50 cm Rule KEUFFEL & ESSER, 1920
Inventor
KEUFFEL & ESSER Co
Invention date
Unknown
Manufacturing date:
1920
Manufacturing location
USA
Manufacturer
Keuffel & Esser
Dimensions
L 52
Reference Number
264
History and Functionality
William J. D. KEUFFEL (1838-1908) and Herman ESSER (1845-1908), two German immigrants, started their business in 1867 in New York by selling drafting instruments. Gradually, as awareness grew they developed monitoring instruments (1876 -?).
From 1886 the company sold German slide rules and then started manufacturing them in 1891. It became the largest producer of slide rules in the U.S.
The advent of electronic calculators in the 1970’s made the slide rule obsolete, and KEUFFEL & ESSER stopped production in 1976. Their last rule was given to the Smithsonian Institute (Washington, D.C., United States).
The largest manufacturers of slide rules were KEUFFEL & ESSER in the UK, GRAPHOPLEX in France and FABER CASTELL in Germany.
About The Inventor
Keuffel & Esser Co. (K&E) was founded in 1867 by William J. D. Keuffel and Herman Esser in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA.
Originally from Germany, they established the first American company to specialize in drafting instruments and supplies, later expanding into surveying equipment and slide rules, including the “50 cm Rule Keuffel & Esser” around 1920.
K&E became a prominent name in the production of high-quality slide rules and was instrumental in the development of engineering and architectural tools in the United States until the rise of electronic calculators in the 1970s.
Keuffel & Esser Co. faced challenges with the rise of electronic calculators and computers, leading to a decline in demand for their traditional products. The company underwent several changes in ownership and business focus before eventually ceasing operations.
