In the beginning, there was:
The IBM Card.

This is where it all began:

The 026 Key-Punch Machine.

The IBM Accounting Principle.

The workhorse of American Business in the Fifties!
The IBM 402 Accounting Machine.

A 402 control panel with sample wiring.

IBM 514 Reproducer/Summary Punch.

This could be attached to 402 accounting

machines to punch summary cards in order

to reduce card volume.

It could also be used stand-alone

to reproduce decks of cards, etc.

Like the 402 and all other machines, it had a control panel.

IBM 077 Collator.

This machine was used to merge two

decks of cards. For example, to

merge an employee master card

in front of time-cards.

The Last Dinosaur!

Schematic of Card Feed Mechanism.
Each card was read twice. This allowed comparisons to be made between successive cards in order to 'Break Control' and print totals.