A Computer in a Museum?

IBM Personal Computer
Donated by Dr. William D. Hann
Introduced August 1981


When you think of history, computers are not likely to jump into your mind. They are relatively new in the grand scheme of things, but the personal computer has now been around for about 30 years; the Apple II computer was released in 1977. This is the original IBM Personal Computer model, released in 1981 at a baseline price of $1565. The cell phone in your pocket likely exceeds its computational limitations. The PC’s keyboard alone weighs more than some of today’s notebook computers. The small monitor displays one vibrant color. Nevertheless, this piece of machinery is astounding in its impact, and that of its descendents, on American life over the past 30 years.

Despite the fact that it seems unimpressive today, the PC’s cultural impact was so great that Time Magazine’s 1982 Man of the Year was the computer. The article by Otto Friedrich says, “The ‘information revolution’ that futurists have long predicted has arrived, bringing with it the promise of dramatic changes in the way people live and work, perhaps even in the way they think.” While this prediction proved accurate, another one did not. Friedrich dismisses video games, now a massive industry, as “a teen-age fad, doomed to go the way of Rubik’s Cube and the Hula Hoop.” The computing lifestyle was different back then, too. Time’s article cites numerous examples of people writing their own programs for word processing, language learning and other utilities. Today, programs are almost exclusively produced commercially or for common use, and individuals rarely need to write their own.

Since 1981, computers have gotten smaller, prettier and faster. The IBM PC shows the humble, yet still impressive, roots of personal computing.

http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/history/decade_1980.html
http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/personoftheyear/archive/stories/1982.html

*Post prepared by Ben Heili, WCHC Student Intern.

Editor's Note: I actually had this model of computer. It had no mouse, no hard drive, no sound (other than a beep), and the display was a lovely shade of green. And things like a CD-ROM? Not quite. It did have two floppy disk drives though!

Collecting "recent history" items is something that the WCHC has been paying closer attention to. It is much easier to collect recent history items now, when they are still readily available (and in good condition), then it would be to try and track an item like this down 50 years from now.
-Randy Brown

A Bike With Wooden Wheels?

Lucas Bicycle, 1898.

The bicycle has been around for nearly two centuries, and has been a popular form of transportation and entertainment for those seeking something different and fun. The ‘hobby horse’, the first form of bicycle, was invented in 1817 in Germany by Baron von Drais. This bicycle, however, was slightly different from the bicycles we know today. It had no pedals! The ‘hobby horse’ was a two-wheeled vehicle, but did not have the ability to be self-propelled. It wasn’t until 1866 that Pierre Lallement received the patent for a pedal driven bicycle. Another major step towards the modern bicycle was the pneumatic bicycle tire manufactured by Dunlop in 1888. Before that, bicycles had wooden wheels. No wonder one of the early bicycles was called ‘the boneshaker’!

Here at the Historical Center, we hold a ladies bicycle from 1898 in our collection. The bicycle was called the Lucas, and was manufactured by the Ott & Hemley Company, which operated out of Toledo, and who, to the best of our knowledge, only manufactured bicycles for one year. The Lucas features wooden rims, wooden fenders, curved, wooden handlebars with cork handlebar grips, and a ladies frame. The frame was specially designed with a downward sloping curve in the frame in order to accommodate the ladies’ skirt.

The Lucas is a ‘fixed gear’ bicycle, meaning that there is no freewheel that allows the bicycle to coast. There are no brakes on the bicycle because bicycles without freewheels have a built in brake system. All one needs to do is bicycle backwards to force the wheel to stop turning. Freewheels did not become widely commercialized until 1898. The wooden rims on the Lucas are also significant. Wooden rims were very popular until the invention of the caliper bicycle brake in 1876. The caliper bicycle brake mounted on the rim of the bicycle, like most modern bicycles. The friction of the caliper brake against the wooden rim was not safe, and so bicycles equipped with brakes had to use a metal rim. However, fixed gear bicycles without brakes still used wooden rims, as seen on the Lucas, and on track (racing) bicycles until the 1940’s.

From 1817 to present day, bicycles have been loved and used by those seeking entertainment, exercise, or transportation by people of all ages. The bicycle has experienced very few major changes. The form and structure are recognizably the same, and it has not been swept up by the motorized or computerized trends of the later 20th century. From the Lucas to today’s carbon fiber racing bicycles, bicycles have stayed true to form.

Resources used:

Sheldon Brown’s Bicycle Glossary, “caliper brake”. 1996, 2007. Sheldon Brown. 2 Oct 2007.

“Wooden Rims”. 1996, 2007. Sheldon Brown. 2 Oct 2007.

“Myths and Milestones in Bicycle Evolution”. 2007. Jim Langley. 2 Oct 2007.

3,140 Bicycle Brands. 2001-2007. The Wheelmen. 2 Oct 2007.

Purses Made of Metal?

In the midst of our archives are numerous Whiting and Davis "Mesh Bags" (evening purses made of metal mesh). Two of the bags pictured are Whiting and Davis soldered mesh bags. The bag in the middle is an enameled mesh bag.

