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Electric Tabulating Machine and Sorter: Salesman's Model

YEAR: 1890
ITEM: Other
COMPANY: Hollerith Tabulating Machine Company
COUNTRY: USA
IN OUR COLLECTION: Yes

We haven't seen any reference to this item or anything similar so we are guessing that it was used by salesmen at the Hollerith Electric Tabulating Machine Company to show perspective buyers what the Tabulator looked like. Hollerith's Tabulator was used to complete the 1890 Census in record time. After his success with the 1890 United States Census, Hollerith sold his Electric Tabulating Machine to several industries including railways and insurance companies.

Originally, the model would have had a small sorter on the right. The model still has the cables (threads in this model) that would have connected the tabulator to the sorter. Made of carved black walnut, it is a beautiful copy of the Hollerith Electric Tabulating Machine. There are no markings that indicate if the model also had a cardreader attached to the Tabulator. The cardreader would have appeared on the right hand side of the main shelf of the Tabulator.

If you have any further information on this item, please contact us or leave a comment.



Related Items

      Related Item 1: An Electric Tabulating System; Author's Edition

      Related Item 2: Different Methods of Tabulating Census Data

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    IMAGES
    Click on any of the images below to see the slideshow.
  • Electric Tabulating Machine and Sorter: Salesman's Model - View of Herman Hollerith Electric Tabulating Machine salesman's model from the front.
  • Electric Tabulating Machine and Sorter: Salesman's Model - View of the Herman Hollerith Electric Tabulating Machine salesman's model from the side.
  • Electric Tabulating Machine and Sorter: Salesman's Model - A ruler showing the exact height of the View of Herman Hollerith Electric Tabulating Machine salesman's model

Documents

Documents for this item have not yet been scanned or not yet posted. There are a lot of pages...contact us if you have an immediate need. (Although there are not a lot of "immediate needs" for a 70+ year old computer!)

Exceedingly Rare

We have not found any other examples of this contemporary model. We have an unconfirmed report that the Hollerith family has one.

Models of the Electric Tabulating System have been built since that time but they are generally full-scale models used to show how the machine worked.



If you know the location of any other of these items, please let us know by contacting us at Director@TheComputerChurch.com .

OUR DEFINITIONS OF RARITY

One of a Kind: Only known existing item.
Exceedingly Rare: Only 2 to 10 known to exist.
Very Rare: Only 11 to 25 are known to exist.
Rare: Only 26 to 50 are known to exist.
Difficult: Difficult to find.
Available:Can be commonly be purchased.
Unknown: We cannot make a determination.

(For comparison: Many people consider the Apple-1 computer to be rare. As of 2025 there are 92 confirmed and probable Apple-1 computers.)

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