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Don Shepherd · (This post was last modified: 11-19-2019 01:01 AM by Don Shepherd.)

I came across this recently on Ebay. It is an unpunched IBM 96-column card from Radio City Music Hall, probably from the early 1970's, an IBM System 3. It looks like this card would have been used in their payroll processing, I guess to pay those Rockettes. I imagine the Rockettes never saw these cards, but without them they wouldn't have been paid!

Ah, if this card could talk.

BruceH · 11-20-2019, 01:21 PM

Since that card is unused, it wouldn't have much to talk about. "I came out the printers, dripping wet with ink and then, as soon as I was barely dry, they put me in a box with a load of others and I've been there ever since. Now you're all staring at me!"

More seriously, it's interesting that the cards were custom printed with the record layout - I've not seen that before. It seems unlikely that Radio City were big enough users to do that for themselves so I'm wondering if this was a card produced by a bureau service (i.e. 'outsourced' payroll in the modern parlance)?

In which case, Radio City wouldn't have had a computer of their own, only 'dumb', electro-mechanical card punch machines. Payroll staff would punch the cards with the employee's details and at the end of the day or week they'd be sent off to the bureau service for processing. The record layout was printed on as a reminder to the typists so they could easily see if they'd gone wrong.

Don Shepherd · 11-20-2019, 04:38 PM

(11-20-2019 01:21 PM)BruceH Wrote: Since that card is unused, it wouldn't have much to talk about.

You've got a point there.

(11-20-2019 01:21 PM)BruceH Wrote: the cards were custom printed with the record layout

Yes, and the record layout shows that there were actually two possible card formats: if a 1 was punched in column 1, the card would contain name and address data. If an "x" punch was in column 1, it would contain other fields necessary to generate payroll totals. Interesting. Note that "date hired" is 6 digits which would have been a problem in year 2000.

(11-20-2019 01:21 PM)BruceH Wrote: Radio City wouldn't have had a computer of their own

In the early 70's that's quite possible, but with payroll and accounting and ticket sales, etc., a small computer might have been worthwhile. I think an IBM System 3 would have rented for around $1000/month.