Mathematical Treasure: Jean Lepine’s Adding Machine

The French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) designed a stylus-operated adding machine in 1645 that worked well but was not sold widely. In 1725, Jean Lepine, who may have been the king’s watchmaker and mechanic, designed a machine that was operated by springs instead of falling weights, although it still required a stylus. Its workings are discussed on a history of computing website, which links to a copy of Lepine’s paper about the device. This particular example was repaired in 1844 by Charles Xavier Thomas of Colmar.

Lepine adding machine, 1725, Smithsonian Institution negative number NMAH-89-19705.

This object and other adding machines from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History are shown at the website http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/adding-machines.

Index of Mathematical Treasures

Index of Mathematical Objects