5.18 Shanghai Slide Rule Factory, China
The earliest factories in China to make slide rules were formed in the early 1930s and were privately owned. The Shanghai Sida Slide Rule Factory was founded in 1936. Some of its early rules were “copied” from K&E, with scales printed on paper and glued onto wood. Gradual improvement in the quality continued through the 1940s, with slide rules eventualliy being made of laminated wood, and with metal cursors and end brackets. After the Chinese revolution private companies became joint state-private enterprises starting in about 1949. By 1958 several small factories merged to become the Sida slide rule factory, using the Ruyi icon on its rules.
Ruyi Icon (Left) and Flying Fish Icon (Right).
Both the Sida name and Ruyi icon were dropped in 1966 when Sida became the Shanghai Slide Rule Factory. Their first rules had no icons, but in about 1968 rules with the Flying Fish icon appeared. The Shanghai Slide Rule Factory also sold self-branded slide rules without the Flying Fish label. But the Flying Fish slide rules were some of the finest made in China with extensive scale sets rivaling those found elsewhere in the world. The Shanghai Slide Rule Factory made slide rules until at least 1980.
Total number of Shanghai Slide Rule Company slide rules in the collection: 6. \(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\)