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Portable Card Punch

Astronomy

This is long metal rail onto which a punch card can be placed. Along the bottom left edge there is a graduated scale, indicating numbers 80-2, labelled in 2s. On this rail sits a metal carriage, which can be slid along to the left and right in order to move the card along. Fixed over this rail there is a metal box with a label on the top indicating numbers and letters. To the right of this there is a set of metal keys with beige tops. These are labelled 1 through 12, and “S”.

Underneath the rail there is a gap through which punched chits can fall. These collect in a clear-plastic case held in place by a rotating arm attached to a bracket. Underneath this bracket there is a rotating wheel around which a string is wound.

There is a punched card set on the rail of the machine, with holes punched in it.

Accession Number: 2019.ast.117 (DAA-0035)

Alternative Name: Wright Punch 2600

Primary Materials: Metal: Iron Alloy, Plastic, Paper

Markings:

On a plastic label stuck to the top of the keypad assembly: “Wright PUNCH
MODEL 2600
WRIGHT LINE
WORCESTER, MASS – USA”

On a metal label stuck the base of the rail:
“2861
SERIAL NO.
MADE IN U.S.A.”

Dimensions (cm):

Length = 46, Width = 13.7, Height = 11.5

Function:

This is a portable device for punching cards for entering information into tabulating machines. It fits standard 80-line punch cards, such as those used by an IBM machine.

Condition:

Very Good: The puncher is in overall excellent condition, although it may have originally had a case. The black painted rail is in very good condition, the metal surface of the carriage and punch assembly is slightly corroded across its surface. The sticker on the punch assembly is smudged.

It does not appear to work correctly.

Associated Instruments:

Manufacturer: Wright Line, Worcester, Mass.

Date of Manufacture: 1970s

Provenance:

This object was moved from the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill in 2009, upon the sale of the observatory. It was stored at the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics until 2017, when it was moved to a new storage location in McLennan Physical Laboratories.

Additional Information and References:

Historical Notes:

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