(since April 22, 1997)
| CountClick to Sort | NameClick to Sort | AddressClick to Sort | Phone (optional) | # Type I'sClick to Sort | # Type II'sClick to Sort | Serial #(s)Click to Sort | CURTA Story | |
| 0a | 1996 |
1996 |
1996 |
1996 |
******** 1996 ******** |
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| 1 | Rick Furr | rfurr(at)vcalc.net | Blacksburg, Virginia USA |
(540) 951-8219 | 9 | 5 | 2185 5790 9897 13836 15045 29548 58562 62335 74738 508272 526699 538180 541431 557788 |
02185 --- THE 3rd OLDEST KNOWN! 58562 - metal case, plastic crank - I found my type I in a Camera store that a friend (John Kline) owns. He knew I collected electronic calculators and one day he commented to me that he had a cool looking mechanical calculator I should see. He said it looked like a pepper grinder, Ding Ding Ding... my mind knew I had hit the jack pot. A customer had walked in from off the street and handed it to him years earlier. He slapped a price of $100 on it and it proceeded to sit in the store for all those years. I said "It's a CURTA and I must have it", we looked and it was lost. Bummer, had somebody already bought it? We couldn't find it any where. I left the store Curtaless. A few weeks went by and then one day I got a call. It was my friend, he said to stop by and check something he had out. I did and to my surprise he produced a beautiful type I in a metal can. We worked a deal and it was mine. Thanks John! - Jan-28-97 526699 - leather case, metal can, plastic crank, metal clear - From Dave Wheeler - It is in excellent condition in a metal case and a leather carrying case with instruction sheet and sample calculations booklet. - Dec-04-99 15045 - metal case, metal crank - From Dick Greenwood - My second type I came from an owner looking for a good home for his old Curta. It's a fairly low serial numbered unit (SN 15045) that has the rounded top on the operation handle. It also requires a lot more force to initiate the turn of the operation handle. Curt must have lowered the force necessary to start the turn on later models. Has anyone else noticed this? - May-13-00 02185 - metal case, pin setting knobs - THE 3rd OLDEST KNOWN! - From Carl Volkmar - He purchased it from from Dr Yussim in Uruguay. Jack Christensen serviced Dec-12-02 - Jul-19-03 5790 - metal case, pin setting knobs, metal crank - From Carl Volkmar - Jul-19-03 9897 - metal case, metal crank - From Carl Volkmar - Jul-19-03 62335 - plastic case, plastic crank - From Carl Volkmar - Jul-19-03 557788 - plastic case, crank, clearing ring, paper box - From Carl Volkmar - Jul-19-03 541431 - plastic case, plastic crank, metal clearing ring - From David Franks Mar-01-05 74738 - plastic case, crank, clearing ring, paper box - From Lisa Shearer - Mar-10-06 13836 - metal case - From Gabe Hieronymi - Jun-11-06 538180 - no case, plastic crank, metal clearing ring - From Don Carter - Feb-22-10 508272 - metal case, all black type II - From Yvonne Tyler - Feb-08-11 29548 - plastic case (should be metal), metal crank, instructions, english and german example guides - From Tom & Barbara Vandeventer - Feb-14-20 |
| 2 | USA |
0 | 0 | 0 | 5790 29208-D 9897 62335 557788 |
I bought a type I in the late 50's in Germany that I used for many years. I have been trying to recall what happened to it and I can't remember seeing it after the early 70's. (557788) Oh well I just bought this one on e-bay it is pristine with the box and documentation. It is as much fun as I remember. (2185) from Dr Yussim in Uruguay - "I am not a specialist in calculator machines. This is the first Curta I see in my life. Do not know how to manipulate with it. Dirty yes. Rusty not. Maybe some very minor minor minuscle rust localized areas hardly noticeables. Not sure if this minuscle areas are rust or dirty. The owner of the Curta was a busineman in Montevideo who used to import merchandise from Europe. He died and her wife sold many items to get some extra money. A antique dealer bought the machine from her and I bought it from them. Dr Yussim in Uruguay - July 18, 2001 29208 DEMO - From Monica Bongue - July 14, 2001 62335 - From eBay - Jul 18, 2001 | ||
| 3 | Skip Godfrey | sgodfrey(at)imt.net | Billings, Montana USA |
(406) 245-0409 | 1 | 3 | 26596 508501 525475 555487 |
Check out all kinds of interesting facts from Skip on the Curta News Letter page. |
| 4 | Steve Brauner | steve(at)fad.sel.sony.com | Mahwah, New Jersey USA |
1 | 0 | ????? | ||
| 4a | 1997 |
1997 |
1997 |
1997 |
******** 1997 ******** |
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| 5 | Henry Friedman | NightKnight(at)worldnet.att.net | 1 | 1 | 56020 561448 |
I own two Curtas. A model 1 and a model II. Both in mint condition. Purchased the I from Gemmary, and the II from Daniel Lewin. I would be interested in obtaining any sales brochures on the Curta. I would also like to know how much they cost originally. My Curtas have serial numbers 56020 and 561448. Skip Godfrey sent me the service manuals on both of them. But if you have a service source, it would be good to know it. Your operating manual was wonderful. Keep up the good work! P.S. By the way, old lens cases, of the better type, such as Nikon, make a better bed for these beautiful kids. In fact, they are built like Leica cameras, so I guess it would be "fitting" to put them in a plush-lined leather camera lens case, which has a strap attachment, for those brave souls who want to carry them outdoors. | ||
| 6 | Rick Stanard | rstan16821(at)aol.com | Herndon, Virginia USA |
(703) 437-4983 | 1 | 1 | 44150 508642 |
I am a rabid Curta fan and can never talk, hear, or read enough about them. |
| 7 | Jack Christensen | chronos(at)comcast.net | 32 Old Barn Road Hawthorn Woods, Illinois USA |
(847) 550-5052 | 2 | 0 | 3681 71739 |
Repairs Curtas -- Makes the Timewise rally computer. Jack continues to repair about four Curtas each month on average. I can highly recommend him. -Rick- |
| 8 | Carlo E. Vandoni | Carlo.Vandoni(at)cern.ch | EG, PO Box 16, 1288 Aire-la-Ville SWITZERLAND |
+41 22 757 3173 +41 79 351 7037 (cell) +41 22 757 0318 (fax) |
4 | 2 | ????? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? |
I am amazed by the relatively low costs of CURTAs in the US. In Europe, they are much more expensive. |
| 9 | Paul Roberts | proberts(at)gate.net | Stuart, Flordia USA |
1 | 0 | ????? | purchased as surplus equipment from the space program for $5 in 1970 | |
| 10 | Jan Meyer | Jan.Meyer(at)t-online.de | 83026 Rosenheim GERMANY |
49 8031 44969 |
1 | 0 | ????? | |
| 11 | John H Meyers | jhmeyers(at)mum.edu | Fairfield, Iowa USA |
1 | 0 | ????? | I still have my (one and only) Curta Model I, albeit in the plastic carrying case, rather than the (better) metal case. I used to use it to teach kids how multiplication and division actually work! Bought it for something over 100 bucks, from the original Abercrombie & Fitch NYC store, which, being a sports & hunting oriented place, must have sold them for their use as rally calculators, as mentioned in "The Last Whole Earth Catalog." | |
| 12 | Charles L. Webb | clwz1(at)airmail.net | Carrollton, Texas USA |
(972) 939-2317 | 0 | 1 | 520854 | |
| 13 | Dan Weinstock | weindan(at)hws.edu | Geneva, New York USA |
(315) 789-1515 |
1 | 0 | ????? | |
| 14 | Dennis Farr | dfarr(at)mail.com | Tampa, Florida USA |
0 | 1 | 539041 | The case is plastic and there is a cardboard box with the serial number stamped on the cover. Also have price sheet from 'RACE AND RALLY EQUIPMENT' Medford N.J. Shows Curta list price $125 on sale for $104.95, Curta II list price $165 on sale for $139.95. Unfortunately, I don't know what year the price sheet was printed. But I speculate it was in the mid 60's. I received the unit from my (ex)brother-in-law who purchased it new. | |
| 15 | Rodd Jones | roddjones(at)aol.com (or at msn.com) | Wichita, Kansas USA |
(316) 685-6778 |
0 | 1 | 509318 | The guarantee card was filled out 3/19/59. I am not the original purchaser. I bought my little jewel, in excellent condition, for $8.00 at a garage sale about 5 years ago. It has the metal case and warranty card but no instructions. I remember the Curta ads from the 60's in the sports car magazines like Road and Track and Car and Driver. Though I am not interested in selling the world's finest, most useful and esoteric paper weight. |
| 16 | David Kay | davidkay(at)west.net | Westlake Village, California USA |
0 | 1 | 541758 | Purchased from Vilem B. Haan, Inc, Los Angeles, 1963 Cost $155. Used for car ralleys, math classes. | |
| 17 | David Bonnes | Dbonnes(at)msn.com | AUSTRALIA | 1 | 1 | 44193 508991 |
type 1: Excellent condition, all black (no manual). Bought in US (he thinks was manufactured in 1952/3). Cost US$ 700. type II: Immaculate condition (possibly never used) & all black like the model I (is that unusual?). Saw it in an UK antique shop (no providence, no manual) & just had to have it. Cost UK 300# (US$ 500). | |
| 18 | Jordin Kare | kare(at)sirius.com | San Ramon, California USA |
(510) 831-6862 | 0 | 1 | ?????? | |
| 19 | Daniel Lewin | mail(at)daniel-lewin.de | Darmstadt GERMANY |
2 | 1 | 7057 3234-D 509257 |
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| 20 | Dov Gadot | gadov(at)inter.net.il | 46 Carmel St. Zur-Igal ISRAEL |
972-9- 7495268 972-9- 7495268 (Fax) |
1 | 1 | 19049 525059 |
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| 21 | Nicholas Bodley | nbodley(at)alumni.princeton.edu | Waltham, Massachusetts USA |
1 | 0 | 33212 | Purchased April 1957 in Hong Kong while I was in the Navy for the equivalent of $80 US. I all but certain that I no longer have my Curta, and it might have been stolen; possible dates are 1990 and 1995. | |
| 22 | Fritz Kosicek | kosicek(at)orf.at | A-1130 Wien AUSTRIA |
1 | 1 | ????? ?????? |
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| 23 | Julian Burke | julian(at)knology.net | 1423 Marconi Dr Knoxville, Tennessee USA |
(423) 691-0821 | 1 | 1 | 63708 5????? |
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| 24 | Victor Kuhl | Kuhl39(at)aol.com | 500 Waukeegan RD Deerfield, Illinois USA |
0 | 2 | 501787 511486 |
Bought the 1st one for $20 at a resale shop in near mint condition. 2nd one is a two-tone type 2 from my late uncles estate. New ,unused condition. | |
| 25 | Sold 06/29/1998 | Sold | Muenchen (Munich) GERMANY |
Sold | 0 | 1 | 539321 | Purchased in Munich at 1995 for 1100.- DM. Nearly new, without sign of use. |
| 26 | A. B. Bonds | ab(at)vuse.vanderbilt.edu | 493 Saddle Drive Nashville, Tennessee USA |
0 | 1 | 536087 | It's in extremely nice physical and functional condition, with only a tad of discoloration on the grey hammertone from handling. I got it from a chap in Florida who used it for road ralying for a number of years. | |
| 27 | Dr. Rutger Verbeek | Rutger.Verbeek(at)FernUni-Hagen.de | Hagen GERMANY |
0 | 1 | 560608 | ||
| 28 | Prof. Dr. Jens Kirchhoff | jkirchh(at)t-online.de | Claus Hartung Eck 17 D-37083 Goettingen GERMANY |
0 | 1 | ?????? | I'm a collector of all kinds of computing instruments ans computers like analog-devices, slide-rules, early card puncher a.s.o. | |
| 29 | Larry D. Allgood | lallgood(at)snet.net | 123 Jeremy Hill Rd. North Stonington, Connecticut USA |
(860) 535-9491 | 1 | 0 | 43323 | Purchased 2 years ago by placing ad on Compuserve. |
| 30 | Ralph Beckman | ralph(at)designlab.com | Providence, Rhode Island USA |
0 | 2 | 522934 521094 |
Have owned since new. Cost $165 ea in 1962. | |
| 31 | Shalom (Dick) Tsur, Ph.D. | tsur(at)surromed.com | SurroMed, Inc. 1060 East Meadow Circle Palo Alto, California USA |
(408) 588-3225 | 0 | 1 | 558273 | Used one extensively in in the 60's during engineering school years and always wanted to own one. |
| 32 | Javier Susaeta-Erburu | verweht(at)gmail.com | Madrid SPAIN |
913 202 436 | 1 | 0 | 68696 | |
| 33 | Peter Schneider | NJRALLYE(at)AOL.COM | Northern, New Jersey USA |
(201) 466-7551 (W) | 2 | 2 | 17942 52313 512529 514794 |
Plus a leather case for a Type II |
| 34 | NETHERLANDS |
0 | 0 | Sold to Jacky Young in 2020 | ||||
| 35 | Marcel Chichak | marcel(at)starchak.ca | Edmonton, Alberta CANADA |
(403) 466-6004 | 2 | 1 | 63318 63816 557842 | |
| 36 | Erez Kaplan | calcmach(at)shani.net | ISRAEL | 2 | 0 | 4529 38368 |
The top of the first type 1 (SN 4529) opens like a regular screw direction, as opposed to the later models. He picked it up in Israel for $60! | |
| 37 | Ken Whitson | ken(at)kenwhitson.com | Santa Cruz, California USA |
0 | 1 | 536734 | Bought new in mid-1960s for car rallys, still use it for same. | |
| 38 | Josh Fisher | jfisher(at)hpl.hp.com | Brookline, Massachusetts USA |
(617) 679-9310 | 0 | 1 | 523229 | |
| 39 | Sold - 11/15/1999 | Sold | Winter Park, Flordia USA |
Sold | 1 | 0 | 67066 | |
| 40 | Leo Theron | leot(at)isdial.com | PO Box 52089 Wierda Park 0149 Republic of SOUTH AFRICA |
+27 (0) 82-570-4676 | 0 | 1 | 539787 | Bought at an Auction for approx US$3.00. In mint condition, with bakelite box. Aquired manual few years later, paying much, much more for that!! |
| 41 | Jim Spofford | Jim_Spofford(at)WatsonWyatt.com | Dallas, Texas USA |
(214) 978-3585 | 1 | 0 | 55628 | I remember as a child being fascinated watching my dad using this device. He passed when I was 9 around 1971. I don't recall when I first picked it up, but I didn't have an instruction book for it. I remember not knowing how to fold the finger holder back into its storage position so I could put the lid back on. Luckily I didn't break it, and after a day or so I figured it out. It is still a prized possession both for its sentimental reasons and for my love of mechanical beauty. |
| 42 | Douglas Hicks | warhorse1(at)msn.com | Banning, California USA |
(909) 849-9825 | 0 | 1 | 558006 | Purchased September 25, 1971 for $134.45 |
| 43 | Richard Freedland | gadaoman(at)gmail.com | 13840 SW 78 Place Miami, Flordia USA |
(305) 253-1011 | 0 | 2 | 502620 513709 |
I picked up the 502620 at a garage sale, in its original box, along with a 42-page instruction manual in Spanish ("Instrucciones para el uso de la CURTA"), a guarantee card (in English) and a bill of sale indicating that it was purchased on May 15, 1958, in Quito, Ecuador. |
| 44 | Dave Bunsey, Sr. | dabunsey(at)ameritech.net | Chesterland, Ohio USA |
(440) 729-4024 | 1 | 0 | 66870 | Purchased eons ago and still in use for Sport Car Ralleys. |
| 45 | Werner Schaefer | schaefer.cham(at)bluewin.ch | CH-6330 Cham SWITZERLAND |
1 | 1 | 64779 561655 |
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| 46 | Jim Bell | jbellco(at)aol.com | Nowata, Oklahoma USA |
0 | 1 | 514725 | ||
| 47 | Rod Sorenson | oldchief81(at)aol.com | Northfield, Massachusetts USA |
0 | 1 | 524581 551663 |
As a reformed surveyor I have used them for car rallys since the middle 60's. | |
| 48 | David Nessl | senorqe(at)aol.com | Irvine, California USA |
0 | 1 | 502809 | Purchased mid '70S from original owner who bought it in 1954 while working as a tool maker in Chicago. Have original 'Chattel Mortgage' plus instruction manual. | |
| 49 | David Owensby | david(at)greencafe.com | Idyllwild, California USA |
2 | 2 | 8428 16985 518485 561314 |
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| 49a | 1998 |
1998 |
1998 |
1998 |
******** 1998 ******** |
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| 50 | Helmut Waldbauer | curta(at)waldbauer.com | Vienna AUSTRIA |
++43-1-603- 13-62-13 | 6 | 3 | 7450-D 29810 48722 48762 53177 57376 503322 514533 514884 |
SN 7450 Schnittmodell (Cutaway) |
| 51 | Lee Sorenson | lsorenson(at)brsrisk.com | Fair Oaks, California USA |
0 | 1 | 522954 | I bought my Type II from a retired State Civil Engineer Don Kite in the late 70's who had purchased a batch from a state auction. I paid $75. It was in good condition and functioned perfectly. In Early 2000, I noticed it rattled some and it did not function properly. My brother, Rod Sorenson was able to take it apart, clean it and re-install the screw that had fallen out. Would love to have a Type I for my collection. | |
| 52 | Frank DeWitt | frank(at)lbpinc.com | Bloomfield, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 10265 | Bought over the internet about 5 years ago. | |
| 53 | Jim Hawkins | jfhawk(at)mindspring.com | Snellville, Georgia USA |
1 | 0 | 74116 | Bought around 1970 has never been used. | |
| 54 | Bernhard Adams | adams(at)x4u2.desy.de | Hamburg GERMANY |
1 | 0 | 79123 | 0 | |
| 55 | Dr. Sid Kolpas | skolpas(at)netra.glendale.cc.ca.us | Granada Hills, California USA |
818-240-1000 x5378 | 0 | 1 | 517934 | Mint condition, but the case is a bit scuffed. Case appears to be plastic. |
| 56 | Dave Estall | dave_estall(at)compuserve.com | Woking, Surrey, England UK |
1 | 0 | 28290 | I have had a Type I CURTA for about fifteen years now, shut away in a box. My father gave it to me - he says he worked with someone who was a genius with it. I didn't really know what it could do until I read the manual on your site. Marvellous! It now has pride of place and I'm keen to find out more about this superb machine. | |
| 57 | Tim Winker | tim(at)winker.net | Saginaw (Duluth), Minnesota USA |
218-729-0821 | 0 | 2 | 511697 554764 |
1st Curta in Metal container, the 2nd in a Plastic comtainer. Also heard from Jim Bianchi, who wrote the original article. Found out later that the STIMSON'S RALLY FACTORS book has a section on "Rallying with the Curta Calculator". A footnote indicates it "has been adapted from A NEW GUIDE TO RALLYING by Larry Reid". |
| 58 | Satch Carlson | satch(at)satch.us | Anchorage, Alaska USA |
971 221-2167 | 0 | 1 | 502832 | Early model, no red band.. |
| 59 | Tom Grimshaw | Grimbo69(at)sunline.net | Port Charlotte, Flordia USA |
0 | 1 | 509156 | Own one Curta which several people purchased for me as a gift when I sold my original one which I had purchased in 1961 for $150 new. Satch Carlson, John Buffum, and several others bought the new me the one. Note from Satch: Tom Grimshaw died several years ago, and I don't know what became of the Curta we bought for him. | |
| 60 | Andrew Davie | adavie(at)mad.scientist.com | Sydney AUSTRALIA |
1 | 0 | 70883 | No case; this one in original box - not sure if a case should be included. Otherwise everything seems to be there. Pristine condition, includes 51 page manual, and fold-up guide ("the 4 arithmetical rules") and a warranty card. The Curta serial number is also stamped on the lid of the box. | |
| 61 | E.H. Rettig | erettig(at)bajabb.com | Alto, New Mexico USA |
1 | 0 | 64555 | ||
| 62 | Tadamitsu Gamazawa | caa56640(at)pop06.odn.ne.jp | Sendai, Miyagi JAPAN |
0 | 1 | 533039 | ||
| 63 | Sold | Sold | Phoenixville, Pennsylvania USA |
Sold | 1 | 0 | 71802 | Bought new around 1967. In leather rally case, with original manual in English. Absolutely mint condition. Would be interested in selling for the right price. |
| 64 | Erwin Tomash | etomash(at)gte.net | Los Angeles, California USA |
1 | 0 | 36440 | I have owned a CURTA Type I since 1962. | |
| 65 | Steve White | sjwhite(at)argonet.co.uk | Halifax, West Yorkshire, England UK |
1 | 0 | 43080 | ||
| 66 | Markus Rustemeyer | rustemeyer.pad(at)sni.de | Paderborn, Nordrhein-Westfalen GERMANY |
0 | 1 | 529115 | ||
| 67 | Jim Bianchi | jimbo(at)sonic.net | Santa Rosa, California USA |
1 | 0 | 52043 | This is in absolutely pristine condition, never used. I used to own a Type II, but sold it last year. I'd used it to write an arkle for _Rallye_ magazine in the mid '70s on rallye navigation using one (If anyone has a copy of that issue, I'd much apprec getting it). -- So would I. - Rick | |
| 68 | James McDermaid | jimm(at)doitnow.com | 1141 West Culver Phoenix, Arizona USA |
602.254.8766 | 0 | 1 | 542608 | Bought new 1968 for $165 |
| 69 | Burt Newmark | wzkbar(at)att.net | San Mateo, California USA |
1 | 0 | 77798 | (plastic case) (Contina AG Mauren) New condition with box, brochure and instruction manual. | |
| 70 | Craig Reynolds | acriii(at)c3net.net | Clinton Township, Michigan USA |
1 | 0 | 19327 | ||
| 71 | John DeKoning | johndk(at)ibm.net | Palm Springs, California USA |
760-325-346? | 1 | 0 | 35276 | |
| 72 | Rick Bensene | rickb(at)pail.dev.com | Oregon City, Oregon USA |
0 | 1 | 521802 | ||
| 73 | Hap Murphy | phcs(at)iag.net | Orlando, Florida USA |
1 | 0 | 71198 | ||
| 74 | Stan Alter | stalt(at)mail.idt.net | Manorville, Long Island, New York USA |
0 | 1 | 548103 | ||
| 75 | Gerry Hughes | gerry.hughes(at)dfrb.fe.defence.gov.au | Hobart, Tasmania AUSTRALIA |
0362 377318 | 1 | 0 | 30903 | Originally used in the office of a Gold Mine in Tasmania. |
| 76 | Christoffer Holmberg | 18148(at)student.hhs.se | Stockholm SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 44233 | The machine is in absolutely mint condition. It has probably never been used. I also have the manual shown in this site in swedish. | |
| 77 | John Cherry | John.Cherry(at)qsa.idt.com | Sydney, New South Wales (NSW) AUSTRALIA |
0 | 1 | 546692 | The Curta was used by my father, dating from about 1969. My father is no longer with us, so its history is a little murky - but I know that it actually belonged to his employer, and they gave it to him when he 'retired' since no-one else knew how to use it. I've never seen an instruction manual, but I do have the original Bakelite case - that left-hand thread on the lid gets me every time. | |
| 78 | Ira Meislik | imeislik(at)meislik.com | Montclair, New Jersey USA |
(973) 744-0288 | 0 | 1 | 536689 | Purchased in mid '60s for sports car rallying. Plastic case is now missing some tabs. Broken clearing ring. Work's great, but who would expect less? |
| 79 | Tim Humphries | Tim(at)centuri.demon.co.uk | Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England UK |
0 | 1 | 539157 | Plastic case - Inherited from my grandfather, it is in its original box with 'Your CURTA Calculator' leaflet and 'Computing Examples' booklet. In addition, I have a book of calculating techniques from a company called 'Automatic Business Machines Ltd, London' | |
| 80 | Walt Kammer | WaltKammer(at)aol.com | Buffalo, New York USA |
(716)-632-3264 | 1 | 1 | 74021 551188 |
Note: Looking for another Type II Curta, metal case. |
| 81 | Larry McElhiney | lmcelhiney(at)yahoo.com | Indianapolis, Indiana USA |
(317) 850 2002 | 1 | 0 | 49465 | I have been a CURTA I owner for about 25 years. I bought it at a flea market for $10 with no manual... It took me a few hours to figure out addition and subtraction and about a month of diligent research at the University of California, Santa Cruz Science Library to understand enough of mechanical calculator theory to figure out how to use the more arcane functions. I love to let people try to figure out what it is--let alone how to use it! |
| 82 | Gary D. Snyder | gary.snyder(at)fibre.com | Petaluma, California USA |
1 | 1 | 76640 544167 |
Purchased both Curtas in May 1998. Both have the plastic cases which, despite apparent sentiment on the Curta pages, seem to work just fine and look to be very durable. The Curta I is a very late-60's model and shows signs of attempts made to cut manufacturing costs, compared to the mid-60's Curta II (such as plastic clearing ring with fixed retaining post, rather than a metal ring with spring-loaded retaining post). Both work excellently and do not seem to have any cosmetic, mechanical, or functional defects. | |
| 83 | John H. Eells | jheells(at)erols.com | 11513 Poplar Ridge Road Richmond, Virginia USA |
0 | 2 | 536131 514709 |
While in a thrift store around noon on Sat. 6/6/98, I spotted two Curta type II calculators. The newer of the two in a plastic case (No. 536131) was $15. The older in a metal case (No. 514709) was $25. At the time I knew nothing about Curta's but for a vague memory of seeing one used by a fellow student at the Engineering School at UVA in 1961. I thought what the Hell, I'd risk the money and buy the cheaper one. This was just the calculator and case - no instructions. And although it looked like new, I didn't even know if it worked. That night I went on line to see if I could find instructions. I did, and yes it worked perfectly. However,it was then I discovered not buying both was a mistake. I Suffered mild anxiety all day Sunday, thinking someone had probably purchased the other one on Sat. afternoon. Still in hopes that this didn't happen, I arrived at the store before opening. Not only was I pleasantly surprised to find the second one still there, but thay had reduced it's price to $15. I am now the proud owner of 2 very nice Type II Curtas. | |
| 84 | Gerwin R. Bertelmann | GerWinR(at)aol.com | Berlin GERMANY |
1 | 0 | 65449 | Collecting all mechanical Calculators | |
| 85 | Ken Sanford | kanford(at)aol.com | Kensington, Maryland USA |
(703) 482-7125 (work) | 1 | 1 | 51266 559891 |
Paid $20 for the model 1. Did not know what it was at the time. Paid much more for the model II! |
| 86 | Mitch Wofchuck | mitch(at)wofchuck.reno.nv.us | Reno, Nevada USA |
1 | 0 | 4730 | ||
| 87 | Stuart L. Wayne | swayne(at)hughes.net | West Branch, Michigan USA |
0 | 1 | 534332 | Type II in plastic case. Zeroing ring broken off in rollover accident during 1966 Blue Heron Night Rally in Pennsylvania - aside from this both my Curta and I came through still functioning! I would never sell my Curta, but am curious about current values. After I quit rallying, my Curta rested in my desk drawer at work for about 25 years. When people would pester me to borrow my calculator, I delighted in slapping the Curta into their hand! | |
| 88 | Nick Ridgeway | dalen(at)iquest.net | Yorktown, Indiana USA |
765-759-9600 | 0 | 1 | 535297 | In original box with plastic case. Mint condition. Also have the 15 page "The key to every calculating problem" The 51 page "Computing examples fot eh CURTA calculating machine" and the foldout "Your CURTA Calculator". I bought it new at Bitburg Germany in the late 60's. Never used it. |
| 89 | Scott Sprague | Scottsprag(at)aol.com | San Francisco, California USA |
0 | 1 | 525190 | I was given a "Curta" calculator by my parents. Apparently they used it as a calculator / milage-tracker during my father's auto- rallying days in the mid-sixties. This is one of my most treasured posessions- yet I still use it often. I am a pilot, and find the Curta to be indespensable as a navigation aid. It can't short out, or run out of batteries in mid-air... | |
| 90 | Jorge L. Pang A. | jlpang(at)panama.phoenix.net | Panama City PANAMA |
(507) 613-8785 (w) (507) 230-0216 (h) |
0 | 1 | 510675 | With Black Metal Case, no manual. This calculator belonged to my father. It is in excellent condition after all these years. My mother was going to dump it but I rescued it. |
| 91 | Art Rosen | artrosencpa(at)gmail.com | Monroe, New Jersey USA |
732-343-1611 | 1 | 2 | 25915 508978 54913 |
All three of my Curta's were purchased on eBay around 2001. |
| 92 | Hans-Joachim Hoeft | hoeft(at)gisa.de | D-78727 Oberndorf GERMANY |
07423-7111 | 2 | 1 | 34387 36642-D 504220 |
SN 36642, skeleton model for demonstration |
| 93 | Charles M. Howard | jayhawher(at)aol.com | Monrovia, Maryland USA |
410 204-7379 | 0 | 1 | 530023 | When it was originally given to me by my father-in-law I thought it might be some sort of census device or architect's tool. He got it at a garage sale for 50 cents. For years it has been sitting in my sock drawer till I decided to try to figure it out. I got it to add and subtract and then discovered your web site. |
| 94 | George Bingley | bingo35(at)keynet.net | Kankakee, Illinois USA |
(815) 937-4456 | 1 | 0 | 44642 | My friend gave it to me, the calculator is in a metal case and in absolute mint condition. |
| 95 | Rick Miskell | miskell.sean(at)gmail.com | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA |
1 | 0 | 73736 | This Curta belongs to my father. I remember it being a strange gadget in his garage when I grew up. He and my mother used it extensively throughout the late 60's, 70's, 80's & 90's on Time-Speed-Distance rallys until they bought a dash mounted rally computer. This Curta still looks great and functions perfectly. | |
| 96 | Harold Goldberg | harry-g(at)pipemedia.co.uk | Leicester, England UK |
1 | 0 | 50448 | I have a CURTA in its original left-hand thread metal case. I purchased it on 8 Feb 1963 in at the Swiss Store Kingston Jamaica for $85. Curiously I have just noticed that the serial number given on the purchase receipt is 42706, which is oddly not the serial number of the machine I have in hand. While working in Germany I was returning from by car from a business trip to northern Italy in 1964. I decided to make a small detour through Liechtenstein. I stopped at a lovely hotel in Vaduz, Liechtenstein’s capital. In the morning I asked the concierge whether it was possible to arrange a visit to the Contina AG factory in Mauren. He said he would check with them and let me know in a few minutes. He returned shortly to tell me that they would be most pleased to welcome me to the plant. I drove over immediately. It only took a few minutes. Nothing within Liechtenstein is very far away. Their sales manager whose name I forget welcomed me. He showed me around the whole factory. It was very impressive for such a relatively small operation. I was particularly interested in the machine that was engraving the shafts with the rotating numbers. The whole visit was very interesting and informative. Thy apparently were already thinking about other products. They showed me portions of movie cameras that they were making at the same time. The cameras were Berlieu or something close to that. There may be an explanation for the difference in serial numbers. In 1972 I had an internal problem with the CURTA. I was still working in Germany at the time. I phoned Contina AG and asked whether it was possible to get it repaired. They said most assuredly. I sent them the unit and a few weeks later it was returned and it has operated faultlessly since. It appears possible that they may have accidentally switched calculators at the factory. I don't use my Curta much these days. They haven't come up with a computer interface. Anyhow it is a pleasure and a privilege to own such a wonderful piece craftsmanship, technology and of course history. | |
| 97 | Del Andreini | delDAA(at)aol.com | Valencia, California USA |
805-296-1840 | 0 | 1 | 525638 | Curta II with metal case and leather belt holder I'm so excited, I have had this Curta sitting on my shelf for almost 10 years now. It was given to me by a man I knew for a short time. He thought it might have something to do with flying as I'm a pilot he thought I could get some use of it. I was recently in a Mining Museum in Colorado and they had one on display so I got excited thinking this machine has some mining application. So I looked it up on the Internet and WALAAA lots of information. What a great find. |
| 98 | Harold Urmston | harrafvr(at)comcast.net | Valencia, California USA |
661-259-3947 | 0 | 1 | 507206 | I have had a CURTA since 1960 as a gift. It has been used a little but appears brand new. Has a 16 page Manual No. 5 52 100 undated and is in a black metal case w/lid. |
| 99 | mainsailhr | mainsailhr(at)aol.com | 1 | 0 | 30422 | My father got in Chicago many years ago. It is in the metal case, and has the original guarantee stamped by the Quick Tourist-Office, Vaduz & Schaanwald, Principality of Liechtenstein (it is a one year guarantee without a date on it). I also have 2 of the instruction manuals. The calculator works perfectly, but the clearing lever ring is broken (I did this when I was a kid, boy was my dad mad!) but it does work. I am thinking about selling. | ||
| 100 | Bob Mason | skydive(at)ibm.net | 1810 Short Rd. Saginaw, Michigan USA |
(517)258-9130 | 1 | 0 | 62569 | |
| 101 | The Keenan Collection Louis Skelton, Curator |
onon(at)earthlink.com | 2537-D Pacific Coast Hwy #168 Torrance, California USA |
(310) 375-9992 | 1 | 1 | 30422 526157 |
I finally found a Curta at a price I could afford.. It is from the original owner who bought it in 1960. He is now 91 and retired as a town manager in Southern Utah who did surveying on the side. ...I met him through an ad he placed to sell an HP calculator...When I called him he mentioned the Curta and the rest is history... It has the case, manual and is in exceptional good, but used condition. |
| 102 | Jim Weil | jweil(at)mac.com | Fremont, California USA |
0 | 1 | 550865 | ||
| 103 | Dushan R. Divjak | dushan(at)pathcom.com | Toronto, CANADA | 0 | 1 | 557864 | This one is in the plastic case. Gray barrel. Never used. I bought it in the early 80's from a rally supply shop in Michigan. I also had 3 other ones. They were type II's. Two I gave away, one to a friend who had a Type I and lost it, and another one to a friend who was fascinated with it. The last one I just traded for a Leica camera with a lens. The guy who had the camera was so in love with the Curta that he had to have it. All 3 that are now gone were used, in metal cases and I bought them in a used cash register store for $10 each. This was 1982. | |
| 104 | William R. Clements | wclements2(at)juno.com | Chesapeake, Virginia USA |
757-485-3070 | 1 | 0 | 32882 | I have a Curta that almost went to a charity white elephant sale. It was in my brother-in-laws estate and I wasn't sure what it was until I looked up the device on the Internet. The unit itself is a type I and in near mint condition. The case is unfortunately not one of the early metal cases. It is still metal. |
| 105 | Guy Rowinski | guyr(at)megsinet.net | Columbus, Ohio USA |
0 | 1 | 542539 | Purchased new in 1971 for approximately half a month's salary, to attend surveying school in Los Angeles County. During the exams I remember 15-20 people furiously cranking away on their Curtas. The first competitive electronic calculator (The Bowmar Brain) was available at the time for approximately $50. but it did not do square roots so it was fairly worthless to surveyors. HP came out with a calculator then that was a princely $300 (4 functions and square roots), about 50% more than the Curta, so Curta was the calculator of choice, and no battery concerns! Gray barrel, black bakelite case. | |
| 106 | James Godwin | Jgt(at)casscomm.com | Ashland, Illinois USA |
217-476-8272 | 1 | 0 | 70511 | Curta Type I (one owner) in plastic case. Purchased in San Diego, CA in 1967. Mine is like new only used as prop in speaking engagements. |
| 107 | Laurence Bixby | lbixby(at)cyberport.net | Columbia Falls, Montana USA |
406-892-3365 | 1 | 0 | 12793 | |
| 108 | Chris Lott | rclott(at)ro.com | Huntsville, Alabama USA |
0 | 1 | 512263 | I just purchased mine used from a fellow on the internet. I've always wanted one of these. Saw one when I was young that belonged to a distant cousin, and later in college on old engineer had one that he found in a surplus store. A most ingenious device. | |
| 109 | Oktay Haracci | oktayha(at)superonline.com | Istanbul TURKEY |
1 | 0 | 50248 | I have bought it from Germany about 35 years ago from a retailer shop. although it is 35 years of age (which is also confirmed from the age formula found in cu-date.htm ) it is in MINT CONDITION (not even a smallscratch may be found) | |
| 110 | Bill Leonard | wal(at)ids.net | Jamestown, Rhode Island USA |
2 | 0 | 66132 70669 |
66132 - Plastic Case 70669 - Plastic Case box w/ S/N, Guarantee, product brochure, fold-out "4 Arithmetical Rules", manual: "Computing Examples for the CURTA Calculating Machine" (Never for sale) |
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| 111 | Adams Douglas | adamsd(at)cts.com | San Diego, California USA |
619-554-1770 x133 | 1 | 1 | 75395 537078 |
OWNER! I now have a lovely Type I. Serial #75395, formerly of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Thanks to collector Richard Fisch for a great deal! The type II has a plastic left-hand thread case. |
| 112 | David Weil | dweil(at)computer-museum.org | Computer Museum of America Coleman College 7380 Parkway Dr. La Mesa, California USA |
619-465-8226 | 1 | 0 | 68909 | 68909 - Plastic Case Donated to the CMA in 1997. |
| 113 | Patrick Finnigan | finnigan(at)ca.ibm.com | Toronto, Ontario CANADA |
905-316-5421 | 1 | 0 | 29093 | I used one as a summer student in 1968/69 at a mining/metalurgical lab. Took it home whenenver possible and did square roots via repeated subtraction of odd numbers and other stuff. Found this one after a 15 year search together with some surveying instruments. Right-hand threaded metal case. I also have some copies of manuals courtesy of Michael Williams (ACM Transcations on the History of Computing that he got at the Smithsonian) - which I'd be happy to copy, share etc. Other apocryphal stories I heard over the years: 1) "I used one on a British Navy destroyer for navigation during WW II", 2) "In Russia we had many of these..." Sometimes there is a grain of truth in any of these stories. Comments? Also, I noticed at the "Science Museum" in Ottawa, where they have an Type I on display which looks like it is in "mint" condition, on the metal case, there was an "O" ring (large diameter, round cross-section rubber ring) just below the threads on the bottom shell of case, just above the "lip" where the top finally rests after being screwed on. Maybe this is original, maybe not (your readers may comment?) - but anyway it is a good idea - make the closed case almost water-tight. PS. You remember the sqrt algorithm, right? Put the original number in the most significant digits of the result register, then subtract 1, 3, 5 etc. until there is an overdraught (9s). After the overdraught, pop the turning lever down, rotate once to restore the proper value, then pop it up again ready for subtraction". Subtract one on the setting lever for that column, and move the "head" one position clockwise. In the setting lever for this new column, subtract 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. until overdraft, move the setting lever to one less, rotate clockwise etc. etc. This works because the sum of the first "M" odd numbers 1, 3, 5 etc. equals M**2 (thank you Prof. Gauss!). |
| 114 | Fred Jacobs | fjacobs(at)idt.net | New York, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 63252 | ||
| 115 | Lloyd Albright | w1zj(at)netwiz.net | El Sobrante, California USA |
510 222-1037 | 0 | 1 | 542322 | |
| 116 | Claudio Abaecherli | claudio.abaecherli(at)lonza.ch or 100415.1317(at)compuserve.com |
CH-3930 VISP SWITZERLAND |
0 | 1 | 547347 | This Curta was a gift from my parents when I finished high school. It was purchased in Summer 1968 at the "La Tecnografica" Shop in Lugano, Switzerland for approx. SFr. 630.-, at that time about half a month's wage of a blue collar worker. Using the improved Rick Furr's formula the production year would be 1966, probably quite close. It was our high school chemistry teacher that showed us a Curta I, and I was very impressed. The Curta II served me well during my undergraduate years at the chemsitry department of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. During the PhD work I then purchased a HP-67 calculator (it costed twice the price of the Curta... ) Despite the heavy use, it is still in very good condition. I still have the original booklet with the calculations examples in Italian, and also a photocopy of the article published and translated by A. de Man on this website. Note: I could scan and provide an upload of booklet and article in German, and also from the schemes published in that article (the other pictures are very dark , being a photocopy) if anybody feels the need. | |
| 117 | John Bellefleur | John.Bellefleur(at)rogers.com | 9 Margaret Graham Cres. Mount Albert, Ontario CANADA |
(647) 267-6261 | 5 | 2 | 28269 33138 33140 37583 58298 510292 540681 |
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| 118 | Paul S. Pace, P.L.S. | pacepack(at)nvbell.net | Reno, Nevada USA |
0 | 1 | 558419 | Just found your site and was very pleased to go over the numerous interesting articles on the Curta. I am a Land Surveyor and purchased a Type II in the early 1970's; I still have it. | |
| 119 | Larry Vanice | lvanice(at)gateway.net | Fort Wayne, Indiana USA |
1 | 0 | 69979 | I bought it July 11, 1968 for $95.00 plus $1.90 tax from AW Motors, a Datsun dealer here. I had a 1967 MGB roadster and did a little rallying. Just tried the Curta a couple of times and put it away. It is in the plastic case and the cardboard box with all of the papers/book. There is a business reply envelope to send in the guarantee to: THE CURTA COMPANY P. O. BOX 3414 VAN NUYS, CALIFORNIA. Van Nuys is the original spelling of my name, an unexpected link. I have taken care of it for thirty years and now I am ready to pass it on. | |
| 119a | 1999 |
1999 |
1999 |
1999 |
******** 1999 ******** |
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| 120 | Dean P McCullough | dpmccul(at)aol.com | Columbia Maryland USA |
1 | 0 | 21352 | Metal case. This one was purchased by Dr. Bengt Hamelton and passed down to his daughter (my mother-in-law) and recently to me. | |
| 121 | Mark Reinhardt | magnet(at)sover.net | Manchester Center, Vermont USA |
(802) 362-3265 | 1 | 0 | 74678 | Thank you for the register. I purchased this new when I was rallying with my Austin Healey. Never really got good at using it but it is such a beautiful piece of equipment I can't let it go. |
| 122 | James Black | james(at)jdblack.demon.co.uk | Hastings, East Sussex, England UK |
+44 (0)973 614193 | 4 | 2 | 4703 9296 14902 18866 508954 519445 |
The earliest type one has a right hand thread metal case but rectangular setting knobs. The earlier type II is black, just like a type I while the other is grey with coloured setting knobs and a squared off crank handle. It would be interesting to know at what serial numbers the changes occured. I have some Curtas already registered on your list but would like to add another one. It is an early MINT mark 1, serial number 4703, it uses round sliders instead of rectangular ones and has the name "CURTA" in quotes on both the case (which has a right hand thread) and the barrel of the calculator. Some other features are different, the set screws holding the base on are black instead of being plated, the writing on the base forms a circle and System Curt Herzstark is not written on the base but on the barrel under the "CURTA" name. |
| 123 | Bill Jonesi | jonesi(at)pcmagic.net | San Jose, California USA |
0 | 1 | ?????? | Bought it used around '80 for backup for my Zeron 660 rallye computer. Since the Zeron never fails me, use it mostly on rallye pre-checks. | |
| 124 | Harold W. Harmon | haroldharmon(at)bigfoot.com | Howell, New Jersey USA |
0 | 1 | 516080 | My Curta originally belonged to my Grandfather. Back in the early 70's, I had received an electronic calculator for Christmas. One of those early Melcor's (?) which did basic math for about $100. Anyway, my Grandfather pulls out this Curta Calculator and completely blew me away. When he passed away several years ago, it was the one thing I asked my Grandmother for as a rememberance. I couldn't believe finding other owners as I was searching the web. | |
| 125 | Bryan C Cloud | BryC(at)dial.pipex.com | Bristol UK |
0 | 1 | 513555 | This is one of some 900+ calculating devices in my collection. | |
| 126 | Les Talcott | lestalcott(at)eaton.com | Rochester, Michigan USA |
(248) 656-1344 |
0 | 2 | 525645 526413 |
525645 (metal case) was a college graduation present in June of 1966. 526413 (plastic case) was purchased on a business trip to Phoenix, Arizona in June of 1968 at a cost of $110. It has seen use in three rallys. It's original owner joined the armed services and needed the money. Both are in excellent condition. I have the original box for the first one and two sets of instructions plus a pamphlet on sample calculations. |
| 127 | Bill Taylor A.S.C. | bill(at)illusion-arts.com | Illusion Arts, Inc. 6700 Valjean Avenue Van Nuys, California USA |
2 | 1 | 32597 20071 558124 |
How wonderful to find a website devoted to my favorite "intricate mechanical contrivance". We are all in your debt. I'd very much like to join the group. Though I had always wanted a Curta as a kid, thanks to the Scientific American ads, they were way out of reach. As I became involved in movie camera work, I became even more appreciative of precision mechanics in general. I was lucky enough to find a brand new Curta II (SN 558124) at the Feldmar Watch Co. in Los Angeles in 1982. It had gone begging for years and I got it at a fire sale price. The second, a Curta I (SN 32597) cost a lot more through a Sotheby's instrument auction in 1997. The second Curta I (SN 20071) came in '98. I continue to look for earlier serial numbers. My friend, the great Los Angeles camera machinist and architype Irascible Scot, George Randle, loved the Curta because it involved no "Goddam sparks" in its working. It was pretty good, he allowed, even though it was built by "Goddam Krauts!" | |
| 128 | Jay Bayanker | bayankerj(at)nimo.com | Fayetteville, New York USA |
(315) 428 6455 | 0 | 1 | 513923 | |
| 129 | Tullio Parravicini | mepas(at)logical.it | Via A. Moro, 4 20040 Carnate (MI) ITALY |
39.39.482379 | 0 | 1 | 513279 | I bought my curta in a shop in Arezzo (Florence) in 1998, it is in excellent condition after all these years, still in metal case. |
| 130 | Klaus Hanfler | klaus(at)hanfler.com | Konigstein GERMANY |
+49 (0)172 6945909 | 1 | 0 | 53124 | |
| 131 | Felix Franco | franfel1(at)ibm.net | Caracas, DF Venezuela | 58-2-2424617 | 0 | 1 | 505288 | Poseo una Curta Tipo II, Serial No. 505288, caja original y manual en espanol |
| 132 | Jim Milstein | Jim_Milstein(at)CenturyTel.net | Boulder, Colorado USA |
0 | 1 | 517170 | I have a Type II, No. 517170, in a left thread metal case, with "Your CURTA Calculator," "Instructions for use of the CURTA," and "Computing Examples for the CURTA Calculating Machine." I bought it at a federal auction in 1978 when it was being surplussed. The bottom of the calculator and its case have the National Park Service inventory number, NPS # 22797, hand engraved. The manual has a notation in pencil, "Please return to L. B. Riley." The date formula suggests it was made in 1958. The calculator is in excellent condition; its case shows wear, but is otherwise undamaged. It is transcendentally beautiful. | |
| 133 | Greg Finn | finn(at)isi.edu | Marina Del Rey, California USA |
0 | 1 | 513115 | Unit is in near mint condition. | |
| 134 | Larry Weinstein | lweinste(at)wright.edu | Dept. of Management Science and MIS Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio USA |
0 | 1 | ?????? | I first saw a curta when my department chair, Myron Cox, brought his to a meeting. After he passed away, I was able to acquire the instrument from his sons. Myron's hobby was repairing watches so he was able to maintain the Curta in perfect condition. I plan to use it in the future for vintage road rallying. | |
| 135 | Michele Sandra Murphy | naturalears(at)email.msn.com | Austin, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 56295 | I have a Type I Curta, +ACM- 56295, that I inherited from my Dad. He was active in the SCCA, Mustang Sports Car Club and ran rallies in the 60's, winning lots of trophies and plaques. I remember how excited he was when he got his CURTA+ADs- he bought it used, but it is in excellent shape. He never let us touch it. I found it in a box my sister was storing, and pinched it immediately. She thought it was junk. HA. I use it in homeschooling other people's children. My new homeschooler found your site yesterday. | |
| 136 | Pearu Terts | pterts(at)southcom.com.au | Hobart, Tasmania AUSTRALIA |
61 3 62497165 | 0 | 1 | 535469 | Brought at flea-market for 5 dollars. Asked the lady "does it work?". She said "It does. I had it checked out by an electrician". Unit is in plastic container and is in excellent condition. |
| 137 | Stefan Nordqvist | vcc1.stefanno(at)memo.volvo.se | Gothenburgh SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 34097 | I own a CURTA that was handed down to me from my wife's late grandfather. | |
| 138 | Wim Schouten | punto(at)wxs.nl | Polsbroek NETHERLANDS |
1 | 0 | 60052 | ||
| 139 | Ron Goldsack | 0 | 1 | 545546 | I bought this in early 60's and used it on four rallies and then decided navigation was not for me and become a driver. Black plastic case and mint. | |||
| 140 | Dean | OP59(at)aol.com | 1 | 0 | ????? | I first became interested in Curta calculators in the 50's when I couldn't afford one. As an enginering student, sports car rally driver and a Naval pilot I have seen their power! In the 60's, my interest was renewed when I visited the technical museum in Munic. There is still (as of 2 years ago) a very nice exhibit displayed with history and reference to the concentration camps where the "New Germany" also has photos and history of Mr. Hertstark. My wife (original from the 60's) and I visit Germany and Europe often. Ellie has "standing orders" to search all the flea markets and antique markets to look for the "pepper grinder with numbers". My quest continues! I currently am a L-1011 captain with Delta Air Lines and still looking for a Curta. If you know of a mod. 2 (or any) available please let me know. | ||
| 141 | Gary Caplin | ctutor812(at)aol.com | Bellingham, Washington USA |
0 | 1 | 558399 | I was simply amazed that there are so many
Curta people. I bought mine in April of 1972 from the "CURTA COMPANY", 14438
Sherman Way, Van Nuys, California. It has been sitting in a storage box for many years.
