Abacus Collection

Chinese Abacus 1814
A man uses a " swan-pen" - a Chinese version of the abacus

BOOKMAKERS
Kendall and McManus bookmakers stand by their blackboards as the race commences. Top tips include No.2, Westcroft

Antique illustration of man with abacus

Chinese Pharmacy 1864
Traditional Chinese dispensaries have changed little over time. Herbs are weighed out in daily doses, and patients receive bags of herbs to last the treatment. Date: 1864

Japanese man counting on an abacus

Doll with abacus, made by Furga, 1930s, Italy, 20th century
DGA2591478 Doll with abacus, made by Furga, 1930s, Italy, 20th century by Italian School, (20th century); Museo del Giocattolo Giulio Superti Furga, Canneto Sull'Oglio

Doll with wooden abacus, made by Furga, 1930s, Italy, 20th century
DGA2591477 Doll with wooden abacus, made by Furga, 1930s, Italy, 20th century by Italian School, (20th century); Museo del Giocattolo Giulio Superti Furga, Canneto Sull'Oglio

Chinese tradesman calculating with swan-pan, 18th century
Chinese tradesman calculating with swan-pan or abacus, 18th century. He wears a long pigtail or pien-za. Under the desk are large clay vases and boxes. Marchand Chinois faisant ses calculs

Russian merchant makes calcultaions by means of an abacus (schoty). It was used in all shops and markets of Russia. Engraving by Lemaitre, Vernier and Chaillot

Two Japanese business men in their shop, 1868-1880. Creator: Felice Beato
Two Japanese business men in their shop, 1868-1880. Portrait of two men sitting in a shop facing each other

Adding Race on Television
(Original Caption) Television show: "Quiz Kids." Joel Kupperman beats adding machine and Chinese abacus in adding race on television. Undated photograph

Chinese Merchant Balancing Accounts;Abac
(Original Caption) Chinese merchant balancing his accounts for the day. Engraving. BPA 2 #868

Mercury In Sky Watches Scientists
(Original Caption) Woodcut illustrating astronomers at work in a courtyard

Men Making Large Bank Deposit in China
Men make large deposits of yuan at a bank in Kunming, China. (Photo by © Bettmann/CORBIS/Bettmann Archive)

Crowds at Bank Currency Exchange Counter
(Original Caption) 8/27/1948-Shanghai, China-: Chinese crowd bank counters to exchange their virtually worthless currency for new money

Chinese Abacus
The Chinese text indicates that the number represented on the abacus is 7, 230, 189

Wooden Abacus
An antique wooden abacus

Abacus. Undated Engraving
(Original Caption) ABACUS. UNDATED ENGRAVING

Boy Using Abacus in Class
(Original Caption) 10/21/1949: Second grade pupil Robert Terzo, 6, finds the going easier in arithmetic with a portable abacus

Children Compute with Abaci
(Original Caption) 10/1952-Seoul, Korea-: War-torn South Korea is doing an incredible job in carrying out an educational program in its elementary schools

A merchant and his clerk using a calculating table
5307700 A merchant and his clerk using a calculating table.; (add.info.: Engraving depicting a merchant and his clerk using a calculating table marked out in the form of an abacus)

Engraving depicting a child learning to count using a wire circle closed with wooden handles
5309162 Engraving depicting a child learning to count using a wire circle closed with wooden handles and an array of beads of six colours arranged in batches of three; (add.info)

A merchant and his clerk using a calculating table
5307494 A merchant and his clerk using a calculating table.; (add.info.: Engraving depicting a merchant and his clerk using a calculating table marked out in the form of an abacus)

Stepped reckoner. Creator: Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm von (1646-1716)
Stepped reckoner. Private Collection

Abacus
Thoth Adan

Child sitting in a chair with wheels Italy. Date of Photograph:02/06/1929

Baby boy in a high-chair with wheels Italy. Date of Photograph:1929 ca

A classroom in the elementary school E. Tonoli in via Baggio, Milan Milan via Baggio. Date of Photograph:1940-1945

Barnardo's Kindergarten
Interior of an unidentified Barnardo's kindergarten. A large abacus stands at the centre. Date: circa 1908

Italy. Sicily. Archaeological site of Agrigento. Temple of J
Italy. Sicily. Vallery of the Temples. Archaeological site of Agrigento. Temple of Juno Lacinia. 450 BC. Measuring 15 x 16.90 m. Doric style, peripteros 6 columns. Date:

The "ChineseQuartermaster, Japan, 1765. Creator: Komatsuya Hyakki
The " Chinese" Quartermaster, Japan, 1765

Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Commodus, 180, issued by Commodus. Creator: Unknown
Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Commodus, 180, issued by Commodus. Reverse: Liberalitas holding an abacus and cornucopia. Minted in Rome

Abacus (engraving)
2805333 Abacus (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Abacus)

Actor Iwai Hanshir? IV as Hisamatsu (colour woodblock print)
5043772 Actor Iwai Hanshir? IV as Hisamatsu (colour woodblock print) by Shuncho, Katsukawa (fl.1783-1821); Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, UK; (add.info.: One of triptych)

Japanese Shopkeepers with an Abacus, c. 1870s (b / w photo)
701548 Japanese Shopkeepers with an Abacus, c.1870s (b/w photo) by Japanese Photographer, (19th century); Private Collection; Japanese, out of copyright

Chinese swan pan or abacus, and pottery shop, Qing Dynasty

Toy shop assistant
People You See. Toy shop assistant. From Teddy Bear (15 August 1964). Original artwork loaned for scanning by the Illustration Art Gallery. Date: 1964

At the Toy Shop - People You See. From Teddy Bear (23 December 1967). Original artwork loaned for scanning by the Illustration Art Gallery. Date: 1967

