Artifact Details

Title

Babbage Difference Engine No. 1, demonstration piece (three-quarter-scale replica)

Catalog Number

102711127

Type

Physical object

Description

There is a plaque attached to the base that reads "To T. Vincent Learson with appreciation and admiration from his associates in IBM, December 1972". Often referred to as "the beautiful fragment."

Date

1972

Manufacturer

Guatelli, Dr. Roberto

Dimensions

overall: 18 1/2 in x 18 1/2 in x 13 1/2 in

Category

Ephemera/other

Subject

Mechanical calculation; Mathematical table; Babbage, Charles

Credit

Gift of Katherine Learson

Lot Number

X5107.2009