I have played with it several times but have not really used it.
It is in the original blue Curta box with a serial number #558399 print on
the outside. The machine sits in the opposite turning plastic case. I have
the original green/white "YOUR CURTA CALCULATOR" fold out instructions, the
original tan "COMPUTING EXAMPLES" booklet, a certificate of guarantee with
purchase date given by the Curta Company and the business card from the Curta
Company.
THE MACHINE WAS NEVER REALLY USED SO IT IS IN PRISTINE CONDITION. CURTA II S/N: 558399 CONDITION: EXCELLENT I AM WILLING TO SELL IT BECAUSE I NEVER REALLY LEARNED HOW TO USE IT EFFECTIVELY. SINCE I WORK IN THE BROADCASTING BUSINESS AND USE An ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR THE DEALS WITH TIMECODE THE CURTA IS OF NO USE TO ME. |
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| 142 | Nita de Glanville | Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA |
1 | 0 | 9068 | My aunt Nita is presently visiting me from South Africa and she has brought with her a Type 1, serial Number: 9068 in its black cannister with the legend CURTA only. The lid is awkward as it turns the 'wrong' way round. Anyway, I digress, there are no instructions. It belonged to her late husband, John, a civil engineer who bought it in approximately 1951. We both thoroughly enjoyed reading your site. What enthusiasts! Keep up the good work. | ||
| 143 | The Boyds | 1 | 0 | 53256 | Handed down by my surveying father. Black metal case shows wear due to his daily use. Leather carrying case included. | |||
| 144 | James H. Glueck | jhg(at)worldnet.att.net | 17 Waterford Lane Beachwood, Ohio USA |
(216) 464-1811 | 0 | 1 | 524336 | Just bought my Model II from a fellow in England. I used a Model II from 1961 through 1965 for sports car rallyes and paid $90 for it used. Sold it after I stopped rallying. Then I put a wanted ad in Road & Track about five years ago and bought a Type I for $100, sold it for almost $1000 in 1998. Missed having a Curta so much that I'm going to keep this one. |
| 145 | Gary Fleischer | xspook(at)theriver.com | Sierra Vista, Arizona USA |
(520) 458-8967 | 1 | 0 | 76994 | Bought new in the early 60's and used for rallying. Plastic case with original owner's manual. Still use it frequently. Seems more elegant than electronic calculators. |
| 146 | Robert Adelstein | robertad(at)sprynet.com | Denver, Colorado USA |
0 | 1 | 518330 | I had purchased the smaller, type one, machine when I was in collage taking a surveying class. Later purchased the type II. I took care of it as though it was alive and my friend. Glad to see that there are other Curta people out there. I look at the unit and realize what an amazing machine it is. I do not want to sell it but I do have an interested in its value just in case I run into another one in the future. Since having that machine I built a Altair computer, a old Sinclair computer . As you can see I am a collector, and still feel the Curta is the most amazing machine of them all! | |
| 147 | Thomas Stocker | stocker(at)climate.unibe.ch | 3012 Bern SWITZERLAND |
+41 31 631 44 64 | 1 | 1 | 80288 560566 |
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| 148 | Lin Hsin Hsiung | camus(at)ms1.tisnet.net.tw | Hualien City, R.O.C. TAIWAN |
(886)38323336 | 0 | 1 | 542826 | Curta is all new have paper case and menu and black case. |
| 149 | Bill Stanard | bills(at)zlogic.com | West Windsor, Vermont USA |
1 | 0 | 71424 | Bought new in 1971 for I don't remember how much. Beautiful shape in black platic case. No instructions or other incanabula. | |
| 150 | Daniel Kuras | kurasd(at)dmci.net | Jackson, Michigan USA |
0 | 1 | 553736 | Been wanting one for years. | |
| 151 | Dwayne Newton | eyeworks(at)sirius.com | San Francisco, California USA |
0 | 1 | 501656 | Good condition. Metal Case, zeroing ring snapped but retained. No instructions. Curious about value. | |
| 152 | Giovanni Breda | g.breda(at)tin.it | Rome ITALY |
1 | 1 | 61990 521496 |
59073 (sold-Feb 10, 01): I bought the Curta at Porta Portese (the major flea-market in Rome) for 50.000 £ (about 27 dollars US). The seller asked me "What is it? - I don't know what it is". The calculator is in excellent condition and is complete of his metallic container. I bought a new Curta Type I SN 61990 in very special condition (mint) with instruction and the original box. I paid the Curta more or less one fourth of the amount of the Curta sold. I bought a new Curta. This time is a Curta II SN 521496. I found them in a flea market at Campagnano Romano, a small town near Rome. | |
| 153 | L. Verity | lverity(at)iea.com | Spokane, Washington USA |
0 | 1 | 533418 | ||
| 154 | Lawrence Keeney | lkeeney(at)cox.net | 645 Del Prado Drive Boulder City, Nevada USA |
702-293-6373 702 293-5810 (Fax) |
1 | 0 | 52458 | I bought my Curta in the about 1958. I used it twice in rallying with my MG. It is in mint condition, and it has the metal case. I think I have the manual somewhere, but it would take some looking. |
| 155 | Marc Hoffeld | marc.hoffeld(at)santel.lu | Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG |
1 | 0 | 11536 | Looks unused.Black metal case. | |
| 156 | Matz Cohen | palford(at)btinternet.com | London, England UK |
1 | 0 | 56434 | ||
| 157 | Stephen Glover | sglover(at)operis.com | London, England UK |
0 | 1 | 524619 | I have a Curta TYPE II, metal case, first rate condition. Never used in earnest. | |
| 158 | Stephen Brenner | sbrenner(at)efn.org | Eugene, Oregon USA |
(541) 484-2723 | 0 | 1 | 506367 | |
| 159 | Gail Oliver | survey(at)co.st-johns.fl.us | St. Augustine, Florida USA |
904-823-2485 | 0 | 1 | 557727 | I have the original black plastic case. I am the county surveyor for St. Johns County, the Curta was in a box with old survey field books which I found when sorting through things. I have it on display in my office. |
| 160 | Tony Brown | mgbbrown(at)hotmail.com | 5739 Hobgood Road Rougemont, North Carolina USA |
(919) 603-0453 | 0 | 2 | 507475 538659 |
I own a Curta II in a plastic case, serial # 553299, with instruction leaflet and a copy of the yellow computations manual. This is in excellent used condition. Bought from Bryan Halladay in England and was used in rallying. I am learning to use it competently in historic rallying of my 1969 MGB Roadster. I am interested in trading for a mint Curta I or Curta II in a metal case that is complete with all literature and box. Also I would like to obtain a lether rally case as well. ** Update ** I have traded my later Curta II for the following: early Curta II, Serial # 507475, black body, early left hand thread case in excellent used condition, all original literature, original box and complete rally case (leather, made in USA) with belt loop and shoulder strap. I am looking also for a complete Curta I (in box with case, all original literature). I have located a "Curta cup" which attatches the Curta to a clipboard for rallying. I am told that a cable was also attatched as another piece of rally gear. Perhaps someone could educate me about this cable affair. I am also looking for an excellent late Curta II,complete with box, original literature to use everyday, as well as a Curta I with all of its literature and box to round off my collection. I have also located a "Curta cup" for a Curta I as well. I will use a Curta II for TSD calculations in the historic rally class for my 1969 MGB roadster, as well as everyday use. I am a RABID Curta fan and have owned three of these fine instruments so far. ** Update ** This is a later mint plastic cased Curta II with a leather "rally" case which was actually a period camera lens case adapted to use with the Curta. This one has a metal zeroing ring. The serial number is 538659. Interstingly it fits into a second "Curta Cup" that I have obtained that is used to mount the calculator to a clipboard for the rally navigator to use, but my first year production Curta II will not fit into the same cup. I will use this one for rallying as it is the correct type in age for my 1969 vintage SCCA rally car. I am interested in obtaining a full compliment of literature for this one as well. |
| 161 | Pat Huet | pbhuet(at)dbtech.net | 15657 Marble Road Northport, Alabama USA |
205/339-5518 205/339-5096 (fax) |
0 | 1 | 539261 | I have just discovered that the "gizmo" that I found in an old "junk" store is famous. It has always been extremely fascinating to me and I have known from the time I first saw it that it was an extremely finely crafted item. I paid $ 5.00 for it about 25 years ago in Murphysboro, ILL. I figured out a few of its functions from experimentation, but surely would like to know more. I intend to explore the web site a friend found for me and will learn more. If it is of interest, I will list the information about it as best I can. With black plastic case w/ o-ring seat and left hand thread. It is in very fine condition as is the case. the label on the front of the top of the case is slightly damaged, but in all other respects appears to be perfect. |
| 162 | Michael C. Gibbons | Mike-Gibbons(at)msn.com gibbons.mike.mc(at)bhp.com.au |
Tucson, Arizona USA |
(520) 219-4023 | 1 | 0 | 29636 | I believe my Curta has been in my family since new. I am proud to finally be allowed to touch it (at age 49). It is in beautiful condition in the left hand thread metal case. (No manuals) My father and grandfather sold office machines in Guatemala City, Guatemala from 1948 to 1959. They might have been factory dealers. My father has passed away so the details are sketchy. Originally I was a master automotive technician. Although I am now deeply into computing and networks, nothing will ever fascinate me like the jewel-like mechanical workings of the Curta. I was fascinated upon finding your site. I am thrilled at how many others revel at owning one of these jewels. |
| 163 | Carlos L. Gaston | clg(at)bworld.com.ph | Manila PHILIPPINES |
1 | 0 | 24019 | ||
| 164 | Maurice Robinson | Maurice(at)digsan.freeserve.co.uk | Lewes, East , England UK |
1 | 0 | 8248 | Mine is in one of the metal cases with the left hand thread. Unfortunately I had'nt looked at it for sometime but when I eventually did open it the packing that holds it in place had melted (my office does get warm) and ran onto the top of the machine. Any ideas as to how to remove it (it's now hard) and can a new packing be obtained. | |
| 165 | Craig MacInnes | macinnescs(at)ids.net | Jamestown, Rhode Island USA |
0 | 1 | 520008 | CURTA Model II w/ Black metal case and manual, excellent condition. | |
| 166 | Matt Ackermann | ackermann(at)bigfoot.com | 8610 Uster SWITZERLAND |
0 | 1 | 507001 | This Curta was assembled in June 1999 by Mr. Kleinecke in Liechtenstein. Mr. Kleinecke was in charge of servicing Curtas after Contina was bought by Hilti. He was given all the spare-parts and the necessary machines to service and repair Curtas. My sister bought this Curta for me a few weeks ago. Mr. Kleinecke assembled it from spare parts. He says this will be the last machine he can assemble since it uses up the last remaining spare-parts of two out of the over 500 parts. It came in the original black container and looks brand-new. Mr. Kleinecke took down my address and had to be assured that the machine will be appreciated and not just sold. It is a truely marvelous piece of engineering and one has to admire the people who had the skill, the patience and the persistence to think up and produce such a thing. | |
| 167 | George E. Heath | heath(at)rjwaldronco.com and geoheath(at)telus.net | Vancouver (White Rock) British Columbia, CANADA |
1 | 1 | 67399 552899 |
This Curta is close to "as new" condition, but of course the case has a few tiny scratches and rubs. Turning the crank is almost as good as sex - but not quite. Its a joy to use as well as look at. I remembered them being used for car rallies when I was a teenager, and then saw one about 5 years ago in an exhibit. That did it - I had to have one! Mine was owned by an engineer - but it didn't look like it had been used much. Too precious I guess. Anyway, I'd like to say I bought it for 50 cents but I actually paid $US200 and a few aircraft clock parts. Still a bargan! | |
| 168 | Erik Koik | Erikkoik(at)foryou.net | Urbana, Ohio USA |
937-653-8100 | 1 | 0 | ????? | No serial number seen (/iremove the bottom plate and look on the bottom -Rick- /i This Curta was purchased by my father at the factory in the early 60's I believe. It is a metal barrel in it's original metal reverse thread case with white rubber o-ring seal. The base rubber in the case is a little hard and smelly, but all there. I use it as a curiousity to amaze children and modern adults who think that everything that was ever worth anything operated electronically. I am delighted to find this website and look forward to more information. |
| 169 | Douglas Palenshus | Palenshus(at)geocities.com | Ellensburg, Washington USA |
509-933-3843 | 0 | 1 | 523129 | My unit looks new. It is handsome grey with black knurled grips and flashy red and black number selectors. The unit is all metal with black metal case (white rubber "0"-ring). I do not have the manual; history unavailable. I want high dollars. |
| 170 | Claude Van Houtte | claudevanhoutte(at)gmail.com | B 1640 Sint-Genesius-Rode BELGIUM |
32 2 3804009 | 1 | 0 | 3067 | I just recieved a Curta from my father. The serial number is N° 3067 and was made in Lichtenstein by Cintina AG Mauren. At this moment I'm trying to collect data about this wonderfull machine. Curta Type I - Metal Case with right-turning tread |
| 171 | Richard L. DeSaussure, III | richard(at)desaussure.net | 7774 Killdeer Lane Cordova, Tennessee USA |
(901)-753-9009 | 1 | 0 | 75931 | I am the original owner of a Curta Type I calculator. I purchased this Curta as a boy when I traveled to Europe with very good friends of my family. We arrived in Paris, and all the "locals" had Curtas (it seemed) and were using them for currency conversion. We secured a car and drove to Liechtenstein, unaware that was where the Curtas were produced. My father had given me a certain sum of money for the trip, and when I saw the Curta, I had to have it. The big decision was whether to get the Curta (and nothing else the rest of the trip) or save my money for other "souvenirs". Fortunately, I opted for the Curta. Mine is Type I, serial # 75931, plastic case with the leather "rally case". I still have the original manuals. I am currently looking for the original receipt of purchase which I think that I still have. The Curta is black and in MINT condition, despite use over the years. I think (but am not sure) that this was purchased directly from Contina AG Mauren (which is stamped on the bottom). I say this because I remember being admonished at the time of purchase that, barring abuse, the machine would need a routine cleaning in 10 years. Although I gather that I have one of the "later" Model I's, I am quite proud of my Curta. (P.S. - This Curta is not for sale.) Please consider adding my to your list of proud Curta owners. |
| 172 | Herman Brauckmann | h.c.brauckmann(at)inter.nl.net | Oegstgeest NETHERLANDS |
0 | 1 | 558939 | ||
| 173 | Sold - 08/20/1999 | Sold | Chino Hills, California USA |
Sold | 0 | 1 | 539434 | My dad bought it in Europe while on a business trip. There's a customs slip still inside the case dated 10-5-70. It is made in Liechtenstein. It is still in excellent working condition with the original manuals in good shape and the case still looks new. Sold - 8/20/99 - Sold |
| 174 | Joseph A. Charles | interjoe(at)alltel.net | Jamestown, New York USA |
716-487-2980 | 0 | 1 | 539399 | I got my Curta from my brother'sestate nine years ago. Never knew what it was until I came across this website wow! Left hand tread, plastic case--looks like it was seldom used. May want to sell if price is good. |
| 175 | Damon O'Donoghue | streetorgan(at)ozemail.com.au | AUSTRALIA | 0 | 1 | 501325 | I didn't know there were so many people interested in these little beasties! I saw a Curta about 20 years ago and fell in love with it. It's owner did not wish to part with it. However, a scientist friend retired recently and presented me with his (which I didn't know he had!). It's in very good condition, black metal case with a few scratches. Please enter me on your database. Keep up the good work. | |
| 176 | Rick Blake | Constsupr1(at)aol.com | Ft Myers, Flordia USA |
941-707-1201 | 0 | 1 | 511181 | I am interested in learning more about this calculator! It was given to me by a friend recently. The calculator is itself in very good workable condition, there are no manuals and the left hand threaded metal case is in fair condition (no dents but scratched) |
| 177 | John S. James | rise(at)televar.com | Omak ,Washington USA |
1 | 0 | 38603 | Acquired Curta from a relative who was a petroleum engineer. Has a black metal case opens to the right. Case marked "Compliments Gaynor & Co", in mint conditon no case or instructions. | |
| 178 | Removed by request-TB | N/A | Greensboro, North Carolina USA |
1 | 0 | 66831 | I own a Type I, serial number #, in the original metal case. Used it in concert with a slide rule in engineering school....then later when I became a TSD rallye fanatic. | |
| 179 | Tommy Estridge | TommyEst(at)aol.com | N. Hollywood, California USA |
(818) 762-2695 | 1 | 0 | 78096 | I purchased this new in Oct. of 1972, I still have the original warranty card, instruction sheet, and a small booklet entitled, "Computing Examples for the Curta Calculating Machine". The Curta is in like new condition, the plastic case is slightly scuffed. I am interested in selling. Make me an offer. |
| 180 | Michel Poirier-Defoy | lpindfoy(at)tlb.sympatico.ca | Montpellier, Quebec, CANADA | (514) 659-2480 | 1 | 0 | 76153 | Bakelite left-thread case. John Bellefleur, a good rally buddy of mine, had spoken to me about your site. I am presently press officer for CARS and Rallye Sport Quebec. I'm glad to be part of a select club who owns such a fabulous little machine. I bought my Curta in 1969 for 75$ CDN and have rallied a whole lot with the thing. Ran national events before we went to stage format. And won my share of rallies I might add. It has worked thousands of hours and still is in perfect order. Came in a left-thread bakelite case. I use it all the time to do the timing when I organise TSD events every winter in the Quebec Laurentians. |
| 181 | David Lukasik | david.m.lukasik(at)boeing.com | Park Hall, Maryland USA |
1 | 0 | 12873 | Given to me by an old family friend who was a civil engineer/surveyor. Would like to find out as much about it as possible. It's in mint condition but doesn't have a manual so all I've been able to figure out so far is how to add, subtract, and multiply with it. | |
| 182 | Jim Bridges | jcbejb(at)worldnet.att.net | Stafford, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 17903 | ||
| 183 | Sold | Sold | Portland, Oregon USA |
Sold | 1 | 0 | 7416 | I got this from my wife. Her mother suffered a stroke and she was cleaning out the house. She said it belonged to her late father. She remembers seeing the both of them at the kitchen table using the Curta to calculate the bills! Her father worked for the Utah Oil Refining Co. so I imagine he used it at work. The machine is good condition with no major scratches. Some of the levers have some slight resistance which I attribute to the machine not being ever serviced and needing some oiling. It has the metal case, no dings but some wear. All the lettering is readable and worn. I estimate the manufacture date to be around 1949-50. I also have the instruction manual, a 5 3/4" X 4" booklet. |
| 184 | Rosa Schlaepfer Pereira | wsp(at)tba.com.br | BRAZILia, DF BRAZIL |
61 338-8650 | 1 | 0 | 3928 | Metal case. Excellent condition. Original instruction book. |
| 185 | Clay Castleberry | caslbry(at)cncnet.com | Oroville, California USA |
1 | 1 | 72857 516839 |
type 1, plastic case type 2, metal case Have instruction book, computing examples, and leather rally case for type 2 marvelous computing instruments; goes well with my 220 slide rules, 3 gunters rules and an ivory sector. | |
| 186 | Lorenzo Altese | laltesse(at)free.fr | Strasbourg FRANCE |
0662410460 | 0 | 1 | 548726 | |
| 187 | Gordon Matzigkeit | gord(at)fig.org | Regina, Saskatchewan CANADA | (306) 731-3011 | 0 | 1 | 553266 | This is one of two CURTAs that my parents bought for rallying (the other is another Type II, serial number 558304... I know this because I have its cardboard box). It has a plastic reverse-screw case, and grey barrel. The story behind this CURTA is that it got dust in it, and the shaft would no longer turn, so my dad gave it to me to try to fix. Using their other CURTA as a guide, I took it apart cleaned and lubricated it, and put it back together again, and to our delight, it worked. The only problem is now it smells like WD-40. ;) |
| 188 | John Steigerwald | jsarch(at)mindspring.com | 174 Helen Street Fanwood, New Jersey USA |
212-941-6800 Fax: 212-941-4803 |
1 | 0 | 29274 | |
| 189 | Peter Guerrini | pete(at)netdex.com | Santa Rosa, California USA |
1 | 0 | 70224 | Mint condition outside. Bought at Stanford University Book Store in late 1960s. Needs minor servicing. Counting register does not always properly carry to next column properly when subtracting. Since it sometimes works perfectly, I assume something needs lubricating. | |
| 190 | Dr Patrick Covernton | covernton(at)eudoramail.com | Poole, Dorset UK |
1 | 0 | 12969 | I have a Curta in good condition in its original metal case. It was bequeathed to me in the mid-1980s. I also have the computing examples booklet, but no instructions. It appears to work very well, but has a sticky digit that needs to be re-cancelled sometimes in the counting register. Maybe I'll get round to servicing it one day. | |
| 191 | Richard Barnhart | None | Oroville California USA |
0 | 1 | 514508 | Info from Clay Castleberry-registered above | |
| 192 | Steve Castleberry | None | Oakland, California USA |
0 | 1 | 525581 | Steve's dad [Clay Castleberry-registered above] gave him this Curta, because he is a real civil engineer. He also gave him an old pocket K&E slide rule because he used to teethe on the leather case, as a baby 43 years ago. Good upbringing for a civil engr. | |
| 193 | Sold 04/22/1999 | Sold | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA |
Sold | 1 | 0 | 24160 | The Curta belonged to my father who died in 1962 at the age of 42. He was an architect. I had it for years and decided to sell it so that I could use the money to contribute towards a diamond engagement ring. I didn't need the money but wanted to include my father. It was in mint condition the metal case was bruised but healthy overall. |
| 194 | Dave Wheeldon | sacdw(at)dames.com | Sacramento, California USA |
0 | 1 | 525601 | I was very excited to find your CURTA web page. I too am the proud owner of a Curta II (No. 525601) which my father purchased new in the early 60's. I recently rescued it from my mother's garage sale where she had sold it for $5.00 to a 12-year old. Fortunately, the boy's father made him return it to get his $5 back because he thought that he had been ripped off. It is in good condition, however the pin for the hand crank has been lost and replaced with a paper-clip. Any suggestions on getting a replacement pin? | |
| 195 | Sold - 02/10/2007 | Sold | GERMANY | Sold | 1 | 0 | 41637 | |
| 196 | Tony Offerman | lapluie(at)videotron.ca | Boisbriand, Quebec CANADA |
0 | 1 | 500485 | I have one Curta calculator that was given to me by an old family friend, 25 years ago. It came in a metal case but I lost the manual. | |
| 196a | 2000 |
2000 |
2000 |
2000 |
******** 2000 ******** |
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| 197 | Mark Westaway | Westrap(at)sympatico.ca | Toronto CANADA | 1 | 0 | 23575 | I have inherited this Curta from my grandfather, who bought it in Europe in the 1950's sometime. It was recovered from his effects after his death last year, and my father and I now have it. | |
| 198 | Leland May | lmandkj(at)peoplepc.com | Long Beach, California USA |
0 | 1 | 519983 | I bought my Curta from a survey chief when I was a Survey Engineer in 1975. I had used one before while working as a Govt. surveyor in early 1960. Metal case is well worn. Calculator has been used extensively. However, it is still in excellent condition. Found your web site by chance. I had just moved the Curta from on place on a shelf to another and thought I would see if there was online info. Eureka! What a piece of work these mini machines are. | |
| 199 | Mark Jason Dominus | mjd-www-curta+(at)plover.com | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA |
1 | 0 | 67741 | ||
| 200 | LTC Jim VanDam | Rallye13(at)msn.com | Boise, Idaho USA |
1 | 0 | 77061 | I own a TYPE I with black plastic case and instructions. I purchased my CURTA new in the late 60's and used it for TSD & Monte Carlo style rallyes in California and "pre-speed limit" Nevada. Many members of my car club, Nor Cal Rallye Team (NCRT) and our parent organization, the Four Cylinder Club of America (FCCA) used these devices which were uniquely suited for rallying - much better than tables. Although, at speed, that universal adage "GIGO" was especially applicable. I live and still rallye in Idaho, but the CURTA stays safely at home. On occaision I take it to meetings so younger rallists can ponder this curious instrument. | |
| 201 | Ulrich Clormann | Ulrich_clormann(at)t-online.de | Schwabhausen (Munich) GERMANY |
2 | 0 | 37947 53429 |
SN 53429 (used, but very good condition) SN 37947 (nearly unused, excellent condition, but the small nose of the clearing lever is broken and lost.) I got both by auctions, one from the states and one from England. I'm still looking for a nice (and not too expansive) Curta II. | |
| 202 | Graham Hill | geh(at)bcs.org.uk | London, England UK |
1 | 0 | 77823 | Absolutely immaculate. Plastic Case Original Box and Manual I came across this treasure in the early 70's and will never part with it. It is the epitome of exquisite engineering! | |
| 203 | Ed Lake | mr_lake(at)hotmail.com | Dartmouth, Nova Scotia CANADA |
0 | 1 | 541447 | (plastic case) | |
| 204 | Removed by request-MF | Linz, Oberosterreich AUSTRIA |
8 | 5 | 4633 7733 24855 38766 39200 65674 75498 79572 500845 529613 534298 566499(?) 569944(?) |
As you can undoubtely see, I'm a complete CURTA addict. | ||
| 205 | Colin Labouchere | ColinLabouchere(at)compuserve.com | Chippenham, Wiltshire UK |
1 | 0 | 10759 | Just acquired from Portobello market in London. Curta I No 10759. The serial no was unreadable due to decomposed bungee in the bottom of the case, but this was cleaned off. I was delighted to find that it was an early one. From the information on your site, I think this is 1951. The clearing ring has been broken. The machine has done a lot of hard work, and badly needs cleaning, but it all works. | |
| 206 | Frederick (Rick) Ide | Rickide2(at)aol.com | Traverse City, Grand Traverse County, Michigan USA |
0 | 1 | 556327 | with plastic case---very good condition I bought this unit in about 1968-69 from Mr. Gary Hays--I sold a type I at the same time. Used for TSD rally work for many years---now I just enjoy having it. It was and is a marvelous machine--a mark of wonderful engineering and workmanship. | |
| 207 | David D. Stone Sr. | ddstonesr(at)aol.com | Traverse Ciry, Michigan USA |
0 | 1 | 560754 | ||
| 208 | Olle Nilsson | antik.ten(at)alfa.telenordia.se | Jonkoping SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 35923 | Just bought on an auction in Stockholm | |
| 209 | Andrew Koenig | ark(at)acm.org | Gillette, New Jersey USA |
(973) 360-8677 | 0 | 1 | 561213 | I'm the original owner of this one. I bought it in 1977, or maybe 1978. I remember seeing ads for them in Scientific American in the 60's, and then at some point they disappeared. I hadn't bought one then because I was just a kid and couldn't afford it. One day, I realized that I hadn't seen those ads for a while, and maybe they were no longer available. I remembered that the US distributor was in Van Nuys, California, so I called them. The phone still worked, and the fellow I reached said ``I've shut down the business but I still have one unit left. Do you want it?'' So I think that I have the very last Curta officially imported into the USA. |
| 210 | Kurt Rochlitz | kurt.rochlitz(at)pi.be | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 20759 | Nice job you are doing! | |
| 211 | Robert Shaffer | shaffer(at)texas.net | 111 Soledad Suite 1240 San Antonio, Texas USA |
(210) 222-1600 (210) 222-2611 (fax) |
1 | 0 | 12365 | I recently discovered my late father's [Curta] , among my mother's things. I learned to use it as a child and was pleased to find it fully functional and in very good condition. The finger ring for the clearing lever is unfortunately broken off. I assume that someone tried to put the machine in the metal case without retracting the lever. I would like to know if replacement parts are available. I believe my dad bought the CURTA new while he was working as an engineer for the Highway Department of Minnesota, sometime after 1956. |
| 212 | Roland Soucie | rsoucie(at)mindspring.com | Cambria, California USA |
1 | 0 | 75896 | Bought it new around 1971, had it cleaned and lubricated once. In perfect condx but case scratched | |
| 213 | Burt I. Weiner | biwa(at)pacificnet.net | Glendale, California USA |
0 | 1 | 509808 | It's in perfect condition with the canister for protection and a leather pouch that goes on a belt to hold the canister. It was given to me by Ted Ryan of Los Angeles about 20 years ago. He used it when he was a Civil Engineer working for the Road Department. Ted went on to teach electronics at a Los Angeles high school. I use it from time to time. I am a broadcast engineer and work as a consultant. Many times I've amazed people, maybe even shocked them, by pulling out the Curta and working some math with it (for fun). Sometimes they've even forgotten they were having a problem because of their intrigue with the strange "pepper mill" I was using to work math. I plan on keeping my Curta and enjoying it. It has become like a part of the family. The fact that Ted gave it to me and what it is has given it a special meaning and place in my heart. Thank you for your page. | |
| 214 | Douglas Brown | dbrown(at)arl.mil | Las Cruces, New Mexico USA |
1 | 0 | 70071 | Just obtained this from widow of owner. Mint condition with box (same serial number), warranty card and documentation still rolled up around the plastic case. Wanted one since a rally driver let me use one in the early 60's. | |
| 215 | Edmundo Duran | eduran(at)espol.edu.ec | Guayaquil ECUADOR |
593-4-269670 | 1 | 0 | 25668 | My uncle worked as an accountant in Esso (Standard Oil) here in Guayaquil back in the sixties. This company owned all aircraft fueling operations in Ecuador, and every delivery needed some calculations. At that time, they did have some electric calculators, but safety regulations did not allow them near the airport pads where airplanes were refueled. Later, of course, all this got kilobyted and megahertzed and the Curta became a curious paperweight. I was 16 years old in 1976 and already [had] a slide rule and [was a] calculator collector... my uncle was not. Enough said. My Type I is in perfect mechanical and aesthetical condition, I have the instruction booklet in Spanish and the metal case has a few minor scratches. |
| 216 | Cleo E. McCall | apexmccall(at)home.com | Willingboro, New Jersey USA |
1 | 0 | 34726 | I am a Land Surveyor and have an extensive calculator collection. Although most of mine are the 70's period electronic pocket calculators, I really love my Curta I. I recently purchased two of these from a retired engineer and promptly sold the one in mint condition. I kept the other because it has the older metal case as well as a hand-made leather outer case made by his wife who did leather crafts. It is like new; only slightly used. The manuals are with it. | |
| 217 | Juerg Dedual | ded(at)swissonline.ch | CH - 9056 Gais, AR SWITZERLAND |
1 | 0 | 31486 | I have a Curta in good condition in its original metal case. I also have the user manual in German. | |
| 218 | Bobby L. Jones | tsar14bob(at)aol.com | Virginia Beach, Virginia USA |
(757) 460-5172 | 1 | 0 | 20022 | My father use it in his work as a Surveyor for the city of Detroit, MI. |
| 219 | Richard Williams | rwilliams(at)advi.net | Mount Airy, North Carolina USA |
1 | 0 | 28732 | The case is metal. I have no manual. The case is left-hand threaded. Unit is in excellent condition. | |
| 220 | Chris Gillings | chrisg+curta(at)gillings.com | Lane Cove, NSW AUSTRALIA |
0 | 1 | 506419 | Found in a second-hand store in Windsor, Victoria, Australia, during a sliderule-hunt. When I told the shopowner I was looking for "calculators and the like" she pulled a familiar looking, round-topped black metal box from behind the counter, saying "I'm not sure if you'll find this interesting, but I think it's a calculator". I happily paid the asking price, which was around half what they're getting at the moment. It's in fine condition, but tends to stick a bit when there are a few 'nines' involved in the setting knobs. No manual, of course, but it was easy enough to figure out how it worked. I'm *very* impressed with it: it's one of those immensely *satisfying* objects. [Whirr, click!] | |
| 221 | Dufour Remy | jpdufour(at)wanadoo.fr | Jarny, Lorraine FRANCE |
(33) 03 82 33 22 11 | 0 | 1 | 551666 | Something's wrong whith my Curta 2, The ring at the top of the machine is missing. I'm looking for one. |
| 222 | Mark G. Leonard | m.g.leonard(at)ieee.org | Los Altos, California USA |
1 | 1 | 9916 541833 |
Mine is a type I Curta in metal case with left-hand thread. It belonged to a friend, who kindly sold it to me when he saw how much I wanted it. I'd wanted one ever since I saw the ads in Scientific American, but couldn't afford it. | |
| 223 | Mark Butterworth | mark(at)markbutterworth.com | Santa Clara, California USA |
1 | 1 | 38599 527348 |
My type I is absolutely mint never used. Given originally as a gift to the original owner and put on the shelf until the estate sale. The type II was used in surveying. I love to run them and take square roots! Part of my collection of mechanical four function machines including a TIM stepped drum and many pinwheel calculators: German, Russian, English, Swedish. | |
| 224 | Steve Richards | smrdcatman(at)juno.com | Everett, Washington USA |
0 | 3 | 539451 552808 544783 |
(3) Type II S/N 539451 purchased new Dec 1967, $172 from J.H. Maher Co. for rallying. Still active in rallying today. S/N 552808 got from friend (for a song) 1996 S/N 544783 recently acquired from Internet | |
| 225 | J. Dekker | manitowoc(at)idngh.com | P.O. Box BT 38 C2 W.A., Tema GHANA |
233 22 206873 |
1 | 0 | 78845 | Made in Liechtenstein by Contina AG Mauren. |
| 226 | Graeme McKenzie | doctor(at)beyond.net.au | Townsville Queensland AUSTRALIA |
61 7 4773 5345 | 0 | 0 | I used a CURTA during my time in the Australian Civilian Military Forces during the Vietnam war era. I was in a survey attachment to a medium artillery unit and the CURTA was used for gun placement and target calculations. I didn't see another one until 1980 when living in Georgetown, Malaysia (Penang) in a survey and drafting equipment supply store. After many weeks of haggling over the price just prior to my departure, I intended to buy it with the allowances that I recieved for my return to Australia, but with the hassles of the move back home I forgot it, and it has been a sore point with me for all these years. Every time I return to Asia or visit a second hand store I can be found trying to describe this calculator which doesn't require batteries to a juvenile store clerk who can't understand why I don't just by the latest 'Casio'. Only tonight did I think to look it up on 'the net' and I am pleased that there are like minded people out there who appreciate such a fine instrument. RGDS Doc | |
| 227 | Dr Gerard de BOTTON Orthopedic Surgeon |
g.debotton(at)wanadoo.fr | Chartres FRANCE |
0033 2 37 25 20 52 | 1 | 0 | 19038 | |
| 228 | John J Pisarcik | jandlpisarcik(at)juno.com | (609) 407-1535 | 1 | 0 | 48243 | with a left-hand threaded metal case, a "CUR-TA-BLE (for the Curta equipped Rallyist ) 1961 Booklet, an illustrated instruction sheet, and a booklet "Computing Examples for the CURTA Calulating Machine". The handle on the machine has been glued on before I aquired it. It doesn't effect its operation. | |
| 229 | Mike Rowley | mike.rowley(at)urs.org | Salt Lake City, Utah USA |
(801)366-7316 | 0 | 1 | 518556 | |
| 230 | Grant Youngman | nq5t(at)home.com | Double Oak (-- nr Dallas), Texas USA |
972.718.4700 | 1 | 0 | 58294 | Looking for a nice Type II (and I also collect slide rules) |
| 231 | Frank G. Soler | nestorius(at)home.com | Walnut Creek, California USA |
(925) 945-1786 | 1 | 0 | 36252 | This CURTA was bought by my father when he studied engineering in Princeton University (Class of '51). I found it along with his Pickett & Eckel Model 2 slide rule after he died. Not knowing what it was, I took the CURTA to every old-timer engineer in Chevron Corporation (where I work) and they were all fascinated and mystified. None had ever seen one of these before! Black metal case and no instructions, excellent mechanical conditions. |
| 232 | R. Bruce Gezon | smuncher(at)alltel.net | Murrysville, Pennsylvania USA |
1 | 1 | 62076 ?????? |
Bought my Type II in the early 60s when I first started rallying equipped. Bought the Type I from my boss, Bob Helmick, in the late 60s after he returned from a vacation in Liechtenstein. He bought it there on a whim. I talked him out of it. My Curta II is packed in a box somewhere in the basement. | |
| 233 | Charles G. Hanson | dtcgh(at)gte.net | Indianapolis, Indiana USA |
(317)780-9007 | 0 | 1 | 540329 | Bought new in 1968 from Burns Industries of Buffalo, NY for SCCA rallying. Plastic case. Cost me $165 I think. Took a twenty-five year detour through racing where it did not have much use, but am now back in rallying and still love to use this machine. Love your sight and the information, particularly leads to possible service when I need it. Type II First digit damaged; either 540329 or 940329 Note from Rick... I'm sure your first digit is "5". Also a duplicate number is usually inside the Curta under the bottom cover. |
| 234 | Habib KARACAN | hkaracan(at)usa.net | Istanbul TURKEY |
GSM 0532.6123514 | 1 | 0 | 14568 | It was probably from my grandfather in mid of 50's. It is in very good condition with metal case. If a good offer comes I can sell it. |
| 235 | Monika | m_siltala(at)hotmail.com | 1 | 0 | ????? | I have a Curta Model I. I actually had no idea what a Curta was and just thought I'd take a stab on the web to see if I could find out if this old fashioned calculator I've had for years is worth anything. The year through the Curta equation came out to be 1955.9. The case is metal, turns counter clockwise and is in quite good condition with no dents, some scratches and wear marks on the predominant areas. The "calculator" itself is in excellent condition. | ||
| 236 | Harrie Wolters | hwolters(at)accuray.com | 0 | 1 | 533953 | I have a Curta Type II in its original box including operating instructions and computing examples for the Curta calculating machine. Also instructions how to do standard deviations and square root calculations on the Curta from Automatic Business Machines Limited, 15 Cromwell Road, London S.W.7, Kensington 8877, with annotations and correctios from a J.R. Munro frrom Manchester CEN.2321. None of the manuals or instructions are dated. | ||
| 237 | Michael Barger | barger(at)lycos.com | Grand Ledge, Michigan USA |
1 | 0 | 66666 | I am the proud owner of this CURTA in pristine condition. Around 1978 I was given this CURTA by my father, who had been given the CURTA by the widow of an engineer who wanted it to "go to a good home". The CURTA came with a leather case stamped "Made in the USA", but no instructions. My father was unable to figure out how it worked, so he handed it off to me, I was 16 at the time. After many attempts I did figure out how to use all the functions except square roots. I had been told the story that CURTA's were used in WWII in submarines, I now know that to be complete fiction and the real story of Curt Herzstark is facinating. When I realized that each CURTA was given a unique serial number, I marveled at the odds of getting this one. | |
| 238 | Felix Schaefer | fschaefer(at)schaefer-mafo.de | GERMANY | +49 40 5473 4921 Fax: +49 40 5473 4934 mobile: +49 171 354 8218 |
0 | 1 | 560051 | my CURTA's (Type II) serial no. is 560051 www.schaefer-mafo.de |
| 239 | William Wasmer | wazz8595(at)dotnet.com | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin USA |
920-876-2767 | 1 | 0 | 50515 | |
| 240 | Ben Hogue | bphogue4(at)gmail.com | Austin, Texas USA |
512-809-6647 | 1 | 0 | 69639 | Dad bought this Curta in the late 60's. He's a real estate appraiser, still working and going strong at 82. However, the Curta holds more fascination for me than it does for him now. Actually, I've always been intrigued by it, so Dad gave it to me recently. He'd rather play with spreadsheets on his PC. Mine is in original condition, with a plastic cylindrical case, the original cardboard box, the instruction sheet, sample calculations, and warranty card. |
| 241 | Bill Hood | smeghead(at)coastalnet.com | Dover, North Carolina USA |
0 | 1 | 534433 | Great site. I saw two names of guys I knew in England and will contact them. | |
| 242 | Charles Brown | cebrown(at)execpc.com | Greendale, Wisconsin USA |
1 | 0 | 12936 | I own Curta type 1 SN 12936 excellent condition, good metal case [some minor paint scratches] NOT FOR SALE !!! | |
| 243 | Bernard Stedman | bernard(at)bsltd.net | Crawley, West Sussex, England UK |
0 | 1 | 501324 | BTW, I see Damon O'Donoghue has the next Type II to roll off the production line to mine (he has 501325). I'm in the UK, he's in Australia. These were certainly either well marketed, or someone emigrated with his... Mine is a family heirloom I intend to pass to my son. | |
| 244 | William J. Godecker | godecker(at)aol.com | Ijamsville, Maryland USA |
301-865-6554 | 0 | 1 | 508286 | I just got passed down from my father this magnificent machine in great shape. Took awhile, and several peoples help to figure it out. It belonged to an accountant that worked for him in the early 60's. Does any body have a set of instructions they would share? Also, from the S/N can anything be deduced about date of manufacture? |
| 245 | Don Hediger | don.hediger(at)msfc.nasa.gov | 1 | 0 | 24218 | I'm an engineer at NASA and happened upon a Curta Type I, SN 24218 while going through the estate of my great uncle Raymond Seger. I didn't know what it was at first and figured out that it had some mathematical use after "playing" with it for awhile. Most of the family had assumed it was used for photograpy since the device was found in a drawer with some old Leica cameras and flashes. Uncle Ray was a carpenter and for years built bowling alleys. Eventually he built his own bowling alley. Why he had a Curta, I'll probably never know. One interesting bit of information, Uncle Ray was born and raised in Liechtenstein. As a NASA engineer I enjoy the novelty and history in owning a Curta. | ||
| 246 | Rudy Penteado | None | 3906 W Ina Rd. #200-363 Tucson, Arizona USA |
520-469-7800 | 0 | 1 | 546763 | Have been admiring those units since a teenager. Couldn't have one at that time. It is impeccable and works smoothly like it was made last week. |
| 247 | Mario Nagano | nagano(at)canalvip.com.br | Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo BRAZIL |
1 | 0 | 10133 | After discovering the amazing Curta calculator at the museum of HP Calculators I was looking for one during the last two years, finally finding one on the eve of the last christmas day on a local flea market here in BRAZIL (who said there's no Santa?) :^) Mine is a type I Curta in a black metal case with left-hand thread. The case doesn't feature the "<-Open->" arrow, nor the line frame surrounding the "CURTA" brand name. The serial number is quite low (10133) indicating that it was made during 1949 or 1950. Unfortunately, the clear ring was broken on my Curta, but the previous owner saved the missing part that I found in the bottom of the case. AFAIK, there's another Curta here in BRAZIL in a local computer museum: www.museudocomputador.com.br/galeria_calculadora2.htm | |
| 248 | Ludgerus Friedhoff | friedhoff(at)cityweb.de | D-46119 Oberhausen, Baumstrasse 4 GERMANY |
1 | 0 | 67997 | ||
| 249 | Nigel Thompson | nigel.thompson(at)sparticus.net | Uppingham, Rutland UK |
1 | 0 | 72538 | Complete with Black moulded case (I love the left hand thread) and Manual (multiple folded single sheet in green and black) I acquired the above from a colleague who previously used it to calculate CRT deflection system coil assemblies for TV sets during the late 60's early 70's. It remain unused until 1981 when during an office discussion about a project I was working on the subject came up about calcualting devices. I was programming one of the HP calculators (forget the model) at the time and my colleague brought this in to show how it used to be done !! He left the company I was working about a year later, and prior to leaving he discovered that the Curta was still in his desk. He gave it to me as a parting gift - and what a gift - I have shown it to many people over the years and it has created lots of debates. For me its about the history, craftmanship and technology, but most of all the realisation that something like this will never again be produced (certainly not commercially) and that it represents a time before the charge for everything digital and computer based. Nothing best demonstrates this than during the production period 1947 to 1970; only two versions entered into production. Cannot think of many modern devices having a mean life of 11.5 years. (Calculated using my olde Curta !!) PS My Curta It is not for Sale, but I have a scanned electronic copy of the manual if anyone is interested. | |
| 250 | Enrico Panfili | panfili(at)bbcm.univ.trieste.it | Trieste ITALY |
0 | 1 | 511682 | I inherited a Curta in excellent conditions and metal box, from my -now retired- late boss. Both we are biochemists, and I remember well my boss and his closest co-worker "grinding" numbers for calculating enzymatic activities from 1966 till 1971! (I was about 25 years old). The operating manual soon was lost, and I am VERY happy in finding it in this web-site: I restarted happily to "grind" numbers with the Curta Machine, rousing astonishment among the today youngs! | |
| 251 | Paul Powell | ivor(at)paulpowell.freeserve.co.uk | Rossendale Lancashire UK |
1 | 0 | 29063 | ||
| 251a | 2001 |
2001 |
2001 |
2001 |
******** 2001 ******** |
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| 252 | Nigel J S Steward | NigelSteward(at)HotMail.Com | Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire UK |
0 | 1 | 558450 | I first used a Curta in the mid '60's as a lawyer in court, but have recently acquired the one referred to below which is really to good to use in a serious rally. I have a Type II in its plastic case all in pristine, possibly unused condition, originally sold in Cape Town, RSA. I also have three pieces of original literature. A single (two sided) page flyer "Who counts on Curta" - "Curta the calculator for people who count". "The key to every calculating problem", a 16 page booklet, and the fold out "Your Curta Calculator". I rally two MGs, and MGA roadster and an MGB GT V8, and would like to acquire a complete leather rally case with belt loop and shoulder strap, and a "Curta cup" which attaches the Curta to a clipboard for rallying. I have also heard of, but never seen, a cable for use with the Curta in a rally environment. I am reluctant to use my mint Curta in serious long distance classic rallies, so would like to purchase another "more used" Type II, cosmetic appearance unimportant provided that it is in perfect working order." | |
| 253 | Joe McGlohen | retread(at)ix.netcom.com | Arlington, Texas USA |
817-861-2792 |
0 | 1 | 524391 | Original Owner was Jerry and Marry Stoughton. May drove and Jerry navigated to at least two SCCA Class A National Championships in a VW Bug using S/N 524391. I had rallied in my late teens and early twenties during the late 1960's and had come to know the Stoughtons. In the 1980's I strove to drive a resurgence of touring TSD rallies for all to enjoy via the Maverick Region Porsche Club of America. At an unrelated after-event pub crawl Jerry and Mary indicated that retirement from Rally was imminent, and offered their Type II was for sale. I responded with "name your price and I'll pay it". After a brief consultation they specified $35. I have used the wondrous tool on several occasions in TSD Rallies and done reasonably well. I would love to find an opportunity to use it more. |
| 254 | Nathan Orenstein | nathan-o(at)netmedia.net.il | Jerusalem ISRAEL |
0 | 1 | 546616 | Plastic case, Instruction book lost. Curta was purchsed in U.S. and used for car-rally navigation. It was also used at work (electrical engineering) when slide-rule precision was insufficient. | |
| 255 | Gerhard Wenzel | gerhard.wenzel(at)t-online.de | Solingen NRW GERMANY |
1 | 0 | 75083 | I'm collecting pocket calculators. You can visit my museum at www.calculators.de. Thanks and happy collecting | |
| 256 | Doug Glover | doug.glover(at)sympatico.ca | Mississauga, Ontario CANADA |
1 | 0 | 50571 | ||
| 257 | Alfred Werra | alfred.werra(at)gmx.de | 48149 Munster GERMANY |
0 | 1 | 529069 | ||
| 258 | Scott Soper | scottsoper(at)yahoo.com | Olympia, Washington USA |
1 | 0 | 73961 | My dad used this in the 60s while he was an appraiser. I always told him that I wanted it willed to me but he decided not to wait. Most people can't figure out what it is when they see it. | |
| 259 | Jo & Jim Hurley | ojo1o(at)hotmail.com | Lincolnshire, England UK |
0 | 1 | 533946 | It was bought not long ago at a car boot sale. It is in perfect condition, it looks unused, even the case is perfect. Hand book/instuction leaflet missing. This Curta is not for sale, we intend to pass it on to our grandson. | |
| 260 | Mark W. Rodgers | mrodgers(at)austin.rr.com | 6415 Tracton Court Austin, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 50383 | I have a Curta Calculator, in perfect condition with metal canister and both manuals are in perfect shape. According to your web page it's a 1963 model. This very unique machine is very special to me. As a child at the age of 8, I remember my Grandfather showing it to me and I was so impressed, after just one short encounter, I remembered 35 years later to ask for it after he passed on. I would be honored if you would register me in memory of my Grandfather: (In memory of Col. William P. Allyn) | |
| 261 | Peter Bird | bird(at)encode.com | Bracebridge, Ontario CANADA | 705-645-2291 |
1 | 0 | 5099 | The metal cannister has a right-hand thread.
The only markings on the cannister is:
"CURTA"
(the quote marks are engraved on the cannister, along with the letters).
There is no other line work, etc. The 'O'-ring, internal bottom foam pad,
internal top rubber clamping pad; are all there, and in excellent condition.
On the barrell of the calculator, above the setting register is engraved:
"CURTA"
SYSTEM CURT HERZSTARK
Again the quote marks around the CURTA. The second line is engraved in much
smaller letters.
The setting knobs are pegs, not the serrated slides that I have seen in all
pictures of the calculator.
On the barrell on the opposite side of the setting register is engraved:
SOLE S.A. AGENTS SUTTNER'S P.O. BOX 6490 JOHANNESBURG The calculator works perfectly, and smoothly. It appears to have been used very little, if at all. The attached 'pictures' (actually direct scans on the bed of my scanner) are of poor quality, and are deceptive as to the condition of the calculator. For example, the picture of the bottom of the calculator indicates that the lettering might be blurred, partialy missing and not sharp: in fact the lettering is quite complete, not blurred, and very sharp. In all of the pictures that I have seen, I have never seen a picture showing: - a cannister engraved with quote marks around CURTA, and no other letters or line work, - a righ-hand threaded cannister, - the barrell of the calculator engraved with quote marks around CURTA, and/or the second line, SYSTEM CURT HERZSTARK (on the barrell, not the bottom), - 'peg' style setting knobs. |
| 262 | John W. Stanley | johnwstanley(at)lineone.net | Crewe, Cheshire UK |
0 | 1 | 505168 | A brief history:-
As a PhD research student in 1962~3 I used a Friden (?Freiden) electro-mechanical calculator
which was on a sort of permanent loan to the University of Nottingham, England. Before
I'd finished essential statistical calculations on fossil brachiopods, the company was
taken over and Freiden machines on loan were recalled. As an undergraduate in the late
50s, I had seen a Curta and I guessed that, in the crisis, it might be affordable to me
as a private acquisition in order to complete my thesis. For the sum of about sixty
pounds (very painful at the time!) I bought mine from a (forgotten) shop in Nottingham,
UK, and I still have it. I think the handbook will emerge from the lower stratum of papers in a desk drawer when I get around to tidying some day! I still have the cardboard box. I have only just discovered your site and learned just how much interest there still is in these mechanical marvels. I have been interested in mechanical things since a youngster with Meccano and still find fascination in this device which must be close to the ultimate of precision, pre-electronic age,consumer devices other than watches. One of my favourite party pieces is to demonstrate how instrument-calculation was performed before the electronic calculator which youngsters seem to think was invented about the same time as fire! Goodness knows what they'd think of a slide rule! My Curta is in perfect working condition and virtually unmarked although the aluminium (oops! aluminum) canister shows signs of use. Interesting, though, that the rubber O-ring seal and the foam shock-absorber and cushion in the lid have all retained their elesticity and show no sign of having perished. There is something very satisfying about the 'feel' of these instruments, from the silkiness of the black anodised body to the amazingly smooth but positive movements. Having owned mine for nearly 40 years I can't imagine ever parting with it (although I suppose the time will come when I part from it!). |
|
| 263 | bones4skiv | bones4skiv(at)email.msn.com | 0 | 1 | 526827 | I recently inherited my father's Curta and am looking for an instruction manual. My father was a Mechanical Engineer with Collins Radio and Rockwell Int. for 36 years, a fairly successful SCCA driver during the late 60's, and probably the most intelligent man I will ever know. The Curta is in mint condition, and although I have figured out simple multiplication and division functions, I know that the computer is much more powerful than I can imagine. If you know of anyone willing to part with an instruction manual or even a copy thereof, I am definitely interested. | ||
| 264 | Pierre ZIMMERMANN | pazimmer(at)altavista.net | Lausanne SWITZERLAND |
1 | 0 | 37683 | This unit in very good state has black metal case, french instruction book and original box. | |
| 265 | DIB KARAM JUNIOR | dib(at)fpte.br | SAO PAULO BRAZIL |
55.14.520.3200 |
1 | 0 | 67995 | |
| 266 | Stephen Hunt | campos-hunt(at)msn.com | Fairfax, Virginia USA |
(703) 803-9519 |
0 | 1 | 553720 | I had absolutely no idea that these calculators had such a following!! Curta type II with computing examples and instruction manual. It also has a leather carrying case. The whole package is in mint condition. |
| 267 | R Monaco | rwmonaco2(at)juno.com | Orlando, Florida USA |
0 | 1 | 540738 | I have a Curta Type II No. . It is in a plastic container in a little cardboard box with a couple of manuals entitled: "Your Curta calculator" & "Computing examples for the Curta Calculating Machine" A little Guarantee and Registration Card that has never been filled out! A "Mathematical Handbook - An aid to every day figuring Problems, Tables, Formulas, Arithmetrical Rules" And a receipt from 10/16/67 I just started to read about how they work. What an interesting device! | |
| 268 | Diane | dcmercer(at)earthlink.net | 1 | 0 | 75789 | I used your instructions and was able to determine that it works great. | ||
| 269 | Peter Mabey | PeterMabey(at)aol.com | 226 Nicholls Tower, Harlow UK |
0 | 1 | 520745 | It was bought new for about £40 - I've not looked up the exchange rate, but it was a significant sum: around a couple of weeks' salary for an engineer in the aircraft industry, as I was then. I still have the manual, which is entitled "The key to every calculating problem", with a back page notice saying supplied by LONDON OFFICE MACHINES LTD., who also provided a service contract for cleaning and replacement of parts, which I took up while I was using it professionally. I do still use the machine occasionally, but unfortunately dropped it last year, and broke the operating handle & have not succeeded in gluing it back together, so have to turn it by the stub. (I shall have to have another go, as it's still the best device for solving puzzles which require the result of a multiplication to have known digits in specified locations.) The manual I have is the one described at item 36, except that the address of London Office Machines is Sweda House, 5 Lower Belgrave House, 5 Lower Belgrave Street, London SW1, phone SLO 0407, and the reference number is 60 04 15e. This suggests that at that time L.O.M. was a subsidiary of Sweda, the manufacturer of the larger calculators in your general listing. At some later date the service agreement was handed over to Automatic Business Machines Ltd. of 11, Wyfold Road, London, and a label was attached to the case with the new address. This label has now been partly lost, but their telephone number was one starting 01-3xxxxxx, so that must have been after the change from alphanumeric codes to all-digit ones. | |
| 270 | Les & Lisa Van Horn | lvanhorn(at)new.rr.com | Green Bay, Wisconsin USA |
0 | 1 | 507968 | As a collectors of Antique Surveying equipment a Curta is a must. We purchased ours from a retired Surveyor. He was the original purchaser and kept both the instruction manual and what appears to be a pamphlet that describes the sales features for purchasing a Curta. He paid 142.00 plus 7.90 Ex. tax. and had it on a ten day trail. I believe it was purchased from Geo-optic Company, Inc New York, NY. | |
| 271 | Nigel R. Tomlinson | together(at)erols.com | Fredericksburg, Virginia USA via Wolverhampton, England UK |
0 | 1 | 544857 | Excellent condition w/ plastic case given to my by my best friend who is now passed on. | |
| 272 | David Southall | davidsouthall1(at)excite.co.uk | Cradley Heath, West Midlands, England UK |
1 | 0 | 7854 | Type 1 with rounded top and RH threaded Metal Case
Original instruction books * Instructions for use of the CURTA (45 pages) * London Office Machines Ltd -CURTA (16 pages) * CURTA Table NO.101 Square roots (double sided card) The zeroing ring snapped is this possible to replace?. Are there spares available ? the machine is in excellent condition apart from the zeroing ring. |
|
| 273 | Prof. Karl Kleine | kleine(at)fh-jena.de | Jena GERMANY |
+49-3641-205-502 [fax -503] |
1 | 1 | 10577 505608 |
SN 10577 (4/1950) SN 505608 (5/1955) See the pictures of Curt Herzstark that Karl has helped me find on the main Curta Web page.Rick |
| 274 | Darrel R. Dilley | drdilley(at)yahoo.com | Kalkaska, Michigan USA |
1 | 0 | 20021 | 20021 (~1956) | |
| 275 | Bill Drude | BNDrude(at)aol.com | 16 Carleton Place
Pacifica, California USA |
0 | 1 | 542883 | I have a Curta , which I bought at Abercrombe & Fitch back about 1968 just before the electronic calculator came out. I used it while working for Varian Associates in the design drafting department. When Hewlett Packard came out with their HP 35 calculator, I started to use it in place of the Curta. I still like to demonstrate how the Curta works to friends and family. I still have the original box, instructions, and plastic case. It's a great machine. | |
| 276 | Ray Woods | Ray.Woods(at)Siemens.com | North Bend, Washington USA |
1 | 0 | 40557 | My father gave me his early type I which he used for rallye racing. P.S. I got the poster and my engineer colleagues come to my office just to study it! | |
| 277 | Ramon Fregoso | ramon(at)fregososdiaz.com | Mexico City, DF MEXICO |
0 | 1 | 527054 | My Curta has green body with top and bottom black, it's in mint condition with it's black metal case also mint. I got it in a flea market in Mexico City at a ridiculous price. | |
| 278 | Glenn Jolliffe | GlennJ(at)eaznet.com | Safford, Arizona USA |
1 | 0 | 59349 | My dad was a surveyor in the 1960's and he showed me how to use his Curta when I was about 8 years old. I have been fascinated with it ever since. When I dad passed away in 1999, I inherited it and I will never part with it. | |
| 279 | Paul Amos | pamos(at)logical123.net | 0 | 1 | 511185 | I was given a Curta Type II about 20 years ago. I did not have any instructions on how it operates. This morning, I thought about this little machine sitting on the shelf in my den, and decided to do a Internet search. I can't tell you how delighted I was to find all this information. The secrets of this little jewel have been revealed. Thank you! I am not interested in parting with it. | ||
| 280 | Wisecrack55 | Wisecrack55(at)aol.com | 1 | 0 | 34925 | I suspect my grandparent used it when ralleying. I do not have the paperwork. But I do have that left twist metal case. | ||
| 281 | Fred Kroll | fredkroll(at)worldnet.att.net | Bellevue, Washington USA |
0 | 1 | 528813 | Curta Type II in metal case, excellent condition. No manual. | |
| 282 | Don Murtagh | donmurtagh(at)conectiv.net | Landenberg, Pennsylvania USA |
1 | 0 | 44385 | I got my Cueta from a friend who was a road rallyest for many years. It looks brand new. It is a type 1 in a metal case whose top turns off in a clockwise direction. My friend used it in conjunction with a book of tables entitled "Cur-TA=Ble for the Curta equipped Rallyist"by Willard Coddington and a Stevens Rally Indicator which is a 9 inch p;astic disk with 3 movable arms immobilized with thumb screws. the arms are labeled T, E, and M. It was used to coordinate the time, odometer reading and mileage from the last check point. Along with my Curta calculator I have the operation manual, a booklet entitled "Computing examples for the Curta Calculating Machine'" published by Contina AG, Vaduz and the guarantee dated 7-19-61. I am really not interested in selling these items along with my slide rule collection. | |
| 283 | Joe Webber | webberj(at)survcon-hou.com | SURVCON INC. 5757 Woodway Houston, Texas USA |
(713) 780-4123 |
0 | 1 | 541735 | I was surprised to see a page dedicated to the Curta and think it's great. My Dad bought his back in 1965 while being a Surveyor. I remember using it many times while working with him though I was only 14 years old at the time. He died Feb. of this year and I am sorry that he could not have seen this. I am a Surveyor also and have since been Licensed in 3 States but have only spoken to one other surveyor who still has one of these. The Model is a Type II and it's in Mint Condition. |
| 284 | Daniel Gross | ornerypest(at)yahoo.com | Solomons, Maryland USA |
(410) 326-4964 | 0 | 1 | 536161 | Hi! I was just surfing the Weird Wild Web and came upon your Curta Collectors and Registry Page and just happened to remember that I still have my Curta calculator. I bought it new in about 1966 or thereabouts, primarily for doing sports car rallies. The Type II has got enough figures on it to keep 2 continuous calculations going on at once. I built a special double clipboard with a bracket to hold the Curta and another bracket to hold the Heuer stopwatch I used along with it. I've still got all 3 (Curta, stopwatch, and clipboard) but seldom use them all together any more. |
| 285 | Andres Romero Ortiz | j-segura(at)uniandes.edu.co, romero_aaro(at)yahoo.com | Santa Fe de Bogota, D.C., Cundinamarca COLOMBIA |
+57-1-620 1242 | 1 | 0 | 24838 | I'm new to the CURTA "fellows society" (1954.1, I think). Indeed, I've found my CURTA at my Dad's home few days ago. |
| 286 | Hiromi Chiyoda | hiromi(at)exerceo.com | San Francisco, California USA |
0 | 1 | 524265 | Type II, made in Liechtenstein, Customs Union with Switzerland, by Contina Ltd Mauren Metal case and worn, but legible basic instructions. In 1980 I was asked to help my mother's friend set some items up for a yard sale. My brother and I were told that we could each pick one item as compensation for our efforts. My brother picked a box of comics and I picked this very interesting mechanical calculator. My mother's friend was a widow and her husband was in the US military (Army, I think) and travelled extensively in Europe and Asia just after WWII. The basic one page instruction manual was wrapped around the metal case and held in place with a trusty rubber band. I was always fascinated with the device but had no idea there were so many others. | |
| 287 | Lindley and Charlotte Mixon | mixonart(at)xyz.net | Halibut Cove, Alaska USA |
1 | 0 | 64224 | Made: Liechtenstien by Contina AG Mauren, seriel No. mint condition w/ plastic case in excellent condition | |
| 288 | Philip Twine | philip.twine(at)blueyonder.co.uk | Aldridge, Walsall (near Birmingham), England UK |
+44 (0) 1922-448803 |
0 | 1 | 551752 | Mothers moving to warden controlled flat (she's 81) So have just cleaned out her garage before she moves, only to find this wonderful precision engineered mechanical calculator. based on Rick Furr's formula it's dated at mid sept 1967...I vaguely remember my late father showing me this item when I was approx 13 (I am now 47)..It is in pristine condition and housed in a black cylindrical plastic/bakerlite type vessel with a left hand thread, I also have the original box and supporting documentation (1) 'Your CURTA Calculator' multiple fold single sheet in green and black (2) 51 page folder 'Computing examples for the CURTA Calculating Machine'...after pressing the enter button on my computer I will be putting the details on the 'for sale' info as the financial returns should put a smile on my mum's face (she was going to put it in the skip) |
| 289 | David Kristopeit | dave(at)kristopeit.com | Racine, Wisconsin USA |
1 | 0 | 71125 | I received my Curta from the widow of a mechanical engineer with the SC Johnson Wax Co. His name was Jerry Meldgaard. He had purchased it for $50 from a Curta rep in the early 70's while on a plane trip to Europe. Apparently the rep was sitting in the seat next to him. In the course of talking he told Jerry that the Curta was not selling very well because of the increasing use of electronic calculators. Jerry told him he had always wanted one and the rep said he could have one for $50. Jerry liked fine mechanical instruments and owned Leica cameras as well. Jerry was a customer in my restaurant and after he died his wife remembered that I had expressed an interest in Jerry's Curta. I still have the original box with matching SN, manual, and the warranty card. It is like new. Jerry never used it and neither have I. | |
| 290 | Paul Ricci | webmaster(at)jiffyprint.com | Portland, Maine USA |
(207) 797-0333 |
1 | 0 | 15053 | About 30 years ago I was given a Curta (S/N #15053) Type I by an auctioneer friend of the family. I didn't know what I had at the time. I put it away until just recently when I was showing it to my step-daughter. I decided to try to find out what it was. I was surprised to see a web site devoted to the machine. It is in PERFECT condition (just like new). |
| 291 | Allan Gough | goughaa(at)gmail.com | Hamilton, New Zealand | 0 | 1 | 543190 | In 1964 I joined a firm of Chartered Accountants and in 1968 I became a partner and I still hold this position today. My previous employer had a number of Marchant mechanical/electric calcualtors. I used them extensively but they were large heavy machines, so much so that the female staff would not move them. At the new firm I discovered a Curta. It was bought in 1956, probably in England by a client of the office who was on an overseas holiday. On his return to New Zealand he presented it to one of the partners who was a bit of a gadget man. I quickly learned how to use it but the two of us were the only ones who could use it. This was a type 1 model and I found that it did not have enough capacity to handle pounds, shillings and pence which was the currency of that time. In due course the partner retired ( he was a world war 1 gallipoli veteran) and another partner took over the Curta and learned how to use it. At my bidding a type 2 model was purchased from an agent in Wellington New Zealand. It was my calculator and I still have it to this day. In 1990 the type 1 came to me as I was the only one who could use it and electronic calculators had taken over. In 1986 our house was burgled and the type 1 was stolen along with other property. No doubt it was dumped as the burglars would not have been able to use it. Unfortunately I did not have the serial number but it had a metal case and was in good well used order. The real history for me is that in 1974 the client who purchased the series 1 Curta became my father in law. I still have the instruction manuals and calculation examples which came with both Curtas. The type 2 which I have is number 543190 and it was purchased in 1965 or 1966. It still works well but constant use over many years has worn off some of the colour on the body and some of the markings are rather indistinct. Our office computer staff are fascinated by it and I am told that many of my clients refer to me as the accountant with the coffee grinder or the pepper grinder. In the late 1960's Car Trials were big in New Zealand and I was a timekeeper. One of our greatest rivals used a Curta for timekeeping. He used to jealously guard his machine and his method. One day I asked him what his method was and he very quickly and briefly told me what he did thinking that I would not understand. What he did not know was that I had a Curta and ten minutes on my machine was all I needed to know his system. He never knew that I knew! I never used a Curta for Car Trials (similar to US car rallies) as I used a book and manual entries in conjunction with a Halda Twinmaster and time and speed tables (Larry Reid). I did not have to convert time into decimals and written records gave me the ability to check time penalties on results sheets against my own calculations. Many times I was able to point out errors and improve our results. I still compete in the occasional Car Trial but they are now not well supported. I still do not use the Curta for Car Trials but I still use it on occasions in my office. In 1987 I was in Liechtenstein and enquired after the Curta factory. I was told that it had closed down. I knew little about the history of Curtas until I found the web page a few days ago. I hope this tome is of some interest to you. I live in Hamilton New Zealand and I possess a Curta Type II No 543190. This was purchased in New Zealand about 1965 or 1966. It is complete with plastic case and the foam pad in the bottom. It was used by me for many years during my career as a chartered accountant (CPA in the US).It has not had much use for the last ten years or so and it now feels a bit stiff in the movements. It needs a service. Are you aware of anyone who can service a Curta in New Zealand? The firm it was bought from in Wellington New Zealand has long gone out of business. I used to have a type 1 with a metal case but it was stolen many years ago and probably dumped. I have the original instruction booklet for this machine which was bought in 1956. I also have a foldout instruction sheet which would have come with the type II as it refers to both types. Further, I have a buff coloured booklet titled "Computing Examples for the Curta Calculating Machine". By the aged look of the pages which are otherwise in perfect condition I think that it came with the type1. Finally I have a promotional booklet entitled "The key to every calculating problem". It has a green cover with some orange highlights and it is dated 1962. Any help you can give me regarding service would be greatly appreciated. | |
| 292 | Pablo Andres Pichardo | ppap(at)codetel.net.do | Santiago de los Caballeros, Santiago DOMINICAN REPUBLIC |
809 724 2413 |
0 | 1 | 506524 | "My father was an accountant and used this machine when I was a child. When I was 17 I used the CURTA for calculating on Rally races When I get into college (1969) I used my Curta instead of the normal rule. |
| 293 | Tom Poole | HarryPants(at)aol.com | Birmingham, England UK |
1 | 1 | 75549 558512 |
I saw my first Curta (Mk II) in my bosses desk in 1977 and was immediately smitten with the idea of owning one. It was one of eight (I believe) bought by the management for use in the Drawing Office. This one was the only remaining example and no one was sure (or seemed to care) as to the whereabouts of the other Machines. I made it my job to quietly look them out but in the years I was with the company never found them. I felt sure one day I would find them but never did. The only time I ever saw another Curta Machine was when I visited my local Science Museum. I recently bought my two machines, unused and still in their original Cardboard boxes from a London auction house. The original plan was to sell the Mk II and keep the Mk I but am so pleased with their stunning condition I am having second thoughts and hope my Partner just forgets about the money I owe her! | |
| 294 | MD Meason | MDMeason(at)aol.com | Atlanta, Georga USA |
1 | 0 | 56190 | I just aquired a "curta" type 1, I was amazed when I figured out what it was, well when I looked it up on internet and you told me what it was. It's serial # is 56190 , a clockwise turn opens it can you fill me in on an (at) birthdate or any other info? Thanks again for enlightening me. | |
| 295 | LAZARE | tlazare(at)plasticomnium.com | Paris FRANCE |
00 33 612 60 90 21 |
0 | 1 | 556951 | In good shape, every button seems to work but no result display !! I'm looking for someone who can repair it or maybe to sell it like it is? |
| 296 | Glenn Bell | manilamann(at)netscape.net | Bradenton, Florida USA |
1 | 0 | 55845 | Type One with Metal Container (no box or users manual) Near-Mint. I have a Type-1 No.55845 that I am interested in selling. I inherited the calculator from my Grandfather who was the Vice President of Williams Brown & Earl Co., a scientific insturment supply company in Philadelphia. The Curta was essentially un-used and is in near-mint condition; however, there are no documents or boxes that can be found for this unit, they may still exist in my Grandmother's home but have yet to appear. | |
| 297 | Lavillat Christian | christian.lavillat(at)wanadoo.fr | 6 avenue de Thones, 74000 Annecy FRANCE |
0450234911 |
1 | 0 | 43547 | C'est en parlant de ma passion pour la mecanique de precision et de l'horlogerie qu'un ami me fit cadeau de cette CURTA 1. Il ne l'avait jamais utilise. Depuis je suis completement fou de cette merveille et je l'utilise tres souvent. Mes amis en sont facines. Pardon je ne parle pas l'anglais. [This is speaking of my passion for precision mechanics and watch a friend presented me with this CURTA 1. It Was never used. Since I am completely Call us crazy about this wonder and I use very souvent. My friends are to do. Sorry I do not speak English] |
| 298 | Dr. Anoop Sahal | Anoop.Sahal(at)gp-P91617.nhs.uk | Stockport, Cheshire, England UK |
0 | 1 | ?????? | I just acquired a nice Curta II with manual. The manual is really just an appended manual for the Curta I. Was a specific manual for the II ever produced? I am struggling with division of larger numbers by small numbers eg 82/8. I have some success with the subtractive method with the reverse switch in the lower position using numbers of similar magnitude eg 355/113 (try this one for fun) I cannot make head nor tail of that part of the manual. Overstepping is not clear to me and I cannot duplicate the readings on my II I must agree that the Curta is hypnotic. It's action is sweetly mesmerising. It could be likened to the Ring in The Hobbit with its effect its owner. I turn the handle a few times whenever I'm stressed! I wonder if you can offer me any tips? | |
| 299 | Steven C. Ross" | scross(at)bellatlantic.net | Sterling, Virginia USA |
0 | 1 | 528478 | It is in great condition and has been in our family for over 30 years. When my father gave it to me some years ago I did not know what to make of it so I keep it in my closet until my kids found it. I went on the web to see if I could find out how to use it and down loaded the manual. That is how I found this web sit. Neat I did not know it was a colectors item. | |
| 299a | 2002 |
2002 |
2002 |
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| 300 | Dan Kennison | dkennis(at)rap.midco.net | 608 Wayside Dr Rapid City, South Dakota USA |
(605) 343-5244 |
1 | 0 | 13426 | I first became interested in the Curta during my freshman year in college. I roomed next door to a gentleman named Earl Hildebrandt who worked for Dunn & Bradstreet. I have since lost track of him but he used the Curta extensively in his work and demonstrated it to me on several occasions. I seem to remember them being advertised in "Popular Science" & "Popular Mechanics" magazines a few years earlier. I really wanted one but of course could not afford it at the time. In the past several years I have been keeping my eyes open for one at rummage sales, antique stores and where ever I thought one might show up, but to no avail. I bought my Curta in 1999 in a very pleasant transaction with Skip Godfrey. He was selling this one for a friend in Singapore. It is in almost perfect condition with no scratches or wear marks. The canister is the early high-gloss style with "CURTA" engraved in the metal. It came with two pieces of original literature and a professionally reprinted Curta Operator's Manual. The original advertising brochure lists the sales agent as ALPHA INSTRUMENT CO., in Washington 6, DC, phone number FE 8-0570. I have no desire to part with my Curta and I do hope to acquire a Model II at some time in the future. |
| 301 | Chad | chadmurdock(at)hotmail.com | 0 | 1 | 538446 | This web site looks great! We just bought some things from an auction from the US Bureau of Land Management, and with this came a Curta Type II Ser.#538446. It looks like it has never been used. We have the plastic case, a "Computing Examples for the Curta Calculating Machine" 51 page phamplet, a owner's type manual fold-out brochure and the 30 day registration form certificate. I see that these are quite the collectors item. | ||
| 302 | Dr. Jeffry Luria | jluria(at)midtel.net | 847 Grovenors Corners Road Central Bridge, New York USA |
0 | 1 | 552856 | I own a Curta II and have since the late 60's when I bought it seeing the add in the Scientific American. The serial number is 552856. I own all the original manuals and brochure or start sheet. I own a Curta II which I purchased in 1968 or thereabouts, the serial number is 552856, and it includes the plastic gasket sealed case, the foldout instructions, the examples for calculation and two of the "Mathematical Handbooks" published by the Curta Company in Van Nuys California. "Live to Ride. Ride To Live." | |
| 303 | Udo Stichling | udo.stichling(at)vermessung-stichling.de> | HugelstraBe 15 - D-42277 Wuppertal GERMANY |
0202-26369-0 |
1 | 0 | 59112 | I'm a surveyor in Germany. My Grandpa (Paul Stichling) and my Dad (Wolfgang Stichling) have'been surveyors also. Now I own the Curta from my Dad. I don't know at what time it was bought. |
| 304 | Dianne Wood | 1 | 0 | 78642 | I was cleaning out my closet and I found this calculator. I decided to go on the web and look up the name. I was not familar with the calculator and thought it was a lost cause. The serial no: 78642 was purchased by my father in Liechtenstein, it is in a plastic case, but the machine is metal and the instructions and booklet are still with it. I'm sure it has never been used. What is the value of these calculators in today' market. I looked at your website, and was amazed at the interest your readers have with this calculator. | |||
| 305 | Steve Willey | willey(at)rainierautosports.com | Seattle, Washington USA |
0 | 3 | 520730 512045 509304 |
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| 306 | Jonathan Wall | 0 | 1 | 541184 | I've just recieved a curta from a friend of the family. It belonged to my father. | |||
| 307 | Heidi Abrams | heidi.abrams(at)lvvwd.com | Las Vegas, Nevada USA |
1 | 0 | 42769 | My father gave me this Curta when I was teenager. He thought it was a fascinating little machine. It is in it's original cardboard box stamped "Made in Liechtenstein" with a glue-on label bearing the serial number. I have a guarantee from "Contina Ltd., Vaduz / Liechtenstein", a booklet "Computing Examples for the Curta Calculating Machine", and a pamphlet titled "Your Curta Calculator" with "the Four Arithmetical Rules". The metal case opens to the left, and has the rubber "O" ring with padding top and bottom. The calculator itself says "System Curt Herzstark" on the bottom. The case and the unit are both in completely pristine condition as it has rarely been out of the box. Unfortunately my daughter just broke off part of the ring on the clearing lever, but I have the piece so it could be repaired. (Does anyone out there know where I can get it fixed?) According to the formula it was manufactured around March 1959. It is NOT for sale | |
| 308 | Frank Gagliano | nortonbyk(at)monmouth.com | Lakewood, New Jersey USA |
1 | 0 | 51295 | It has been in the family since new, as my father-in-law used to participate in sports car rallies in the 60's. The Curta is in perfect working condition with no broken parts, and is still in its original metal, counter-clockwise cap case. Even the rubber "O" ring is still in good shape. | |
| 309 | Glenn Herman | voyager1(at)i-2000.com | Central-New Jersey USA |
0 | 1 | 518518 | Wow, you have a fantastic web site with some extraordinary photo's and a heck of a lot of information. I was just surfing the web and was wondering what else to look up with my Google search engine. Well, I looked over to my right where I have a bunch of my porsche models and other items on display and noticed one of my Curta's sitting there on the shelf. So, that's what I typed in for the search. A wonderful page and I wish you well with your finds and a great site. I would hope it stays up forever. Oh, my Curta? The one on display is one of 3 that I have. The other 2 are in a dresser draw that I can't get to at this time as it's blocked in by toy trains. Anyway this one is in a black metal container, type II, No. 518518, Made in Liechtenstein (Customs Union with Switzerland) by Contina Ltd. Mauren, System Curt Herzstark. It's in perfect condition and I'm sure that somewhere with the other's I have I do have the literature that came with it. I do remember that at least one of the others I have is also packed in the original cardboard box that they were sold in. The Curta was inside that cardboard box. And that one has all the literature also. I had purchase these items when I was into road rally's. I must have paid at least $25 for them and no more than $45 for the most expensive. My Curta's were all purchased around 1980. Still cheap back then as all the rally guys were switching to the electronic types. I should have purchased more of them...... I wish I could get at the others I have to give you the serial numbers of them also. I do kind of remember that one of them has a very low number or something different about it. I think this one has an interesting number itself 518518, it's like 2 518's back to back. Kind of neat...... Have a nice day and again thank you for putting so much information up and making it available for those interested in the Curta. Great page Rick. | |
| 310 | Paul Krisman | PKrisman1(at)aol.com | 0 | 1 | 538365 | |||
| 311 | Mac Thompson | mact(at)peak.org | Bangkok THAILAND |
(662) 908-9960 |
1 | 0 | 79256 | I first encountered the CURTA while doing part time surveying work while in college at Oregon State Univ. Later, in the Army, I was travelling Space A through Europe and made a diversion to Vaduz and bought a Type I in the metal case, super machine. Believe it was about $125. Out of the army and off to Laos for several years as a civilian with USAID, used the CURTA for lots of things, calculating rice drops, etc. This one was stolen from my VW van in 1973 when I was inside the Feather Flight suds sipping spot throwing darts one aftenoon. No CURTA, what to do, even in the age of the handheld calculators. Circa 1981, in Bangkok, a friend was going on home leave to the U.S. via Europe. I suggested that he and the family stop by Vaduz, which they did, and they found the one I now have, about the last of the line, I reckon. About $60, I think. Don't use it much now, but it's close to hand, I just pulled it out of the bag, along with my five or six sliderules. Mac retired in Thailand |
| 312 | Norm Guttormson | normg2(at)Shaw.ca | 23 Brown Crescent Saskatoon, Sk. CANADA |
1 | 0 | 19500 | I am very impressed by the wealth of information you have there on Curta calculators, their owners and the numerous links to other pages. My uncle bequeathed his Curta calculator to me in 1957. He was a civil engineer and a hobbyist mathematician and acquired the Curta after his retirement. I doubt if he used the calculator very much. It was in almost pristine condition when I received it. I am a retired accountant and apart from learning how to use the calculator and demonstrating it to a few co-workers shortly after receiving it, it has not since been used. It has been stored in a cloth cover in a drawer with other knickknacks of mine all these years. | |
| 313 | Reyn Rich | Reynrich(at)aol.com | 0 | 1 | 543471 | Thanks for your very interesting Curta website. I was particularly interested in the attempts to find a formula for dating by serial number. I recently purchased a Type II, serial no. 543471. I also have the original bill of sale. It was sold in Toronto, Canada in March,1968. The retail price was $165.00 plus 5% sales tax. Total $173.25. That was about 10% of the cost of the new pick-up truck that my family bought the same year. I don't know if this info. might be of any interest to anyone but if you know someone perhaps you could pass it on. | ||
| 314 | Sandra Ausher | sandraausher(at)aol.com | 1 | 0 | 27970 | I have a Curta type I calculator. My husband used it in the 1970's when he was employed as a surveyor. The first two digits of the serial number are not very clear. I think it is 27970, possibly 22, 72, OR 77. | ||
| 315 | Bernard Cadier | bcadier(at)wanadoo.fr | Paris, Ile-de-France FRANCE |
1 | 0 | 7903 | Heritated from my dad, after he died in 1963. He probably had baught it in Paris or in Switzerland around 1950 / 1955 in relation with his job calculation requests. My Dad was engineer as I am. I remember having always been in company of that object in our home, since my first childhood. Of course, I keep preciously that fantastic machine, and I would not get rid of it at any price. | |
| 316 | Lita Hayes | 1 | 0 | 5227 | I currently have a Type I Curta. It is in its original metal case and has the 45 page instruction book. | |||
| 317 | Rich Beck | rich_beck(at)swbell.net | Houston, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 15881 | My Curta calculator was given to me by my uncle Robert Manly who used it as a geologist for Standard Oil of California. He gave it to me around 1996 as "a computer that needed no electricity" because of my work at Compaq Computer Company and my engineering background. Since receiving it, I have seen 2 examples on display at the Los Alamos National Labs (read A-Bomb lab in WWII) science museum. They were used for performing engineering calculations for nuclear weapons. They also have photos of it in use. My Curta has the metal case with rubber seal ring, instruction manual and a 13 page product guide showing a black and white photo of a hand holding a Curta on a yellow background." | |
| 318 | Mark Warren | warren5(at)ntlworld.com | Nottingham, England UK |
1 | 0 | 60003 | I found my Curta in a car boot sale in Dorset. I'm a little unsure of the date but it must have been somewhere around 1982. I was about 13 or 14 at the time and just thought it looked fascinating, not having any clue what it was as there was no instruction booklet. I paid about £3 for it if I remember rightly. Not having any instructions it took me a while to work out how to use it but I managed to get all four functions in the end. Mine has a metal case with the left hand screw thread. I wouldn't call it Mint condition but it's not far off. I have a box that it came in but no instructions as mentioned before. If anyone could let me know the approximate date of construction I would be most interested. | |
| 319 | Gilles Bajolet | gilles.bajolet(at)wanadoo.fr | 60580 Coye la foret FRANCE |
+33 3 44 58 59 22 |
1 | 0 | 26449 | I have the luck to possess a CURTA type I. This machine is in a perfect state, it belonged in my Grandfather "Jean-Labord" which was a automotive garage owner to Domevre on Vezouze in Lorraine. The date is written on the operating manual: October 1955. I also possess the metal case and the operating manual in FRENCH. My grand father did not use it a lot, and the machine is as new and works admirably. I like a lot this recollection, because it is the only think which stays from my grandfather. |
| 320 | Jim Carlson | jcarlson(at)sbcglobal.net | Chatsworth, California USA |
1 | 0 | 67544 | Every time I would browse my "Scientific American" I saw the Curta advertisement and I was hooked. I had always admired elegant design and precise worksmanship. My prior calculator experience had been with Fridens in college and at work I resisted for a time (several months). I finally caved in and purchased it from the US Curta distributors store in Van Nuys, CA for $125. I used it quite intensively for financial and engineering calculations. It was a godsend. Wherever I worked, Fridens were in short supply. I was told by the salesperson/service tech that: "The metal case was being replaced with plastic because(I am paraphrasing) if dropped, the plastic case will shatter and the machine can be easily removed. The metal case tends to deform and make it difficult to retrieive the calculator without damage ." I remember this as being the mid-60s. The SN indicatesearly May 1966. My active usage was ended when the HP's appeared and later the spreadsheet (three elegant solutions to the same problem). I lost the manual and packing box years ago. The machine and case are in pristine condition. It Is not for sale. | |
| 321 | Robert A. Pearce | drrob95(at)excite.com | Bishop, California USA |
760-872-7856 | 0 | 1 | 533914 | My Curta belonged to my grandfather A.A. Brierly, who was Inyo County Surveyor for over 40 years and worked for Inyo County (California) for 65 years, he started in 1905 and retired in 1970 at 85 years old. My Curta is in excellent shape. I have always been fascinated by the little instrument. Everyone I show it to is amazed. |
| 322 | Yves DRILLET | yves.drillet(at)wanadoo.fr | Ermont FRANCE |
0 | 1 | 548268 | I bough it in a flea market in France for the equivalent of about 100$ in 1999. | |
| 323 | Ralph Hesson | hessonrn(at)cox-internet.com | Victoria, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 8883 | My father was born in Berlin in 1923 and worked in Cologne from the late 40s until 1952. He bought and used his Curta at work when in Germany. My parents immigrated to the USA in 1952. I remember the Curta just sitting on a shelf in the house when I was young. | |
| 324 | John Favill | jfavill(at)wi.rr.com | Brookfield, WWisconsin USA |
1 | 2 | 78057 504988 517305 |
I have been thinking for a while that an addition to the Curta page should be a sample string calculation where one calculation leads to the next and to the next and so on until the final answer is obtained. This occurs within the gear calculation I speak of in the piece below and my thought is to modify the calculation sheet and offer it for Curta owners/enthusiasts to use for an exercise and a means where expertise can be learned and the Curta used as it should be. It was 1959 in England and having some expertise in the design of gears and transmissions I was recruited by a company making engines for motorcycles, lawnmowers, generating sets etc. I accepted the offer and began work in the Design Office. Soon I was shown a Mk 2 Curta and given a demonstration of how the gear design procedure had been programmed around this, to me, new mechanical calculator. From Log tables and laborious but essential paper and pencil aided calculations methodology changed overnight. I quickly became the Curta king as the Curta rarely left my side as design project succeeded design project. Then after a few years the electronic calculator appeared and I changed my allegiance but I never lost the memory of holding in my left hand the black cylinder that seemed to vibrate with life as my right hand thumb and first finger turned the handle Both hands worked in unison as the product of complex group of figures were calculated. There was never any need to look at the calculator, eyes focused on the numbers on the paper in front and my mind focused on the silent count with the continuous whirr of the mechanism a constant partner. A true blending of man and machine. And the years passed, as is inevitable, and twenty years after being seduced by the mechanism from Liechtenstein I came to the US to the only US manufacturer of motorcycles. The days of the Curta were long past. Now calculations that took days even with a Curta were done in an instant and designs improved because the new computers could now do thousands of calculation variations so the skill sets required by the designer could concentrate on all the other compromises engineering designers have to make. Then came retirement and my thoughts turned to the hypnotic feel of a Curta at full speed responding instantly to confident hand and finger movements. I wanted one in the worst way. Was it a case of reclaiming lost youth or was it some sort of addiction? So I advertised in the local newspaper of the town in England where I used to be Curta King, for no reason other, I now reason, than I might find "my" Curta. During a trip to England and a visit to my home town I was offered both a Mark 1 in pristine condition in it's plastic case, and a fine Mark 2. The owner of the Mark 1 after I showed him how it worked ( he had even taken it the Antiques Road Show without success), when offered what I considered to be a fair market price he responded by saying "Oh no, I couldn't do that." Confused I asked why and he answered that it was far too much and named a much lower price. The Mark 2 was the version with the gray body with a mix of black and red sliders. Then in September of 2002 during a visit to my home town once again, I met an old work colleague who, after the subject of calculators came up in a conversation between a group of us, asked me if I wanted a Curta that he had in his possession. My response was immediate.and subsequently I was presented with a second Mark 2. Life sometimes gives unexpected pleasures and this time I was reunited with 'my' Curta. I recognize it by telltale scratches to the third slot of the keyboard, but it is as smooth as silk as I remember it. The black finish is worn away under the clearing lever, the points of the knurled finish are also shiny as are the tops of the keyboard sliders. The base outer ring where the Curta has rested on innumerable desk tops, is also bare metal shiny. After all it has had to earn it's living! The instrument is of course priceless as for a period it was an essential part of my daily life, now recalled each time I lift the black cylinder and, as it falls into its natural resting place in my left hand. My little finger under the body, thumb and first finger gripping the knurled carriage and as I turn the handle with my thumb and forefinger of my right hand my Curta comes alive and I get my fix. Yes, it's an addiction! | |
| 325 | Jim May | jim.may2(at)verizon.net | 897 Woodlawn Dr. Thousand Oaks, California USA |
1 | 0 | 21319 | What a joy to find a web site dedicated to the Curta! I have a Curta Calculator which I purchased new a long time ago. I am a mechanical engineer and used my Curta at work. What a fantastic little machine! Mine is a Type I serial No. 21319 and is in a metal case. I also have the instruction manual as well. Both are in premo condition. | |
| 326 | J. McDade | None | Long Beach, California USA |
0 | 1 | 507435 | The owner was an electrical engineer and surveyor. He loved this jewel and treated it like one of his children. | |
| 327 | Ben Edgington | ben(at)edginet.org | Reading, Eangland UK |
1 | 0 | 34224 | I recently inherited the Curta from my grandfather who had been a surveyor around Vancouver, Canada for many years. I'm pleased to report that it is very well used indeed, to the extent that the "units" setting is losing it's accuracy. The metal case is very battered, but it's basically still working very well. (Most people seem pleased their Curta has hardly or never been used, but that seems a great shame to me.) | |
| 328 | Bengt-Eric Grandin | bengt-eric.grandin(at)telia.com | Taby SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 51196 | From dead relative more than 30 years ago. With metal container. | |
| 329 | Doug Woods | dougwoods(at)internet.look.ca | Chelsea, Quebec CANADA |
1 | 0 | 54647 | I found this site by accident. Then I found that the registry is a virtual who's who of North American rally navigators - Ralph Beckman, Tom Grimshaw, John Bellefleur and Michel Poirier-Defoy. My Curta has a very noble rally heritage. I has covered many tens of thousand of rally miles and won numerous national championship and international rallies - and it still turns as smooth as silk. | |
| 330 | Removed by request-DC | Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England UK |
0 | 1 | 555251 | In 1974 a neighbour gave me the CURTA as she new I worked in Work Study - 'time and motion' (Industrial Engineer in the states I think) and thought it might be useful.( I never did use it!). It is in first class condition in a plastic case (slightly scratched) with the reverse screw lid. The handbook with it is - Computing Examples for the CURTA Calculating Machine - Contina AG, VADUZ. Principality of Liechtenstein (Economic and customs union with Switzerland). | ||
| 331 | Fredrik Breivald | fredrik_breivald(at)hotmail.com | Chicago, Illinois USA |
1 | 0 | 35410 | I got it from my grandfather in Sweden about 8 or 9 years ago. I don't know how he happened to get it, but he is always going to auctions and rumage sales and picking up a lot of wierd things. I will have to look into it. I had no idea these things had such a following. Of course I realized how cool they were when I got it and that they were something quite special. But to see them going for such a price, wow. I'm glad I've taken good care of it. I'm putting it in a display case right when I get home. | |
| 332 | Geoffrey Cross | geoff(at)cross.lu | Oxford, Oxfordshire UK |
1 | 0 | 3065 | Was given to me by grandfather | |
| 333 | Jay K. Jeffries | bottomgun(at)mindspring.com | AUTEC, Andros Island BAHAMAS |
2 | 1 | 48984 8705 531993 |
Have wanted a Curta since I was a kid and use to see them in the Edmund Scientific Catalog. Purchased a Type II some time ago that Jack Christensen cleaned and made minor repairs to. Just purchased a Type I with a broken rotator arm that will be off to Jack to overhaul just as soon as received. Both will have a trusted place in my scientific instruments collection. Acquired my third Curta through an unusual offering on eBay as the starting price was real low. Using a bid sniping program, placed a bid in the last few seconds that won with only a few dollars in my bid to spare. Really surprised that I won with my bid. | |
| 334 | SOLD | Coventry, England UK |
0 | 1 | 501254 | Friends father who is an engineer had it lying around - asked me to find out more about it and stumbled across your site. | ||
| 335 | Aimeric | linaimeric(at)hotmail.com | Montreal, Que CANADA |
1 | 0 | 59132 | Got mine in Belgium, on my way back from my 1st year teaching with UNO in the Congo in '64! We like it very much, at home, and it's always a great piece of conversation; It is in very good condition, having bought it more for the beauty, the elegance of it, than to use it extensively. In metal case | |
| 336 | Richard Weixler | weixler(at)prodigy.net | Manchester (near Seattle), Washington USA |
360.769.2258 |
2 | 0 | 45167 53323 |
Both in excellent condition, and with one hand-made 'Curta cup' made from the base of a tin can. Used for rallying from about 1955-1970. Purchased in Chicago. |
| 337 | Peter Misic | metmagic(at)netconnect.com.au | Ballarat Victoria AUSTRALIA |
1 | 0 | 19716 | Puchased at a trash and treasure market in Ballarat for $10 approx 10 years ago- -didn't know what it was. As a watchmaker I realised it had inherant beauty in its design and manufacture. Only just did a web search and delighted to find the details on operation. According to s/n probably manufactured August 1952. | |
| 338 | Francisco A. Amaral | armond(at)terra.com.br | Sao Luis, Maranhao BRAZIL |
55 021 98 9974 3417 | 1 | 0 | 12023 | Esta peca esta na familia desde 1957. Possui desgastes naturais de uso. O zerador está sem funcionamento e com o anel faltando. [This piece is in the family since 1957. It has natural wear of use. The zero setting is not working and the missing ring.] |
| 339 | Brian Lewis | blewis(at)ix.netcom.com | San Diego, California USA |
2 | 0 | 14392-DB
49444 |
SN 14392 - Demonstration "cutout" model in the green case 2 - Original service manuals. My grandfather and father had an office machine dealership in San Diego and sold lots of Curtas to the U.S. Navy, to civil engineers and to road rallyists. When the electronic calculators took over we couldn't sell the Curtas but they were just too incredible to get rid of. A good amount of them were stored in a safe at the dealership for years. I think quite a few "disappeared". My father and I finally decided to take them home and keep them out of harms way. I took home two and I think he has another Type 1. We still have some of the brochures, calculating examples, mathematical handbooks, "CUR-TA-BLE" tables "for the curta equipped rallyist" and even an original box and guaranty card. We also have two service manuals that were issued by Curta, one even has a serial # on it (they were serious about keeping these secure). The cutout model has the green padded case and somehow has retained all of the extra parts. I don't think every dealership got a cutout model, I assumed only those that sold quite a few Curtas. Whenever I bring my Curtas out and "play" with them it really brings back memories as I was in high school when I was working for my Grandfather before his death. Just touching them is "magic", they are so well made. It is sad to think of the handheld electronic calculators we sold as their immediate replacement, with the cheap LED displays and the poorly fitting plastic cases. Thanks for having this site. |
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| 340 | John Bentley | anthony.bentley2(at)virgin.net | Wolverhampton, West Midlands UK |
0 | 1 | 0 | 8399 | I inherited my Curta from a relative who was also my boss. He was the Technical Manager at a local Aircraft Company and I was a young Stress Analyst. He bought the Curta in the early sixties just before he died, so it has had much very little use. It appears to in mint condition. and I also have the two instruction booklets. I intend to sell it and have been offered £250 to £300 by a collector, but is this a reasonable offer? Perhaps you could advise me on the market value. I also have a friend who won a Curta (I think its a Type 2) in a competition run by the Curta Company for an advertising slogan. His winning entry was "Calculating people use Curtas". He still has it although it is damaged (His grand children got hold of it and dropped it). |
| 341 | Matthew Presnal | mpresanl(at)twcny.rr.com | 0 | 1 | 528118 | Came across your site while looking for instructions to my Curta Type II SN#528118. I was amazed when I first received mine from my father in law who received it while working for Teleste Corp in Finland. I am eager to learn the functions and working of the piece. Great site, lots of great information. | ||
| 342 | James Weightman | JamesMWeightman(at)aol.com | Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England UK |
0 | 1 | 535535 | In plasic case (unfortunately box & manual missing) Supplied by (label affixed to case) "Automatic Business Machines Limited, 15 Cromwell Road, London SW7. Telephone:- KENsington 8877" I remember purchasing this (can't remember price!) in late 1960's(?). | |
| 343 | Mario Garza | hmgarza(at)msn.com | Alice, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 50492 | My Curta was given to my mom by a lady she worked for about 30 years ago. I had it in my shoe shine drawer since then. It's great to discover this web site. | |
| 344 | Doug Boone | dboone(at)planocad.com | Plano, Texas USA |
072.985.1577 | 0 | 1 | 554758 | I traded Kurt Herzstark one of the first handheld scientific calculators frorm Texas Instruments for my Curta in the mid 1970's. I did not know him personally but connected through my father in law who was a speciality metals expert working with him on a consulting project. |
| 344a | 2003 |
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| 345 | Dan Hamilton | danh(at)cape.com | Harwich, Massachusetts USA |
1 | 0 | 14949 | Type I, metal case, LH thread w/rubber gasket, no manual. This was my dad's Curta, which he may have purchased while working in the Arctic on the DEW Line radar system in the 1950s. He worked at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and used a variety of mechanical calculators and early computers. He was also a rallyist, so the Curta was a natural for him. | |
| 346 | David Rackowitz | racko(at)mo-net.com | Shell Knob, Montana USA |
1 | 0 | 77648 | I have a Curta Model 1 that my brother bought in 1977 from Competition Unlimited in Pinckney, MI. This was right at the time that the electronic units were coming out. I don't believe that he ever used it. It's apparently one of the last units made. I have the original sales slip and registration certificate. I also have the original box and with the manual and "Computing Examplses". It is in the original plastic case. It is part of my calculator collection. | |
| 347 | Franz Schuler | franz.schuler(at)shlink.ch | 8200 Schaffhausen SWITZERLAND |
+41797164541 | 0 | 1 | 541172 | I found my Curta Type II in Flea Market for SFR. 5.- !!! My Curta have no scratches, no damages and the paint shows like a new. But she is without the Case, Manual and Service Instructions. I have found it on a great Webside: www.curta.de This is, what I called "BIG GREAT LUCK" |
| 348 | Michel Hebrard | michel_hebrard(at)videotron.ca | Laval, Quebec CANADA | 0 | 1 | 556074 | Bought this Curta, new, sometime beginning '70s for rallying. Used it once as I was usually the driver and a few months later fell in love - my rallying days were over! It's in "as new" condition in the original bakelite case with instruction manual in English. I never realized that these cute machines had a fan club. A few years ago I saw one at the Ottawa Museum of Science and Technology - I believe it was a type I. Cheers. | |
| 349 | Stephen Rowe | racetime(at)racetime.com.au | Melbourne, Victoria AUSTRALIA |
1 | 0 | 65250 | Was used by my father who gave it to me in the 1960's - still has the manual and plastic sealed tube. Other than the fact it is still in good condition and working order, very little known about when he bought or obtained the machine. | |
| 350 | Chris Andreae | chrisa(at)softhome.net | Wellington, New Zealand | 21-253-1711 | 1 | 0 | 72353 | Recently (Feb. 2003) at the University where I am a student, a great deal of unwanted equipment and trash originally belonging to the now-defunct Institute of Geophysics was thrown away while presumably clearing out the rooms they had once occupied. Upon seeing a pile of unwanted old and interesting equipment, I immediately went to see what I could pick out before it all went away to become landfill somewhere. Among other much less interesting stuff, I picked up a strange black device in a plastic case which resembled to me a cross between a photographic zoom lens and a pepper grinder. It was only minutes later when by some great luck I also ran across the manual in a different pile that I realized what I'd found. It's in what I'd call very nice condition and perfect working order, the metal keeping its unscratched and attractive finish and the mechanism smoothly clicking away with the unmistakable feel of a precision instrument. On the negative side, some scratches at the top of the plastic case and the fact that the last person to put it away in its case before consigning it to the trash neglected to retract the (metal) clearing lever before doing so, thus bending down and ultimately breaking off the outer ring part of the lever. Enough remains to turn it without trouble though (it snapped on the ring, not at the base by the rivet), and I was able to save the outer ring piece, so it may be able to be reattached by soldering or some other method. While I would like to keep my Curta as a beautiful and functional piece of history, I would also consider selling it. I can provide pictures to anyone who is interested. |
| 351 | Arden Howell IV | MiniMetalShaver(at)aol.com | Christiansburg, Virginia USA |
1 | 0 | 75586 | My CURTA is in excellent condition; it does not appear to have been used much, if at all. It came to me from my Mother's side of the family. I am not sure if it belonged to my Grandfather, who was a Pharmacist, or if it came from my Mother's Uncle Bill, who was a world traveler. I knew it was some kind of calculator, but never could figure out the use. Today, just for fun I did a search for "CURTA" and, Voila!, I came across ALL kinds of info. What a great piece of machinery I talked with my Mom (she was the source of my CURTA) and I got the REAL deal on it's history: She used to have a house in Winter Park, Fla., and often she went to flea markets in the neighborhood. One day she & her neighbor were "flea marketing" and she came across a table with all sorts of engineering "things"; the CURTA was among them. She didn't know what it was (neither did the owner), but she thought it was interesting, so she gave the grand sum of ONE DOLLAR for it!! That's where my CURTA came from! Thanks for providing such a great web site, and valuable info about these remarkable machines. | |
| 352 | Walter J. Gray | greatek(at)aol.com | Dallas, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 60510 | I was given this marvelous machine by my uncle, who was a timber estimator based in Atlanta. He found it quite handy while hiking through forests to estimate the amount and value of lumber contained in a variety of trees spread over a large area. I work with computers every day, but am still in awe of the genius and craftsmanship of this device! | |
| 353 | Linda Blythe | linda.blythe(at)btinternet.com | St Albans, North London, England UK |
1 | 0 | 18832 | This Curta was given to me by a old friend it is in good working order, except that the ring on top has been broken off, it comes with a black metal case, the Curta is also black, any tips on the repair of the ring would be greatly appreciated. | |
| 354 | Rob Waight | Robert(at)zap.ndo.co.uk | Cheshire, England UK |
1 | 0 | 29505 | I rescued my curta in 1977 from an office clearance after a colleague had retired, 5 minutes later and it would have been scrap! The container is scratched but the unit looks as if it was never used. I think it spent most of its life (made in 1955?) rattling around inside a desk draw. I don't have an original user manual for it and would love to get one. | |
| 355 | Scott Harvey, Jr. | scott(at)teamharco.com | Waterford, Michigan USA |
0 | 1 | 517987 | My Curta is a gift from my father. He used it (or his navigators used it) for many years in the early days of road rallies. Most of the rallies he competes in now allow the use of modern, computerized equipment. Occasionally, I compete in road rallies (the Press On Regardless Rally, in particular) that have a class for Vintage cars and equipment. Along with a Halda odometer, the Curta fits the vintage equipment requirement perfectly. I can recall when I was about 7 or 8 years old - in the mid 60s, 'playing' with the Curta at our kitchen table. This was well before the advent of the electronic calculator. I know at that time I was fascinated by this little black device and its crank. The precision and velvety smooth operation are attributes that have me amazed to this day. My Curta still operates flawlessly and in the hands of my capable navigators have brought us victory more times than not in the Vintage class at POR. More can be seen about the cars and events we compete in at www.teamharco.com | |
| 356 | Richie Tomasich | siches(at)bigpond.com | Cairns AUSTRALIA |
0407164029 |
1 | 0 | 67290 | I have possessed this instrument for about thirty years and is still in excellent condition and does not appear to be used much if at all. It is still in its black bakerlite case and hase the original sales sticker on [Ensdale & Sons] Adelaide Australia. |
| 357 | David Spandl | sppanddl(at)netzero.net | Tahuya Washington USA |
(360)372-2766 | 0 | 1 | 506711 | I am a garbage man i found it on my route. I had on idea what it was but it was way to cool to let go to the dump.It is in mint condition,(except the clearing pin is gone).It has the metal case.It would have had a leather pouch and instructions,but not knowing what i had i did not grab it from the garbage.OOPS |
| 358 | Paulo Boselli | paulo(at)boselli.com.br | Sao Paulo, SP BRAZIL |
(55) (19) 3181-3101 (55) (19) 3181-3106 |
3 | 2 | 8748 9140 10148 512304 514002 |
I have a Curta Type I since 1975 [Eu tenho uma Curta Tipo I desde 1975]. They are in excelent condictions and working pretty correctly. [Elas estao em excelentes condicoes e perfeito funcionamento] Knows the Brazilian Calculator Museum: www.boselli.com.br/museu [Conheca o Museu da Calculadora: www.boselli.com.br/museu] |
| 359 | Tunny Pattison | pattison(at)net-trends.com | Novato, California USA |
1 | 0 | 49400 | Purchased the Curta in early 60's for rallying. Along with a few other miscellaneous stuff such as the Thomas Rally Computer - an early electro-mechanical device that translated the forward motion of the car into time (still have that also.) The Curta sits beside my desk along side a Pentium IV - 2.5 GHz desktop computer - talk about the old and the new! Never-the-less, I occasionally hand the little device to someone and ask them if they'd like to see one of the very first handheld computers. Problem is, 90% of them can't open the case.... End story! Only a Curta owner would understand that little ploy! After a laugh or two, I get to show them one of the marvels of early computing. After all these years, she (he) works perfectly and isn't subject bugs, worms, trojans, and other inherent failures of today's modern computing. And, as all navigator's know, I'm pretty damn good at manipulating the machine with one hand. This puppy will probably take up residence in my coffin with the time comes... It's amazing how many times this little device has been considered superfluous junk and came within a inch of being tossed in one move or another. | |
| 360 | Whisperine | whisperine(at)letna.com | ... | 1 | 0 | 28037 | I looked on your web site because a french friend of mine have one of
theses machines. His grand father gave to him on his death a Type I n°28037. He is looking for a
manual of use. Can you help ?
Thanks a lot for all the information you ve put on your web site ;o) It helped us to understand what was that Wierd Machine ;o) This Curta was an incredible mechanical genius. |
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| 361 | Cris Vande Velde | stenella-at-yucom.be | Antwerpen BELGIUM |
1 | 1 | 2096 544631 |
2096 (THE 2nd OLDEST KNOWN) I found my Curta on the net after much preponderation about how utterly useless it would be to own one. The whole story started when I bought a printing adding machine for three euro on a fleamarket. From there on it was a long, steep and slippery slope down with another printing adder, a Schubert stepped drum machine ... and well, here I am, crossing the Rubicon, Curta in hand :-) It's in nearly mint condition, with one previous owner, and hardly ever used, having been stored in a drawer for the past forty or so years.. I'm wondering, since all the rest of the machine is so good, if the paint on the knurled rings has really worn off, or if it came that way from the factory. The knurled piece of the handle is all black, with no signs of wear. Just wondering. After finding out about mechanical calculators, and discovering the Curta as the ultimate development in that area (albeit saying that may be controversial) of course I had to have one to add to my collection. I found the type II. Then, a couple of months later I had the good fortune of re-locating type I nr. 2096, which I succeeded in buying as well. Lots of you people will be apalled to learn that it was at one point during its life sold on an auction, without anyone so much as noticing. Both machines are standing here on the upper shelf of the "calculator cabinet" between a couple of pinwheel machines. The type II is especially useful in keeping track of the scores of three players in a scrabble game, although one of the newer pinwheel machines is more user-friendly in that respect, as they often have a reset lever for the setting register. | |
| 362 | Ken Wiedbusch | caseyuu(at)comcast.net | Royal Oak, Michigan USA |
(248) 435-6207 | 0 | 1 | 558025 | I bought my Curta in the early 70's from Gene Henderson's "Competition Limited" in Dearborn Michigan. I used it to run TSD rallys in the Detroit area during the 70's and then put it away. In 2002 I dug it out as my son and I started competing in SCCA Touring Rallys. It is in pristine condition and works flawlessly. Your website is great! |
| 363 | Roger Warling | info(at)warlingminis.com | West Hills, California USA |
(818)340-9855 | 0 | 1 | 521043 | I was a surveyor for 40 years in california. I worked for the same company for 40 years. I started in 1954 and retired in 1994. The name of the company is VTN Eng. & Surveyors. I purchased my curta in the late 50's used it every day until the electric pocket calculators came out. It is in a metal case, Paint is a little worn, but it works good. I also have a leather case which I used in the field. I have a book of instructions,51 pages. The name of the book is Computing Examples for the Curta Calculating Machine. |
| 364 | Otto Frex Mayer | gfrex(at)cmp.cl | La Serena CHILE |
1 | 0 | 25832 | I bought my Curta en La Serena city. Its in excelent conditions and working pretty correctly. I have others merchanical calculators, more the 50. | |
| 365 | Ed Sharp | ecs_sharp(at)attbi.com | Olympia, Washington USA |
0 | 1 | 543169 | My friend at the Washington State Department of Transportation showed me his it turned out that another engineer in the office had one to sell I'm sorry to admit how much I paid but I love my curta. I had lunch with my friend today and asked him to show me division but it has been some time since he has done that in the mean time someone saw us and said he had another curta for sale so maybe next week I'll have another Curta at a much better price i hope | |
| 366 | A Sargeant | lotus404(at)hotmail.com | Ontario, CANADA | 0 | 1 | 511212 | Just purchased my Curta today April 3, 2003. I spotted it at a yard sale amongst some typical things one would see at such an event. I paid $40.00 Canadian for it or about $28.00 US. I purchased if from the original owner. He is a retired engineer from the Lever Brothers Co. He purchased it in 1954-57 and said that he had see an ad in a trade magazine and suppose it would be a time saver for some math problems he was working on. This Type II came with it's metal case and the orginal Computing Examples book as well as the original Care and operation guide. It seem to be in great shape, some small scratches on the lower right side of the base plate. I am now going to spend the afternoon figuring this unit out. | |
| 367 | Robert R. Kim | trebor(at)brooksdata.net | Alpine, Texas USA |
0 | 1 | 544447 | It looks and works like new.
