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The Abacus, as an arithmetic calculating machine, has been around for at least 5,000 years in various forms. The one shown here was acquired in the back streets of Hong Kong around 1990 and is now a decorative item and a reminder of how we did things before electronic devices came into common use.
This was my trusty calculating companion during my university undergradute studies 1962-1965.
I'm still amazed at the how versatile these instruments were and no batteries required!
The Aristo Studio 0968 was produced by the German manufacturer Dennert & Pape from the 1950s until the factory closed in 1978. It was a popular model, known for its durability and reliability, and was widely used in various fields, including science, engineering, and education.
Aristo Studio 0968 Slide Rule
Payen Arithmometer
Payen Arithmometer
The Thomas Arithmometer was patented by Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar in 1820. Blaise Pascal invented his adding machine around 1642 which is likely to have been the first practical calculating device of this type. A number of other calculating devices were produced prior to the Thomas Arithmometer, however his appears to be the first to be produced in any quantity.
L. Payen took over the company when de Colmar died in 1870. This Arithmometer was manufactured in 1906, however this style of machine was produced from about 1860 into the 1920s. It is estimated that up to 1,500 machines had been sold by 1890 and by the end of production in the 1920s some 8,000 had been manufactured.
A 12-digit arithmometer sold for 300 francs in 1853, which was 30 times the price of a table of logarithms book and 1,500 times the cost of a first-class stamp (20 French cents), but, unlike a table of logarithms book, it was simple enough to be used for hours by an operator without any special qualifications.
An advertisement taken from a magazine published in 1855 shows that a 10-digit machine sold for 250 francs and a 16-digit machine sold for 500 francs. Around the equivalent of 3-6 months wage (Historical Currency Converter).
The Payen Arithmometer model P3A (Ser Nr 3906) can add, subtract, multiply and divide 6 & 7digit numbers to produce a 12 digit result.
Arithmomemtre Instruction Manual1906.pdfBrunsviga Nova 13Z/18 (c.1930)
Brunsviga Nova 13Z/18 (c.1930)
The Brunsviga were a very successful series of mechanical calculators. It was named after the town of Braunschweig in Germany where Grimme, Natalis and Co. manufactured the machines from the late 1800s to the early 1970s.
This machine uses pin-wheels invented by Willgodt T. Odhner of St Petersburg in 1874. The Nova 13 was a portable calculator (weighing ~2.5 Kg) which could add, subtract, multiply and divide 10 digit numbers to produce an 18 digit result.
Numerous mechanical calculators were manufactured during the early 20th century but were displaced from the 1970’s by cheap electronic calculators.
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