Before the arrival of cheaply available electronic calculators in the mid-1970s, mechanical slide rules were indispensable to scientific and engineering logarithmic calculation. Instruction on using slide rules was therefore a key component of any technological education and was included in many University of Bath degree programmes. Students required to become proficient in the operation of slide rules were able to take up jobs in science and engineering based industries with a solid practical understanding of their application.

The collection comprises 50 slide rules in a diverse range of styles, sizes and materials dating from the 1930s through to the 1970s. They include examples manufactured in the UK, Europe, Japan and the USA. The collection also contains a small amount of instructional documentation relating to the use of slide rules.

The collection was donated to the University of Bath by Denis Ripley in 2025.

Size: 2 boxes, 63 items.

A catalogue providing full details of the contents of the Slide Rule Collection is available in PDF format.