I am 78 and you have my permission to put my brief story on the Curta Registry.
I have had my Curta II for over 30 years and still use it for fun and demonstration with natural trigonometric tables. Perhaps an old surveyor friend somewhere might see it and contact me. There are so few of them still alive and I don't know where the few are. Several of the Land Surveyors exams were given [in Blacksburg] years ago. A graduate of VMI whose last name is Digiulian, a son of an old surveyor friend of mine in Springfield, works for some large engineering firm there that does a lot of state highway design and that is about all I know about Blacksburg. Excepting that Benjamin (Ben) Clark, long deceased, the second president of the Virginia Assocation of Surveyors was a Survey instructor at VMI. |
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| 368 | Benson Miller | benson(at)speakeasy.net | Seattle, Washington USA |
1 | 0 | 544911 | Owned by my grandfather: an airport engineer during the birth of commercial aviation. Nimble talking allowed my grandmother to part with it on a contingency basis. Now it's in use as a car rally instrument. | |
| 369 | Peter Johns | p.johns(at)blueyonder.co.uk | London, England UK |
0 | 1 | 543652 | I found my Curta in Lusaka, Zambia sometime during the 1980's. It was
in a shop which was also the local agent for surveying and drafting equipment (Wild, Kern, Rotring, etc.)
It was (presumably) imported into Zambia as a surveyor's tool for field calculations as its operation is very similar to the horizontal carriage Facit(?) used extensively by land and cadastral surveyors. It was not priced. There was no box & no instructions but apart from that the calculator was in "showroom" condition and the nylon case almost unmarked. It was standing in the corner of a display cabinet amongst other obsolescent equipment. The staff working there did not know what it was so I also played dumb and started to negotiate so that I could add it to my (then) collection of slide rules and mechanical calculators. I think I paid 100 Kwacha which at that time was about $25 and is now about 2.5 cents (such is devaluation in Africa!) |
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| 370 | Denise Banks | banks.r.d(at)att.net | Tampa, Florida USA |
1 | 0 | 14961 | A friend in Seattle gave the Curta to me when she was cleaning out her desk (she was retiring). I didn't know what it was at the time. The calculator has been sitting on a shelf in my home office for several years, and I decided to do some surfing on the Web to see if I could find out anything about it. That's how I discovered your collector's web site and tons of info about it. Boy, was I surprised. I don't know how to calculate with it, but it appears to be good working order. It is in the black metal case, which also is in good condition - no scratches. The case does have one sticker on the outside which indicates it came from the Calculator Equipment Co. in Seattle. | |
| 371 | Jan Brown | www.brownmesa(at)aol.com | Mesa, Arizona USA |
1 | 1 | 40198 525329 |
These and several others belonged to my late husband Russell K. Brown. The Type I is the curta he used in his 40 years of TSD rallying. I can still remember all of the times we rallied together and the "scrunch scrunch" noise it would make as he calculated our way around a course. It may be that this curta has won more SCCA regional and national events than any other curta out there. | |
| 372 | Dr. Brian Levy | brian.levy.esq(at)rogers.com | Toronto, Ontario CANADA | 0 | 1 | 550092 | I had a friend who like I am was into photography and had been for many years. He delighted in giving me challenges to try to figure out such as S.E.I. photmeters and other early metering devices. One day in I think about 1988 he showed up with this and dropped it on my desk. I looked at it and did guess it was some sort of a mechanical calculator. The challenge was to see if I could make it do anything. It became a display piece on my desk that my clients from time to time would look at but, none knew what it was. I did figure out how to add, subtract and multiply. It's been in its plastic case all these years and outside of a minor rub mark under the clearance tab, does not have a mark on it. Until tonight when I stumbled on this sight I still had no idea what it was or anything about it. It's been sitting in my kid's hutch gather ing dust, guess I'll move it t the curio for safe keeping. | |
| 373 | Matthias M Weber | mmw(at)aretaios.de | Munich, Bavaria GERMANY |
1 | 0 | 13545 | I wanted to have one because this mechanical precision device fascinates me. | |
| 374 | Eric Teutsch | erict(at)powersoft.ca | CANADA | 0 | 1 | 541599 | Hi there, I enjoyed your web pages about the Curta. I have recently inherited a model II (with metal container and manuals in german and english) in very good condition from my dad who probably bought it in Europe. I'm not considering selling it, but I was interested in the approximate value of it, partly out of curiosity's sake, and partly for insurance reasons. | |
| 375 | Robert Adam | roadam5(at)web.de | Ludwigshafen GERMANY |
1 | 1 | 11155 507175 |
As a new Curta collector, I'm very happy to see that so many people still are interested in those beautiful machines, especially people like you and Jan Meyer/Germany, who took so much time to present the Curta story in the web. Both of my Curtas are in an excellent working condition. The Curta II was the first one I bought for 605 Euros, it was used for many years, but it's still in a very good optical condition. The Curta I I bought a few weeks later for 505 Euros. It almost looks new and it seems as it wasn't used a lot. The clearing lever was replaced by a rebuilt one, but fully-functional. Both are in their original cases, which are in a very good condition either. | |
| 376 | HERBERT N. WOLFE, ESQ. Herzog, Fisher, Grayson & Wolfe |
hnw(at)hfgwlaw.com | 9460 Wilshire Blvd., 5th Floor Beverly Hills, California USA |
(310) 278-4300 |
0 | 1 | ?????? | This is the first time that I have seen this web cite. My father owned the curta cal. Company in Van Nuys. And was the exclusive U.S. distributor for many years. He is now 95 years old and I am sure would be thrilled to know that there remains such interest in the Curta. Of course I have my own, in perfect condition type II. What else may be around is unknown... |
| 377 | Dennis Painter Registered Land Surveyor |
Dennydean(at)hotmail.com DPainter(at)ABengineering.net |
Lantana, Florida USA |
(561) 383-7480 |
0 | 1 | 530155 | I purchased my Curta Type 2 on July 30, 2003, from Sarah Collins, wife of the late T. C. Collins, who was a renown Land Surveyor in Palm Beach County, Florida. It's truly a remarkable device and is in perfect working order, complete with original box, black metal canister, manual, instructions and warranty card. |
| 378 | Mery christophe | machineacalculer(at)free.fr | Gages, Aveyron FRANCE |
1 | 5 | 31797 549518 ?57879 522769 551957 551956 |
I collect mechanical calculator. The Curta is a very beautiful machine My web site: http://machineacalculer.free.fr | |
| 379 | Bill Potvin | bpotvin(at)buckeye-express.com | Maumee, Ohio USA |
419-891-9191 |
1 | 0 | 77908 | I bought my Curta new in the late 1960's and used it primarily for calculating leg times as a rallymaster, since in TSD rallies I competed in a class for which the Curta was "too sophisticated." When I began doing stage rallies, the Curta wasn't needed, but I sometimes took it along for good luck. About 10 years ago I started rallying in Vintage class with Eric Jones in his 1964 MGB. The Curta really gets a workout now! If anyone reading this would like to sell their Curta, please contact me. Eric and I are always trying to interest new people in vintage rallying and the required equipment (Curtas and Halda odometers) are hard to find. We don't pay collector prices and we resell them at zero profit, but be assured that they get used as God intended. |
| 380 | John Birch | johnsaxman(at)btinternet.com | London, England UK |
1 | 0 | 8354 | I was amazed at my surfing result for Curta. Had no idea it was such an item of interest, although I had been intrigued by the ingenuity of the device. I have a Curta in the original metal case. I used this in my work over a number of years and it never gave any trouble Congratulations on a fantastic website | |
| 381 | Gray Poole | Grayps(at)clear-cxn.net | Yuba City, California USA |
1 | 0 | 62675 | Bought it in the early to mid sixties for TSD rallies and found out how useful it was for lots of other calculating. Used it a lot and it still purrs without complaint. Am amazed at the universal appeal for their artistic and useful merits. | |
| 382 | Dr. Norbert Freitag | freitag(at)ctc-freitag.com | Hochst AUSTRIA |
1 | 1 | ????? ?????? |
I've Type I and type II. | |
| 383 | Michel Miklaszewski | MichelMik(at)aol.com | 1935 NE 124th St North Miami, Flordia USA |
(305) 892-8521 | 0 | 1 | 534385 | I have a Type II Curta that I purchased in about 1965 for $160.00. I used for Rallies for about 4 years, it has been sitting in a drawer ever since it has a plastic case, I still have the instruction sheet as well as "computing examples for the Curta". It looks to be in excellent condition although I have just discovered that the #6 setting register will not move. |
| 384 | Bob Grow | bobgro(at)aol.com | Mesa, Arizona USA |
1 | 0 | 18027 | My father had several Type I's and II's. (He was a Civil Engineer and Land Surveyor) I obtained mine upon his death in 1965. It is complete with case, manual, and leather carrying case. I used Curtas from about 1959 until HP introduced th HP 35. (I also am a Civil Engineer and Land Surveyor). It is in excellant condition in appearance but doesn't work correctly. It must use the new math. | |
| 385 | Mark Handler | mhandler(at)gre.net | Durham, North Carlonia USA |
1 | 0 | 60870 | My buddy and I raced sports cars (an Austin Healey add an MGA) in college and used the Curta for navigation calculations. This ended (the calculating... not the SCA events) when HP 35s came into pricing realizations. It was purchased originally from a Saab driver`and since has been (unfortunately) separated from its manual and leather case. It does have the two-piece, twist-apart metal shell case. However it's in immaculate condition both cosmetically and functionally. | |
| 386 | Juan S. Perez Diaz | jspd(at)codetel.net.do | Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional DOMINICAN REPUBLIC |
(809) 567-3707 |
0 | 1 | 551183 | "Brought for me by a family friend, Mrs. M. Brouwer, at "Motta & Swiss Stores", a Free Port Shop in one of Jamaica's international airports, date 4-5-70, invoice no. 49642, for US$121.00. Was used in a couple of car rallies ("Caracol" and "Cocodrilo") and then at the university in Santo Domingo until the first electronics calculators started to arrive popularly at the country (around 72-73). It was a curiosity then when I was 20 years old for its fast speed; today my kids---now in their twenties---can not explain to themselves how Dad went thru university with such an slow machine! I keep my like-new CURTA in its protective cartridge and original blue box with the Manual, a leaflet on the 4 arithmetical rules, guarantee and purchasing invoice. I still love and admire my CURTA. Someday my kids will understand!" |
| 387 | Bruce & Mary Gin | brucemarygin(at)sbcglobal.net | 1 | 0 | ????? | Hi Rick, my dad just sent me the 'family curta' for my birthday. It's in immaculate shape and I've been excited about it. I found your site and saw the photo of the three different models I. The base of mine is different from that of the three shown (it's a model I). Just thought you'd be interested to know that. It has the original manual and packing box as well. | ||
| 388 | David J. Friedlander | dfriedlander(at)law.capital.edu | Columbus, Ohio USA |
614-267-0101 |
0 | 1 | 506936 | The Curta site is a wonderful resource. My enthusiasm has been multiplied manyfold from all the information to be found there. Story; Was reading the book Advances in Digital Computing and I remembered years ago playing on several Friden electromechanical calculators a friend had in his basement. After doing some searches on the web to find some photographs, I kept coming across the Curtas. It was immediately obvious what a marvel the Curta is and I was hooked. It was only about 2 weeks after that first day that I acquired my Curta via the web from the U.K. I probably paid too much but I really love my new machine. The Curta is a very rare blend of brilliant function and beautiful art. Mine is in excellent condition and works as if it was brand new even though it was made in the mid 1950's. I am thinking of acquiring a Type I. The symmetry of having both types somehow seems right. |
| 389 | Alan Hoare | ahoare(at)mail.rah.sa.gov.au | Royal Adelaide Hospital Adelaide AUSTRALIA |
0 | 1 | 503867 | I was gifted a model II serial #503867 by a friend's father who was an architect. It came with a case and a Model I instruction booklet. The Guarantee says it was delivered to a Mr P W Seymour on 14/10/55. Thanks for a fantastic site. | |
| 390 | Bill Bowers | hoosieradvisor(at)direcway.com | 1908 Meadow Wood Georgetown, Indiana USA |
812-951-0380 |
1 | 0 | 34712 | I have a Curta Type 1 Calculator in excellent condition. It came with a metal case and a manual, also in great condition. I found it at an antique shop but didn't know exactly what it was. On the bottom it says: System Curt Herzstark Made in Liechtenstein By Contina AG Mauren |
| 391 | David Bannister | db(at)davidbannister.com | 26 Kings Road 80 Harrowby Road Grantham NG31 9DS UK |
[44] [0]1242-514287 |
2 | 3 | 69125 10300 536131 543402 538236 |
I have the following Curta's: Type l No: 69125 Metal case - exceptional condition No: 10300 Metal case - used condition Type II No: 536131 Plastic case - good condition No: 543402 Plastic case - fair condition No: 538236 Plastic case - good condition and with original cardboard Curta box with serial number printed in a frame on the lid and brief description on the bottom. First saw a Curta in the Museum of the History of Science [many years ago - ca 1985] in Oxford and wanted one; ran a small ad in the Oxford University news magazine and bought the first from a Professor who had obtained it from the English agents. He told me that there had never been an instruction book made for them. |
| 392 | Chris Grow | cwgrow(at)sbcglobal.net | Pleasant Hill, California USA |
925-685-1987 |
0 | 1 | 511219 | I received the Curta from my father around 1995. Clyde was a aero space and mining engineer. He was extremely proud of his Curta, and he like to show it to me at every opportunity. I have had it sitting on my office shelf for these past 8 years with no idea that it had become a collectible. My Curta came with tree "manuals" or pieces of literature: "Curta The Universal Pocket Size Calculating Machine System C. Herzstark," Your Curta Calculator" (a 12"x25" folder out explaining its operation) and "Computing Examples for the Curta Calculating Machine." |
| 393 | Joel TEXIER | joetex(at)free.fr | Voisins le Bretonneux Ile de France (Paris area) FRANCE |
33 1 30.64.59.48 |
1 | 0 | 7087 | I found it in 1989, with it's metal case, in a carboard destinated to garbage, while we were moving our office from Paris to Versailles. |
| 394 | Ray Feldman | rayfel(at)usa.net | Palo Alto, California USA |
(650) 321-9702 |
1 | 0 | 40437 | As a young engineer in the late 50's, I lusted for a CURTA which I first saw used by a co-worker. Being recently married and a father of a new baby, I couldn't afford to buy one, the price of which was about a weeks salary. Years later, I finally settled for an HP 35 which also cost about a weeks salary, but could also handle trigonometric functions and natural and base 10 logarithms. During my career as an engineer I accumulated a drawer full of electronic calculators, each more powerful and cheaper as time and technology progressed. However, I never lost my fascination with the Curta, which for me represented the epitome of beauty and precision. A few years ago, retired and children grown, I searched for and found my Type I for sale, by a member of the Oughtred Society. Gulielmus Oughtred was the inventor of the slide rule and the society is devoted to the study of the history, and to the collection of slide rules. My CURTA is in immaculate condition and came with the original left hand threaded metal case. The large O ring below the threads is still pliable, which is a testament to the quality of the material used in its construction. According to the algorithm given in your website, it would have been manufactured in 1958, about the time my lust for the device was first aroused. Incidentally, I still have and can use my K & E Log Log Duplex Vector I bought as an undergraduate in 1953. |
| 395 | Bob Barns | royb1(at)comcast.net | Berkeley Heights, New Jersey USA |
0 | 1 | 557889 | About 1965, I saw one in use by my friend Walter Bond at Bell Labs. I finally bought one a few years ago (about $400). It is in perfect condition and came with 2 copies of mint manuals. | |
| 396 | Nelson Solorzano | ioscaracas(at)aol.com | Dayton, Ohio USA |
937-859-7160 |
0 | 0 | CURTA: Don't have one, I'm willing to purchase one if it's a reasonable price I can afford Story: I worked at Burroughs in my home town, Caracas, Venezuelas in the early 60's and a salesman offered me one, I had it in my desk for several days but didn't have the money to pay for it and returned it, never have forgiven myself for this. | |
| 397 | Richard D. Boltuck | rboltuck at NO SPAM verizon.net | Bethesda, Maryland USA |
0 | 1 | 507435 | I'm a Curta neophyte, but acquired it from an estate sale advertised on the internet. When I began studying the device, I was fascinated by its remarkable history, its pre-semiconductor prescience, its brilliant ergonomic and functional mechanical design, and its perfectionist engineering. And then manufactured in exotic Liechtenstein to boot! What more could one ask. Mine is in perfect condition, gently used by a west-coast engineer, hardly ever out of his house, and well-maintained, with some paint missing from the metal case where a name label was removed. | |
| 398 | Darin May | lohphat(at)lohphat.com | New York, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 49603 | Good condition, metal can, no manuals.
I'm trying to get more histoy on the previous owners to compile a lineage.
Purchased from Louis Skelton in Long Beach, CA in Dec 2003.
It was just after the Scientific Amercian article so the units were popular.
There's an orange sticker on inside bottom of the storage can:
FOR FAST SERVICE CURTA Calculators of Canada, Ltd. 1871 Davenport Road Toronto 9, Ontario Telephone: Roger 6-6184 |
|
| 399 | Doug Pinkerton | dpinkerton(at)adelphia.net | Cleveland, Ohio USA |
1 | 0 | ????? | I inherited my Curta from my dad. It has a metal case and, from my limited knowledge, works well. There is a # etched onto it (296303529), but this seems to long to be a serial #. Can anyone tell me what this number means? | |
| 400 | Dr. Stan Fry, Jr. | frydds(at)wtrt.net | Hereford, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 16956 | I found my Curta in an estate sale. It was with a bunch of old camera equipment and still in the metal container. Since the canister unscrews counter clockwise the people running the estate sale had not opened it. I did not really know what it was but figured for $3.00 I couldn't go very wrong. I was delighted when I purchased it and the salesman gave me the original manual to go with it. My Curta has been well cared for and has no scratches. I presume that the original owner did bend the clearing ring up to make it fit in the canister without retracting it, but it works beautifully. | |
| 401 | Ian Drown | drown(at)shaw.ca | Nanoose Bay, British Columbia CANADA |
1 | 0 | 73064 | Our Curta was either purchased from or given to us by a friend at a neighbourhood garage sale at least 10+ years ago. After my parents split up I managed to retain it and it has been kept on display since then on a book shelf in my house. | |
| 402 | Santiago de Churruca Egoscozabal | santi_churruca(at)ya.com | Barcelona SPAIN |
34 670778943 |
1 | 0 | 3919 | My father (Fco. Javier de Churruca Arellano) bought it in Bilbao (Spain) in September 15th 1955 from a dealer named Juan Brettes, while my father was working for Talleres de Erandio workshop, near Bilbao. Then the family was living in Algorta (my home town) near Bilbao. I still have the invoice and the original user manual which is written in a clear and parfect spanish. Tha machine is working perfectly and stored in its original tin case. |
| 402a | 2004 |
2004 |
2004 |
2004 |
******** 2004 ******** |
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| 403 | Max Matthews | matth1(at)tpg.com.au | Canberra AUSTRALIA |
1 | 0 | 44423 | I found your address in the Curta Page. Thanks for all the info on the Curta history, and how to calculate the age. I have a Curta I, #44423, with case and manuals. The machine is like new, and works as new, but the books are a bit dog-eared. This machine was used by the doctor in charge of the Institute of Anatomy (Dr Hipsley from memory). This institution (long since disbanded) was part of the Australian Department of Health, where I worked for many years as machines officer. I "arranged" a trade-in of the Curta for a new electronic calculator in the mid 1970's and then purchased it back from the dealer. I have several old calculators that I acquired in this way, all in working order. I've seen a Curta listed in antique catalogues in Australia, and I suspect the current market price would be about A$400-500. | |
| 404 | Ole Steen | ole.steen(at)broadpark.no | Ole Steen Skjellveien 10 0198 Oslo NORWAY |
0 | 1 | 510993 | Story: I was given this Curta by a friend around 1978. He was an electronics engineer, born around 1920 i guess. He was in the process of dropping out of family and formal life. He had just divorced, was burning a lot of bridges and gave away most of his posessions. I remember I suspected that he was developing paranoid delusions. I also got a Luger pistol he had used during WW2. I later returned the pistol, but kept the Curta. I later regretted not doing it the other way around, as I got worried that he might use the gun to kill himself. I have not had any contact with him for the last 15 years, as he moved out of town and lived a secluded life. I suspect that he is now passed away, he is no longer in the phone book. The Curta is from the first years of type II production, with the domed case in art deco style, and simple,engraved lettering. The O-ring is missing, but the foam inside is perfect. The machine has little wear, but has my friend's name hand-engraved with a steady hand. I have repaired a broken ray on the star spring under the top, and the rivet on the zeroing arm had to be reswaged. Otherwise the machine is in perfect health. I do not use it much, but keep it both as a memory, and to marvel over its history and the perfection of an era long passed. | |
| 405 | Herb Engstrom | engstrom(at)best.com | 5974 Friar Way San Jose, California USA |
408 446 1609 |
0 | 1 | 528872 | Comments: I've had this for a number of years. I inherited it from my father-in-law when he died. He had been a gadgeteer who always acquired the latest fad item. I believe he bought this while traveling through Liechtenstein. I recognized it as a mechanical calculator but thought no more of it until the Scientific American article, January 2004, appeared. That article was fascinating and has gotten me much more interested in this device, which appears to be in perfect condition. |
| 406 | Eddie Letzer | N/A | Cheltenham, Glos UK |
1 | 0 | 11348 | This calculator was inherited from my father who acquired it new for work in early 1950s. The unit is in excellent condition complete with its original box, but no instruction manual. This was probably thrown out with other paperwork when the house was cleared out. The calculation shows it to be manufactured in April 1950. Congratulations for your very intresting web site. | |
| 407 | Jami Buchet | jami41(at)free.fr | Cluses, Haute-Savoie FRANCE |
0 | 1 | 548379 | I bought it in 68-70 (not sure). It serves me to realize all the technical calculations for decolletage manufacturing, as well as administrative calculations: production costs, accounting... It replaced a Brunsviga tabulating machine and a very good Aristo slide rule. It is still in a perfect state and I sometimes take it out to show my daughters how to use it. Fascinating object... the smallest most complicated mechanical object ever industrially produced! | |
| 408 | Sandy Houck | SandyHouck(at)aol.com | Napa, California USA |
1 | 0 | 34400 | I inherited this cherished Curta from my father. He used it while working and traveling for Kaiser Aluminum. | |
| 409 | Clifford Bruhn | bruhnc(at)pacbell.net | Eureka, California USA |
0 | 1 | 514736 | It is in mint condition as I took good care of it and used it only indoors. I was always afraid of anyone else even touching it. I purchased it in the late 50s or early 60s for $165. I have the manual, computing examples, and the mathematical handbook, all in good condition. | |
| 410 | William B. "Skip" Freely | sfreely(at)juno.com, k6hms(at)arrl.net | 1807 Port Wheeler Place, Newport Beach, California USA |
(949) 640-8257 |
0 | 1 | 519306 | It is in nearly new shape, and seems to work faultlessly. It came with the metal canister; the original bill of sale (in German); the original certification statement (in German); a pamphlet, "Rechenbeispiele for die Curta Rechemaschine" (in German); a pamphlet, "Der Schlussel zu zedem Rechenproblem!" (in German); a pamphlet, "Computing Examples for the Curta Calculating Machine" (in English); and a pamphlet, "Your CURTA Calculator; the Four Arithmetical Rules" (in English). I bought the unit in January 2004 from Willie Allan in Scotland. He bought it in 1993 from Capt. David Larive, who was the original owner. Capt. Larive bought it new on 5 February 1967 from Dorrbecker & Company, Bremen, Germany. I am a retired electrical engineer, with specialty in microwave technology. I worked with a VP of engineering in 1959-1963 who used a Curta for all of his calculations. I always wanted to get one, but never did until after I retired. I used Fridens, Marchands, the HP-35 (which I still have), and the HP-41CX (which I still have) during my career. |
| 411 | Bruno Wroblewski | bwroblew(at)msn.com | Springfield, Missouri USA |
417-886-2494 |
1 | 0 | 40674 | Back in the late 50's, while working as an engineer with RCA, I was on a field trip to a radar tracking ship in the South Atlantic. In a conversation with a fellow engineer I happened to mention how unsatisfactory I found the slide rule to be and how nice it would be if I had a Curta calculator. He said he had one which he would be willing to sell me. We struck a deal and I've owned it ever since. When electronic calculators came out years later, my Curta was relegated to storage. Just as well, since storage has preserved it in like-new condition (carrying case and all). |
| 412 | Gary W. Gerfen | gerfen(at)altrionet.com | Monrovia, California USA |
0 | 1 | 512687 | I'd been aware of the Curta since I was a teenager. My first job was working for Marian Weber who owned a company called MG Mitten in Pasadena, CA. They made car covers for sport cars and also sold racing and rallying accessories. I remember reading about how to use the Curta for TSD rallys in one of the books for sale there. I was impressed partly because my dad had a precision machine shop and I had some idea of the mechanical complexity of the Curta. I've always appreciated well-made machines whether they be cars, motorcycles, sewing machines or calculators, so I was interested in acquiring a Curta, but they've always been a bit out of my reach financially. Over the last 5 years or so my wife and I have been going on TSD rallies and the thought of using a Curta to do the calculations sparked my interest, but again the price of the little machine was out of reach. Then, in late Jan. 2004, as I was returning from dropping off my sons at school I saw a sign advertising an estate sale. I went home and picked up my wife and we went back to check it out. After about 30 min. of browsing around I noticed a fellow looking at a little booklet titled "Computing Examples for the CURTA Calculating Machine". My first thought was, cool, if I can't get a Curta at least I can get a little booklet about a Curta and find out a little bit about it. When he was done looking at it he put it back on a shelf I hadn't noticed right next to a black metal cylinder with the name "CURTA" emblazoned on the side. I picked it up, opened it and removed an absolutely perfect type II. The only thing barely noticeable was a very slight darkening of the paint on the back of the machine where it had rested in the previous user's palm. Otherwise, it was flawless. The canister was also in perfect condition, including the foam base and the foam pad in the top. I wondered if my luck would last as I approached the lady running the sale and asked "How much?". When she replied "Fifty dollars" I had to try really hard to act cool and not let out a whoop as I pulled out my check book and paid her. The previous owner was, I believe, employed in the airline design field. He had a number of books and magazines on avionics as well as a number of manuals for one of the large airliners. I am absolutely overjoyed with owning this great machine. I'll be using it with my wife for rallying and teaching both my sons how to use it as well so they can take turns navigating for me. I'm hoping my luck will carry on just long enough for me to find a type I for an affordable price so that eventually I can hand one of each on to my sons. Thanks for this great list. I've really enjoyed reading other people's experiences and insights about their Curtas. | |
| 413 | David Spector | new(at)springtimesoftware.com | 0 | 0 | Rick, Your Calculator Web site is fantastic! I remember as a boy in the 1950's seeing the ads for the Curta and wanting very much to buy one. But the $125 price, which might be the equivalent of $2000 today, was prohibitive. For my interest in calculation technology I settled for buying a Geniac. I own a nonprogrammable 8 significant figure RPN Novus calculator, made by National Semiconductor Corp, serial number 141220. I believe that this was perhaps the first cheap handheld calculator in mass sales. I still use this calculator often and it works perfectly. | |||
| 414 | Dr David Key | dkey(at)bathbarn.fsnet.co.uk | The Barn, Carlingcott, Bath BA2 8AW UK |
1 | 0 | 6845 | I have been nursing my Curta for maybe 20 years hoping that one day I would make time to find out how to operate it. Was galvanised into action by this month's Scientific American. Previous owner Christopher Bailey was an English electronics consultant and used his Curta extensively in connection with his work. He died some 20 years ago and apparently specified that I should have his Curta and his wife (my aunt Phyllis nee Pickard) duly passed it on to me. I now have downloaded the operating manual and, being retired, will hopefully learn to operate the machine. I hope that one of my grandchildren will be sufficiently interested to take it over one day. I have to thank you for opening up the Curta world for me. | |
| 415 | Alex Friedman | afdrf_ATSIGN_astound.net | Walnut Creek, California USA |
1 | 0 | 67557 | Wanted one since teenage days ... purchased mine from Richard Moor in late December 2003 (learned of his Curta from the curta.org bulletin board). Cleaned, adjusted, and lubricated in January 2004 by Jack Christensen of Timewise. Jack also fixed it: he replaced two numeral digits that had sheared off ten carry pins, and corrected the ten carry lever alignment that caused the damage (he reported that this took 9 assembly/disassembly cycles!). Plastic case. Nice machine! | |
| 416 | Cesar Guevara | ceci02(at)avantel.net, jcgb(at)hp.fciencias.unam.mx | Mexico D.F., MEXICO | 1 | 0 | 28382 | extra info | |
| 417 | Steve Harman MSU | harmanst(at)msu.edu | Auburn Hills, Michigan USA |
1 | 0 | 58582 | Just thought I would drop a line to be added to the CURTA List. I visited my folks place and was going through some of my old stuff and found the CURTA Type I my Grandfather had given me! I always treasured this as a boy growing up, and I regard it as a family hierloom. Now I'm on a mission to learn as much as I can about these marvels of early technology! Thanks! | |
| 418 | Dave Daley | davedaley100(at)msn.com | Tampa, Florida USA |
1 | 0 | 75262 | I believe my father received it as a gift from a friend/business associate on one of several trips to Vaduz throughout the 70's. | |
| 419 | Juan Luis Munoz de Laborde | juanluis.munoz(at)mae.es | Madrid, Madrid SPAIN |
0034 91 3799931 |
1 | 0 | 12270 | My father, Carlos Munoz de Laborde Rocatallada, Civil Engineer, used to make mentally his field calculations during the Spanish civil war 1936-39 to construct nights a bridge that used to be cannoned during the day and that was essential to keep the university district of Madrid communicated. In the late fifties he went to Liechtenstein and saw there the CURTA and bought it but it was not used long since short afterwards the first HP calculators began to be available. I would like our calculator to end in the Science Museum of Madrid so that everybody can enjoy this small marvel. |
| 420 | Alastair Redpath-Stevens | ayrs(at)hotmail.com | London, England UK |
1 | 0 | 5856 | Discovered it in an auction of clocks in Chester It's an early model I with serial no. #5856 which appears to date it as early September 1948, although the calculation appears to assume a straight line production model, which I doubt is right for dating earlier machines, but may be a good approximation as production built up. | |
| 421 | Allan Simon | allansimon(at)hotmail.com | Calgary, Alberta CANADA |
1 | 0 | 73545 | I used to rallye race in the late sixties/early seventies and have just come across my old Curta. I would sell it for the right price. It is in perfect working order and comes in its black plastic case. There are obvious signs of use on the bottom of the unit, where there is a ring-shaped area where the black paint has been worn off and the silver-coloured metal shows. This ring cuts through the last digits of the serial number, which is still legible as 73545. | |
| 422 | Hans-Rudolf Roshard | roshard(at)bluewin.ch | near Zurich SWITZERLAND |
16 | 27 | 1048-D 4-Type I below # 8000 10-Type I above # 8000 2-Type I cut model 6-Type II black 10-Type II grey 2-Type II silver 1-Type II gold 1-Type II light blue 7-Type II cut model 500088 |
Total 43 Curta's Serial Number(s): oldest Type II # 500088 The first Curta I bought in November 2001 from a German fellow. Two month later I bought a Curta II on the Web from an American fellow. This machine did not work at all. I felt myself cheated and did for the moment not know what to do. After a while I was surfing around in the Internet and found the web site of Rick Furr. There I could read how to disassemble your Curta. So I started to work on the thing and after a closer look at the inside, I realised that it was missing four tens carry lever springs. I had no idea where to get some. So I started to make these springs myself out 0.2mm spring steel. After close to a days work I had these springs in the Curta and it worked perfectly. After this I was completely fascinated about these Curta's and I started to buy some more. In the web site of Rick Furr I read that Hilti bought Contina in 1966. In summer 2002 I was told by Hilti that there is a man named Gerhard Kleinecke who has all the spare parts and tools to work on the Curta's. I got in contact with him and told him the story about the tens carry lever springs. He could not believe it until I showed him the Curta. He was very surprised about my abilities and after a while we developed a close friendship. In spring 2003 I was able to buy his complete stock of Curta's, tools and spare parts. Since then I have become a real CURTA SPECIALIST. | |
| 423 | Rob Lewis | rob(at)whidbey.com | Langley, Washington USA |
1 | 0 | 13017 | I showed my dear wife the Curta article in a recent Scientific American and that was enough to put her on a quest. She found one for sale on the web by a chap who lives on an island (as do we) in England. It was his grandfather's. She presented it to me on 3/2/04 for our 20th Wedding Anniversary. Joy! | |
| 424 | Robert CAILLIAU | no spam | F-01280 Prevessin-Moens FRANCE |
0 | 1 | 532235 | Curtas: a model II, bought in 1968 when in my final year of engineering studies.
History: So I did not find it, I bought it at a time when it was still manufactured and clearly the machine to have for an engineer on the move. I used it quite a lot until the HP engineering calculators became affordable. I spent almost 7'000 BEF on it, which at that time was the equivalent of 120 EUR and would now be the equivalent of between 1'000 and 2'000 EUR. My two reasons for preferring it over larger and cheaper machines were portablility and number of digits. These days I only get it out to show it to youngsters who think everything should be done by software (they are so unconscious of the fact that the electricity driving their high-tech computers is actually almost 100% from good old mechanical turbines, fed with steam). One thing which I could not find anywhere, except gleaning a detail on the poster, is the amazing construction of the "commas". 
I have attached a few photos of one of them, taken out of my model II. A comma can be taken out by removing the small bolt in the comma rim at the bottom of the machine. The first time I did this (several years ago), the comma sprang out of the rim, because there is a little spring in it! Fortunately I found the very small parts after a meticulous search, and could assemble it all again. 
The whitish object in one of the photos is a grain of rice. 
Another thing that nobody seems to have referred to: the superb choice of materials. For mechanisms like this, it is of the highest importance that there is no welding friction anywhere. That means that parts that rub over each other should preferably be made from different metals so their atoms do not weld together. Oil is to be kept to a minimum, because dust will accumulate in it. Only a good choice of matching materials will give longevity. This is another mechanical engineering wisdom that few people today understand. Photos taken with a ProScope. |
|
| 425 | Paul DELMOTE | paul_delmote(at)yahoo.fr | Limoges, Haute-Vienne (87) FRANCE |
0 | 1 | 513710 | Cette machine a appartenu a mon pere qui l'a utilisee pour son travail de 1958 a 1970. Elle est en parfait etat de fonctionnement et possede sa boite. Malheureusement il me manque le mode d'emploi. This Machine Who Belonged to my father used to work for 1958-1970. It is in perfect condition and Has Its box. Unfortunately I Lack the user manual. | |
| 426 | David Ray | david(at)ray.co.uk | Yardley Hastings, Northamptonshire UK |
+44 (0) 1604 696191 |
0 | 1 | 509791 | This Curta belonged to my father Richard Dennistoun Ray. He was Chief Chemist at Farleys Infant Foods in Plymouth UK from 1950 until he retired in 1977. I was taught to use the Curta at the age of 10 and never forgot! It still works perfectly. There is a note in the bottom of the case that my father wrote probably in the 1970's; A=52, A^8 (with the Curta) = 53,459,728,531,456 precisely! A^8 (with electronic calculator)= 5.3459 * 10^13 approximately |
| 427 | Pamela Smith | PamSmith(at)rlss.org.uk | Abergavenny, Monmouth, Wales UK |
1 | 0 | 38454 | I "acquired" mine in 1975, after the Financial Controller I worked for,
retired. He gave me this little machine, as a going away present, as I
recognised it for what it was, a truly gorgeous piece of workmanship. I
love it.
Now, as a Corporate Director, I keep it on my desk and use it as a
'calming tool'. Most people in my office have had"a play" with it and
taken it home for extended periods, but it took the son of one of my
colleagues to think of looking Curta up on the internet! Never dawned
on me.
The only time I ever heard of Curta was via the BBC, when they reported
the sale of 39 Curta's (I think 1997 'ish) being sold in Sothebys for
£400 each, to a single American Company. The BBC said that 40 were
manufactured, but that the whereabouts of the 40th was unknown. My then
partner was an outside broadcaster for the BBC and wondered if mine was
the missing 40th. Looking at your website, this is probably unlikely -
unless they reported on a single batch.
I have just downloaded the Curta Calculator operating instructions.
Over the years I have attempted to write a "How To" procedure myself,
but yours is much easier to understand.
For interest, details of my Curta are: Black metal case -
anticlockwise twist. Case paintwork showing wear on the lid.
Otherwise, machine in perfect working order. Front top just says CURTA.
Red sticker says: Automatic Business Machines Limited, 15 Cromwell
Road, London SW7. Telephone - KENsington 8877.
