East Coast Oughtred Society 2004

Rules on Display at the
2004 East Coast Oughtred Society Meeting.
November 6, 2004. Report and images by Jim Cerny. (3/2005).

Here's a sample of interesting rules from among those on display at the Meeting. There were a lot of cylindricals, and that is reflected here. For ease of browsing, rules are divided into several categories. Click on image thumbnails to get a larger version. Some images are much wider than the table text, so check that your browser window is open wide enough to be sure you see full detail.

Linear rules. K&E primarily.
Circular rules. Boucher, Fowlers, Small, et al.
Cylindrical rules. Thacher, Loga, Nestler, Otis-King, et al.
Other items. Calculators, books, et al.
Jim's rules. Machine-time rules on my own table.

On a technical note, images of rules were taken with a Konica-Minolta Dimage A1 camera, generally without flash. There is a color cast which I've tried to correct in post-processing of images, but it lingers to varying degrees.

For information about long-scale rules, in general and in detail, including all the models shown here, see the article: Edwin J. Chamberlain, "Long-Scale Slide Rules Revisited," Journal of the Oughtred Society, v. 13, n. 1, Spring 2004, pp. 23-43.

For information about early K&E rules, I've relied on a booklet given out as part of the Meeting presentation by Bob Otnes: Robert K. Otnes, "The Slide Rules of Keuffel & Esser — 1880 to 1913 The Golden Years," 46 pp., plastic comb bound with additional 9pp. of color rule illustrations.

