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HERMAN HOLLERITH
A REGISTER OF HIS PAPERS
IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Prepared by
James Byers, 1973, and Wilhelmena Curry, 1978
Revised and expanded by
T. Michael Womack
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 1997
***
CONTENTS
[Note: numbers refer to pagination of original WordPerfect text]
Administrative Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Biographical Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Scope and Content Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Description of Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Container List
Personal
Correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Business Correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Special Correspondence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Miscellany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Addition I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Addition II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Oversize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
***
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
The papers of Herman Hollerith (1860-1929), inventor and
businessman, were given to the Library of Congress in four
installments. The bulk of the collection was given by
Hollerith's heirs in 1972.
Additional papers were given by Mrs. Herman Hollerith, Jr.,
in 1977, by Virginia Hollerith in 1978, and by Richard Hollerith,
Jr., in 1995 and 1997.
In 1972 the copyright in the unpublished writings of Herman
Hollerith in these papers and in other collections of papers in
the custody of the Library of Congress was dedicated to the
public except that the exclusive use of such rights was reserved
to Lucia B., Herman, Jr., Nannie T., and Virginia Hollerith
during their lifetimes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Readers interested in consulting any of the division's
collections are advised to write or telephone the
Manuscript Reading Room at (202) 707-5387 before visiting.
Many processed and nearly all unprocessed collections are
stored off site, and advance notice is needed to retrieve
these items for research use.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Linear feet of shelf space occupied: 13.6
Approximate number of items: 11,700
***
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
1860, Feb. 29
Born, Buffalo, N.Y.
1879 Graduated, Columbia University School of Mines,
New York, N.Y.
1880 Assistant to former teacher William Petit
Trowbridge, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
Worked on 1880 United States census
1882 Instructor, mechanical engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
1883-84 Assistant examiner, United States Patent Office,
Washington, D.C.
1884-90 Worked on perfecting mechanical aid in compiling
statistical information for the United States
census. Invented tabulating machine which recorded
statistical information through a system of
punched holes in nonconducting material
1885-86 Experimented on electromagnetically operated air
brakes and other braking systems for railroads,
St. Louis, Mo.
1889, Jan. 8 First patent granted on statistical compilation
machines
1890 Awarded Elliot Cresson Medal, Franklin Institute,
Philadelphia, Pa., for outstanding invention of
the year
Ph.D., Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
Married Lucia Beverly Talcott
Tabulating machine used in United States census
1891 Hollerith machines used in recording census
returns in Austria, Canada, and Norway
1895 Attended International Statistics Institute,
Berne, Switzerland
1896 Founded Tabulating Machine Co.
1911 Tabulating Machine Co. merged with Computing Scale
Co. of America and International Time Recording
Co. of New York to form Computing-Tabulating-
Recording Co. (later International Business
Machines Corporation)
1929, Nov. 1 Died, Washington, D.C.
***
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The papers of Herman Hollerith span the years 1850-1982,
with the bulk of the material between 1910 and 1927. The
collection focuses on the work of Herman Hollerith, inventor and
businessman. It consists of six series: Personal Correspondence,
Business Correspondence, Special Correspondence, Miscellany,
Addition I, and Addition II. Included in the papers are
correspondence, printed matter, scrapbooks with newspaper
clippings about the Hollerith tabulating machines and their use
in census taking, and other material relating to the tabulating
business.
Personal Correspondence includes letters with family
members, friends, and associates relating to matters such as
finances and investments, the purchase and repair of items for
the Hollerith home, Hollerith's interest in tabulating and
tabulating machines, census work, and the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology.
The Business Correspondence series, although small, contains
information relating to the operation of the Tabulating Machine
Company, its merger into the Computing-Tabulating-Recording
Company in 1911, and Hollerith's later association with this
company and its successor, International Business Machines
Corporation.
Special Correspondence consists primarily of Hollerith's
papers relating to his farm in Mathews County, Virginia. The
file treats the maintenance of farm buildings and equipment and
the raising of farm animals, particularly Guernsey cows. There
is a small amount of printed matter concerning farm equipment.
The Miscellany series contains a chronological file of
patents by Hollerith and others relating to his inventions. The
series includes business papers, newspaper clippings, blueprints
and drawings, printed material, and one Hollerith machine punch
plate. The use of this plate is illustrated in an article
entitled "Counting a Nation by Electricity," reprinted from
_Electrical Engineer_, 11 November 1891. Two scrapbooks contain
mostly newspaper clippings of the early development and use of
tabulating machines, particularly for census taking from the
period 1890 to 1910.