On the bottom of the Curta it say:
No 38454 Made in Liechtenstein (Custom Union with Switzerland) by Contina Ltd Mauren System Curt Herzstark. Being the clever enthusiast you are, you could probably tell me 'circa', when it was made!... That would be Jan 1958 -Rick- |
|
| 428 | Dennis Hayes | dennis(at)nmia.com | Tijeras, New Mexico USA |
1 | 0 | 40210 | I just bought my Curta from "John" in Seattle. John purchased it new for use in auto rallys in the 1960's but never used it. This Curta, in its metal case, has been stored in its original box for all these years essentially untouched. It is therefore in mint condition. I have been aware of Curtas for some years now but my interest really got a shot from the recent Scientific American" article. I must admit the whrrr and click of this fine mechanical instrument is as pleasing as the results that it produces. | |
| 429 | Paul Doesburg | pdoesburg1(at)cogeco.ca | Hamilton, Ontario CANADA |
905 527-0356 |
1 | 0 | ????? | y neighbour across the street was a civil engineer. When he died in 1982, I picked this up at a garage sale. |
| 430 | Salvador Franco | N/A | Curitiba, PR BRAZIL |
(41) 262 9821 |
1 | 0 | 5687 | My Father was a engineer and he bought this machine in 1948, he passed away in 1952 and the machine was untouched since then, it has the original metal case. I am interested in selling it for a good price because it is in a flawless condition.Regards. |
| 431 | Paulo Jose Valente | papavictor(at)uol.com.br | Salvador, Bahia BRAZIL |
(71) 249-2265 |
1 | 0 | 9092 | Since I was 13 years old I used to see this little marvellous [machine] over [on] my father's technical drawing board. I grew up and learned to [make] architectural drawings using it. Then came the big manual FACIT [calculators]. Later, the first electronic calculator. The CURTA went to my father's drawer until he died four years ago, and among 10 brothers and sisters I chose it [for myself]. For the time I spent in the glorious (to me) atmosphere of my father's office. That's it, it is in perfect conditions and in the aluminum case . Now, that I took this site, I want to know if you may tell me the year of the manufacture of my CURTA and how much it may cost in the colector's market. |
| 432 | Gian Paolo SANNA | gp.sanna(at)tin.it | Tempio Pausania ITALY |
0 | 1 | 544138 | I discovered the Curta for the first time on the SciAM article in the italian version on February. I'm very enthusiast for this wonderful machine and then, finally I've bought a Curta Model II from London for 565 GBP. Maybe the price is high, but the Curta is in fantastic conditions and is an unique object. | |
| 433 | Pierre-Alain Zollinger | pa.zollinger(at)hispeed.ch | La Chaux-de-Fonds, Suisse SWITZERLAND |
1 | 0 | 51118 | Cette machine m'a ete offerte lors de la transformation d'un college (Ecole Superieure de Commerce), elle a probablement ete utilisee par les etudiants de cet etablissement. La calculatrice est en parfait etat avec un boitier metallique noir et un manuel d'exemples de calcul en francais. This Machine Was offert to me During the transformation College (Business School) It was probably used by the students of this institution. The calculator is in perfect condition with a black metal box and a manual calculation examples in French. | |
| 434 | Fred Sweeting | f.w.sweeting(at)bgc.ac.uk | Lincoln UK |
0 | 1 | 500084 | Found it in the bottom of an old desk around twenty years ago. Didn't know what it was so I sent a letter to Contina AG in Liectenstein but got no reply. It looked interesting so I put it away. Have recently searched for "Curta" on the internet and found this site. Unfortunately the Curta did not work. The handle turned both clockwise and anti-clockwise (which I didn't think it should do) and nothing happened when it was turned. I emailed Hans-Rudolf (above) in Switzerland to see if he could give me any advice. Hans asked me to send it to him to see if he could fix it. He has done a fantastic job and I now have a fully working Curta. I can highly recommend him for any repair work required to your Curta. I believe this is a very early Type II, being made in January 1954, the first month of production. It is possibly the oldest on the Registry page (Hans has 500088). | |
| 435 | Tom Murray | tojaca(at)tiscali.co.uk | Sittingbourne, Kent UK |
1 | 0 | 60062 | Inherited the Curta from my Grandfather around 14 years ago. Not too sure of its history, but I think it was bought for him as a gift during the 60's, in Durban, South Africa. Still in perfect condition in its metal case. I unfortunately don't have the instruction manual. | |
| 436 | Greg Marion | gbmarion(at)bellsouth.net | Columbia, Tennessee USA |
1 | 0 | 15038 | My wife's father died and we found it in his belongings. | |
| 437 | jose abel aguiar | jose.aguiar(at)mainroad.pt | Porto PORTUGAL |
0 | 1 | 511642 | I read Scientific American and brought one. I also have some [slide rules]. | |
| 438 | Steve A | altschs(at)nationwide.com | Columbus, Ohio USA |
1 | 0 | 34811 | My boss's boss retired (an old actuary), and auctioned off all his old stuff online to our department for charity. I saw this Curta in there, and realized it was worth a lot. It included the instruction booklet from The Curta Company in Van Nuys, California. (The clearing ring is broken, though.) Only one other person researched it (in a department of 200 people!), and I won it on 04/26/2004 with a bid in the last minute of the auction for $212. The other guy would probably have sold it, but I think I'll keep it. I have a few other historical calculators: a troncet, a 1970s red-LED calculator, an abacus. It will make a nice collection, especially for a math guy like me. One strange thing about mine: the case is like brushed metal on the outside, kind of dirty-looking. Thick aluminum or something like that. Does anyone else have one of these? The inside of the case is black metal like most of the cases I've seen online. Can anyone tell me about this? P.S. I wrote earlier about the "brushed-metal" case on my Curta. As I look at it more and more, the paint appears to have been deliberately taken off of the entire case at some point, probably with something like a Dremel tool with a sander attachment. I have no idea why! | |
| 439 | George N. Hoggatt | n0fda(at)ricochet.com | 2 | 1 | 35688 58308 555231 |
Type I s/n 58308. Perfect condition except small ding on Curta label on metal case and signs of wear on the dealer label inside the case. Had a type II many years ago but sold Ir. when the HP35 came out. Regretted it ever since. | ||
| 440 | Stephen W | hj25(at)dial.pipex.com | London, England UK |
1 | 0 | 67452 | Type I, plastic case, no papers. When my colleague, Leo Burge (ex wartime RAF aircrew) retired as an industrial engineer, he cleared his desk drawer and proudly gave his Curta to someone younger who would appreciate it. I had used Plus adders (0-5 only) elsewhere, but the specialists would never let us trainees use their Comptometers or Marchants (the Marchants were on thick felt pads for noise, so when the (same sized) electronic calculators arrived they overheated because the felt was by then traditional underneath). Curtas were the ultimate aspiration for senior accountants to make their point in meetings: I beat them all by learning to touchtype Cobol on a hand cardpunch instead, but was ultimately delighted to have my very own Curta too, albeit after pocket calculators had arrived. This one has been gently used although, or perhaps because, the metal clearing ring has one clean break near the root, but is not much distorted. Anyone tried silver solder? (what's the metal?) Epoxy with reinforcement of some kind? Not for sale, of course, it's an heirloom. | |
| 441 | Steven Burnett | skmmburnett(at)cableone.net | Orange County, California USA |
0 | 1 | 511138 | I have a Curta my mother used back in the 60's. She passed away in 1994 and I found it and the operation manual that came with it. It used to have a foam type base but that deteriorated and fell off a long time ago. Other than that, it is good shape, with it's canister and all. I believe she used it to calculate pay role for my fathers machine shop business, or it was just a fancy gift at the time. We lived in Orange County California at that time. | |
| 442 | Todd Wilk Estroff, M.D. | N/A | Atlanta, Georga USA |
404 816 5815 |
0 | 1 | 534099 | Bought it new in Munich when I was 16 [years old]. Used it in school as a premed physics major until calculators took over have original box manual sales receipt. It is still in pristine condition. |
| 443 | Thomas Christoffersen | thomas(at)ppdk.com | Alleroed DENMARK |
1 | 0 | 2897 | We found it some years ago when we sold my parents house. I first now took time to find out how brilliant the machine is. The condition is weary fine. Only the clearing lever is a little deform. | |
| 444 | Alejandro Cavazos | alexcavazos67(at)yahoo.com | Cholula, Puebla MEXICO |
+52 (222) 247 0487 |
1 | 0 | 3602 | My uncle found it in an old safe that belonged to an Oil Company. The safe was locked and no one knew the combination so they cracked it open. The condition my uncle found it some more than 25 years ago is the same as today. From the serial # I believe it was manufactured in January 1948. It is in a very fine condition and works as it should. My uncle gave it to me just recently. He found it some 25 years ago when they cracked open an old safe that used to belong to a US Oil Company in Tampico. The safe was being audited but all they found was an old US flag some documents and the Curta. The serial number is 3602 so it was manufactures around January 1948. It is in a very fine condition and works like it did in 1948. |
| 445 | John Kallir | jkallir(at)aol.com | New York City, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 56790 | I read the article in the January 2004 Scientific American with great interest since I have owned a Curta for many years. My father, Otto Kallir (a native of Vienna, as am I), intended to study engineering in the years prior to World War I. Discouraged by the rampant antisemitism at the Technical University, he switched his field of interest, became an art historian, owner of the Neue Galerie in Vienna, and eventually the founder of Galerie St. Etienne in New York City. However he retained his love of mathematics and of "gadgets," as he called them. On his first visit to Europe after World War II he stopped in Liechtenstein (he was also an avid stamp collector) and purchased one, or perhaps two Curtas. The Curta he gave me is in perfect condition: Type I No. 56790. I've used it often, along with a Japanese abacus. I decided not to buy an electronic calculator until the price had come down to below $100! Then I got my first clunky Texas Instruments calculator. I lost the Curta instruction booklet, so it was helpful to print the instructions from the Web site. | |
| 446 | Stephen Brindle | StphnBrind(at)aol.com | Wokingham UK |
(44) (0)1189 345 391 |
1 | 0 | 59014 | My company purchased these for all of the merchandise managers at our head office as much of our work consisted of endless number-crunching. The Curtas were replaced circa 1967 when the first inexpensive electronic calculators came on the market, but I was so attached to mine that I have kept it for nearly 40 years. Other than the 'O' ring being kaput, it still works as well as it did nearly 40 years ago. The only failure I ever heard of was with one of my colleagues who was a demented biscuit junkie - over a year or more the crumbs that he dropped into the machine eventually choked it to death. Even now, I am still amazed at the simplicity, elegance and sophistication of it, not to mention its incredible reliability. The most interesting thing however that I have discovered is that the machine still has such a following. |
| 447 | S. Ira Grossman | s.ira(at)grossmanfamily.org | Los Angeles, California USA |
1 | 0 | 77747 | Type I SN 77747 with plastic reverse-screw case, manual and survey guide book. Purchased new in the early 1970's from a stationery store in Chicago. The finger loop is cracked but complete. I was a newly minted architect earning minimal pay when I saw the Curta in a store in Chicago. Electronic handheld calculators were just coming out and the firm I worked for had arranged a deal with TI for employees to purchase their early calculator - add, subtract, multiply, divide and percent, for $120, an enormous sum for someone on my salary. The store was selling the machine for $50, because of the new technology I reasoned. $50 was still a lot of money and it took a week for me to decide, but I went back and bought it. My friends kidded me by saying that I had found the energy free answer and now wouldn't have to carry around a car battery to do my computations. I used it for a year and then had to opt for an electronic handheld that calculated dimension conversions. I've held on to the Curta all this time. I wouldn't have even thought about this until it was mentioned in William Gibson's latest book "Pattern Recognition". | |
| 448 | Michael S. Neuren | mneuren(at)msn.com | Atlanta, Georgia USA |
0 | 1 | 553929 | Type II, with Plastic reverse thread case, Perfect Condition Serial Number(s): 553929 This must be a late model, because the condition is still perfect. I got it while I was in high school during the first half of the seventies. At that time, I was heavily involved in photography. We lived in Columbus, GA, near Ft. Benning. My father and I spent lots of time at two local pawn shops looking for cheap camera equipment that was usually bought by service men overseas or at PX, then pawned for cash. One of the owners had this thing in a case and told me I could have it if I could figure it out. I showed him some basic math calculations and got a CURTA Type II in perfect condition for free. My friend, Mike Galos, prominent in Lotus car circles, now retired from Microsoft, told me that it was used in car rallying and showed me an ad in Road & Track magazine where they were selling for something like USD $350 for the Type I and $450 for the Type II. I finally got a manual a few years ago while purchasing some slide rules from Gemmary. I keep it in my office with my fountain pens and slide rules to show folks that the newest technology isn't necessarily the most elegant. | |
| 449 | Paul S. Manson | psmm(at)rogers.com | Toronto, Ontario CANADA |
0 | 2 | 524263 524263 |
I possess two Type II Curtas Type II No. 524263 [METAL CASE] Type II No. 543335 [PLASTIC CASE] I also have an aquamarine (green), black and white brochure entitled "Your Curta Calculatator" and A 4" by 6" booklet with a light mustard yellow cover entitled "Computing exercises for the CURTA Calculating machine. [cover printed in red ink] I purchased a Type I Curta in 1963 for use as a Navigation Rally Time/distance calculator. I soon after bought the first of my Type II Curtas and later the second Type II. Somewhere along the way I sold off the Type I. I used my Curtas to become Canadian National Rally Champion (Navigator) and Ontario Regional Rally Champion (navigator) many times during the mid to late 1960s and early 1970s. My Curtas accompanied me on many competitions in the United States and as far as The Republic of South Africa. I also competed in the Shell 4000 cross Canada Car Rally four times and finished 8th, 7th, 3rd and 4th in 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1968. The last two years for Nissan Motor Company (Japan) in Datsuns. (as an aside we was robbed of second place in 1967 due to a change by Jim Gunn toi the results. When we left final scrutineering in Montreal we were in second place only to arrive at the Olympic Stadium to find out we had been penalized for a frayed alternator seal which all of the scrutineers had agreed was frayed when my driver rolled the call on the second last day and not because the part had been changed. Que sera, sera) Both of my Curtas are well worn, marked and scuffed from much use, but I will not part with them. Each time I look at them they cause me recall many, many good times and friends. | |
| 450 | Juan Felipe Brandt | jfbrandt(at)bioservices.com.ar | Buenos Aires ARGENTINA |
1 | 0 | 3440 | I've inherited a Curta from my grandfather almost 40 years ago and the serial number is 3440. I guess per description it corresponds to first set of calculators. My Grandfather a Civil Engineer (concrete specialist) used it as to replace his slide calculator. Early 1940's?? He was responsible for the construction of underground in Argentina as well as the construction of the Buenos Aires Obelisk. The company he worked for and was General Manager was Grun u. Bilfinger for Latin America. The machine has a metal case seems to be aluminum and is in best conditions. | |
| 451 | William Clark | bcclark(at)cox.net | Valley Center, Kansas USA |
0 | 1 | 507323 | I really enjoy your Curta website and would like to add mine to your list. My father has had his longer than I have been around and so I remeber it as always being around the house. He recently passed it down to me and so I wanted to include it in your registry. My father recently passed this Type II down to me. He was a manager at an electronics component manufacturer in the 1950s (among many other careers). They were designing electronic filters and doing a lot of resonance calculations. He purchased about a half dozen of these Type IIs and gave them to his engineers, confiscating their slide rules at the same time. He said there was some grumbling at first, but then he started seeing design specifications taken out many decimal places, critical when analyizing sharply peaking curves. The serial number places it shortly before I was born so we are about the same age. I just sort of remember it always being around. Anybody remember the Freeden carraige calculating machines? My dad claims he could handly defeat one with his trusty Curta. As electronic calculators came on I remeber the Curta soldeiring on with my mom balancing the check book with it. This unit has seen many years of service and barely looks used. It has never needed cleaning or servicing of any kind. My dad credits a lot of that to the very secure can it lives in. I am a project engineer for Raytheon Aircraft (Beechcraft) and took it into work the other day to show the sparkies an example of the time when mechanical engineers ruled the earth! Few knew about them and they were amazed. I enjoy reading these stories. The places these wonderful machines have been and the work they have done!! | |
| 452 | Angus Davison | angusgdav(at)telkomsa.net | Port Elizabeth SOUTH AFRICA |
1 | 0 | 61170 | ||
| 453 | Johan van Veenendaal | vanveenendaaljc(at)quarry.kzntl.gov.za | Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal SOUTH AFRICA |
+27333431397 | 0 | 1 | 509244 | Your story of how you found your Curta and any related info you know about the Curta" Complete in its carry case. Zero ring either broken off or removed for some reason. Discovered in a collection of unused surveying equipment. |
| 454 | Diego Fernandez | dferna(at)cable.net.co | Bogota, Cundinamarca COLOMBIA |
1 | 0 | 13149 | It was my grand father Curta, he bought it on a trip to Europe in 1960 or 1950 I really don't know. This Curta was the only one in my city. He was a civil engineer | |
| 455 | Ron Benke | machinist(at)charter.net ronbenke53(at)charter.net |
Sparks, Nevada USA |
1 | 0 | 62363 | I found my Curta Type 1 in an old dresser with some World War II newspaper articles about the LAST TRAIN FROM BERLIN Jan, 11 1942. I have had the Curta for 35 years not knowing really what it was. A friend of my son's found it in a book by William Gibson. From that we were able to find it on the web. I have no manual for the Curta. The black case is in good shape, just missing the top center emblem on the cap. The Curta itself is in perfect shape. I found it in a storage shed in an old dresser. Not sure what I was just a fancy little tool with no wear or a scratch on it. So being an aircraft machinist and love the fine machine work I keep it. That was back in 1984. I move to a new house and found it in my box of stuff. So I look up on the internet and find out it was a manual calculator, Type 1 NO 62363 I am sure glad I keep it. | |
| 456 | Hansjorg Bauer | jettech56(at)netzero.net | Hialeah, Flordia USA |
1 | 0 | 4811 | This Curta was passed on to me from my Father which was passed on to him from his Father. My Grandfather was a chemical engineer sometime during and after WWII. Using a known formula, the serial number brakes this item to be dated - April 1948. | |
| 457 | Kevin Hunt | kthunt(at)vers5d.com | Modesto, California USA |
0 | 1 | 532956 | I bought this curta from a bloke in Unley Park, South
Australia on 6/2001 for $470. I came with only the hard shell which only showed
evidence of a label but was otherwise intact. When I received the curta I was
sadly surprised to find that it didn't work correctly. I obtained a copy of the
repair manual in German (which I don't read, but the diagrams were all I needed).
As a home machinist I was able to fully repair the unit and keep all the original
parts intact. So it now is fully working.
Even repairing such a machine really lets you appreciate what Curt had accomplished. |
|
| 458 | Christopher Ely | chris(at)ballybog.com | Flemington, New Jersey USA |
1 | 0 | 56904 | Bought this with my Dad in 1964 while visitng Liechtenstein - he could never figure it out, so I ended up using it for years. I babied it and to this day it is in perfect condition. | |
| 459 | Bob Lockey | boblockey(at)optusnet.com.au | Sydney, NSW AUSTRALIA |
0 | 1 | 528397 | Metal container. It's in very good condition and works well. I worked for a very large Scietific Research facility for many years and when one of the old scientists retired I helped him sort through his stuff. He was going to throw the CURTA out but seeing I was fascinated with it he asked me if I would like it. Its been in my posession ever since. (Over 20 yrs) I've never had a manual for it and only logged onto this site yesterday. Magic stuff! | |
| 460 | Andy Birko | aab38(at)daimlerchrysler.com | 1 | 0 | 6722 | I currently own a type one SN 6722 (1948!) in very good condition. It would be excellent but for a blemish where it looks like something was glued to the side. My dad gave it to me and I'm not sure where he got it from. | ||
| 461 | Robert Tredwell | RFTredwell(at)CS.com | Brooksville, Maine USA |
0 | 1 | 513105 | This calculator belongs to John Udell of Santa Fe, NM. It is in very good condition, and was just repaired (10/04) by Jack Christensen, who replaced a bushing that kept the drive shaft from lifting into substraction position. The machine is currently on long-term loan to Bob Tredwell | |
| 462 | Leigh Read | leigh(at)luxgud.com | 6 Portchester Drive, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, West Midlands UK |
0 | 1 | 505068 | I have in my possesion a curta Mrk 11 (15 digit) Model # 505068 in immaculate condition complete with water proof (left hand thread) case, original handbook, (as shown on your site)1 basic example fold out sheet and an original Computing Examples for the Curta calculating Machine booklet. Discovered my Curta in my bosses junk draw at work one day. I asked him what it was and he just said "Oh just some old calculating thing from way back" I asked him if I could borrow it as it amazed me at the precision in its manufacture (Me being an engineer). Few weeks later I asked him what he was going to do with it. He just said "keep it if you want, its no use to me". Left hand thread can, handbook from Cortina, simple example fold out sheet and Buff coloured in depth example manual. I was stunned as to the calculations a mechanical device could achieve. Never realised it had a following till I discovered this site. | |
| 463 | Freddy Haeghens | f.haeghens(at)skynet.be | Gent BELGIUM |
1 | 1 | 10442 553780 |
Type I : nr 10442 : a lucky buy on a flea market in France (10 years ago ; 15$) Type II : nr 553780 : After a "wanted" ad (15 years ago ;50$) | |
| 464 | Lutz Daeumig | LDBO(at)planet-interkom.de | Bochum GERMANY |
1 | 0 | 33098 | In 1973 I used to work for my company in Frankfurt/Germany. One day an admin employee passed my open office door having a black cylinder in his hands. I stopped him and as an interested engineer in a trading company I asked him about this black cigar. He opened it and I saw the first time in my life the incredible CURTA, not knowing that this calculator was standard equipment of our auditors since the early 50's, but now obsolete because of the electronic progress. I asked him, what he intended to do with the calculator. "I am going to scrap it as I have been instructed to do that. They all got electronic calculators now" was his reply. "I have a scrapyard right here in my office" I replied absolutely cool. He understood, came in my office, closed the door and put the black cylinder on my desk. I opened a drawer and the CURTA was "scrapped". | |
| 465 | Philippe DAILLY | pdailly(at)wanadoo.fr | Bordeaux FRANCE |
00 5 56 92 10 01 | 1 | 0 | 31562 | The first time I saw this strange machine at my brother's home, I supplied him to give it to me, because I like ancient and beautiful technology. Kindly, he offered me this calculator that we didn't know anything about. So, I looked after information on Internet and found the fantastic Rick Furr's web site. I discovered the Curta universe! And I've seen how many collectors and Curta's fanatics are chatting round the world. And I've liked.... I've loved.... Unfortunately, my Curta needed to be repaired. Thanks to Jack Christensen, I've contacted Hans-Rudolf Roshard (curtaservice.ch), a charming Swiss man who succeeded to repair my Curta perfectly. Honestly, Hans is a honor to Swiss quality; my Curta is now as new, 100 % operating! I sincerely recommend Hans for any European person who needs to repair his Curta. The quality of his performance is justified (Before him, I've asked some other specialists in clock-making in my country who gave up quickly!). So, I've got now a complete vision of calculation with an old wooden slide rule, a very nice Japanese abacus and.... a mechanical calculator! It's wonderful to explain to pupils who only know computers and electronic machines what is the genius basis of what looks apparently easy to their eyes. |
| 466 | Daniel Klotz | c.klotz(at)ac-nancy-metz.fr | Maizieres-les-Metz (57) FRANCE |
0 | 1 | 556751 | My Curta Calculator Type II is in perfect condition in a black plastic case.It works perfectly. I have received it from a friend.I have not the operating manual. | |
| 467 | Leland P. (Pat) Scott | LPScott62(at)aol.com | Merritt Island, Flordia USA |
321-452-5511 | 0 | 1 | 534942 | Purchased my Curta new in April of 1963 for navigating TSD rallies. Ran many SCCA and local events using it.. Then entered several Pro Rallies including the Big Bend Bash in Texas and the Press On Regardless in Michigan. a three straight nights event iin our MGB with 11 inches of ground clearance from Huntsville, AL !! Boy those were the fun days! I recently purchased Rick's Curta Type I Poster and now have it framed and hanging in my Study. Great Picture of this wonderful calculator. And, Yes, I'm searching for a Type I ie I in good condition to be a mate to my Type II. Anyone out there interrested? Please contact me at the attached email. Thanks again Rick for a great site for us retired but appreciative Curta owners. |
| 468 | John J Hinkamp | john.hinkamp.ctr(at)autec.navy.mil | Andros Island BAHAMAS |
0 | 1 | 524175 | It's in mint condition but didn't work right. I had Jack Christensen clean and repair it and now it's right as rain. | |
| 469 | goatsbeard (Kevin Kane) | aruncus2(at)msn.com | E. Wenatchee Washington USA |
0 | 1 | 557211 | My father worked as a civil engineer and bought it when I was probably 12 or so, in 1966. I used to watch him sit and crank out values in his chair as he watched televison. He passed away recently and I found the calculator in the basement of his home. He also had one of the early Hewlett Packard engineering calculators, I should have grabbed it when I had the chance, not sure where it is. If you want this Curta and can make a reasonable offer, it could be yours. Thanks | |
| 470 | Stephen Winn | stephen(at)winn84.freeserve.co.uk | Durham, England UK |
0 | 1 | 518400 | Thank you for putting together such an informative web page. Up until a couple of minutes ago I wasn't sure what a Curta really was. Mine (Type II No. 518400) has been passed to me from my father who I think brought it back from Germany just after the Second World War. | |
| 471 | Roman Bacalao Romer | codrbr(at)cantv.net | 1 | 0 | 17516 | I own a CURTA type I serial 17516 with left handed metal case. Complete manual an a proof of purchase certificate dated 12-12-1952 in its original box. I did not known about this electronic page. Roman Bacalao-Romer | ||
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| 472 | Phillip Rulon | pjr(at)alaska.net | Fairbanks, Alaska USA |
1 | 0 | 42737 | Grandfather was a statistition at Harvard and a mechanical calculator buf. He also had a few Marchants and a Cockshead Mercedes as well. Used the Curta daily in the late fifties. He left it to my dad, who left it to me. | |
| 473 | Thom McCann | mccannta(at)hotmail.com | Fairbanks, Alaska USA |
907-452-3709 | 1 | 0 | 40201 | Owned by my Father, purchased early 1960s. In metal case and in excellent condition. |
| 474 | Benjamin I. Levine | benivel(at)free.fr | Nice FRANCE |
0 | 1 | 553449 | This model was first sold by the french exclusive dealer "INNOVA", I recently purchased it to my great satisfaction on the Internet for a hefty sum !!! | |
| 475 | George Moult | georgemoult(at)aol.com | Southampton UK |
1 | 0 | 61897 | I obtained this about 7 years ago from the widow of a ships' architect who had two of them along with his slide rules. The extensive background that I have to these machines has all been obtained from the web. Mine is cased but has no manual. It is in superb working order and is unmarked in any way. | |
| 476 | Alex (Sandy) Mackay | ammackay(at)sympatico.ca | Owen Sound, Ontario CANADA | (519) 376-8442 (519) 376-0552 (F) |
1 | 0 | 33142 | I used my Curta while surveying mining claims in the Blind River, Ontario area (Uranium) and north of Kapuskasing, Ontario (Iron) in the 1950's. When we started surveying these claims we had to work out the angles using logarithms (great fun in the mosquito filled bush). When we got the Curtas we thought we were in heaven. We surveyed many hundreds of claims under extremely difficult conditions, had to fly into most locations with crews of 10 and live in tents, summer and winter, and the little Curtas were lifesavers. My Curta is in absolutely mint condition - not a mark or sign of wear except for slight wear on the ribs of the case. I am a retired Ontario Land Surveyor (and Civil Engineer). My brother, who was not an O.L.S. at the time but became one later, has a Type II Curta, although I don't know the condition or SN. We had a third (Type 1} but it got lost sometime during the last 50 or so years. Thanks for bringing all this information to us. Alex (Sandy) Mackay P.Eng., O.L.S. (Retired) |
| 477 | Peter Page | algernon.mouse(at)ntlworld.com | Midlands, England UK |
0 | 1 | 501471 | I recently inherited a Curta, and knowing nothing about them trawled the web till I found your page (not hard ;-) ) I tried calculating the manufactuer date but it doesnt quite work out. It is a Curta 1 (according to the instruction book) and its serial number is 501471. I have no idea about much of its provinance, except that it belonged to my grandfather, who was a tool maker at an engineering firm, and it was a gift from Contina for some work they did for them. | |
| 478 | Sean Barry | sjbarry(at)thegrid.net | Sacramento California USA |
1 | 0 | 74263 | It belonged to my stepfather, Richard Karbo, an industrial designer originally from Chicago, educated at the LA Art Center, subsequently employed by Ford, GM, Ben Pearson (archery equipment), Hydro-Rain (sprinkler valves), and several other companies, all of whom did everything in their power to keep him from leaving--he was always looking for new experiences and new challenges. His career spanned 45 years, plus wartime involvement (he passed away in 2000). Richard purchased the Curta new in the 1960's--he needed a compact unit because he spent lots of study time on the production line. Richard gave the machine to me in about 1988 and it remains one of my most prized possessions. It is in pristine condition, with case, instruction folder, and example problem manual equally pristine. I had no idea there was such a enthusiast organization (though I should have suspected as much just from the sheer coolness of the machine) until I checked it out on the net last week. Thanks | |
| 479 | Robert B. Irwin | rbirwin(at)cox.net | Tucson Arizona USA |
520-743-9983 | 1 | 0 | 72523 | I purchased my Curta in January 2005 through the Internet from a seller in Pennsylvania. I purchased it for $456.00. As was advertised, the clearing ring (plastic) was broken off. (I plan to contact Jack Christensen to talk about getting the ring replaced and getting the unit cleaned.) Otherwise the unit is in very good condition. I find the design, construction and history of the Curta very fascinating and I am having a blast learning to use it and showing it to some of my engineering colleagues. Last, but not least, I enjoy the wealth of information that your website provides - keep up the good work! Also, I purchased the Curta poster and am totally pleased with that wonderful "work of art and technical depiction" as well! Thank you very much. |
| 480 | Rich Scholl | rich(at)richandbrenda.com | Kihei, Hawaii USA |
1 | 1 | 67619 536759 |
Bought my first (the type II) after reading the Scientific American article. Subsequently bought my Type I from a German antique dealer; it is absolutely pristine - in mint condition - and it sits under a glass bell jar in my office. | |
| 481 | Mariano Carmona | sydbarrett87(at)hotmail.com | Buenos Aires ARGENTINA |
1 | 0 | 31322 | I bought it in 1996, EXCELLENT condition, with black metal container and instructions. | |
| 482 | Doug Philips | dgou(at)mac.com | Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA |
0 | 1 | 523289 | Learned of CURTAs through participation in Blue Ridge Mountain Sports Car Club. This CURTA was previously owned by member Jack Chidester who sold it to me in 2004. | |
| 483 | Rock FADY | geomusee(at)geo-anse.com | LYON FRANCE |
1 | 1 | 10949 520344 |
CURTA : type I Serial Number : 10949 Story : (french) : don au musee par Paul COMBIER, ex-geometre-expert a AMERIEU-EN-BUGEY (Ain) France (english) : gift to the museum by Paul COMBIER, past land-surveyor expert in AMBERIEU-EN-BUGEY (Ain) France CURTA type II Serial Number :520344 Story : (french) : don au musee par Pierre FADY, ex-geometre-expert a LA-TOUR-DU-PIN (Isere) France, vendue par INNOVA concessionnaire exclusif 10, rue des Ours PARIS France. (english) : gift to the museum by Pierre FADY, past land-surveyor expert in LA-TOUR-DU-PIN (Isère) France, sold one by exclusive concessionnary INNOVA 10, rue des Ours PARIS France This calculator was very used by land-surveyors in France, in the years 1950-60. Michel CHINAL president of GEOMUSEE The Friends of the Museum of the Land-Surveyors Experts of the Region Rhone-Alpes (France) http://www.geo-anse.com |
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| 484 | Norman Kyle | njkyle(at)attglobal.net | Huntington Beach, California USA |
1 | 1 | 18661 551747 |
Nothing special really. I am a slide rule enthusiast and my "dealer" suggested I by a couple of Curtas in the early 1990's. I did, and I have loved them ever since. | |
| 485 | YAMAMOTO Yoshihisa | kumomaru01(at)hotmail.com | Misaki-cho, Osaka JAPAN |
+81-724-94-1461 |
0 | 1 | 526111 | I have been collecting mechanical calculators for many years. I saw a strange shaped calculator in Hokkaido, Japan about 25 years ago, then I did not know anything about Curta. Unfortunately I missed it. After learning more about Culta, I was fascinated by it and thus determined to have it someday, somewhere. In 2000 I visited Tucson, AZ on business and finally I find long searching master piece. It was quite expensive but I made no hesitation to get it. It is a perfect mechanical condition in black plastic container and also perfectly fit my hand. I often enjoy calculating using it. I also enjoy smooth, even confortable sound and movement of Culta in operation. I am also fascinated by this website. It is excellent. |
| 486 | David Alciatore | litleng(at)aol.com | Fallbrook, California USA |
(760) 728-3016 |
0 | 1 | 554228 | Thank you Rick for your service to all the Curta owners and collectors. I bought mine on April 7.1970. As a surveying apprentice it was getting futile to do survey calcs longhand in the field and classroom. About six months later the surveying classroom got real quiet as the electronic calculator became popular. I have the booklets and the box plus the receipt. The leather field case looks almost new. Unlike the electronic calculators the Curta will never suffer the fate of having batteries that were left in it, leak and corrode the insides. Kind of nice to open up a container and find it just as it were left. Just like never forgetting how to ride a bicycle, the Curta just falls into your left hand and your index finger and thumb get ready to lift the bezel as the right hand cranks in the numbers. A better quality mechanical device would be hard to find at any price. |
| 487 | Ian Battey | battey(at)tiscali.co.uk | Sheffield, England UK |
1 | 0 | 7269 | My son, Adam, was given our Curta Calculator by my father about 2001. He used to work as office services manager for British Steel in Sheffield from the mid 1950s and had this when he retired in 1979. The calculator has the instruction manual and is complete with the container tightening ring and both top and base rubber pads. It has a left had thread lid and is labelled with the supplier ? Automatic Business Machines (abm) Limited15 Cromwell Road London. | |
| 488 | Mark Kimmey | mlkimmey(at)hotmail.com | New York, New York USA |
0 | 1 | 529447 | The device was among many items given to me by my uncle, who had been a civil engineer for the US Bureau of Reclamation (US Department of the Interior). According to the formula, this calculator was manufactured in late February of 1961. Assuming he purchased it soon after, it would have traveled with him from site to site across the American southwest as he surveyed power lines, to Afghanistan in the late 1960s when he helped engineer an irrigation project, and to Zaire (now once again Congo) in the mid 1970s when he worked on the Inga-Shaba project (hydroelectric dams and power lines). The calculator has seen some wear: the operating handle seems to be bent but some of the pictures of other Curtas also show this, so what I thought was damage may not be. The ring on the clearing lever is broken off, too, but that doesn't seem to interfere with its operation. He must have taken very good care of it: the mechanism is still smooth and - dare I say it - eminently satisfying. | |
| 489 | Peter Dodson | peterdodson123(at)aol.com | Cheshunt England UK |
1 | 0 | 76175 | Many years ago I worked as a production engineer with a large electronic company. One of my colleague's had a Curta. He didn't seem to use but as we had adjacent desks and by far my senior ( In age and attitude ) on a quite moment he would pass me the Curta and say "Get this working clever clogs " . He gave me no clues other than you have to twiddle things and became an ongoing project in thouse spare moments ! Eventully I could perform basic calculations and that was the last I saw of it for many years. Tragiclly at about normal retirement age he was diagnosed as being terminally ill and on his retirement he walked up to me, put his hand in his pocket and took out the Curta and said "I would like you to have this" My Curta is in absolute mint condition as is the plastic case. The only thing missing is the box and the instructions. I would not be supprised if he threw the instructionns away in case I was tempted to cheat ! On recollection we did have a few waste bin fires. It was only today I thought of looking on the web to see if there was any information about this bit of ancient mechanical craftmanship. The only one I had ever heard of before was in a magazine "The engineer " and it was the prise for a competition. I now intend to endenvour to master this piece of engineering with the help of your web site. Every time I see my Curta I think of my colleague as a friend who is sadly missed. A very interesting artical, re note 15a . I think the translation to English is known as KNURLING. It is done on a lathe by the use of hard steel wheels which are forced onto the work piece and is very fast, perhaps only taking 5 to 10 seconds to complete. It can be diamond or straight , xxxxxx ,------------, depending on th wheels used, often found on screw heads that are tightened only by hand. PS, I have a Curta type 1 ser No 76175 and looks though it has never been out of its case ! | |
