James and John Ritty patented the design on November 4, 1879, as “Cash Register and Indicator.” This was not the first cash register on the market, as indicated by the patent, which describes it as “Improvement in cash register and indicator.“ The Rittys opened a small factory in Dayton to manufacture cash registers while still operating the saloon, eventually producing other models such as “Ritty’s Incorruptible Cashier.” The company did not prosper and in 1881, James Ritty became overwhelmed with the responsibilities of running two businesses, and sold all his interests in the cash register business. The buyers were a group of investors including Jacob H. Eckert of Cincinnati, a china and glassware salesman who formed the National Manufacturing Company, and John and Frank Patterson, who were then in the coal and railroad business. John H. Patterson became majority owner in 1884, when the company was renamed The National Cash Register Company. We celebrate this remarkable invention with an AI image of a vintage Ritty cash register …