Antique US Nickel and Bronze National Cash Register 1344387 circa 1915

$2,900

About

This antique cash register was built circa 1915, made in nickel, brass, and wood and embellished with ornate designs picturing ribbons, acanthus leaves, and other designs. The number plaques at the top of the machine which correlate to the bright black, white, and red keys are encased in sturdy thick glass, below which a small plaque reads the number 1344387, followed by a 313. Bellow the keys, which are compressed to trigger a number and open the drawer which reads “National”, there is a wooden plank which protects the inside of the machine. The center of the piece lifts to display some of the inner workings of the register, with the original key inserted into the machine. A plaque across the front bottom of the machine reads “Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A.” The register was recently restored and in great working condition. This heavy antique weighs 75 pounds! Finally patented in in 1879, Jack Ritty’s Incorruptible Cashier forever changed the way retail establishments would conduct everyday business. The first machines were sold not only for their functional ability, but also on their beauty, a fixture which every store owner would be proud to display in his establishment. The first cash registers were housed in elegant cabinets of polished wood. Eventually, ornate cases of brass and cast iron were used instead. However, due to lack of funds, Ritty was forced to sell his invention to investors, and by 1884 John Henry Patterson bought out his fellow investors and formed the National Cash Register Company, which is the name inscribed in this particular piece. The first office, with 13 employees, is located in Dayton, Ohio, which is also inscribed into the front of the base of this machine. The company grew slowly, producing only 16,000 registers in its first decade in operation. Through aggressive marketing and advertising, by 1914 the National Cash Register Company was producing 110,000 cash registers per year. In 1906, the company manufactured the first electric cash register. Few cash registers were sold in the early years of the company’s operation due to lack of demand. However, Patterson was confident that once owners understood how the register reduced theft there would be an upsurge of demand. The NCR also began buying smaller firms to form a monopoly. Patterson, as well as a few other NCR CEOs, was convicted in the mid-1910s of breaking the Sherman Anti-Trust law. By 1922, the company had officially produced two million cash registers. It also had begun producing other business machines. During World War I and World War II, the National Cash Register Company contributed to the United States’ war effort by manufacturing shell fuses, plane engines, and code-breaking machines, among many other items. An NCR research team broke the German Enigma Code in 1942. Even though these specific brass cash registers have not been manufactured since 1920, they were refurbished and sold as used registers for the next three decades. In some cases, they can even be found in use today. The quality of the mechanisms in these machines, as well as the timeless beauty of their ornate cases, make it easy to understand why these one-time common business machines have become such a sought-after and coveted antique. Measures: 9.5″ W x 16″ D x 16.75″ H.

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