HOLLERITH, UK PATENT APPLICATION, IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO MACHINES FOR COMPILING OR TABULATING STATISTICS..,1902

folio (280 x 190mm.), UK Patent Application, No. 10,502, 6 lithograph folding plates, later wrappers, some minor markings to wrappers

bought from Pickering & Chatto, London, 1990

Tomash & Williams H150

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Herman Hollerith was the first to apply the Jacquard loom and punchcard to data storage and processing. While part of the engineering department of MIT, Hollerith developed his idea of using the punched cards to store data which he then fed into the tabulator to compile the results (this differed from Babbage's plan of using perforated cards to instruct the machine). Hollerith's method was first used substantially and successfully in the US Census of 1890. In 1896 he founded the Tabulating Machine Company which, after a series of mergers and takeovers, became IBM. He is widely regarded as the father of modern automatic computing and his concepts and designs dominated the field for a century. This is the UK Patent Application for an improved tabulation machine.