Nystrom's Calculator

In 1848 the young swedish immigrant in USA John William Nystrom, who lived in Philadelphia, invented a calculating device, for which he was granted patent for calculating machine No 7961 on March 4th, 1851.

John Nystrom (1824-1885), born in Småland province, Sweden, as Johan Vilhelm Nyström, was a Swedish-American civil engineer, author of many books and inventions besides the abovementioned calculator, such as a marine steam engine, a refrigerator, a hydraulic pontoon-dock and others. In 1859 Nystrom proposed a hexadecimal (base 16) system of notation, arithmetic, and metrology called the Tonal System. The system was described in a book from 1862 and in addition to new weights and measures, his proposal included a new calendar with sixteen months, a new system of coinage, and a hexadecimal clock with sixteen hours in a day.

The device (see the lower drawing) was based on logarithms, but promoted for use in addition and subtraction as well as multiplication and division. It was manufactured in Philadelphia by William J. Young, one of the most prolific American instrument makers in the 19th century, and advertised in 1850s as the merchant will find this calculating machine to be all they desire. There were $10, $15, and $20 models.

The patent drawing of Nystrom's Calculator

Let's see how the inventor himself describes the device in his popular book Nystrom's Pocket Book of Mechanics and Engineering:
The device consists of a silvered brass plate of about nine inches in diameter, on which are fixed two movable arms, extending from the centre to the periphery. On the plate are engraved a number of curved lines in such form and divisions that with their intersection with the arms, the most complicated calculations can be performed almost instantly.
The arrangement for trigonometrical calculations is such that it is not necessary to notice the functions sine, cosine, tangent, etc., operating only by the angle expressed in degrees and minutes, and without any tables, which makes it so easy that anyone who can read figures, will be able to solve trigonometrical questions. Any kind of calculations can be performed on this instrument, no matter how complicated it may be, whilst there is nothing intricate in its use. The author, who is the inventor of the calculator, has thoroughly tested its practical utility. All the calculations in Nystrom's Pocket Book of Mechanics and Engineering have been computed by this instrument...