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Type 001 Keypunch

YEAR: 1901
ITEM: Peripheral Device
COMPANY: The Tabulating Machine Company
COUNTRY: USA
IN OUR COLLECTION: Yes

Invented by Herman Hollerith, the Type 001 was the first keypunch. Before 1901, Hollerith had first tried to use a train conductor's punch but the number of holes required for each card quickly resulted in people's hands cramping up. Hollerith then switched to a pantograph but that was too slow and cumbersome. The keypunch is reported to have been twice as fast as the Pantographic Card Punch.

The Type 001 is quite heavy. It has a cast iron base and measures 17 1/2 inches in length by 5 1/2 inches in depth.

The keypunch operator pressed any one of the 12 numbered (0-9, X and a blank) keys to punch a hole. Each time a hole was punched, the card automatically advanced to the next column. There were two additional keys at the top, the one on the right advanced the card one column without punching a hole (for blank columns) and the one on the left slid the card all the way to the end so that it could be removed.

Unlike keypunch machines that came after it, the Type 001 punched round holes in the cards. The Type 001 keypunch used 45 columns. An electric version of the keypunch wasn't introduced until 1923.

We are not sure what the serial number is for this keypunch, or even if there is a serial number, but there are two candidates. The keypunch is stamped with the number 393 in two places. The keypunch is also stamped with the number 81211.



Related Items

      Related Item 1: Keypunch (British)



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   Tester     Kennett, USA     October 06, 2017

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    IMAGES
    Click on any of the images below to see the slideshow.
  • Type 001 Keypunch - Front view of the Type 001.
  • Type 001 Keypunch - Front view of Type 001.
  • Type 001 Keypunch - Back of the Type 001.
  • Type 001 Keypunch - Closeup of the keyboard.
  • Type 001 Keypunch - Nameplate for the Type 001.
  • Type 001 Keypunch - Closeup of the gear used to advance the cards.
  • Type 001 Keypunch - Closeup of number etched into the top left of the keypunch.
  • Type 001 Keypunch - Number etched into side of keypunch.
  • Type 001 Keypunch - Letters etched into top left back of the Type 001.

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!)





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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