How did punch cards make the transition from weaving into computers?
Jacquard’s invention so impressed Charles Babbage (1791-1871), who is often regarded as the father of computing, that Babbage incorporated punch cards for storing information on his Analytical Engine. Babbage also greatly prized a silk portrait of Jacquard that had been woven in his memory. Actually, Jacquard used two sets of cards for his equipment and in the weaving industry you often see early images of looms with two sets of punch cards – one to store information about a particular pattern and one to control other repetitive processes in the weaving. The punch card has survived through to the present day in a number of forms. What happened after Jacquard? Another place where memory storage was needed was for entertainment purposes: the cylinders and punched disks that operate music boxes, and also the punched paper rolls in player pianos. There was an almost infinite variety of these devices, including some automata programmed by large wooden cylinders with metal pins. I’ve collect
