RARE* 1892 THE RAPID COMPUTER CO. - FIRST CALCULATOR BENTON HARBOR MICHVery weird, super old "computer". Basically an old adding machine. It is in excellent condition. It has an original box and comes with a pencil next to it. Overall, the leather case has very few scratches and looks great. Come and get a piece of history!istoryThis machine was invented by Peter J. Landin from Minneapolis in the early 1890s, and he received a patent in September 1892. Apparently he set up a company, the Landin Computer Company, to produce it, though it is not clear to what extent this "Landin Computer" was actually made and sold, since almost none seem to be in existence now. He filed patents for a cash register around the same time ( US 526,400 / US 526,401 / US 526,402 ), so he may have concentrated on commercialising that. He later has patents for a phonograph ( US 1,422,453 ) and for subtitling films ( US 1,234,046 ).Some ten years later it was marketed again, and this time much more successfully. The Rapid Computer Company of Minneapolis sold it as the Rapid Computer. In 1906 they moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan, and around this time the design was improved slightly by the addition of a sturdy stop bar for the stylus to bump into at the end of its downwards movement. In 1909 the company apparently relocated to Chicago, operating from the Tribune building. Baker-Vawter, a company making office filing equipment, were also based in that building. It seems that the Rapid Computer Company became part of Baker-Vawter, or maybe Baker-Vawter merely took on the distribution of the Rapid Computer at first. In 1914 the Rapid Computer Company was operating from Benton Harbor once again, but note that some of the machines produced at this time are stamped with the Baker-Vawter company name. The advertisements seem to dry up soon after, and the Rapid Computer Company may have dissolved then. I found some adverts in 1917 for the Rapid Computer, now sold through an agent in Louisiana, but these may have been left-over stock. I also found that in 1919 Baker-Vawter had a metal plant in Benton Harbor, so I would speculate that the manufacturing of the machine was done there all along, that Baker-Vawter bought the Rapid Computer Company for its metal plant, and eventually had it produce other equipment.Here is a table showing the dates for which I found advertisements, with the addresses used in those ads. It also lists some of the serial numbers seen in pictures or text I found online in collections and auctions. From the serial numbers it seems likely that the Rapid Computer Company first started a few years before 1905.

Good Condition - Pre Owner