| 490 | Christopher Wade | cwade(at)mediacrown.co.uk | Winchester Hampshire UK |
1 | 0 | 76646 | I inherited this from my father who owned it for many years. He knew it was a calculator but had no real idea how to operate it. In Pre -Internet days, information was hard to come by. The unit is in excellent condition and is cased in a metal cylinder with t left hand thread ( I assume to make it easier to open with the left hand only) The case shows signs of age and use, but has done its job of protecting the CURTA splendidly. | |
| 491 | Steve Fogoros | sfogoros(at)att.net | Fort Worth, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 34813 | I found it around 1982 in a second hand resale store that specialized in unsold estate sale items near McCart St. and Seminary Dr. in south Fort Worth. I didn't know what it was and neither did they but it looked pretty cool. I talked them into selling it for $20. I also bought a 'Last Whole Earth Catalog' at the same time. Imagine my surprise to find a listing for Curta calculators on page 320. So now I knew what it was but I didn't have any instructions for it. Adding, multiplying and subtracting were easy to figure out. I didn't discover division until the day I was teaching my little brother how long division works. After explaining it on paper, I got out my Curta and showed him how to do it on the Curta. We both learned that day. I've also used my Curta during a presentation on 'Tool Makers and Tool Users'. The Curta is quite effective when talking about how tool makers since the 1900s have empowered our society. The calculator is in fair condition and the metal case looks like it took all the abuse. Lots of dents and scratches. I think whoever owned it before me used it regularly. The only problem I've had with it is the anti reverse ratchet on the bottom got stuck open. I noticed the clicking noise was missing and before any damage occurred I cleaned it up. | |
| 492 | Derrick Caine | derrick.caine(at)blueyonder.co.uk | England West Midlands Pelsall, Walsall WS3 4LD, England UK |
01922 684553 |
0 | 1 | 501149 | The company I worked for purchased the above Curta in the 1950's and was used by myself on a regular basis until the first "SUMLOCK COMPTOMETER" - electronic calculator came in at a cost of £475.00 in the 1970's. The CURTA was serviced every six months by Automatic Business Machines Ltd of London from whom it was purchased and as such the quality of the calculator was maintained, thus being in excellent condition today. It is stored in its original black steel case with left-hand threaded cap with the original "Instructions for use" booklet. My current interest stems from an article on antique calculators my wife was reading in a recent womens magazine which referred to someone who was "about to throw his CURTA calculator away until whilst at an antiques fair he was told it could be worth around £600." I have always been intrigued by its design and intricacy which has led me to preserve it in its pristine condition. |
| 493 | Leo F Braun | lfbraun(at)attglobal.net | Sao Paulo BRAZIL |
1 | 0 | 13316 | Must have purchased my Curta in the late fifties or early sixties, cannot remember exactly when. Have used it a lot before the advent of the electronic calculators. It is still in perfect working order !!! | |
| 494 | Robert Rosenwald | robert(at)perfectniche.com | Scottsdale, Arizona USA |
1 | 0 | 3748 | My grandfather gave me his serial number 3748 complete with instruction manual. I've proudly kept it for many years-it works perfectly-and plan on passing it on to my grandson. Just a beautiful piece of machinery. | |
| 495 | Jan-Eric Nystrom | animato (at) sci.fi | Helsinki FINLAND |
1 | 0 | 30174 | I own a Curta I, serial 30174. That would make it an early 1956 unit, according to your formula. The calculator is in mint condition, it was given to me by my father a decade or more ago. The case opens clockwise, i.e. it has a left-hand thread. The brown foam pad in the bottom of the case has deteriorated, it has cracked into several pieces that crumble to dust if handled. Otherwise, the case is mint, too. I also have an instruction booklet in German. On page 2, there is printed "Zu CURTA Nr." and then, written in blue ink, "Type I; 29.26/=" This is probably not a serial number, maybe it means this manual is for a range of serial numbers? In addition, the Finnish importer Oy Konema Ab (stamped on the back cover) has written, in black ink, on the same page: Oy Konema Ab 21700 21420 On the last page, there is a little "footnote" 55 56 02d, which probably means the manual was printed or distributed in 1955-56? I just love the sound of the fine mechanics while cranking the Curta. I remember that I was allowed to play with it as a kid, but only when I was sick and in bed. A little consolation and a respite from the boredom of having the flu! | |
| 496 | Morton Newman | benjerman(at)aol.com | Hopkins, Minnesota USA |
1 | 0 | 53434 | I was in the chemical manufacturing business in the 1960s. We had a chemist who had a type 11 he used in his work. I saw the machine and had to have one. I purchased mine new and have used it very little so it's just like new. My metal case is average as the black finish is worn in places.I still like to try to work out math problems my curta. I would like to locate a metal case in like new condition and finish. | |
| 497 | Ron Potter | rpotter(at)tlcllc.com | Ann Arbor, Michigan USA |
0 | 1 | 539482 | I purchased my Curta II in 1967 as a student engineering school taking survey classes. We had to be accurate to four places and the slide rule wouldn't do it. It saved me tons of time and I was the envy of the class. I believe I paid about $160 for the II. A semester's tuition was $163! | |
| 498 | Charles W. Cullen | chef(at)geezergourmet.com | McLean, Virginia USA |
1 | 0 | 46439 | Curta's gained recognition in the US among sport car rally'ers in the early 60's. I looked for and bought my Curta in Breman Germany, in 1963, while visiting there on a U.S. Navy port call. | |
| 499 | Bill Weiler | weilerb(at)earthlink.net | Merritt Island, Florida USA |
913-488-5392 | 1 | 0 | 46222 | My father purchased this Curta in 1959 or 1960 in Switzerland while returning from a trip to ferry an aircraft to the Shah of Iran. He was an early gadget freak who had seen them used in auto rallies and thought it would be great to replace his circular slide rule E6B for flight planning as well as bookkeeping and I took it to school for a show and tell math class in grade school. He loaned it to me several times later in the 60s when I started running road rallies and he continued to use it well into the mid 70s. I refound it in 2001 when my mother died and she had put it away in a box of some of my fathers "toys" as she had called them and have had it sitting in my office ever since. My interest to learn more about the Curta came when my neighbor (the space shuttle technician) read Cliff Stoll's article in Readers Digest and started telling me about the Curta until I stopped him and took him to my office to see mine. |
| 500 | Nicolas Matter | nicolas.matter(at)wama.ch | Geneva SWITZERLAND |
1 | 1 | 59823 554027 |
First of all, thanks to you Rick, for opening my eyes to the world of the CURTA and for your service to all the CURTA owners and collectors. I started to learn about this wonderful piece of equipment as I started rallying with vintage cars, since then I was lucky enough to find one of each type in very good shape at a reasonable price. I now intend to endeavour to master this piece of engineering with the help of your web site. p.s.: The poster arrived yesterday, it is wonderful. | |
| 501 | Ken Painter | kap622(at)msn.com | Rockland, Massachusetts USA |
781-878-8247 | 1 | 0 | 79098 | I was working for Hilti USA when the parent Hilti company in Liechtenstein (Vaduz) bought out Contina. Hilti offered their employees a chance to buy the remaining stock. (Note from the serial #, this one was made in August 1969. It was said at the time that Hilti bought out Contina for its workers as, at the time, labor was in short supply in Liechtenstein. |
| 502 | Mike Allmendinger | mea2(at)postoffice8.mail.cornell.edu | Cornell University, 1201 N. Tioga St., Ithaca, New York USA |
0 | 1 | 502818 | Love the CURTA Calculator Website! Stumbled on it after a discussion with some engineering co-workers after they got all excited when they found out I have one. I have a fully-functional CUTRA 2 (Serial # 502818). Near as I can tell from the website, it was made in September 1954? It is a little worn from use, but is otherwise in great condition. It has a container with a rounded dome, not like the beveled versions that I have seen on the website. And the container sits snuggly into its own leather holster that has slots for attaching to a person's belt. The CURTA was left to me by my father who used it in the 1960-70's to do outdoor survey calculations. He was a civil engineer who, though he worked extensively with 1960 computer technology (remember IBM punch cards?), loved this little computing marvel! He died and left the CURTA to me in 1977. I was 17 at the time and while I knew how to operate it, I had little appreciation for what a unique machine it really is! I'm not interested in selling it, but I had no idea there was a "CURTA-lover's society" out there. The website was a real revelation. | |
| 503 | Claire Cook | cooks(at)cook147.wanadoo.co.uk | London, England UK |
1 | 0 | 4744 | I found your fascinating website and wanted to add my CURTA to the register. Here are my details below. Thanks. My curta has serial number = 4744 which seems to suggest a date of 1949 or maybe 1950. It belonged to my grandfather. I don't know how much he used it but it looks hardly used to me. It is in excellent condition and perfect working order. It has a black metal container but no instructions. I've owned it for years and always thought it was a beautiful piece of equipment. I had no idea, until I checked on the web recently and found this site, that there are so many Curta enthusiasts out there. | |
| 504 | Jim LaRue | Jim(at)lesaudio.com | Glendale, Arizona USA |
0 | 1 | 507358 532649 |
Just found your website today after a friend told me about the article in Reader's Digest, July, 2005 and we did a little web surfing. I have two Curtas left of the eight that I purchased from an auction at Arizona Department of Transportation in 1978 for $20.00. I figured out what they were very quickly because I had used a Monroe mechanical calculator at a previous job and knew the theory behind the multiple column calculator. I sold 4 of them for more than I paid for all 8 and gave 2 away to family. In all the years that I have had them, I have only found one person who knew what it was. He was a civil engineer and considerably older than me and had started as a surveyor. One is serial number 507358 and is in very good condition with the metal left hand thread case and leather carry case with shoulder strap. Both the metal case and leather case are in perfect condition with very few scratches. Is this a Type I or Type II. It does not say Type II on the bottom but it has the 6 digit serial number. It is all black. The second one is serial number 532649 and clearly says Type II on the bottom. This one is the gray body with the red slides for every third number and the red ring when you lift the crank. I have the metal left hand thread case for it also. This one is also in very good condition but the metal case has much more wear and a brass tag from ARIZ HWY riveted on top and a decal on the side of the case. | |
| 505 | Susie Apolant | Q(at)rochester.rr.com | Rochester, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 34951 | This Curta belonged to my Dad (Richard "dick" Apolant 1922 - 1999). He & Mom ( Georgianna ) were an internationally ranked road rally team in the 50's & 60's. Mom drove a hot Mercedes Benz with racing harnesses, a radio that picked up time beacons, tire temperature gauges & special odometers. Dad, armed with half a dozen multifunction Swiss chrono / stop / master clock / watches, a Stevens' Dual, a Thomas computer, a customized clip board & a lucky mechanical pencil, cranked the Curta for all it was worth. Ahh, my childhood. In that I inherited my Mom's driving skills & not my Dad's math wizardry...the "Curta in a can" lives in its' original labeled, corrugated cardboard box with its instruction guides - amongst crates of trophies & race badges. I'm sure that my niece & nephew (children of the 21st century) will never appreciate the "funny looking pepper grinder" - but, for me it is a reminder that change is inevitable. When I was in 6th grade my Grandfather, Julian Apolant, sent me a very expensive gift - a Hewlett Packard "pocket" calculator, it was roughly the size of a cassette tape player & not even capable of square roots. But, it was what would prove to be the demise of the Curta. Thanks for letting me share - Susie Apolant | |
| 506 | Enrico Filippetti | henry9(at)tin.it | via albinoni 14 40012 casalecchio di reno ITALY |
1 | 0 | ????? | i have a CURTA too...ciao | |
| 507 | Andrew Barnes | andrew-barnes(at)tiscali.co.uk | North Lincolnshire, England UK |
1 | 0 | 11408 | Left to me by my Grandfather in 1983. Removed from its case for first time in 10 or so years and still works perfectly | |
| 508 | Jason Hill | learned.counsel(at)gmail.com | Barristers at Bank House, 3 Hartshead, Sheffield S1 2EL UK |
0 | 1 | 545184 | Purchased in August 2005 from seller in Argentina. | |
| 509 | Jeffrey Wiggins | jd.wiggins(at)sympatico.ca | Streetsville, Ontario CANADA | 1 | 0 | 12230 | "My dad gave me this gem many years ago...he has another Type I and a Type II. Mine is in "used" condition - case has a few dents, anodizing is a bit worn on the knurling and the crank-knob pin is broken. I like the fact that it's showing its age - around 55 years, I think - because somebody has actually used it! Speaking of the crank-knob pin - does anyone out there sell parts? I could make a new pin, but I'd prefer to have the real thing. Cheers! | |
| 510 | Karen Chowske | karchow(at)verizon.net | Wantagh, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 64004 | I received my Curta today! My grandfather, a surveyor, purchased it October 10, 1966, 7 months after I was born. He gave it to my father a few years ago and my father passed it on to me today. Coincidentally, I just read a letter to the editor in Readers Digest this past week about Curta's (they must have had an article about them recently) and I didn't know what a Curta was. Now I do! I'm a CPA and consider my calculator | |
| 511 | David Jones | JDAVID346(at)aol.com | London, England UK |
(+44) 07932 760633 |
0 | 1 | 513025 | I have owned this Curta Type II since around 1958 and used carefully in an office until electronic calculators took over. I have carefully looked after the Curta ever since as it gives me great pleasure to link me back to my early work career. I am amazed at the interest in collecting these - but, I'm not really surprised when considering the total quality of the instrument! |
| 512 | Mik Reed | w00hoo(at)yahoo.com | Maidstone, Kent UK |
1 | 0 | 77309 | I first learnt of the existence of the Curta from the William Gibson book "Pattern Recognition" and a search through the internet gave me an idea of the history and interest surrounding them. Also just how much buying one would cost. Since then I've had a copy of the MK1 poster as my Windows background and spent idle minutes waiting for things to load marvelling at the devices intricacy. Ever so often I skimmed through the Internet to see what was there. A week ago I saw a MK1 for sale at a lower than normal price and decided to put in a speculative bid, as much to help the seller realise a decent amount as out of any expectation of winning (a piece of advice, don't do this unless you can afford not to lose the auction!) Two days later I was explaining to my wife that I'd bought a Curta and while I was happy with the price, it wasn't cheap... Luckily she was reasonable about it. It arrived in the post this morning, an immaculate example of a late MK1 (plastic case and crank handle) running the serial number through system it looks like it was built early Feb 1970, so we're pretty much the same age as I'm mid January 1970. Handling it just gave me an insane thrill, it is an truly wonderful piece of engineering, feeling the gentle clicking of the mechanism as you make calculations with it you just can't help but visualise the complex mechanism turning inside. Oh, and finally I feel I qualify to be on here . Keep up the good work. Mik. | |
| 513 | Jeffrey C. Thomason | jeffreythomason(at)yahoo.com | Oakland, California USA |
0 | 1 | 521082 | "When my father passed away in August of 99 we had to clean out his apartment. I found this device in the bottom of a filing cabinet but did not have a clue what it was. It had an old leather case made to be attached to a work belt so I knew it was something my father had used as a surveyor. I remember as a child all of his HP calculators but I had never seen this. I got on the internet and what I learned blew me away. It is in very good shape but the case is a little beat up from field use. In addition, my fathers name is engraved on the top of the case. This just makes it more special to me. I don't know where he got it but he worked in the San Fernando Valley for VTN (surveying outfit) for years and his name was Clyde Thomason. Maybe someone knows him and how he got it. It is very valuable to me and I will never part with it. I love to show it to other engineers." | |
| 514 | Jose Luis Gimenez | joseluiszenemig(at)hotmail.com | Caracas Venezuela | +58 416 625 20 72 |
1 | 0 | 38258 | The CURTA belonged to my father who died in June 2000. He was mathematician and full professor at the main technical University in Caracas. I do not know how he obtained this wonderful machine. The calculator is in optimal conditions. My students (I am also a professor) are always surprised when I show them this machine. |
| 515 | Rodolfo E. Szelest | rodolfo.szelest(at)fibertel.com.ar | Buenos Aires ARGENTINA |
54-11-4786-4788 |
0 | 1 | 501944 520922 |
I've bought my first Curta in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the early 80's to a broker who was retiring at the age of approx. 70. He told me that he use it very frequently but it is still in excellent conditions with metal case, instructions manual in Spanish and outer carton with a label indicating its serial # 501944. I was always fascinated by the excellent engineering work that resulted in the Curta but did not knew the full story until a cousin give me a copy of the article published in Scientific American in January 2004. I found the second unit in a flea-market [Bio Bio] in Santiago de Chile in October 2005, this one has the metal case with some bruises. Both units are in perfect calculating conditions. |
| 516 | Jerry Brown | bearcreek(at)gobrainstorm.net | Durango, Colorado USA |
0 | 1 | 554876 | My first exposure to a Curta was as a survey helper on a wilderness survey job in 1967. The Curta was used to do azimuth calculations from star observations. I received my Curta as part of an equipment swap with another surveyor in the late 70's. I used it a while to do survey calculations until I started using a TI 59 programmable calculator. It is in perfect condition with two copies of the instruction sheet. It resides in a display case next to a WILD T-0 theodolite, another forgotten instrument from that era. | |
| 517 | Jose Clerigo | barcane(at)teleline.es | Ferrol, GALICIA SPAIN |
1 | 0 | 26258 | History: I am a collectionist of old calculating machines, but I didn't knew this one. Three year ago, I have seen a model in a shop of many ancient things, and the buyer didn`t knew what thing was it. I have search in internet and discovered the historical and economical value of Curta. I have bought it inmediatly. Now is , with a Thomas de Colmar Arithmometer, one of the queens of my collection. | |
| 518 | Mike Booth | mkboothy(at)tiscali.co.uk | Preston, Lancashire, England UK |
1 | 0 | 12980 | Fathers curta without manual but in very good conditon.In original metal case. | |
| 519 | David Cook | scruff2(at)blueyonder.co.uk | Bath UK |
07966307254 |
1 | 0 | 35879 | Was given to the wife about 25 years ago, and I still use it sometimes. |
| 520 | Susan Malinowski | malinsue(at)nycap.rr.com | Watervliet, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 49456 | I am a math major in education and never heard of a Curta calculator until I met my husband in 1976. He had a trucking business out of Watervliet, New York. His secretary rarely had time to take a vacation until we dated when I said I would help with the billing in the summer. Since I was in education I had summers off to do that. I asked for an adding machine and was handed the Curta... and I said " now what do I do with this." He gave me a few quick lessons and I thought it was the greatest thing. We all continued to use it until he closed the business in 1990. He has since passed on but I still have the Curta and the memories that came with it. | |
| 521 | Johan Haase | haase(at)lillsjon.net | Ostersund SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 33331 | ||
| 522 | Richard Kuhwarth, CPA & R. Simi Lyss, MD | kuhwarth(at)aol.com | Grass Valley, California USA |
530 273-8560 |
1 | 0 | 21547 | I purchased my Curta in 1956 or 57 from an ad in Road and Track magazine, and used it for navigating in sports car rallies. I then used it in college and in various accounting jobs. I continued to use it for field work in my accounting practice until I purchased a HP 12C. After graduating to the 12C, I gave the Curta to good friend for his collection of interesting gadgets. He used it for several years to "one up" physician friends who also collected gadgets. About four years ago, he returned the Curta with an entire binder filled with information about the calculator, the company, and its history. Therefore, the ownership of this Curta is a joint venture as listed above. |
| 523 | Jim Crews | jhcrews(at)sbcglobal.net | Durham, California USA |
(530)899-7535 |
1 | 1 | 57915 516042 |
I bought the Type I new in the sixties. The Type II was owned by the civil engineering firm where I worked as a surveyor. I don't remember how I ended up with the Type II, I hadn't given it much thought until I happened to see what they were selling for on e-bay. The engineering firm folded years ago and I moved on to another surveying job. The Type I was the perfect size for surveyors. I could never understand why other surveyors bought the Type II . They wanted it for the extra 4 digits which they had no need for in the field. Both metal cases show quite a bit of wear but the instruments them selves are in excellent condition. I doubt that you could find anything now days that is as rugged and as well made as the curta. Once I saw another surveyor drop his curta and we watched as it rolled and bounced 200 feet down a steep hill, over a 50 foot cut bank and into the middle of a road just as a grader was going by. Luckely the blade of the grader pushed it off the side of the road, the operator never saw it. I'll never forget the look on that poor guy's face as he watched what he thought was the end of his prized possession. When we got to the bottom of the hill and dug his curta out of the dirt we were amazed to find no visible damage except for a few little nicks. As it turned out, all it needed was cleaning. |
| 524 | Dan Sandberg | dsandberg(at)berry.edu | Rome, Georgia USA |
1 | 1 | 58255 557415 |
A friend sent me the link to the CURTA Calculator page and I was immediately amazed and captured. A few months later I was able to find an affordable Type I in excellent condition. The previous owner gave me the history, short and complete. It was purchased new in late 1965 for a chainman on a survey crew. It was to be carried as a backup in case the party chief's CURTA failed. He said he didn't remember ever taking it out of the case, however he did remember the party chief grinding away on his own CURTA for hours at a time. I have since purchased a type II. I'm in my late 50's and feel no need to explain this insanity. I simply admire mechanical works of genius and art; the CURTA is among the finest examples. | |
| 525 | Jacky Trotignon | IMPACT-2000(at)wanadoo.fr | Close to REIMS (The Champagne Country) FRANCE |
0 | 2 | 515316 515907 |
I'm the owner of two items, both Curta type II, both with the typical black metal box. SN # 515316 - This one is a quite good condition and very well functioning SN# 515907 - This one is in good condition two, but it misses the handle (sincerely I do not understand how this can happened !). I would appreciate to find a spare part, or to sell the machine in this state to somebody having the spare parts. I'm 63 and during my scholarship to become and engineer in topography, we at first (say years 1963 & '1964) were proceeding calculations through "logarithm tables", say "by hand", with the help of a Pascal's type of mechanical calculator (Remington) to sum and interpolate logarithms. In 1964 we were given this astonishing all black machine Curta type I, smaller than the type II, and, in my opinion, easier to handle in one hand. These machines were owned by the highschool and we were not allowed to keep them with us, that I do regret, of course. The ones I own have been bought to a "sale by auction" operation of the french Army, in 1985. I bought the two pieces for 75 $. Happy new year to all of you, eminent Curtaddicted ! | |
| 526 | Juan Otero Roman | jc_otero(at)uma.es | Badajoz SPAIN |
1 | 0 | 38175 | The curta has been purchased at an auction | |
| 526a | 2006 |
2006 |
2006 |
2006 |
******** 2006 ******** |
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| 527 | Sydney V. Stern | sydneyvstern(at)yahoo.com | Punta Gorda, Flordia USA |
1 | 0 | 36577 | I purchased my Curta in 1959 while a graduate student at Georgia Tech. I had a professor who assigned problems requiring greater accuracy than sliderule. With the Curta I could do the work without the necessity of using logarithms. When I went to work in 1962 as a process engineer, I had less need for it. I've kept it all these years as a memento of my years in graduate school and an example of a machine well made. | |
| 528 | Vic Knight | Vic.Knight(at)btinternet.com | 1 | 0 | ????? | I worked from 1956 to 1989 for London Office Machines Ltd then due to a hostile take over Automatic Business Machines Ltd who were the importer of Curta into the UK. I was initially more involved with the Cash Register side of the business but can add some details. We had three war displaced technicians, all trained watch makers. Initially Ukrainian, polish and Italian, later the Italian was replaced by a Russian. Display models. We had three sets for our main offices, London, Birmingham and Manchester. There were at least 3 x Model 1 Service manuals and 2 x Model 2. I think the 1 had brown covers and the 2 green covers or other way round. Sir Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tensing took a Curta when they climbed Everest. We had in our London showroom an enlarged copy of a letter from Hilary thanking the company for the loan. BOAC had a huge quantity for their flight crews, most machines came into our workshops. Occasionally a technician would go out to Heathrow for a day and service the machines with minor faults, more difficult coming back to the service department. On a site there is a photograph of Curta tools. Missing is the paxolin block for supporting the handle whilst driving out the tapered pin. The London Science Museum have a Curta in their collection. Was on display some years ago not sure now. From memory a Model 1. I have asked my ex Sales Manager (LOM) then Managing Director (ABM) who was involved with the Curta from beginning to end in the UK to give a, from his view, definitive story of the Curta. Having visited the factory and knowing the people, including the prince, involved in Lichtenstein. Whether he will or not I cannot say. People may not know that 'Hilti' make hammers to drive nails into solid walls and the Curta factory when closed made 'Hilti Guns'. As an aside LOM and ABM were two successful companies run by the same man. LOM apart from Curta introduced the SWEDA Cash Register which with good service successfully competed with National Cash Reg. At ABM in 1968 we introduced Casio Calculators into UK and for most of the time sold more Casio machines than the combined total of all the other Japanese imported Calculators. We also imported the PDQ stamp machines from USA used for giving bonus stamps in shops and garages. Whilst still selling the Curta. The block I referred to was made of Tufnol not paxolin about 3" wide x 2" deep x 1.5"/1.75" high. The 3" side was machined away to accept, I think, the carriage and there was a piece of 2mm steel let into the block onto which, I think, the handle rested. How it accommodated model 1 and 2's don't know, I am trying to think back 20 or so years. I know where one of our technicians lived and am trying to see whether he still lives there or has passed on. I would not think there are any cased display Model 2's. Due to the extra diameter of the body it would have meant a different display case, why go to that trouble when a Model 1 does the job adequately. | ||
| 529 | Donald E. Wright | travelair(at)comcast.net | Gig Harbor, Washington USA |
0 | 1 | 512132 | I bought this brand new from Riverside Blueprint in Riverside, Calif. about 1956-7 I first bought a TYPE I and later sold it for the newer, bigger Type II, used in field survey and office work for many years. Also used it to complete the Flight Engineers course with United Airlines in 1964. Received a grade of 100% using it on the math portion of the FAA ground school tests. FANTASTIC MACHINE ! I love it ! | |
| 531 | Paolo Nannini | paoloenn(at)libero.it | Castiglione della Pescaia ITALY |
2 | 0 | 20122 38600 |
Finally my two CURTAs coming home! CURTA Type I SN 20122 (for use) and SN 38600 (mint condition for exposition) The last one is interesting because have the case without the writing CURTA but: COMPLIMENTS GAYNOR & CO Being a Curta from UK probably it was a lot purchased by Gaynor&Co (sports store) for best clients compliments! | |
| 532 | Yehuda Marton | yehuda.marton(at)intel.com | Haifa ISRAEL |
Work:+972-4-8655750 Home:+972-4-8345126 Cell:+972-52-3355975 |
1 | 0 | 16866 | I have bought my first Curta on the Internet (from a very nice American person - Harry Oman) its case is in very nice shape and it and works really fine. No scratches or wear, except for miniscule wear at top edge of case. No damage or repairs. Wonderful condition. From an MSU professor's estate. The reasons that I have bought it are two, first because my dad (Jacob) has been also as a teenager at the same concentration camp Buchenwald like Curt Herzstark and I'm proud that Jewish invent this wonderful and genius machine, secondly because I'm many years computer engineer (30 years at Intel) an I adore this first "computer" engineer - Curt Herzstark. |
| 533 | Ole Holmskov | oleholmskov(at)stofanet.dk | Marselis Boulevard 39 DK-8000 Aarhus DENMARK |
1 | 0 | 29926 | I own Type I No. 29926 with the original black metal box. I found it during the early sixties (196x) in a bric-a -brac shop in my home town. The shop owner expected it to be some sort of an adding machine but he thought it was not functioning properly. At least he could not operate it. I bought it for - as far as i recall - for 10 or 20 DKR ($ 1.50 or 3.00). It has no flaws. The man simply did not know how to operate it. I have disassembled it 20 years ago to clean and lubricate it. A very interesting and delicate work indeed. | |
| 534 | Matt Parsons | Matt_Parsons(at)ADP.com | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan USA |
0 | 1 | 523400 | I found this CURTA in my grandfathers items after he passed away (Harlan Greenwalt). I have been fascinated by this the engineering of this item for many years and the combination of complexity and simplicity all in one device. I had never seen nor heard of this 'calculator' prior to discovering your website. My CURTA is in absolute pristine condition with it's original black case. There is not a scratch or mark on either the Type II or the case. | |
| 535 | Eugene F. Hari | efhari(at)earthlink.net | Cerritos, California USA |
562-924-3593 | 0 | 1 | 553673 | I bought this machine, brand new from the factory, in Torrance, California, in 1964. I still have the sales reciept, the box it came in, the plastic case, instruction manual, and its brown leather carrying case with shoulder strap that can convert into a hand strap. I used this CURTA to perform stress calculations on the crew storage lockers that went into the SKYLAB spacecraft, to perform trajectory analysis calculations on an experimental ejection seat, when we built our house, and now within our Engineering Office it occupies a place of prominance (inside a custom-build glass case along with my Hemmi #10 slide rule). It's fun to get it out every now and then and demonstrate it for the younger (PC) generation. The CURTA is truly my most prized engineering tool. |
| 536 | Robert Willihnganz | rwillihn(at)uvic.ca | 1148 St. Patrick Street Victoria British Columbia CANADA |
250-592-7798 |
1 | 0 | 71667 | I purchased my Curta on the Internetfrom Idaho a few weeks ago. I had wanted one since 1969 when I was at the University of Texas working on my dissertation and had to cope with an old Freidan mechanical calculator that didn't always work. A dream come true after only 37 years! It is a Type I, Serial number 71667 |
| 537 | Warwick Carter | wjcarter(at)ozemail.com.au | Brisbane AUSTRALIA |
1 | 0 | 61676 | I purchased my Curta Type One SN 61676 on the Internet from a vendor in Thailand. Perfect condition but no case. I had never heard of them until one was mentioned in a Readers Digest a patient left in my waiting room. I love fascinating mechanical pieces, and this must be the most complex and intricate totally mechanical device ever conceived. | |
| 538 | Lawrence Lapointe | LLAPOINTE(at)TFS.TEXTRON.COM | Gaines, Michigan USA |
1 | 0 | 59297 | No scratches on calculator or case. Mint | |
| 539 | William Jesse | jesse0611(at)aol.com | Prairie View, Illinois USA |
1 | 0 | 18113 | From the formulas, made in early May, 1952.
Bequeathed to me by my father. He got it in the early 1950's for several reasons. By trade he
was a toolmaker and used it a bit in the shop. Also, he surveyed and built a few houses for the
family back when there was a prairie to view, here.
He was an accumulator (not collector) of gadgets of all kinds and I was also left with many
strange tools and tiny cameras.
He let me use the Curta in college in the late 60's to get through chem and physics, and it
did help. Also wowed the profs, who had never seen anything like it. And, yes, I did use it
in a couple of car rallies. In great shape, almost looks brand new.
In the mid 70's he was grousing to my mother that he could use one of those new electronic
pocket calculators in the shop. We bought him a Texas Instruments SR10 for about $170, which
he used until he passed on in 1980. I still use this TI as my desk calculator every day
and it is priceless as in the downside of the word...couldn't give it away. The Curta, with
its can, certificate and instruction book, stay in the treasure box with the Minox and some
unidentifiable stuff. I expect it will be part of the grouch bag I leave for my daughter. |
|
| 540 | Fernando Aveledo | faveledo1961(at)cantv.net | 1 | 0 | 10414 | First of all: thanks for this rare opportunity of discovering what a wonderful device
this calculator is. I said "rare" as I was surfing the Internet today (April,15 2006) and found
one Curta bid (I was looking for something else). One click or two later I was astonished
reading your page.
My Curta belonged to my father who was a Civil Engineer and died in 1963 in Venezuela. The
family moved to Spain (Almeria) where I lived during twenty some years. One day my mother
handed the Curta to me. I remember two things: i. the funny sell (oil) and ii. the case
doesn't open clockwise (I need to say it took me some time to realize that!). I could make
additions and multiplications easily. It took me some time to make substractions and ...
well; I was not able to realize how to make divisions! I lost my interest and laid the Curta
on a shelf until I returned back to Venezuela (1985). I opened the case 4 or 5 times at most.
The Curta was still on a shell (different country) and I took it today and tried to solve the
examples on your web. It works pretty well except when I tried to make subtractions as it
doesn't turn easily, so I didn't force it!
Other than that the Curta is almost as brand-new.
I was thinking to lubricate the device but I don't dare as I don't know what type of
lubricant is recommended. |
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| 541 | John Hamilton | jhamil3(at)msn.com | Southlake, Texas USA |
817-421-7486 |
0 | 1 | 529612 | While cleaning out my mother's attic two weeks ago, we found a box of stuff that was given to our family when our grandfather passed away in 1980. Inside was the Curta II that I used when my grandfather and I went on car rallies back in the 1960's! It's still in perfect shape in its metal can, with all the owners manuals intact. It brought back great memories of our TSD's way back then. |
| 542 | Jacques B. Gros | jbgros(at)terra.com.br | Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul BRAZIL |
55 51 3246-7838 |
0 | 1 | 514128 | This was bought by my father in law, Joao Carlos Rolim Morganti, an near 80 years old mechanical engineer, in Europe, probably in the late 60's. It is brand new, since by that time he was more in the administrative area. I probably took it off it's cardboard "brick" and metal case than he did. |
| 543 | Jens Aperdannier | jens(at)aperdannier.com | Cologne GERMANY |
+49 221 2977458 |
0 | 1 | 542423 | I collected pin-wheel calculators since the days of my studies at the university in Aachen, Germnany. I bought those calculators on markets for very little money - most of the sellers there did not have any clue about these mechanical masterpieces. In 2005, I read an article in the "Spektrum der Wissenschaft", the German issue of the "Scientific American", about Curt Herzstark and the Curta. That's when I started to get interested in the Curta. I watched the auctions at E-Bay for some months. Finally I could buy one in February 2006 for a moderate price. My Curta II is in fine condition, the plastic tube has some have scratches. The accompanying documents are missing. Thanks for the nice Curta-Page - I will set a link from my HP to it. |
| 544 | Doug Shepherd | dessalem(at)aol.com | Plymouth, Michigan USA |
734-453-6134 | 0 | 1 | 521960 | My father and I purchased the CURTA new from Gene Henderson in the very early 70s to use in TSD rallies. Now I'm using it with my daughter and son as I introduce them to rallying. |
| 545 | Chieh-Hung Tsai | urocissacaerulea(at)msn.com | Taipei TAIWAN |
0 | 1 | 535279 | Bought new in the 1967 | |
| 546 | Don Falize | donfalize(at)hetnet.nl | Heerlen NETHERLANDS |
0 | 1 | 544086 | I started collecting mechanical calculators in 2000. A collection like this needs at least 1 CURTA. I bought mine on the Internet. | |
| 547 | Ariel Blumstein | arielb(at)farq.edu.uy | 1 | 0 | 2044 | I'm glad to contact you to let you know that I own the Curta Type I nº 002044,
meaning it could be the oldest one known now.
I also live in Montevideo-Uruguay (as the previous owner of the 2185), and I recieved the Curta calculator
when my grandfather died, and remember and using it since I was 5 or 6 years old (I'm 42 now) and treating it always as
a jewel. The good thing is the calculator is in perfect condition and works as never being used.
I'm preparing a set of pictures to send to you, and will stay in contact if you need more information.
It's in the original metal can but I dont't have the original instruction manual. |
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| 548 | Robert Tiffany | w1gwu(at)worldpath.net | 102 Lockes Corner Road Alton, New Hampshire USA |
603-776-0086 |
1 | 0 | 507656 | I was at a flea market/yard sale in Maine about 20 years ago. I saw this black metal case
that took me a while to figure out that it opened the wrong way.
When I opened it, I fell in love! I had no idea what the hell it was, but being fascinated
by mechanical gadgets, I knew that it had to go home with me.
I took it home and figured out that I had sort of a mechanical slide rule. Trial and error
finally resulted in some reasonable results.
It is a Model II - Serial #507656. There is only one tiny scratch on the unit ( which I
did), and a little scuff under the lever.