EyeUbiquitous_20108519
China, Shanghai, Revolutionary kitsch on sale at at Dongtai antique market, Chairman Mao Zedong and Che Guevara and Red Star shoulder bags Chinese characters read Serve the People

EyeUbiquitous_20099829
Education, School, Tools, Abacus or counting frame a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes

Papyriform column. Egypt
Papyriform column of grey granite. The abacus has the name of King Amenhotep III and the axis shows the name of Merneptah of the 19th Dynasty

COUNTRY SCHOOL, 1890. A country schoolhouse. Oil on canvas by Edward Lamson Henry, 1890

Abacus, artwork
Abacus, computer artwork

Greek Art. Parthenon (447-438 BC). Entablature. Acropolis. A
Greek Art. Parthenon. Was built between 447-438 BC. in Doric style under leadership of Pericles. The building was designed by the architects Ictinos and Callicrates

MODERN CHINESE ABACUS. In this type of abacus, beads above the dividing bar count 5; those below count 1

Hans the Clever Horse
Hans a horse of singular mathmatical skill, with his handler, and his tutor Wilhelm von Osten, who was convinced that animals possessed an intelligence equal to humans

USA, Arizona, Phoenix. Chinese abacus close-up. Credit as: Wendy Kaveney / Jaynes Gallery / DanitaDelimont

The Merchant (Old Man with Money), 1918. Artist: Kustodiev, Boris Michaylovich (1878-1927)
The Merchant (Old Man with Money), 1918. Found in the collection of the I. Brodski Museum, St. Petersburg

Counters and counting system, 16th century
Counters and counting system, from Munich, 16th century

Italy. Paestum. Ruins. Campania. Southern Italy

Italy. Paestum. Temple of Neptune
Greek art. Magna Grecia. Italy. Paestum. Temple of Neptune, actually dedicated to the goddess Hera. Built around 450-460 BC. Doric style. Front

Temple on Aegina. Doric capital from the cella of the temple
Greek art. Aphaia Temple on Aegina. Doric capital from the inner room (cella) of the temple. Glyptothek. Munich. Germany

Abacus, also called a counting frame. Cesis. Latvia

Greek Art. Sanctuary of Olympia. Doric column at the Palaestra. Hellenistic period. 3rd century B.C. Greece

Greek Art. Nymphaeum of Herodes Atticus. Doric column. Greec
Greek Art. Nymphaeum of Herodes Atticus. Built around the year 160. Doric column. Altis. Sanctuary of Olympia. Greece

Greek Art. Temple of Zeus. Ruins (471-456 BC). Altis. Olympia. Greece

Man with abacus, Japan. Date: circa 1890s

Persian Turkish capital

Abacus with brown and yellow balls

Digital illustration of abacus

Illustration of abacus

NEW YORK: CHINATOWN, C1942. A man counting on an abacus in a Chinese grocery store in Chinatown, New York City. Photograph by Marjory Collins, 1942

ABACUS, 19th CENTURY. Line engraving

ABACUS. Chinese and Roman

Frozen Market
Customers line up at a fishmongers stall in the Frozen Market, St Petersburg, circa 1880. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Antique illustration of ancient Egyptian outside a temple
Antique illustration of ancient Egyptian outside the colonnade of an ancient temple with decorations and hieroglyphics

A Street Hardware Stall, Japan - selling a wide array of goods including scissors, tongs, trowels, pans, hinges and metal rods. Date: circa 1910s

Line engraving, American, c1870
ABACUS, c1870. Line engraving, American, c1870

Abacus F007 / 6469
Abacus

Abacus F007 / 6471
Abacus, close-up

Abacus F007 / 6470
Abacus

99% Ape cover illustration

Birds on a Wire

Greek Art. Parthenon. Was built between 447-438 BC in Doric style under leadership of Pericles. The building was designed by the architects Ictinos and Callicrates

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EDITORS COMMENTS

The abacus, a timeless tool for calculation and counting, has a rich history spanning across different cultures and eras. Originating in ancient China in 1814, the Chinese Abacus quickly became an essential instrument for merchants and scholars alike. Its intricate design allowed for efficient calculations that shaped the world of commerce. In Architecture I: Orders of Architecture, engraved by Charles Lawrie, we see how the abacus influenced even the field of architecture. The precision and balance seen in this engraving mirror the meticulous nature of using an abacus. Bookmakers also found great use for this device as they meticulously counted their pages to create beautiful books. An antique illustration depicts a man with an abacus diligently ensuring accuracy in his work. Not limited to China alone, Japan embraced this mathematical marvel as well. A Japanese man is captured on an antique illustration skillfully manipulating beads on his abacus, showcasing its universal appeal. Even educational institutions recognized the importance of teaching children about numbers through hands-on experiences. Barnardo's Kindergarten integrated the use of abacuses into their curriculum to foster early numeracy skills among young learners. Traveling westward to Italy's Sicily brings us to Agrigento's archaeological site where we find remnants of ancient temples like Temple J with its papyriform column resembling rows upon rows of beads on an abacus. Greek art immortalized the grandeur and beauty found within structures like Athens' Parthenon. This architectural masterpiece stands tall much like an abacus displaying numerical harmony amidst artistic brilliance. Fast forward centuries later; working days calculation becomes more streamlined with oil paintings capturing scenes from everyday life such as "Working Days Calculation" painted in 1934 on canvas—a testament to how technology evolves but principles remain constant. Lastly, we encounter "The Chinese Quartermaster" created by Komatsuya Hyakki in Japan during 1765—showcasing cross-cultural exchange between nations and the abacus as a symbol of unity in mathematics.