James was the owner of a saloon in Dayton, Ohio, USA, and wanted to stop employees from pilfering his profits. The Ritty Model I was invented in 1879 after seeing a tool that counted the revolutions of the propeller on a steamship. With the help of James' brother John Ritty, they patented it in 1883. National Cash Register (ca. 1910s- 1920s) (No Sound)
I loved the old cash registers! To punch up a buck fifty a person had to push the $1 and the 5 and 0 at the same time. Then, if change had to be made from two dollars, the register made a cashier figure it out instead of telling him or her the answer.
I had a toy cash register similar to this one. It was really well made, heavy, metal. Never played with it. All the sudden I feel guilty.