germany. In 1891 »K&E« got a patent for a »Duplex«, a two-sided slide rule with a two-sided cursor. It is common knowledge that »K&E« was the 1st company to make double- sided slide rules. But, they were actually produced by Dennert & Pape, ARISTO in Germany. KLAWUN, Hannover / Germany The "FEINMESSINSTITUT JOE F. KLAWUN" was founded 1924 in Berlin-Charlottenburg; after WWII moved to Hannover ... ( see also under BUSINESS SRs ... ) KOLESCH, NewYork / USA ... Under Construction ... LAWRENCE, Peru, Indiana / USA The » Lawrence Slide Rule Company « was founded in 1930 from George L. Lawrence in Chicago. In 1938 the company moved to Peru, Indiana. In 1943 injection molded plastic cursors replaced the glass magnifiers. The 1947 divorce gave the company to wife Vivian. She married Frank C. Bozarth in 1948 and continued to make slide rules until the end in 1967, as the factory burned down. LOEBKER, Dresden / Germany In 1932 P.Loebker founded the company » LOEBKER & CO. « in Dresden. After bankruptcy in 1947 the company was taken over from the employee Horst Meissner and renamed » MEISSNER KG « ... LOGAREX, Ceske Budejovice / Czechoslovakia The company was founded before WWII as a factory and shop for drawing instruments. From 1948 to 1950 they belonged to L&C HARDTMUTH, which made the »Koh-I-Noor« Pencils. After becoming a state run business, LOGAREX made slide rules mainly for the Eastern Block. LUTZ / USA ( Based on a text from http://americanhistory.si.edu/ ... ) Around 1892 the Lutz Company began to manufacture drawing instruments and artists materials in Guttenberg, N.J. After WWII the firm imported SRs made in Japan by Ricoh/Relay. MANTISSA, Dresden / (East-)Germany The GDR run company VEB MANTISSA, founded 1972(..76) in Dresden, was the fusion of two other slide rule companies: MEISSNER KG, founded 1947 (after WWII; former LOEBKER, founded 1932) in Dresden and REISS, founded 1882 in Bad Liebenwerder. The logo »M« of »Meissner« continued. All slide rules were made in good quality of plastic (»DECELITH« = »ASTRALON«). MEISSNER, Dresden / (East-)Germany see MANTISSA ... NESTLER, Lahr in Baden / Germany In 1878 Albert Nestler (& T.Beck) founded a company to make drawing and surveyor instruments and became a world competitor. Their first slide rule was a »Mannheim«. In 1903 NESTLER marketed first success- fully »System Rietz«. It was made of celluloid veneer on mahogany. Their »PRAEZISION« model of 1912 had an »extended« root scale, folded at the square root of 10. This gave a 10" slide rule the precision of a 20". Later in 1962 their top-model »MULTIMATH-DUPLEX«, also featured this idea. (and FABER-CASTELL used it for their famous »NOVO-DUPLEX« too!) NORMA, Kempten / Germany In 1959 Sigurd Boehm founded NORMA-MECHANIK in Altusried im Algaeu to make »Rechen-Scheiben« (= Circular Slide Rules ). In 1995 the company moved to Kempten. For the currency conversion in Europe, their (VISA sized) »EURO-Calculator« came 1999 on the market... PICKETT & ECKEL, Santa Barbara, California / USA In 1943 »PICKETT & ECKEL« was founded in Chicago, Illinois. In 1949, after Eckel left, the name was changed to »PICKETT«. They moved to Alhambra, and in 1964 to Santa Barbara, California. In the beginning their duplex slide rules were made of gray magnesium alloy, but they tended to become oxidized and powdery on the edges. Finally it was replaced by the splendid working aluminum. Their models N3 and N4 with 32 scales belong to the most »loaded« slide rules ever made. Around 1950 P&E promoted slide rules with a yellow body, because its better contrast for the human eye. These yellow ones got »-ES« extensions (for »Eye Saver«); traditional white ones got extensions »-T«. P&E was the leading maker of light metal slide rules. Famous became their »N600-ES« pocket slide rule, because it accompanied the astronauts on board of five Apollo moon flights... At the end of the era also yellow plastic slide rules were produced. POST, Chicago / USA In 1890 Frederick Post founded a firm to make drafting, engineering and surveying supplies in Chicago. The »POST« brand name appeared on all slide rules eventhough they were made by top German companies (eg. ARISTO, FABER, NESTLER). From 1932 HEMMI / Japan manufactured the »POST« slide rules until the end of the era in 1970. REISS, Bad Liebenwerda / (East-)Germany In 1882 the firm was founded by Robert Reiss as a mail-order house for office and drawing supplies. Later REISS developed into a well- known maker of precision instruments (eg. theodolites, planimeters, drafting machines) and the largest manufacturer in the region. In 1912 their first »REISS« slide rule came on the market. Models with »extended« root-scales (»STELLFIX«) were made in 1920. This gave a 10" slide rule the precision of a 20". After WWII the company became a GDR-run business and exported slide rules to the eastern and western world. REISS was well known for their beautiful light metal slide rules (eg. »PROGRESS«, Mod.3223). Plastic (»DECELITH« = »ASTRALON«) was used later (eg. »DUPLEX«, Mod.3227 - With 30 scales it belongs to the most »loaded« slide rules). ( see also MANTISSA ... ) SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS / USA The SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS Company of Berkeley, California / USA used Japanese manufacturers ( Relay / Rocoh, Concise ) to produce »SIC«-SRs. see also Examples of SIC Slide Rules under CIRCULARs & ELECTRO Hyper/Vector-LogLog SKALA / Poland Start 1948, as a collective of small workshops, SKALA produced drafting tools. 1956-1976 production of slide rules for the "Eastern Block". STERLING / USA see ACU-MATH ... TAVERNIER-GRAVET, Paris / France Etienne Lenoir and his son Paul E.M. Lenoir were well known makers of surveying instruments in Paris. Among other distinctions, they provided instruments for Napoleon's army in Egypt, and Paul took part in that campaign (1798). In 1814 Etienne Lenoir was named "Engineer to the King" (Louis XVIII). After his death ( he survived his son ) the firm's name became GRAVET-LENOIR and later TAVERNIER-GRAVET. In 1851 A.Mannheim's prototype scale arrangement was first produced by TAVERNIER-GRAVET. UNIS, Berville_Paris / France U N I S means "Union Nationale Inter Syndicale", which was a protective name invented in 1916 by a french chamber of commerce. Goal was to unify different french products under one logo with a standard of quality ... May be to counter the famous "Made in Germany" ? In this collection is also an ADDIATOR made by UNIS under licence. UTO, Vonge / Denmark ( Based on a text from WWW.SLIDERULEMUSEUM.COM ... ) A maker of promotional slide rules used for advertising, UTO slide rules are still made to this days. "The UTO SR's made now are silk screen printed on hard white PVC sheets, 7 - 9 bodies on a sheet, and machined to final shape. The cursors are injection molded of acrylic. The grooves for sliding the cursor are positioned to prevent the cursor to touch the SR surface. The printing ink bonds chemically to the PVC surface." Courtesy of John Kvint, of UTO. WICHMANN, Berlin / Germany The WICHMANN company was founded in 1872 in Berlin and became a famous mail-order house for drafting instruments. Like POST, the WICHMANN let their instruments make from high quality special manufacturers. E.g. the slide rule »1417« in this collection is made by NESTLER and the »1870« is made by AWF. BACK TO SLIDE RULES CONTENT impressum: ************************************************************************ © C.HAMANN http://public.BHT-Berlin.de/hamann 05/29/17