Early Brunsviga Mechanical Calculator
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:37705 | Maker: Grimme Natalis & Co. |
The origin of the Brunsviga calculator has been told previously, but to recap, Brunsviga was originally the German factory for Odhner, when Odhner was still in Russia. Odhner sold the factory, plus the tooling and the rights to his patents, to Grimme Natalis & Co., who initially manufactured Odhner clones, and later introduced improvements and new models of their own. Those improvements would have been by Franz Trinks, a directory of the company and chief engineer. ...; The improvements were mostly of the safeties and interlocks type, which pretty much every mechanical calculator company was doing in the interest of reducing operator errors, a big thing in the world of calculators sold to businesses. These were significant improvements, and the calculators with them were marked, “System Trinks”, like this one. I cannot find either a model number or serial number anywhere on this Brunsviga calculator, hints on where to look would be appreciated. It appears to be an early Odhner style model with the Trinks improvements.
This calculator works but not very smoothly. My guess is that it hasn’t been serviced in, oh, maybe 60-70 years. The calculator is solidly attached to the bottom of its original wood case, but the top of the case is missing. The “ear” on the right side of the carriage movement release has broken off, and there is paint loss in several places.
This calculator is from the collection of Robert K. (“Bob”) Otnes, PhD, one of the founding members of the Oughtred Society and the original editor of the Journal of the Oughtred Society. It is being sold by the Oughtred Society on his behalf.
The Oughtred Society was founded in 1991 by a group of slide rule collectors and is dedicated to the preservation and history of slide rules and other calculating instruments. Membership is open to anyone. Further information about the Oughtred Society can be found at: http://www.oughtred.org/.
PayPal is the only accepted form of payment. Buyers within California will be charged 7.25% sales tax.
Shipping will be by USPS Priority Mail. Shipping charges will be somewhat higher for destinations outside the USA.
On May-25-19 at 18:44:26 PDT, seller added the following information:IMPORTANT NOTE: It was reported to me that some parts on this calculator appear to be from a later model, in particular, the top cover over the setting levers, but possibly not limited to just that piece. I asked for and got a second opinion on this from someone who knows far more than me about Brunsviga calculators, and he agreed that not all the parts on this one look original. I was very surprised, I would not have expected the parts to be interchangeable at all. So far, the bidders on this item have been more knowledgeable than me and aware of the parts changes before I was, but I don't want anyone to bid for this with less information than I have. So, this is an early Brunsiviga calculator that has had some parts replaced over its life. There is probably a good story there; I wish I knew what it was.
This calculator works but not very smoothly. My guess is that it hasn’t been serviced in, oh, maybe 60-70 years. The calculator is solidly attached to the bottom of its original wood case, but the top of the case is missing. The “ear” on the right side of the carriage movement release has broken off, and there is paint loss in several places.
This calculator is from the collection of Robert K. (“Bob”) Otnes, PhD, one of the founding members of the Oughtred Society and the original editor of the Journal of the Oughtred Society. It is being sold by the Oughtred Society on his behalf.
The Oughtred Society was founded in 1991 by a group of slide rule collectors and is dedicated to the preservation and history of slide rules and other calculating instruments. Membership is open to anyone. Further information about the Oughtred Society can be found at: http://www.oughtred.org/.
PayPal is the only accepted form of payment. Buyers within California will be charged 7.25% sales tax.
Shipping will be by USPS Priority Mail. Shipping charges will be somewhat higher for destinations outside the USA.
On May-25-19 at 18:44:26 PDT, seller added the following information:IMPORTANT NOTE: It was reported to me that some parts on this calculator appear to be from a later model, in particular, the top cover over the setting levers, but possibly not limited to just that piece. I asked for and got a second opinion on this from someone who knows far more than me about Brunsviga calculators, and he agreed that not all the parts on this one look original. I was very surprised, I would not have expected the parts to be interchangeable at all. So far, the bidders on this item have been more knowledgeable than me and aware of the parts changes before I was, but I don't want anyone to bid for this with less information than I have. So, this is an early Brunsiviga calculator that has had some parts replaced over its life. There is probably a good story there; I wish I knew what it was.
