Veeder Counter

Object Details

Veeder Manufacturing Company

Description: In 1895 the mechanical engineer Curtis Veeder (1862-1943) founded the Veeder Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Ct. It made cyclometers that measured the distance traveled by bicycles. The business expanded to include counters for speedometers, machines, production workers, and other purposes. In 1928 the company merged with the Root Company to form Veeder-Root, a firm that remained in business for decades.; This counter has a brass frame painted black. A glass window reveals four number wheels, with a decimal point in the middle. Turning a knob on the right side advances the number wheels by .10 per revolution (i.e., the rightmost wheel turns once per revolution). A mark on one end reads: THE VEEDER MFG.CO (/) Veeder (/) HARTFORD CONN USA. A mark on the other end reads: 3713627.; An undated catalog of Veeder Manufacturing Company shows a counter similar to this one and reports that these counters were “furnished to and used by the U.S. Weather Bureau." The counter shown in the catalog would be rotated with the left hand, while the object in the collections is most naturally rotated with the right hand.; References:; “Veeder’s Successful Development of the ‘Big Unit’ Market,” Printers’ Ink, vol. 103 #4, April 25, 1918, pp. 129–132, 137–138.; Veeder Manufacturing Company, [Catalog], no date, Hartford, Ct., Trade Literature, Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
Location: Currently not on view

ca 1920

Physical Description: brass (overall material); glass (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 3.2 cm x 7 cm x 3.2 cm; 1 1/4 in x 2 3/4 in x 1 1/4 in

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Mathematics; Counters; Science & Mathematics

National Museum of American History

GUID (Link to Original Record): https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-57f9-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa