In the early 1900s, problems with existing adding machines led inventor William Hopkins to find ways for the adding machine to operate from a single set of digit keys. He placed the numbers on his machine to gears on a moveable carriage that was controlled by a moving handle. He applied for a patent in 1892. The new machine was advertised at the National Banker�s Convention in 1896, and he started selling it in 1899. An office publication at the time hailed the machine as a �modern life preserver� that ended the drudgery of traditional bookkeeping. By January 1905, the company had sold over 3,400 machines. This ad appeared in a 1904 issue of Harper�s Magazine.
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