Addition I consists of correspondence between Hollerith and
his son, Herman Hollerith, Jr., relating to family affairs and
some of Hollerith's inventions.
Addition II contains family correspondence, writings about
Hollerith, and miscellaneous material. Family correspondence
consists primarily of exchanges of letters among members of the
Talcott family, into which Hollerith married in 1890, and a small
amount of correspondence of members of the Hollerith family.
Letters from 1865-66 chronicle the employment of Charles G.
Talcott, Sr., as a civil engineer in the construction of the
railway from Vera Cruz to Mexico City, Mexico, under Emperor
Maximilian.
The bulk of the family correspondence, numbering over 360
letters, however, is between Theodosia Talcott, Hollerith's
mother-in-law, and her eldest son, Charles G. Talcott, Jr. Their
exchange spans a twenty-one year period, 1868-89, covering her
son's boarding school days in Brattleboro, Vermont, his years at
the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and his
tours of duty in the United States Navy. Charles Talcott, Jr.,
served as an assistant engineer on several naval vessels and saw
much of the world during his assignments. His letters contain
detailed drawings and charts of various ports of call as well as
descriptive accounts of inhabitants, customs, architecture, and
diplomatic relations in Argentina, Brazil, China, Italy, Japan,
Korea, and Uruguay.
Theodosia Talcott's letters contain information regarding
family members and friends as well as local and regional events.
Letters from other family members were frequently enclosed. With
four sons and a daughter to support following the death of her
husband, Talcott found employment at the United States Patent
Office, where she was one of the first female clerks. In a
letter of 3 October 1877 she describes the fire which nearly
destroyed the office.
Six years later Herman Hollerith met his future mother-in-law while
working there as an assistant examiner.
Talcott describes the wedding of her daughter Lucia
and Hollerith in a letter of 15 September 1890 to her son Harry.
Also of interest in the Hollerith family correspondence is a
letter from Nellie Keohan to Lucia B. Hollerith recounting the
San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906.
A file of writings about Hollerith in Addition II contains
correspondence, drafts, and published material by various
authors, including Hollerith's major biographer, Geoffrey D.
Austrian, as well as Virginia Hollerith, daughter of the
inventor. Biographical material, Hollerith's diary of 1884, and
newspaper and magazine clippings are also included among this
additional material.
An announcement of Herman Hollerith's death published by
International Business Machines in 1929 constitutes the Oversize
material.
Correspondents include C. L. Hayes, Philip P. Merrill,
Samuel G. Metcalf, and the Frisbie Motor Company.
DESCRIPTION OF SERIES
Container Nos. Series
1-9 Personal Correspondence, 1882-1929, n.d.
Letters sent and received. Arranged
chronologically therein.
10-12 Business Correspondence, 1894-1929, n.d.
Letters sent and received, including a small
amount of printed matter. Arranged
chronologically.
Correspondence concerning the
financial arrangement of the merger of the
Tabulating Machine Co. into the Computing-
Tabulating-Recording Co. is filed separately at
the end.
13-20 Special Correspondence, 1905-29, n.d.
Correspondence relating to Hollerith's farm in
Mathews County, Va., dated 1911-28, and his
patents, dated 1905-23. The farm correspondence
is organized into letters sent and received and
arranged chronologically therein. The patent
correspondence is arranged by name of
correspondent and therein chronologically.
21-29 Miscellany, 1871-1929, n.d.
Patents by Hollerith and others, printed matter,
business papers, blueprints and drawings, one
Hollerith machine punch plate, newspaper
clippings, and two scrapbooks. Arranged
alphabetically by type of material. The patents
are further arranged chronologically.
30 Addition I, 1913-29, n.d.
Correspondence between Hollerith and his son,
Herman Hollerith, Jr., concerning family affairs
and Hollerith's inventions. Arranged chronologically.
31-34 Addition II, 1850-1984, n.d.
Letters among members of the Talcott and
Hollerith families arranged chronologically,
drafts and printed versions of writings about
Hollerith arranged alphabetically by author, and
biographical material, a diary, miscellaneous
material, and newspaper and magazine clippings
arranged alphabetically by type of material.
OV 1 Oversize, 1929
Poster.
***
CONTAINER LIST
Container Nos. Contents
PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1882-1929, n.d.
