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Welcome
Use the navigation menu or the drop-down lists to discover a world of information!
The Oughtred Society was founded in 1991 by a group of slide rule collectors and is dedicated to the preservation and history of slide rules and other
calculating instruments. Over the past three decades it has evolved to an international organization with members in 20 countries. It is noted for its
highly acclaimed Journal of the Oughtred Society, published twice annually.
The Society is a non-profit educational organization. Society goals include the dissemination and sharing of information
and encouragement for collectors. We are affiliated with organizations in the United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands and Italy.
Our activities are carried out by members who volunteer to do various tasks and projects. Membership is open to anyone. Click
"Membership" in the left navigation menu for more information about member activities and benefits.
News/Features
Message from Bob De Cesaris:
Update and Clarifications on the Upcoming 2024 Oughtred Society Membership Changes
The current Oughtred Society website now reflects the changes for 2024 membership that include both Domestic and International Hard Copy and PDF only Soft Copy options. In brief review, the options are:
US Hard Copy Membership $35.00 (this membership comes with a ‘PDF soft copy’ sent by email at no addl cost)
US Soft Copy Membership $35.00 (this membership will be a ‘PDF soft copy only’)
International Hard Copy Membership $65.00 (this membership comes with a ‘PDF soft copy’ sent by email at no addl cost)
International Soft Copy Membership $35.00 (this membership will be a ‘PDF soft copy only’ and will avoid the EU VAT import tax)
Now for the clarifications:
There are no changes to our 2023 membership and fee structure. If you have not already paid your 2023 membership and wish to receive both the Spring and Fall Journal issues, one can pay the 2023 rates (domestic at $35, international at $45) as before to receive both.
For the upcoming Fall 2023 issue, if you desire only a soft copy, US or International member, please send an email to both Clark and Bob to be put on a list of ‘PDF soft copy only’ for Fall 2023 and we will accommodate you.
Clark McCoy: oughtredsociety [at] comcast.net
Bob De Cesaris: robert.g.de.cesaris [at] outlook.com
To receive a soft copy only for both 2024 issues, please apply for the ‘PDF soft copy only’ membership on the website or mail a check to Clark for $35.00 accompanied with a note that you desire the PDF soft copy membership only.
Note also please: The Fall 2023 Journal will default to a hard copy being mailed to a members' address unless a member writes a note to Clark and Bob, informing them that a PDF soft copy only is preferred for Fall 2023.
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Peter Holland, the well-known German collector tragically passed away on December 31st 2023. Peter was just 68 years old and was the respected foremost expert on the slide rules of German maker: A.W. Faber-Castell. In 2009 he published the 1st edition of his ground-breaking book on all the types, models and scales of this German maker. The book’s popularity was so great it would be reissued 7 times before becoming a digital book in 2020 - so far being downloaded over 2300 times. It is the most popular slide rule related book ever published. Peter was an active and social member of the slide rule community. With his partner Gerti he was a regular at the annual International Meetings in Europe/USA and the meetings held by the German and Swiss Collector Groups. He was a Fellow of the OS and published 6 articles in the JOS. In 2010 he was the OS Award winner.
Alongside slide rules, Peter had a real talent and passion for photography. He was also an enthusiastic cyclist – each year he would meticulously follow every stage of the Tour de France. The slide rule community has lost an eloquent presenter and a knowledgeable expert. I have also lost a close personal friend – David Rance.
Peter Holland
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OS Fellowship 2023
At the recent International Meeting (IM2023) the Chairman of the OS Awards Committee, Prof. Karl Kleine, announced that a Fellowship had been awarded to Jacques Perregaux.
Later the full story will appear on the OS Awards webpage.
Jacques Perregaux
Two Important New (2022) e-Books!
Thanks to Jose G. Fernández collectors can now download
free-of-charge English and/or Spanish translations of the
important Rechenschieber im Wandel der Zeit (Slide Rules through Time) book published
in 2009 by Guus Craenen. This book charts the development
and evolution of the slide rule from 1787 to 1905. Click on the
image of the front cover to download either of the translations.
New (2022) Book:
The Oughtred Society is pleased to announce the publication of a new book: " A Closer Look At Mechanical Air Navigation Computers". This 197 page book describes the operation and principals behind these unique historical devices. Many detailed images, drawings and examples are given. Numerous devices are described. Collectors, pilots and others interested in aviation should find this work to be of great interest. Klaus Petzgold, a 30 year chief pilot, flight instructor and teacher, is the author of this fine book. A limited supply of this book is available from the Oughtred Society at a cost of $35 plus $8.50 shipping.
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View Bob Otnes’ collection
Memorable collections can be big or small. However,
the collection of OS founding member Bob Otnes
(1932-2019) was truly legendary. OS volunteers are
working hard to record for future reference in the
Archive of Collections the many, many items that
made up Bob’s collection. It will take a while to
complete the work but already a major tranche of
the collection can be viewed HERE.
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Stempunked!
