Monroe Model 1
Physical Object
2019.09.19.04
The older Monroe model 1 shown below was electric but still had many manual devices including an exposed operating crank and a manual carriage position crank (on the front left of the machine.) This machine's operation was quite obvious compared to the machines below. It had a divide lever but no multiplication key. Multiplies were done by explicit repeated additions (the + and - keys repeated if held and the "R" key prevented the keyboard from being cleared.);This Monroe Calculator was used by the curator's grandfather, David Roswell. It rapidly adds, subtracts, multiples and divides. Like many calculators of its time, it has a grid of numbers for data entry. This both simplified the mechanical design, and allowed for faster data entry. Can someone show a modern device that allows us to enter a multi-digit numbering parallel rather than one digit at a time?
System Source has a large collection of Monroe Calculators from the collection of James Joseph Donohue (donated by his daughter Susan Marks) Joe was not one for waste. When customers upgraded to a new model machine and traded in the old one, it was company policy for the old machine to be destroyed. Joe never got around to destroying these old machines. And so, we are able to appreciate this wonderful historic display of business machines today.
System Source has a large collection of Monroe Calculators from the collection of James Joseph Donohue (donated by his daughter Susan Marks) Joe was not one for waste. When customers upgraded to a new model machine and traded in the old one, it was company policy for the old machine to be destroyed. Joe never got around to destroying these old machines. And so, we are able to appreciate this wonderful historic display of business machines today.