While doing a bit of online research of these items we learned that Whiting and Davis was established in 1896 when Charles Whiting and Edward P. Davis bought out the Wade Davis Company. They began production of their famous metal mesh bags and changed the name of the company. In 1907 Whiting bought out Davis's interest in the company but kept the company’s original name. The Whiting & Davis application for trademark indicates they make "Metal Mesh Bags, comprised Wholly or in part of metal that is not precious, in All sizes and forms, both soldered and woven mesh." They give July 29, 1921 as the first use of their logo. The trademark was renewed 3 times, most recently in 1983. The cancellation of the trademark is dated June 21, 2003." (1)

The purses in this picture are most likely from the 1920's or 1930's. (2)

The Whiting and Davis Company still exists, producing some mesh items for fashion and home decor, such as draping mesh curtains. They also have an industrial line that produces metal mesh clothing, including protective gloves for meat cutters. For more information you can find their fascinating website at http://www.whitinganddavis.com.

(1) (Source: http://www.bagladyemporium.com)
(2) (Source: http://www.ebay.com)

*Post prepared by WCHC Volunteer Lynn Wineland.

Dictaphone

Machines like this were used to record speech for playback and transcription. In 1877, Thomas Edison invented an earlier version of this machine that could record and reproduce the human voice. His design used a tinfoil-covered cylinder. When he listed the uses for his invention, ‘letter writing and all kinds of dictation’ was at the top of the list. In 1881, Alexander Graham Bell, Chichester Bell, and Charles Sumner Tainter produced the first recording device that used a rotating wax-coated cylinder. The machine used a steel stylus (needle) to cut vertical grooves in the wax coating in order record sound. By the late 1880’s, Bell and Tainter formed the Volta Gramaphone Co. and began to manufacture sound recording machines specifically for business and office use.

In 1907, the patent was sold to American Gramaphone Co., which eventually became Columbia Gramaphone Co., who trademarked the Dictaphone. In 1923, the Dictaphone Corporation was created from the Columbia Gramaphone Co., and by 1939, the first electronic dictation machines were introduced. Wax cylinders like the one this model were used until the mid 40’s. In 1947, Dictaphone introduced the Dictabelt technology, which cut grooves into plastic belts instead of wax cylinders. This technology was eventually replaced magnetic tape and then hard drive recording, which is most common today. The Dictaphone Corporation entered the digital era in the 1980’s, and still exists today as one of America’s five oldest surviving brands.

Sources:
http://www.officemuseum.com/dictating_machines.htm
http://www.dictaphone.com/aboutus/

* Post prepared by Tyler Jones, WCHC Student Intern.

Answer to last week's question:

The solution to last week's question is 'C', a canning jar lifter.

What is it?

What is this item?


a. Salad Tossing Forks
b. Kitchen Pick-up Tool
c. Canning Jar Lifter
d. Meat-turning Grill Tool.

Answer will be in the next post!

* Post prepared by Lynn Wineland, WCHC Volunteer

The Magic Lantern

What did people do for fun before movies?

Magic lanterns were a popular form of entertainment before the advent of moving pictures in 1895. The slides were made of glass and originally pictures were painted on the slides and projected onto the wall. With the advent of photography, slide makers were able to put pictures on the slides and they would paint colors (sepia tone) onto the image to make it more visible and exciting.
The lanterns were originally illuminated by candlelight, but the candles would only project a 2’x 2’ image. Later, the invention of the Oxy-hydrogen limelight and the mineral oil lamp allowed for the images to be projected at much larger scales and Magic Lantern shows became traveling shows. Eventually, smaller Magic Lanterns were made, and the home consumer could buy a lantern and a set of slides for home entertainment use. The Magic Lantern and slides were also used as educational tools. Educators could buy readymade sets educating about morality, health, and art history, a field in which the Magic Lantern was instrumental.

Magic Lanterns were the only form of slide projection from the 1600’s until 1895, when the Lumiere brothers invented the Cinematographe (moving picture camera), changing entertainment forever.

Here at the museum, we have a Magic Lantern projector and a collection of glass slides. The collection features photos of landmarks around Northwest Ohio like Inscription Rock at Kelley’s Island, the Exchange Hotel in Perrysburg, the Administration Building at Bowling Green State University, and other Ohio landmarks. All of the slides have had color added to them. The slides were made in Bowling Green at Biery’s Quality Slides, and some date to the 1930s, which is later than most glass slides were made for the Magic Lantern.

The Magic Lantern held by the museum is a large projector that was probably used for larger audiences. The date of manufacture and manufacturer’s name are unknown, but the lantern appears to have been modified. The top has been cut off, and a light bulb has been installed on a platform of wood in order to provide more projectings power.

Resources for this post include:
The Magic Lantern Society. 18 Sept. 2007..

The Magic Lantern Caslte Museum home page. 1994. Magic Lantern Castle Museum. 18 Sept. 2007. .

* Post prepared by Erin Gentry, WCHC Graduate Student Intern.

Calf Weaner

These devices are used to wean a calf from its mother. It attaches to the calf’s nose so that when the calf tries to nurse, the mother is poked and refuses to allow the calf to nurse.

It looks like a rather cruel device, but really isn’t at all. It’s part of a “two-step process that dramatically cuts the calf's stress while still allowing it to graze and drink water.”

The device is put on the calf’s nose for a period of four-seven days, after which he/she is separated from its mother.

Even though “weaners” like the one on the left are still manufactured; it seems a more popular (and less expensive) model is an almost square, flat plastic item that fits into and covers the calf’s nose.

The “weaners” in the picture were given to the WCHS in the late 1970’s.


Sources:
-- Online advertisements for cattle suppliers.
-- On Campus, April 26. 2006, University of Saskatchewan.

*Post prepared by Lynn Wineland, WCHC Volunteer