Richard Blake has been expanding his efforts to bring an introduction to slide rules program to schools and libraries in his local area. He has posted the presentation file for his educational program online here: https://www.stempunked.com/when-slide-rules-ruled. If you are interested in duplicating his efforts in your local area, click the link under the heading Presentation Materials.
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Did You Notice?
Reassuringly the OS website now boasts an HTTPS secure “padlock”. The upgraded security level (now encrypted SSL) should make NO difference to the performance but it does ensure the site is much more secure for our visitors
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F-C Book Updated
After going digital 15 months ago and over 1,000 free downloads it was time for an update. Edition V 8.1 of Peter Holland’s definitive book in English and German on every slide rule made by A.W. Faber and A.W. Faber-Castell is now free to download from here
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Find Every Electro!
Rod Lovett’s latest search facility makes it easy to access the
extensive data on Electro types compiled by Bob Adams over
many years. Take a look and find every known specialist
Electro and Electronic slide rule – try it out here
- The new edition of the Journal of the Oughtred Society is out! (See below for sample page and TOC images!)
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Calling all authors! The Oughtred Society is preparing the 2024 Journal issues, and is looking for some good articles! Contact Journal editor Jim Bready with your proposal, and see The Journal of the Oughtred Society web page for more information and to download the JOS Guidelines for Authors.
Book review by Michael Konshak:
Book Review of Volume 1 of the 24+ intended volumes (22
currently available), about each major
manufacturer of slide rules. The volumes are available on
Amazon ($27.95 per hardback or $19.95 per paperback). A
portion of each sale is donated to the ISRM (International
Slide Rule Museum). Each volume is ~550 printed pages.
Reviewer Michael Konshak is a retired mechanical engineer and the curator of the International Slide Rule
Museum since 2003. He is preserving the 50- to 100-year-old slide rule manuals in the
Slide Rule Instruction Library Series. Michael has been a long-time contributor to the
Oughtred Society.
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Free On-Line BOOK: The Oughtred Society is proud to announce the publication of LONG-SCALE SLIDE RULES in LIFE-SIZE IMAGES by Otto E. van Poelje, dedicated to the memory of our Oughtred Society fellow collector & long-scale slide rule connoisseur
Edwin Chamberlain (18-10-2017)
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Archive of Collections. New Collections added to this Archive. The first collection
in this Archive was that of the late Tom Wyman. We now have five collections featured; items from the collections of Paul Tarantolo, Louis
Gotlib, Richard Davis, Cliff Frohlich and Thomas Wyman. All the collections continue to grow under the direction and efforts of Clark McCoy,
Rod Lovett, Ted Hume and Richard Davis. We invite you to view this new Archive of
Collections and consider having us post your collection to the OS website for posterity.
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The Oughtred Society is proud to publish The Inventor of the CURTA Calculator an autobiography. This book is the story of the remarkable life of the inventor
of this ingenious device, how he started in his father's mechanical office machine company in Vienna, eventually running the company
himself, designing the Curta and becoming embroiled in WWII as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp and finally the difficulties
of setting up full production after the war in Liechtenstein. Additional material written by the late Tom Wyman and Dr. Robert Otnes
is included.
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Pencil Slide Rules: A new publication introduced earlier in the year by the Oughtred Society: Pencil Slide Rules and their
Successors, The Calculator Pen and Pentop Computers is a collection of articles that admirably covers this subject! This monograph is authored
and edited by one of our Oughtred Society founders, Rodger Shepherd. This publication is now available for sale on our website.
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JOS DVD is available for sale, containing 26 years of the Journal of the Oughtred Society in PDF format. OS members
and non-members(individuals and institutions) may purchase the DVD by going to the Journal page and paying for the disk via Paypal.
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A Search Facility for the Journal of The Oughtred Society awaits your use.
(See Journal Search in main menu at left.)
This new Search Facility displays high resolution PDFs of Journal articles.
You may search by several methods -- author, title, keyword, or for any word that appears in any article, or for all articles in a given year, etc.The search facility was created by Rod Lovett.
- Request for Articles
for the 2024 and 2025 Journals. Be a contributing author and share your knowledge and interests.
For ideas and inspiration, read "Yes, You Can Write for the Journal of the Oughtred Society" (82KB pdf).
- Current Journal of the Oughtred Society
Cover Table Of Contents Sample Page
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Publications of the Oughtred Society
Order Details for
All Publications
HERE
Slide Rules Through Time 1787 - 1905
Mechanical Air Navigation Computers
By Klaus Petzgold
JOS DVD
26 years on one disk
LONG-SCALE SLIDE
RULES in LIFE-SIZE
IMAGES
Specialized Slide Rules
for Electronic Engineers
The Inventor of the
CURTA Calculator
Pencil Slide Rules
The Slide Rule Technical Cultural Heritage
by IJzebrand Schuitema
K&E Slide Rule History
Slide Rule Reference Manual
2nd Edition
Pocketbook of Gauge Marks
2nd Edition
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