Linear Rules
Image Thumbnails	Description
	MIT Museum Dr. Debbie Douglas is curator for the K&E factory examples cabinet that was given to the MIT Museum. Debbie brought some examples and gave one of the lunch presentations.
	Hudson Horse Power 4141 Brought by Debbie Douglas as part of the MIT Museum collection this rule was listed in the K&E catalog from 1901 to 1915 and sold for $3.00 in 1915.
	Sewer Design on Kutter's Formula Brought by Debbie Douglas as part of the MIT Museum collection, this is a slide chart rather than slide rule, not made by K&E but of interest to them.
	K&E Cox Duplex Brought by Bob Otnes. This rule is believed made by Dennert & Pape for K&E.
	K&E Lenoir Brought by Bob Otnes. This was made by Lenoir, predecessor to Tavernier-Gravet, for K&E, listed as item 479-5 in the 1883 catalog.
	K&E Tavernier-Gravet Brought by Bob Otnes. Made by Tavernier-Gravet, it is item 479-2 in the 1883 catalog.
	K&E Universal Prototype Brought by Bob Otnes. This prototype of the model 4090 Universal rule is from the Jack Burton Collection (shown here upside down).
	K&E 4095 Triangular Brought by Bob Otnes, from the Conrad Schure collection, this is a rare K&E 4095 triangular rule (shown here upside down). This example is missing the glass on one of the three sides of the cursor. The 4095 also exists in a version with a metal finger cursor as part of the K&E factory collection now at the MIT Museum (note accumulated patina).
	Hemmi 31 Brought by Ed Chamberlain, this is a very uncommon rule, the only example known to Paul Ross, keeper of the Hemmi Slide Rule Catalogue Raisonne. Plus it has the nice cut-out stencil back. It is an example of a "Lilliputian" rule, i.e., with 100mm scale.
	Blundell Harling Pilot Balloon Mark 5 Brought by Louis Gotlib, this is a Pilot Balloon Mark 5 rule, made by Blundell Harling. For more on Pilot Balloon rules, see Martin Brenner's Web site. The upper cursor is discussed as an example of a curved diagonal for the sine function in: Otto van Poelje, "Diagonals and Transversals: Magnifying the Scale," Journal of the Oughtred Society, Fall 2004 (v. 13, n. 2), p.25.
	Pickett Gregor Lag Displacement Brought by Louis Gotlib, this is the Pickett Gregor Lag Displacement Rule, Model 50-1-LDC. All plastic. Evidently used to compute intercept angles and rates for a fighter plane. Once-upon-a-time I traded Louis this example in exchange for a Pickett N4-ES with cylindrical magnifying cursor! Michael O'Leary once listed his example as one of the most unusual rules in his collection (ISRG posting 14431). Neither Michael nor I ever located a manual.
Circular Rules
Image Thumbnails	Description
	MIT Museum Charpentier Brought by Debbie Douglas, this Charpentier is from the factory cabinet, item no. 62 in the inventory made in 1970.
	Charpentier Calculator Pair Brought by Conrad Schure.
	Boucher Calculgraphie Brought by Ed Chamberlain.
	Lord's Calculator Brought by Conrad Schure.
	Small Calculator Brought by Conrad Schure.
	Fowlers Long-Scale Magnum Brought by Conrad Schure, this long-scale rule has an effective scale length of 12.7 meters. Chamberlain classifies it as a circular with concentric circular scales.
	Sexton's Omnimetre Brought by Ed Chamberlain, this is a Type 2, made of stiff paper, and dating to ca. 1900. The motto on the rule is numeri mundum regunt (numbers govern the world). Rod Lovett's online collection shows two other variations: variation 1 and variation 2.
Cylindrical Rules
Image Thumbnails	Description
	R.H. Smith Cylindrical Brought by Conrad Schure, this pair of uncommon R.H. Smith Calculators were made by J.H. Steward. Chamberlain classifies the design as a cylindrical with helix scales. Better known examples of helical scales are the Fuller and Otis King.
	Webb's Stadia Rule Brought by Conrad Schure. This is K&E model 4105 and it sold for $5.00 in the 1910-1915 era. The inner cylinder slides freely within the outer metal sleeve. I always think of this as a "rolling pin" rule for its construction and size!
	Fuller Cylindrical, in Box Brought by Conrad Schure.
	Fuller Cylindrical, Mounted Brought by Louis Gotlib.
	Nestler 1.6-meter cylindrical Brought by Ed Chamberlain, this small cylindrical rule (Rechenwalze) was in beautiful condition, with case.
	Loga 7.5-meter cylindrical Brought by Ed Chamberlain, this small cylindrical rule (Rechenwalze) was in very nice condition. This rule did not bring any bids for auction and was sold privately afterwards.
	Nestler 12.5-meter cylindrical Brought by Ed Chamberlain, this large cylindrical rule (Rechenwalze) was in good condition. This rule did not bring any bids for auction and was sold privately afterwards.
	Daemen-Schmid 10-meter cylindrical Brought by Ed Chamberlain, this Daemen-Schmid (later Loga) 10-meter cylindrical rule (Rechenwalze), circa 1910, is in very good condition.
	K&E Thacher Type III 4013 Brought by Ed Chamberlain, this a Type III Thacher, circa 1930. It is a model 4013 rather than a 4012 because of the magnifier. Compare with the Schure Type II Thacher 4013 also at this Meeting and the Hanssen Type II Thacher 4013 that was shown at the East Coast Meeting in 2001. The Schure magnifier is original, while the Chamberlain and Hanssen magnifiers are good replacements, with original adjustment apparatus.
	Five Imperfect Thachers Brought by Louis Gotlib for evaluation on behalf of another collector. We are used to seeing Thachers in excellent condition and of course many are not. The two Thachers in front show particularly severe deterioration and the detail is of the one that is front, left. The metal that supports the triangular scales is prone to rusting and then spotting the paper scales. The Thacher on the front, right has the paper scales delaminating from the underlying metal support.
Other Items
Image Thumbnails	Description
	Aristo Book Bob Otnes brought the new, definitive book on Aristo rules by Klaus Kühn and Karl Kleine. The book includes very extensive supplemental materials on two CDs. Bob is one of the contributors to the contents.
	Automatic Bombing Computer Paul McConnell brought this device, an attatchment for the Norden bombsight, known to the Army Air Forces as the Automatic Bombing Computer and to the Navy as Low Altitude Bombing Attachment.
	Navy Tachometer Paul McConnell brought this device, a Navy Tachometer.
	Sector, Wood Conrad Schure brought this very nice wood sector.
Jim Cerny's Rules
Scans of all the machine-time rules on my display table are in a separate report.