The Calculating Machines (Die Rechenmaschinen) Their History and Development

Cambridge, MA; London, England and Los Angeles; San Francisco: MIT Press and Tomash Publishers, 1992. First English Language Edition. Cloth. Near Fine. First English Language Edition. [8], [ix]-xvii, [1 blank], 367 pp plus 25 pages of reproduced advertisements for calculating machines. 8vo. Publisher's red cloth. Number 16 in the Charles Babbage Institute Reprint Series for the History of Computing. Spine slanted,minor remnants from sticker, otherwise a bright clean copy. Cloth. The first American and first English language edition. Originally published in German as "Die Rechenmaschinen und ihre Entwicklungsgeschichte" in 1925, and extremely difficult for the translators to obtain, this was one of the first works in the Charles Babbage Institute reprint series to be suggested, but one of the last issued. The editors were fortunate to be able to access the collection of instruments at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian while undertaking an already difficult technical translation.

The work is quite useful for anyone seeking a detailed picture of the mechanical calculator industry in 1925, but it is important to realize that it focuses strongly on the German marketplace. Other references as noted in the Foreword are perhaps more useful for those collecting American calculators. Nonetheless, a book we can recommend, and one which holds a useful position on our reference shelf.