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The Tabulating Machine Company (headed by Herman) was founded in 1896.
 * The **tabulating machine** was an electrical device designed to assist in summarizing information and, later, accounting . Invented by Herman Hollerith, the machine was developed to help process data for the 1890 U.S. Census.

-1911, TMC sold to Charles Flint for $2.3 million.
 * CTR was formed through a merger of four different companies: the Tabulating Machine Company, the International Time Recording Company (founded 1900 in Endicott), the Computing Scale Corporation (founded 1901 in Dayton, Ohio, USA), and the and the Bundy Manufacturing Company (founded in 1889). Flint was the financier and key person behind the merger and remained a member of the board of CTR until his retirement in 1930.
 * The companies that merged to form CTR manufactured a wide range of products, including employee time-keeping systems, weighing scales, automatic meat slicers, and most importantly for the development of the computer, punched card equipment.
 * Watson made daring bets and won, each time vaulting IBM to a new level of size and power. In the 1920s, when information wasn’t obviously going to become a big industry, he bet IBM’s future on tabulating machines–the mechanical forerunners to computers.

IBM 301 (Type IV) Accounting Machine:
 * The 301 (better known as the Type IV) Accounting Machine was the first card-controlled machine to incorporate class selection, automatic subtraction and printing of a net positive or negative balance. Dating to 1928, this machine exemplifies the transition from tabulating to accounting machines. The Type IV could list 100 cards per minute.

IBM 600 - Automatic Multiplying Punch Machine - (1931)

IBM 401: From the IBM Archives :

The 401, introduced in 1933, was an early entry in a long series of IBM alphabetic tabulators and accounting machines. It was developed by a team headed by J. R. Peirce and incorporated significant functions and features invented by A. W. Mills, F. J. Furman and E. J. Rabenda. The 401 added at a speed of 150 cards per minute and listed alphanumerical data at 80 cards per minute.

IBM 405 ( photo ): From the IBM Archives :

Introduced in 1934, the 405 Alphabetical Accounting Machine was the basic bookkeeping and accounting machine marketed by IBM for many years. Important features were expanded adding capacity, greater flexibility of counter grouping, direct printing of entire alphabet, direct subtraction and printing of either debit or credit balance from any counter. Commonly called the 405 "tabulator," this machine remained the flagship of IBM's product line until after World War II.

IBM 407 was introduced in 1949. It was later adapted to serve as an input/output peripheral for a number of early electronic calculators and computers. It's printing mechanism was used with the IBM 1130 through the mid-1970s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabulating_machine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_IBM#1925.E2.80.931949:_IBM.27s_early_growth http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-tabulating-machine.htm http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/579916/tabulating-machine