Box 1
Letters received
Jan. 1882-Apr. 1906 (6 folders)
Box 2 May 1906-Dec. 1908 (6 folders)
Box 3 Jan. 1909-Mar. 1918 (6 folders)
Box 4 Apr. 1918-May 1920 (6 folders)
Box 5 June 1920-Dec. 1922 (8 folders)
Box 6 Jan. 1923-June 1926 (9 folders)
Box 7 July 1926-Sept. 1929, n.d. (9 folders)
Box 8 Letters sent
Jan. 1894-Sept. 1920 (9 folders)
Box 9 Jan. 1921-Nov. 1927 (10 folders)
BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE, 1894-1929, n.d.
Box 10 Feb. 1894-July 1914 (9 folders)
Box 11 Aug. 1914-Apr. 1929, n.d. (11 folders)
Box 12 Correspondence relating to merger, 1911
(4 folders)
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1905-29, n.d.
Box 13 Re farm, Mathews Co., Va.
Letters sent
Nov. 1917-June 1921 (9 folders)
Box 14 July 1921-June 1928 (11 folders)
Letters received
Box 15 Oct. 1911-Sept. 1919 (8 folders)
Box 16 Oct. 1919-Sept. 1921 (7 folders)
Box 17 Oct. 1921-Dec. 1924 (9 folders)
Box 18 Jan. 1925-Sept. 1927 (7 folders)
Box 19 Oct. 1927-Nov. 1929, n.d. (4 folders)
Re patents
J. Nota McGill,
1905-15 (3 folders)
Box 20 McGill and Maguire, 1915-21 (6 folders)
McGill and Maguire; Francis S. Maguire; and
Cooper, Kerr, and Dunham, 1922-27
S. G. Metcalf, 1911-27
MISCELLANY, 1871-1929, n.d.
Box 21 Award, 1905
Blueprints and drawings, 1905-22, n.d. (2 folders)
Business papers, 1880-1927, n.d. (4 folders)
Card case and cards, 1910-28, n.d.
Hollerith machine punch plate, 1889, 1895
Box 22 Patents
By Hollerith, 1886-1917 (7 folders)
Box 23 By others
Jan. 1911-Apr. 1924 (8 folders)
Box 24 June 1914-Mar. 1915 (6 folders)
Box 25 May 1915-Mar. 1924 (4 folders)
Related material, 1916, n.d.
Box 26 Printed matter
1871-1929 (7 folders)
Box 27 1880-1914, n.d. (5 folders)
Box 28 1885-1927, n.d. (7 folders)
Box 29 Scrapbooks, 1889-1908 (2 folders)
Tabulating machine drawings, n.d.
ADDITION I, 1913-29, n.d.
Box 30 Correspondence between Hollerith and his son,
Herman Hollerith, Jr.
Oct. 1913-Nov. 1916
Mar. 1917-Dec. 1918
Feb. 1919-Dec. 1921
Jan. 1922-Dec. 1923
Jan. 1924-Sept. 1929, n.d.
ADDITION II, 1850-1984, n.d.
Box 31 Family correspondence
Talcott family
1865-80 (10 folders)
Box 32 1881-85 (8 folders)
Box 33 1886-91, n.d. (with enclosure from 1850)
(5 folders)
Hollerith family, 1906-63
Writings about Hollerith
By author
Austrian, Geoffrey D., 1964-84
Blodgett, John H., 1968
Dicksee, Lawrence R., 1916, n.d.
Greene, C. A. Everard, n.d.
Hollerith, Virginia, 1945, 1970, n.d.
(2 folders)
Mark, Mary Louise, 1945-58, n.d.
Box 34 Martin, T. C., 1891
Newcomb, H. T., 1912
Rex, Frederick J., 1960-63
Miscellaneous correspondence, 1930-73
Miscellany
Bible owned by Flora Ferguson, Hollerith's
fiance, inscribed 5 Feb. 1881
Biographical material, 1929-30, n.d. _See also
Oversize_ Diary, 1884
Miscellaneous material, 1889-1954
Newspaper and magazine clippings, 1925-82, n.d.
(2 folders)
Photograph of Flora Ferguson, ca. 1880
Railroad conductor's punch, used by Hollerith
while testing tabulating system,
Baltimore,
Md., 1886
OVERSIZE, 1929
Box OV 1 Addition II
Miscellany
Biographical material, 1929 (Container 34)
*** Last update 03/13/98 (mal)
***
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