In all my 72 years, this was possibly the best $2 I ever spent ! |
| 549 | Frans Goedhart | fransamsterdam(at)gmail.com | Baarn NETHERLANDS |
1 | 0 | ????? | A few weeks ago I bought my first Curta, it's a Type I SN 4379 in very good but not mint condition. It's used and that's what it was made for, but it looks as if I had used it for only two or three months. Everything works fine, it smells unique. It was bought in the Netherlands, the father of the owner was a radio technician and died sometime ago. The guy who sold me the Curta, his son, did not have any idea how it functions, but he knew the price very well. It is a very early model, clockwise closing. I feel proud and happy with it! fransamsterdam.web-log.nl | |
| 550 | Ross Peterson | ross(at)petersontechservices.com | San Mateo, California USA |
0 | 1 | 540663 | It was a gift from my father when I entered college in 1967. My Curta was a gift from my father while I was in college taking engineering (1969) - a little more accurate than a slide rule ! | |
| 551 | George C (Chappy) Young, Jr., Professional Land Surveyor | ChappyY(at)gcyinc.com | Palm City, Flordia USA |
1 | 0 | 71597 | While working as a laborer on a survey crew in 1965 in the swamps of the Everglades in Florida, I became good friends with a Cuban Immigrant and graduate engineer from Georgia Tech. Jorge Silva was responsible for several survey crews working on lands purchased (40k acres) by the King Ranch (of Tx) for which the engineering firm we worked for designed a ranch with drainage out of raw Everglades. I watched Jorge work wonders with his CURTA calculator in the field. He had purchased it while in school at Ga. Tech. Over the years (now 30+) I founded my own survey firm and worked all over Florida. One day Jorge called me and wanted/needed a survey of his home. We quit surveying residential lots some time ago (now surveying over 100k acres throughout FL) but for him, no problem. Jorge wouldn't accept my survey for free no matter how we argued back and forth. Jorge was proud but also retired and on a fixed income. Finally, I suggested that he pay me by giving me the old Curta he had. Jorge jumped at the suggestion because he hadn't used in ten years and he had no one left to leave it to. Deal struck, I helped a friend and he made my day too. Since then, Jorge has passed away. I salute this proud man by keeping it in his memory. | |
| 552 | Albert C. Lee | alee(at)enpriva.com | New York, New York USA |
0 | 1 | 539434 | I am the "new" owner of SN 539434 (Curta type II). I purchased it on June 16, 2006. The unit is still in excellent condition, with no visible signs of wear that are worthy of note. The unit was purchased with the original plastic case (in very good condition) and documentation (fair/good condition for owners manual and sample calculations manual). The sale of the item included the 1970 customs slip from the original owner when the unit was brought into the USA. Based on the ownership history, it looks like I am the third owner of this fine instrument. | |
| 553 | John TenEyck | jmt(at)xyos.net | Phoenix, Arizona USA |
602 288 7299 |
1 | 0 | 34722 | I received my curta from my grandmother in 2000. Just after my grandfather died she sent it to me. I remember seeing it previously at this home but did not know what it was until he began letting me chart road rally courses with him. Hendrix TenEyck my grandfather organized Road Rallies primarily in the Syracuse, NY area I believe. He used the curta during the races. I am currently searching for more information on my particular curta which I own the device case and I believe a full set of manuals to. |
| 554 | Guy Beudin | guybe38(at)yahoo.fr | Erbisoeul, Hainaut BELGIUM |
1 | 0 | 59233 | "I am 68 yers old, and I bought my Curta in Kinshasa Congo Democratic Republic around 1965, where I was working. Unfortunately I can't remember where I put the "use manual"., very nice to find your sit on the web" | |
| 555 | Jan Bongers | anita.jan(at)wolmail.nl Jan.Bongers(at)hager.nl | Almkerk NETHERLANDS |
1 | 0 | 21579 | I got it from my father, and he from his father, my grandfather. I do have also the origannaly discription from this model. It is a nice piece of work! | |
| 556 | Horacio ,varez Jr. | hi8ha(at)mac.com | Santo Domingo DOMINICAN REPUBLIC |
809-532-3446 |
0 | 1 | 531373 | I guess I must have purchased my Curta right after getting out of school in 1948 when I started to work at my father's soft drink bottling plant. Since the day I bought it, it travelled with me in every business trip I made until the electronics came around. Today it looks as good as the day that I bought it. |
| 557 | Glen Price | glen.price(at)bbklaw.com | Pasadena, California USA |
951-826-8314 |
1 | 0 | 12366 | I real about the Curta in Scientific American and wanted to own one. I purchased it on the internet, but did not get any information on its history. |
| 558 | Dave Beckett | davebbeckett(at)msn.com | Lake Oswego, Oregon USA |
(503) 636-4140 | 1 | 0 | 12743 | I inherited the calculator from my grandfather, the original owner, who was a chemist. I used it some during college years earning a BA - Physics. In 1963 - 1965 I was employed at Jet Propulsion Labs testing an instrument for the first unmanned space flight to Mars. It got some use then. Later I used it while earning an MBA. Subsequently I simply enjoyed the pleasure of a hand-held device of such incredible precision. About 20 years ago the clearing ring was broken while one of my children was using it. It has been kept as a collector's item since then. It operates smoothly for addition. It's a bit sticky for clearing results and still stickier for negative operations. It has the original case, and except for the clearing ring it is externally in perfect condition. S/N 12743 estimated manufactured July/August 1950 |
| 559 | Gary Steinbaugh, PE | gsteinbaugh(at)hotmail.com | Loveland (a northern Cincinnati suburb), Ohio USA |
1 | 0 | 43241 | In 1967, the year I entered Case Institute of Technology (now CWRU), I saw a Curta advertisement in Scientific American. They were expensive compared to slide rules (which I had recently learned to manipulate), and they did not multiply directly, so I decided against purchasing one. For the next forty years, I never saw one. Well, I recently purchased one from a gentlemen who found half a dozen in an old tool shed - and it works perfectly. What a brain Mr. Herzstark had! For Curt's a jolly good fellow! | |
| 560 | Kathryn Hansen | kathrynh(at)co.san-juan.wa.us | Friday Harbor, Washington USA |
360-739-7459 | 0 | 1 | 512225 | I first used a Curta on my innaugural BC "Brisk Winter TSD", Thunderbird. I signed on to run with a Driver, whose name was vaguely familiar, though we had never met. The Driver informed me that I would be calculating using a Curta. I was intrigued! I remembered seeing the unique pieces at rallies many years before, but had never known much about them. I did catch on quickly, after some expert help from other rallyists, and loved developing the rhythm of cranking out due times with the Curta. I determined at that time that I needed to own one. It is now nearly 2 year later, and I have just purchased my own. I was delighted to have the machine shipped with a very pleasant letter from the previous owner. He had used the Curta for rallies back in the 70's, when he and his wife campaigned a BMW 2002. I'm looking forward to my first event with this wonderful device. |
| 561 | Joao Maximo | joaomaximo(at)gmail.com | Porto Alegre BRAZIL moving soon to Dubai, UAE |
1 | 0 | 12016 | What a surprise it was for me to discover other Curta loving people! I tought I was a little bit stranger for loving this thing! Well, I own a Curta Type I, Serial Number is 12016, early model. It was a heritage from my deceased father, who was an engineer and loved his Curta. It is like new, for he treated it with loving care. | |
| 562 | Denny Powers | denny(at)lyonscomputerguy.com | Lyons, Colorado USA |
1 | 0 | 44170 | This Curta belonged to my father who used it at Northwestern University in the Astronomy department in the 1960s. I still have the original box and "Computing Examples" book. | |
| 563 | A.J.M. van der Vaart | vaart050(at)planet.nl | Rijen NETHERLANDS |
+31(0)161 220878 | 1 | 0 | 24535 | My father used it for some 15 years on a daily basis. It is in perfect condition |
| 564 | Fabio Caruso | fcaruso.eng(at)gmail.com | Napoli - ITALY (currently living in Antofagasta - CHILE) |
0 | 1 | 511622 | I read the first time about Curta on Scientific American in 1994. On 30 November 1996 during a vacation in Buenos Aires I saw "my" Curta type II in the shop of an antiquarian in San Telmo (Elias, very nice person !): grey body, all metal, in good condition even if with signs of usage (that personally I like) together with its own metal box. From the serial number, manufactured around 1955-1956. | |
| 564a | 2007 |
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| 565 | Larry Bialecki | Lawrence_Bialecki(at)sbcglobal.com | Canyon Country, California USA |
1 | 0 | 77272 | Evicted a guy from an apartment in the San Fernando Valley back in 1984. He must have been a CURTA repair man because he had several cabinets filled with parts and subassemblies. I did not know anything about the CURTA at the time and junked everything with the exception to the one I have. | |
| 566 | David Senkfor | Senk4(at)aol.com | Cleveland, Ohio USA |
216-406-4246 | 3 | 2 | 77621 35243 60609 522727 529464 |
"77621 (prime #) I read about the Curta in the Reader's Digest article and was immediately intrigued. I also own an old Friden electric calculator and thought the Curta would be a nice addition. The Curta is in mint condition purchased from an original owner who apparently never used it." "I liked the Curta so much I bought 4 more. These calculators are really great!!!" |
| 567 | Jean-Yves Hangouet | jean-yves.hangouet(at)wanadoo.fr | Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin FRANCE |
33607428218 | 0 | 1 | 500813 | extra info |
| 568 | Barry Schechter | dycon(at)deacongestion.com | Waukegan, Illinois USA |
1 | 0 | 53115 | Type I with metal case. Purchased from an engineer where I worked about 10 years ago as a curiosity. | |
| 569 | Garry Thompson | ga.thompson(at)sasktel.net | Regina, Saskatchewan CANADA |
306-543-7127 | 1 | 0 | 77155 | I used to sell Curta Calculators during the 1960's as I managed a drafting and engineering supply business. The Curta I presently own is brand new and was never used in the field. I took it off my store shelf and kept for myself. It is complete with the instruction manuals and box that it came in.It has been kept in the original box in storage and in fact as only been out of its case a few times. I now have it out and am going to frame it for people to view. These were sold to engineers and land surveyors. Land surveyors in particular loved the Curta for what it could do in the field and the amount of time it would save them. |
| 570 | Dale Creekmur | creekmur(at)soltec.net | Urbana, Illinois USA |
217 384-5541 | 0 | 1 | 557243 | Purchased new back in early 70's (including plastic case). Used it in local Champaign County Sports Car Club (CCSCC), and national SCCA car rallies. Working with a set of time-speed tables (to correct for odometer error on the rally car, used for the 3 decimal place input numbers for the Curta, and three split/action stop watches and a resettable 100's reading odometer, many a rally was won. One crank of the curta give anticipated odometer reading and elapsed time for comparison to the watches, every 10th of a mile. Nowadays cars have electronic computer rally equipment, making the Curta in a class with the sliderule, but I'll never part with mine. |
| 571 | JULIO GARC´ RODR?UEZ | jugar11(at)gmail.com | CORDOBA-ESPANA SPAIN |
666 09 33 12 |
1 | 0 | 28205 | Hace ya varios anos que me regalo mi padre la CURTA. Esta sin usar, tengo el manual original y la caja donde venia, un estuche metalico a rosca. La tengo adornando el mueble del salon de mi casa. Already several years ago my father gave me a Curta. It is without using, I have manual original and the box where it came, a metallic spiral case. I have it adorning the furniture of the hall my house. |
| 572 | Beverley and Gordon Cameron | beegee36(at)tiscali.co.uk | Scotland, Great Britain UK |
0 | 1 | 525208 | Hello, my husband was given a type II Curta from my Uncle some 20 years ago. It had remained locked away for the past 20 years with only my son playing with it as a child; I think he thought it was a Darlek. These machines were recently covered in a newspaper article which led to the cupboard being unlocked and all of us trying to fathom its mysteries. All I can say is thank goodness for the internet, where we have found out, how to use it, how old it is and now just how many other people own these marvelous machines. | |
| 573 | David A. Beery | idbeery(at)earthlink.net | Bloomington, Indiana USA |
1 | 0 | 7794 | In 1966, I was given the measuring instruments, drafting tools, slide rule, Curta, Breitling chronograph etc. which belonged to my late father-in-law. A few days ago, my jeweler and I were peering into the inside of the Breitling and marveling at the complexity of the works. We had some discussion of what else that my father-in-law left behind and I was reminded of the Curta. The jeweler found your website which led me to the instructions for using the Curta as well as the registry. I found the oral history for Curt Hertzstark from the Charles Babbage Institute really fascinating. | |
| 574 | Rod Johnson | WE7X(at)aol.com | Issaquah, Washington USA |
0 | 1 | 529914 | Used borrowed ones many years ago (1970-1980) when auto rallying. Always wanted one. Finally found one in good condition with manuals. | |
| 575 | Richard Bentley AREC | richard(at)pathwaysdirect.com | Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Great Britan UK |
+44 (0) 1924 371999 |
0 | 1 | 504659 | I have looked at your site although I cannot find how old my Curta Type 1 model NO 504659 is. Any help would be greatly appreciated. (It was made around Feb 1955 - Rick) |
| 576 | Sadi Ridah | sadiridah(at)bluewin.ch | Geneva SWITZERLAND |
0 | 1 | 501645 | My curta is as good as new, still in its original storage can, bought about 3 years ago. It was advertised in our college internet site. | |
| 577 | Bill Lee | billlee(at)interbaun.com | Edmonton, Alberta CANADA |
0 | 1 | 539499 | I read the article about the CURTA in the Scientific American magazine of January 2004, and without really intending to buy one I decided to check on the Internet. To my surprise there were quite a number available for sale. 539499, from seller Julie Marchand in Austin, TX, USA, stood out: besides the plastic case, it was complete with its original box, instruction poster, and examples booklet (English). I couldn't resist bidding; luckily I won--in the last 24 seconds! Thanks very much! ..Bill.. | |
| 578 | Ken Spink | spink underscore k (at) onebox dot com | Torii Station, Okinawa JAPAN |
1 | 0 | 67799 | In 1999 I was working for the US Army in Germany when I read an article in WIRED magazine about the collections of rich CEO's of computer firms. I was fascinated by the description of a Curta. A few months later a gentleman fron Utah listed a Curta which he had purchased from a US Forest Service surplus auction on the Internet. It was my first-ever Internet purchase, and has the Forest Service's property number, FS 159086 engraved on its bottom under the Curta serial number. | |
| 579 | Guilherme Bueno Fraguas | fraguas51(at)hotmail.com | Campinas, Sao Paulo BRAZIL |
1 | 0 | 53476 | My Curta belonged to my grandfather Cecilio Fraguas. He used to be a bank manager in country side of our state. It seams he received his Curta calculator as a gift from his superiors in early 60's. The machine is in superb state without any scratch and working smooth. Since I was very young I learned from him how to operate the machine and after he passed away my family decided I should keep it working to preserve his memory. I love my Curta and I am very pleased to possess one in so perfect state. Thanks grandpa! | |
| 580 | Michael Peiluck | mp.ontario[AT]gmail[DOT]com | Toronto, Ontario CANADA | 0 | 1 | 517812 | Calculator purchased on the Internet | |
| 581 | Paco Asensio | pasensio(at)arrakis.es | Pontevedra SPAIN |
+34986883585 | 1 | 0 | 26020 | I have [a Curta] since the year 1975 in my parents they gave it me. With her I did my exams of mining engineer with great surprise of my professors |
| 582 | David A Wark Young | dawyoung(at)sbcglobal.net | Newport Beach, California USA |
0 | 1 | 503425 | I live in Newport Beach, California, USA and was given a CURTA calculator by my aunt in England some years ago. I believe it is a Model [II] with dome metal case. The base plate is different from some on a few web sites I have looked at but its number is 503425. There is no logo as seen on others. I have a one page brochure in English, the original guarantee, a quick "how to" fold-out with illustrations and the CURTA Computing Examples booklet. My aunt bought it on 24 August 1971 for her husband who was an engineer. The sales agency was Automatic Business Machines Ltd, at 15, Cromwell Road, London, S.W.7. I have never used it but I was familiar with the principles involved from my time as a Chartered Accountant in London when we used "coffee grinder" desk machines doing the same four functions. I seem to recall that Monroe came out with a mechanized version of a desk-top calculator which was much larger. There may have been others in the field but electronics quickly put them all out of business. | |
| 583 | Bob Smith | bobsmith(at)dircon.co.uk | Newark, Nottingham, England UK |
+44 1777 872819 |
1 | 0 | 63431 | The CURTA was in a cupboard in the office I took over when I was appointed as manager of a technical department in manufacturing industry. It had been used as the precision calculator for work in the department. It was no longer on the inventory of departmental property and I was allowed to keep it when I left the company. |
| 584 | Joe Graubard | jmg493(at)verizon.net | Murrieta, California USA |
1 | 0 | 34417 | Bought my CURTA in the late 1950's when I was running in local rallies with the Bickingham Sports Car Club in Bucks County, PA and SCCA National Rallies. It still sits on my desk in its metal case and reminds me of great times. | |
| 585 | Bertil Hagnell | bertil.hagnell(at)bredband.net | Arhusgatan 25, 16545 Kista SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 30073 | I own a Curta Type 1 s/n 30073 complete with original manual in German. Excellent condition. My grandfather bought it in the 1950th I think. I received it as a gift 1967 as I had "played" with it as a young boy. | |
| 586 | John Low-Shang | johnvlow(at)optusnet.com.au | Melbourne, Victoria AUSTRALIA |
0 | 1 | 545430 | "I bought my Curta new in Cape Town, South Africa in (about) 1967. At that time I had taken up club level rallying and everyone else was using very large office calculators. I found the Curta by accident in a store, and only recognised it from photos I had seen in rallying magazines from America. I snapped it up and it has never left my possesion since. I demonstrate it occasionally to 'young' work colleagues who never cease to be amazed by it. It is in its original box with instructions." | |
| 587 | Jean-Michel LEGRAND | jeanmichellegrand(at)free.fr | Vincennes FRANCE |
0 | 1 | 550216 | I learned to use the "moulin a cafe" ("Coffee grinder") as we called it, in the 70's at college (Lycee International de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in France), where a number of these machines, probably about 40, were regularly used by the students. If I remember well 2 types where being used, one in a nice wooden box, the other in a black plastic box. The Curta I my possession today was found in the cellar of offices in Paris by some staff that had no idea of what it was. It stayed there on a desk for many years until I saw it. Everybody in the office was impressed that someone knew what it was, and could use it! I manage to convince them to let me have this very nice object. | |
| 588 | Mark Davis | mdavis(at)sonitrol.com | Lake Oswego, Oregon USA |
1 | 0 | 56481 | I collected slide rules for many years. I was showing my collection to a fellow worker back in the early 90's, and he told me about the interesting old mechanical calculator he had. I ended up trading him a modem for this Curta. I recently had it refurbished by Jack Christensen at Timewise, and it works like new. What a beautiful piece of machinery! | |
| 589 | Corey Manley | Corey.Manley(at)gmail.com | Santa Clara, California USA |
0 | 1 | 528628 | I remember my dad describing these to me when I was a kid. He always wanted one. I saw one on the Internet and had to get it. It is in good condition, still works, and came in the metal can. The outside of the can smells slightly of mildew. | |
| 590 | Harvey Stafford-Evans | barneyfischer(at)telkomsa.net | Vanderbijlpark, Johannesburg SOUTH AFRICA |
+27 82 763 0464 |
0 | 1 | 552919 | I Inherited this wonderful calculator from my father. I can remember when I was much younger I used to play with it. It is in a very good condition and I am surprised to see that there are so many of them out there. |
| 591 | Gordon Bateman | Gordon.Bateman(at)KFMJV.COM | Oak View, California USA |
0 | 1 | 539310 | Gordon Bateman ..Oak View California.. Curta type 2 serial number 539310, bought in New Zealand in 1972 while I was working for a land surveyor there...it was pre hand held electronic calculators era, so anyone in the survey business was really stylin' if they had a Curta. Some time back, unbeknownst to me, the O ring fell out of the case and when I closed it the winding handle was compressed to the point where the shaft broke at the pin hole and the handle fell off, rendering the machine completely useless.It had been languishing in a drawer and every once in a while I would take it out and wonder if I should just chuck it away but could never bring myself to do it. A co-worker asked me about it one day and so we Googled Curta just to find him the history of Curtas and that led us to your site and to Jack Christensen. Jack has just returned my Curta to me, sparkling clean and in as good a working order as when I bought it all those years ago. He happened to have the right pieces at hand and was able to do the job(replacing the whole center drum assembly) can't tell you how tickled I am to have it back and I'm busy amazing everyone at work with it. Great site by the way....Curta's Rock !! | |
| 592 | Johnny Nestor | jnnestor(at)pioneernet.net | Whidbey Island, Washington USA |
1 | 0 | 27767 | Without a clue, without any appreciation for Type I or II designation, without any inkling as to what a Curta even was, I had read, years ago, about this child of a scion of this most advanced mechanical, electrical calculator company in 1930's Germany spending the War in Buchenwald, designing what was to become the penultimate handheld mechanical calculating device ever built. In the last several years, I had, on occassion, drifted past a search for one of these wondrous machines on the Internet. Finally, on a whim, on a late night, I cast fate to a fickle wind and cast a ballot. I won. My prize, for what I thought had been an extravagant amount of money, was a perfect Curta I serial number 27767. I've since come to realize the luck of that fantastic draw. As I now have a tendancy to monitor Curta I offerings on the Internet, I've come to realize I came into this beautiful piece with a divine fortune, one I had never thought myself capable of. A recent listing featured a Curta I 32312 with a broken clear ring, four days left with bids already rising past my procurement. I felt compelled to send the seller this, knowing it would be posted with the item, and hoping it might be read: "In order to clear correctly, the magnitude carriage ring MUST be distended to avoid placing undue stress upon the clearing ring. An ignorant avoidance of this simple procedure is probably the biggest misuse of the Curta I. People receive a Curta I that they've paid a huge sum for, and the first thing they attempt, after retracting the clearing ring, and without reading so much as line from the instructions, is to attempt a clear...the ring doesn't move, then, with a bit more pressure, it begins to skip around the carriage ring. Owners who question the hard skip immediately desist and read the Usage Manual, realizing with a cold sweat that they have just dodged a what would have been a non-recoverable bullet. Those who don't end up snapping off the clearing ring, irreparable, this side of a cheap plastic replacement knockoff piece. Those who have bothered to read the instructions, before ever touching this beautiful machine, have never had to face this." I came close to apllying this misuse when I first extracted this Curta I from its case with its solidified bottom and top sponges. Luckily, amazingly, an alarm went off and I stopped. I read the manual. 27767 is doing well. I now have Rick Furr's brilliantly composed schematic framed on a wall of the study, and a week doesn't go by that I don't hold Curt's jewel in my hand, take a breath at its fifty-some year old countenance, and calculate. Not simply because its there. But because a problem has arisen that begs solution. At such times I back away from my cluttered desk, release the keyboard of my requisite computer, and spin away. | |
| 593 | Luke Goldreyer | snaphouse(at)yahoo.com | Los Angeles, California USA |
0 | 1 | 527898 | My name is Luke. I found a Curta type II the other day while clearing out an old accounting office in Commerce Ca. At first i had no idea what it was, then i was amazed when i found out what it could do. I am 25 years old and i never really knew that there was such a thing as a mechanical calculator, never saw or heard of anything expect the digital calculators i have been using since childhood. Such an amazing example of precise enginerring. It is serial #527898. To my untrained eye it appears to be in good shape, no discoloration or scratches, and mechanicly it operates well( although i havent gotten into very advanced mathematics yet).I am interested in the history and advanced operation of these calculators. Also what is the best way to figure out the current market value of this? | |
| 594 | E. Bright | nevada099(at)msn.com | Dayton, Nevada USA |
1 | 0 | 55735 | CURTA type 1 absolute mint, in metal can and gasket I have known of "The Curta" since the 60's from a friend who was a serveyer. I wanted one ever since. I captured this one from the son of the original owner (Alfred Lachterman MD. in Scarsdale NY). He did not know what it was or its use. He gave it to me as a gift for some work that I preformed for him. No papers of any kind with it, however, thanks to web sites like this I am making good use of it. | |
| 595 | Bruce McKay | willowdog(at)hotmail.com | Novato, California USA |
1 | 0 | 65090 | Purchased it as I'm planning to do some rallying where electronic calculators are not allowed. Good luck with that teaching the daughter to drive thing, I just went through it. | |
| 596 | Grant Paton | senbrea(at)yahoo.co.uk | Eynsham, Oxon, England UK |
0 | 1 | 526406 | It is in mint condition and in perfect working order. It is complete with metal case and manuals in its original cardboard box. I also have a privately produced manual on advanced calculation techniques. I purchased the Curta in 1964 in Glasgow. | |
| 597 | Perry K Gerhart | US294(at)aol.com | Breinigsville, Pennsylvania USA |
1 | 0 | 42934 | My Father (Perry K Gerhart (1930-2007) owned this CURTA and I believe he was the original owner. He was an Electrical Engineer for Western Electric and a Land Surveyor. He collected and restored antique British motorcycles. Both of my parents participated in Road Rallies in the 50's and 60's. Kindly register this CURTA to my Father, who passed away on May 26, 2007. I am selling it, so there will be a new owner as of tomorrow, but I thought for the record it would be nice for anyone interested, to know it's origin. | |
| 598 | Hans Georg Wendler | hg.wendler(at)datazug.ch | CH 6023 Rothenburg / LU, Lucerne SWITZERLAND |
0 | 1 | 524737 | When I was a student of textile technology in Germany in the sixties I had to work out a study with an awful lot of statistics to calculate. The slide rule, which was usual at that time, was too inaccurate for that work. So I asked in a shop for a second hand calculating machine. There was just a big and heavy one like a typewriter and with a defect - to divide was not possible. I was very disappointed and left the shop. But the dealer called me back and offered to me the CURTA II which I saw the first time. Some months before an architect bought this CURTA II. He brought it back to the shop some days later. It was not possible for him to adjust the slides exactly because his fingers where too thick ..... So I got the CURTA for a special price, which was nevertheless a lot for me as a student. The CURTA was undeniable for years for me - in spite of the fact I had to hear a lot of mockery from people around me: "The guy with the coffee mill"! Today nobody is mocking any more - I am envied, because the CURTA is as new and calculating very well as at it's first day. | |
| 599 | Francesco Marcolla | mork(at)ork.it | Milan ITALY |
1 | 0 | 48863 | "Discovered Curta while looking on the web for info about slide rules and other vintage calculators. Fell in love with the device. Took me some years to buy mine on the Internet, but it was well worth the wait " | |
| 600 | James A Johnson FRICS | James(at)lewisdoyle.com | Knightsbridge, London SW3 2ND, England UK |
1 | 0 | 22143 | Perfect condition, left to me by my Father who bought it new | |
| 601 | R. N. Labas | rnlabas(at)e2ipi.net | Santiago CHILE |
1 | 1 | 45160 514112 |
My email address should reveal enough of why I can still appreciate the Curta ... | |
| 602 | Chris Osburn | kd7dvd(at)gmail.com | Seattle, Washington USA |
0 | 1 | 513196 | A lucky Internet find. Contina_Curta_Type_II | |
| 603 | CARLOS MUCINO | Jesus(at)pisoswooden.com or mucino(at)pisoswooden.com |
Mexico City MEXICO |
(55) 52597915 |
0 | 1 | 501697 | extra info |
| 604 | Thomas Schmidt | gdearle(at)earthlink.net | Los Altos, California USA |
1 | 0 | 53295 | Purchased new in 1962 for auto rally use. I bought it from the Curta dealer in Van Nuys California. The Curta replaced my slide rule (except for transcendental calculations) in my college science classes. It fell into disuse when I acquired an HP-35 in 1970. The HP-35 replaced both the Curta and a book of trigonometry and log tables. I disassembled the Curta once. It took weeks to reassemble. The Curta dealer kindly supplied replacements for several tiny parts which went astray in the process. I believe that these parts are made from an alloy called "vanishing steel." Set one down on a table, leave the room and it will vanish. Unless you have unlimited free time, don't take one apart. | |
| 605 | Ted Richardson | tedrich(at)zoomtown.com | Cincinnati, Ohio USA |
1 | 0 | 21296 | Gary Steinbaugh (Curta SN 43241) introduced me to the mechanical wonder of the Curta calculator. I bought mine through an online auction and I plan on making a pest of myself by demonstrating it as often as possible. | |
| 606 | Jeffrey Dennis | jeffreybdennis(at)msn.com | Portland, Oregon USA |
0 | 1 | 520032 | I got my CURTA from my Dad, still in like new condition! He was a Mortgage Banker and used it to calculate interest and payments. He tried to teach me how to use it in the 60's but then the electronic calculator just came out and I lost interest. I still have the original Computing Examples book that came with it and the metal hard case that screws apart with left hand threads! | |
| 607 | Steve McKelvie | shanna12(at)comcast(dot)net | Franklin, Massachusetts USA |
0 | 1 | 546803 | I acquired this CURTA in the summer of 2007 in order to have a calculator that I could use for vintage car rallys that might not permit the use of electronic calculators. I bought the unit from a person in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada who had obtained the unit from a local surveyor. The name "Ted Carter" appears on the plastic storage container and the initials "JGF" are scrtached on the bottom of the unit. A sticker on the inside of the plastic container indicates that the unit was originally sold by "CURTA Calculators of Canada, Ltd., 3286 Dundas Street West, Toronto 9, Ontario." I bought this unit to be used and the few scratches on the bottom of the CURTA do not bother me. | |
| 608 | Bruno Perrone | bruno(at)telconet.net | Guayaquil ECUADOR |
1 | 0 | 25356 | My father owned a Curta Type I, No. 25356. He past away on 1994, and since then this little marvellous belongs to me. I have read the Reader's Digest article writed by Mr. Cliff Stoll some months ago and I got new interest on it and I have just checked the page of The List of Curta, so I ask you if you can add mine. | |
| 609 | Chris Warman | bookshelf(at)quietfarm.com | Surry, New Hampshire USA |
1 | 0 | 39353 | Born in 1954 in Nebraska, I was a science nerd in high school and drooled over the Curta ads in Scientific American. Flash forward to me working in a New Hampshire bookstore in the 1990's. A co-worker's husband dies unexpectedly and she brings in a bunch of his "gizmos" that she thought I might want. Among them is a mint Type I Curta. He was into road rallying and had several for that, but was also an architect and this one was his office unit. Not a scratch, dent or ding. Not even any signs of wear. I've been in her debt ever since. I wish I had aged as gracefully as Mr. (or Ms?) 39353. (p.s. I'm also an HP fan. Love my aged HP41CX and 12C - both still working hard) | |
| 610 | Colleen Brent | cbrent(at)lmi.net | 1 | 0 | 20226 | I just unearthed my Father's Curta (I remember how irritated my Mother was at the "splurge"). | ||
| 611 | Randall Hoeppner | randallg1957.1119(at)yahoo.com | 1 | 0 | 60736 | I found the curta registry and thought I would join up. I am 49 years old. I had been a computer programmer back in the punch card days. I work in health care now. I read about the curta in Smithsonian several years ago and decided to try and obtain one. I finally bought a type I in the original metal case with the top rubber in very good condition. It functions very well, and passed all the tests as mentioned on the website. The serial number is 60736. I think it is a 1965 model made in March I think. It has the metal ring and the knurled crank handle. No dents scratches or blemishes of any kind. I am now looking for a type 2 to add to my new hobby. Thanks for the good information, and the link to all of us who enjoy interesting devices!! Best wishes Randy | ||
| 612 | Mamoru UMEMURA | umemura-my(at)fiberbit.net | Fuchu-city, Tokyo JAPAN |
+81-42-334-5646 |
1 | 0 | 64008 | My father, alredy died in 1995, purchased the CURTA in late 60's. It's still in mint condition, in the plastic box. I use it as an educational marerial at 1st day of my computer architecture class. |
| 613 | Lyle Cunningham | lylec(at)hd-architects.com | Tempe, Arizona USA |
0 | 1 | 510849 | I acquired my CURTA from a long-time collegue and friend to use in time and distance rallyes. After using it for five or more years, Howard Roth (deceased) gave it to me and I have held onto it ever since. | |
| 614 | Jacqueline Jambor | jambor_family(at)yahoo.com | Parker, Colorado USA |
1 | 0 | 545611 | My father-in-law, Dr. Jambor, purchased this Curta in 1968. I still have the service agreement and paperwork. He never really used the machine. He gave it to me while I was finishing my engineering degree and I have stored it in my desk since. The machine is in mint condition. I have attached two pictures. | |
| 615 | Robert (Bob) K. Otnes | botnes(at)pacbell.net | 2160 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, California USA |
650-324-1821 | 1 | 0 | 5028 | Bought it from a dealer (Rick Blankenhorn, The Gemmary) who in turn bought it from someone is South America. Works fine, but is somewhat worn. That is, a small amount of paint is gone from edges, particularly on the bottom. Came with what appears to be the original metal container. This has paint wear in a few places. There is a small hole (does not go through) on the top of the lid that looks like it once had a small screw. Have two or three others of various models, including one brand new in box which I bought from a retail dealer. However, this latter one has problems: misalignment of the top right. I collect adders and calculators, especially 19th century American ones. Also, of course, slide rules. |
| 616 | Skip Hudspeth | skip(at)perigee.net | Huntersville, North Carolina USA |
0 | 1 | 507475 | I first learned of Curtas this year (2007) and quickly became enthralled with these wonderful little machines. After searching for several months, I acquired my first Curta (a black body Type II) through the Internet. I'm now looking for a Curta Type I. I'm enjoying talking with other Curta enthusiasts and learning more about the history of these devices. I've also learned of the Curta's connection with road rallying and feel myself being pulled in that direction as well. I stumbled onto Curtas about 6 months ago and have become quite enchanted by the little devices. I first purchased a black body Type II, and then a gray body Type II. I'm now waiting for delivery of a later model Type I. I've enjoyed reading all the great Curta information you and others have provided on the Internet. | |
| 617 | Noel JOUENNE | njouenne(at)orange.fr | Saint-Etienne FRANCE |
0 | 2 | 508041 549468 |
(French) La premiere a appartenu au grand-pere de ma femme, le professeur Jean Chevreau, professeur de medecine au CHU de Creteil. Il l'a achete neuve en 1956. Comme je collectionne les instruments de calcul (regles a calcul, calculatrices mecaniques et electroniques) c'est “naturellement” qu'elle m'a ete confiee. J'ai fait l'acquisition de la seconde en 2006 grace a la generosite d'un Internaute, collectionneur d'avion, qui me l'a proposee pour 150 euros. Sans doute m'at-til trouve sympathique. C'etait un cadeau qu'un de ses amis lui avait fait dans les annees 1970. Il ne voulait transmettre cet objet a quelqu'un qui en prendrait soin. J'espère ne pas le décevoir. En France, c'est la maison INNOVA, 10 rue des Ours a Paris, qui commercialisa les Curta. Sur mon site. J'ai depose une publicite des annees 1950 qui represente la Curta I en action ! (English) The first belonged to my wife's grandfather, Professor Jean Chevreau, professor of medicine at University Hospital in Creteil. He bought new in 1956. As I collected the calculation instruments (slide rules, mechanical and electronic calculators) it is "naturally" been entrusted to me. I had purchased the second in 2006 thanks to the generosity of an Internet user, a collector of aircraft, which I had proposed for 150 euros. Undoubtedly he found me sympathetic. It was a gift that one of his friends had done for him in the 1970's. He only wanted to convey that object to someone who would take care of it. I hope not to disappoint. In France, INNOVA, 10 rue des Ours in Paris, which sold the Curta. On my site, I put an advertisement of the 1950 which represents the Curta I in action! http://pagesperso-orange.fr/noel.jouenne/curta.html | |
| 618 | Frank Davies | frankdavies(at)sympatico.ca | 1 | 0 | 12991 | I came across your name on one of the more official Curta websites. My father gave me a Curta calculator many years ago that was presented to him: Type 1 - # 12991 (November 1950). | ||
| 618a | 2008 |
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| 619 | Federico Thomas | fthomas(at)iri.upc.edu | Barcelona SPAIN |
1 | 0 | 15539 | I'm very found of antique mechanical instruments. I bought my Curta at auction on the Internet from a French seller.
It is in mint condition with almost no sign of use. It was originally bought from the Curta sales representative in Paris, as indicated in a
sticker placed just above its serial number:
INNOVA concessionnaire exclusif 10 rue aux ours - Paris 9 r n d des victoires - Paris Tel 887 46 80 |
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| 620 | Scott Copeland | scott1956(at)aol.com | Derry, New Hampshire USA |
603-437-5821 | 1 | 0 | 8462 | My dad was a mechanical engineer for the Corning Glass Works and he got it from a friend. He was very proud of it, but still preferred to use a slide rule. |
| 621 | Steve Denne | stevedenne(at)btinternet.com | 1 | 0 | 11373 | I have a Curta Type 1 No.11373, It was bought for my Mother I believe mid '60s by her then Boss, she treasured it throughout her working life and still used it when everyone else had switched to calculators. Despite being used daily it shows no sign of wear, I do believe that it was regularly serviced by "Automatic Business Machines Limited" London SW6. Sadly my Mother passed away four years ago this is how I have it. It is in its original metal case and has the suppliers ID fixed to it. I have never seen another Curta and it was only because I had forgotten how to use it I did a search on the internet, I am quite surprised to see what an Icon it is. | ||
| 622 | SOLD | SOLD | Bonn (close to Cologne) GERMANY |
2 | 2 | 40030 50504 506551 512407 |
These Curta's were sold but this is a great story: I live in Bonn in Germany and here come my details and my story how and why I am a happy owner of some Curtas. Please forgive me my poor English knowledge, it is not my first language. In my story further down you will find a link that is hopefully interesting for you because it points you to the world's largest collection of historical mechanical calculating machines. The collection is displayed in its own museum called the Arithmeum here in Bonn. You will find some information under www.arithmeum.de. I would be glad if you could add my Curta details and my story to your Curta Registry Page. As a collector of mechanical calculators I had of course to include a Curta in my collection. Then one more. Then one more. Then one more... Unfortunately I did not have the privilege to be a first hand user of a Curta, so I never bought one during its production time. Instead, I purchased my four Curtas later, as a collector. One Curta Type I is in almost mint condition with the infamous exemption that the former owner of course once forgot to retract the clearing lever with the result that it broke. Although I have a new lever I never replaced it for the sake of authenticity. The other Curta Typ I own was used by an engineer for years. I like that fact because this is the main intention of any Curta - therefore it is my most favourite Curta in my collection. The machine has been completely cleaned up both inside and outside and it still operates as smoothly as if it has just been built. One Curta type II is in mint condition. The early Curta type II is in very fine condition, it was also used in a small engineers office. The office was established in 1952 and had a few Curtas in use. The type II machine was purchased by the office in 1955 but it seems to have seldom been used by the engineers. After receiving the machine from the engineer's daughter I discovered that it has a prime serial number 506551. Even the production number 6551 is a prime number, the higher pair of a twin prime number couple. This early model has the features of the first Curta Type II machines such as: black body, old round shaped metal protective case, metal clearing lever and metal crank. I am a collector of calculating machines and have established a small collection of machines of many different brands like Curta, Brunsviga, Odhner, Hannovera, Lipsia, Walther, Rema, Hamann-Manus, Triumphator, Comptator, Comptometer, Addiator, Resulta, Facit, Addi, Argenta, Schubert, Summira, Rheinmetall, etc. Most of my collection is on display in a semi-public exhibition within a German governmental IT office and has the intention to give an overview of the history of mechanical computing, so the message of the exhibition fits its location. I live in Bonn, the former capital of Germany, an old and small town in the west of Germany, at the river Rhine, close to Cologne. Bonn has a University with an Institute for Discrete Mathematics that has a famous collection of historical mechanical calculating machines, it comprises more than 1200 pieces, apparently it is the largest collection in the world. The collection is displayed in its own museum called the Arithmeum. You will find information under www.arithmeum.de, however, the museum's webpage does not live up to the life fascination of this museum because the site does not display its fine collection online. So if you should ever be in Germany and if you have the chance you should come to Bonn and visit the museum Arithmeum right in the town-centre. I promise you will like it. Besides, if you are also interested in classical music and if you have some time left you could also visit the museum and birthplace of Beethoven, the composer, it is within walking distance to the Arithmeum. | |
| 623 | John Wells | janputte(at)gmail.com | KwaZulu Natal SOUTH AFRICA |
+27 83 350-5487 | 1 | 0 | 11259 | My father-in-law was Professor LGR van Dongen, a retired Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was an avid Veteran & Vintage car enthusiast, and no doubt bought his Curta for rallying in the mid-fifties. Of interest is that he and his wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Gaudie were instrumental in introducing the first ultrasound machines into South Africa. Leon died two years ago, aged 86, and Betty followed a year later. The mint-condition calculator in its black steel reverse-thread canister stays as a reminder of a truly superb couple. |
| 624 | Duncan Brown | duncanjbrown(at)yahoo.co.uk | Leamington Spa UK |
0 | 1 | 500814 | Just been on the website and thought I would join the "long" list of Curta collectors. The curta was my father's who collected all types of calculating devices from abacus to the very first electronic calculators. This is the only remaining piece from his collection unfortunately. As far as I can tell this is one of the very early Curta Type II machines. Learning how to use it using the online manual. Such an amazing piece of kit. | |
| 625 | Jorge GARCIA SANCHEZ | arromanches2020(at)yahoo.com | Madrid SPAIN |
0 | 1 | 512435 514406-D |
"The sn 514406 is a Curta DEMO Gold" | |
| 626 | Patrick Moser | moser_patrick(at)hotmail.com | Winterthur, Zurich SWITZERLAND |
1 | 0 | 2921 | It is a CURTA Type I, I think it should be from 1949, it has stil his originial (also if a little scratched) container with the "normal" righthand thread. The machine itself is in really good conditions, on the innerside of the bottom baseplate there is 6.4.71 (6 april 1971) scrached in it, I suppose that's the date of the last maintenance done to it. My father had this "thing" around his office but he didn't know what exactly it was, he just told me it was some kind of calculator but he had no idea how it worked, he had received the CURTA from my grandfather wich was an accauntant. A day I got the CURTA in my hands and decided to find out what exactly it was and how it worked, and thanks to the internet I found this site here. It is somewhat a curious coincidence, I am studying mechanical engineering right now and this great mechanical device just happens to pass into my hands. I think it will help me greatly also on the exames, as the rules there usually are sated as "no electronical device", so I'd actually have a good advantage with my CURTA . | |
| 627 | M Tugrul Tosun | tugrul(at)ttmail.com | Istanbul TURKEY |
+90 555 3560 555 | 1 | 0 | 36969 | "Allways wanted to have one as a student but could not afford it. I even forgot the name of it. Recently It came back to me and picked this one off E-bay; Very pleased." |
| 628 | Kent Schiner | kschiner(at)finsvcs.com | 0 | 1 | 63505 | Many years ago, when I was in Switzerland, I purchased a Curta Type 1 # 63505 Its in excellent shape. I did lose the black knob on the turning handle. My question is how do I get a Manuel and black knob as I misplaced my Manuel years ago. Any information would be appreciated. My friend in the next office saw the Curta which I keep on my desk and found this web site . I am utterly amazed that there is such interest in this amazing calculator which I forgot how to use. Your help is needed as I would like to learn to operate this again. | ||
| 629 | Anthony Wolfenden | awolfend(at)gmail.com | Runaway Bay, QLD AUSTRALIA |
+61-416-444-444 | 1 | 1 | 49541 531417 |
My father, an accountant, showed me the unit in 1974 or 1975 but sadly passed away that year. My mother kept it with a number of items my father cherished for a number of years. Sometime in the early 90's the family accountant who had worked with my father showed me how to use the unit for the four basic arithmetic operations. It has been in my possession ever since, brought out of it's case to show curious visitors. I have the Curta in the original left screw metal case and a slim paper manual also. The unit appears to be in very good condition, thought the clearing ring sometimes "misses" the first result column. I would like to get it serviced at some point. |
| 630 | Des Harrison | desharrison(at)hotmail.com | 1 | 0 | 3103 | A friend of mine has given me a Curta which belonged to his farther inlaw who was an accountant. This calculator is in excellent working condition. The serial number 3103 A rough estimate from the vcalc website would be about mid 1949? I have no idea how it works. Where can i get an operation instruction manual? I am keen to use it. | ||
| 631 | Mika Saari | saatanss(at)welho.com | Vantaa FINLAND |
+358505600123 | 1 | 0 | 61275 | My dad gave it to me |
| 632 | Yorman Alberto Collado Orta | colladoy(at)hotmail.com | Caracas, DF Venezuela | 1 | 0 | 44766 | I buy this calculator in 1962 or 1963 year, in HELMUND STORE, "today closed", in Av. Urdaneta, Caracas Venezuela. Is in perfect working condition. As new. Realy. | |
| 633 | Peter Gray | grayhaven07(at)yahoo.co.uk | Sydney, NSW AUSTRALIA |
061 2 46 208 646 | 2 | 0 | 17253 14387-DB |
Purchased yesterday as the last item seen on our 2week holiday to New Zealand. I saw them in a display case and thought I knew what it was but the cut aways on the boxed one through me! thre owners had no I dea what it was and thought it may be drill bits! I was prepared to take a punt on it being what I thought and we started to chat. when talking about the price he said said it is a precision instrument and I said But you dont know what it does so we all agreed... what ever it is it does it very very well. I purchased them both for $40 NZ I understand from reading you info page that the demo model is rare. This would be the 4th known? The numbers are type 1 -17253 Used -Excellent inside the case and some wear to the exterior of the carry case. The boxed demo is type 1 -14387 in near mint all intact all spaces filled and clean all over. The cut aways had us worried we did not know why bits wew missinf till we read your blurb - Very Helpful thanks. If as you say there is only 1 per country then this would be the New Zealand one we assume. Can we tell for sure? Any way I thought you may be interested and if you could give me an indication of the Value that would assist too. |
| 634 | Amanda Haste | amanda.haste(at)btinternet.com | Sidmouth, England UK |
0 | 1 | 510400 | My father died last month and I found his Curta among his papers. It always fascinated me as a child, though I never really understood how it worked. However, now that I have the machine, used but in good condition (in its metal case, with foam), and also pristine copies of the instructions and computing examples, I shall attempt to work it out! This is a Curta II which Dad bought in Dec 1956, just before I was born, though there is also the date 1953 written on the Computing Examples. Can you tell me whether a 1953 manufacturing date sounds likely? The serial number is 510400, made by Contina Ltd Mauren in Liechtenstein and bought from ABM Automatic Business Machines Ltd of 11, Wyfold Rd, London SW6. I'm so pleased I found your site, and so many Curta enthusiasts, as I've been able to fill in a lot of blanks about this amazing little machine. | |
| 635 | paolo lorenzi | paolol_67(at)yahoo.it | Bergamo ITALY |
2 | 2 | 50315 56382 501471 544078 |
Being a lover and collector of antique/vintage mechanical calculators the Curta's couldn't be a miss in my collection along with Mr. Curta's book ("Keine geschenk fur den Furer") and articles about these faboulous mechanical jewels. Congratulations for the faboulous website about Curta's mechanical jewels. I liked it a lot. | |
| 636 | J.Carlos A.M. | cacoaer(at)yahoo.com.br | Rio de Janeiro BRAZIL |
0 | 1 | 53520 | Perfect condition, left to me by my Uncle in 80`s decade. My curta is as good as new, still in its original storage. | |
| 637 | Arthur S. Cohen | xe1ll(at)prodigy.net.mx | Ibsen 72 Mexico City MEXICO |
0 | 1 | 540996 | When I was in Liechtenstein in about 1966 I purchased a new Curta calculator that I have never used. Just only today I found your web page that showed posters that I can buy and I would like to do so. My problem is that I do not understand which poster applies to my Curta. Its serial number is 540996. From the photos I down loaded it is a Type II-2. I have the following questions: Are new Curta calculators available and what are their prices? My Curta is in its original outter box, in its original plastic protective case, with its various instructions, and other papers. Is it a collector's item? If so what the approximate value it might have? Where is the market for this calculator? | |
| 638 | Marcelo Araujo | marceloacastro(at)hotmail.com | Belo Horizonte (MG) BRAZIL |
55 31 9967-4292 |
1 | 0 | 5102 | I own a Curta, SN 5102, in perfect condition, with original case (see attached fotos). I'd like to know if you may tell me if the year of its manufacture is 1949 and how much it may cost in the colector's market. |
| 639 | Peter G Smith | peter(at)mwups.com | 6, Hillfield Mansions Haverstock Hill, London, England NW3 UK |
44 7710 251311 | 1 | 0 | 36495 | I purchased this Curta new in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1958. Regrettably I can't
remember what I paid for it.
It is engraved:
Sole SA Agents SUTTNERS PO Box 6490 Johannesburg I bought it as a tool for use in car rallying, where one "handle turn" for each tenth-mile completed could display the scheduled exact due time. In conjunction with a variety of Halda equipment, equally mechanical and remarkable, this brought me moderate success and great satisfaction The Curta, sadly having lost the finger-hole of the "clear" lever, features proudly in my small collection of mechanical and early electronic calculators. Regards, and keep up the good work. |
| 640 | Dan Johnson | djohnson(at)patchservices.com | Vacaville, California USA |
0 | 1 | 515981 | My brother found this in a friends garage and said, "Dan would love this". So he sent it to me about a week before final exams with no instructions. What a dirty trick! I sat for hours trying to figure the thing out. I was in my junior year of my BS degree in mechanical engineering. I was never able to figure out how to subtract until I saw one on a drafting store display case. Now I know to lift the crank. My small children used to ask if they could play with "gadget". I wonder what it's value is. Not that I would ever sell it. | |
| 641 | BETTON Serge | esbetton(at)orange.fr | Guillestre (Dans les Hautes Alpes, France) | 0 | 1 | 556895 | Hello
My english is very bad! I am French I have a Curta Type II N° 556895 Made in Liechtenstein En francais: Professeur de Mathematiques a la retraite (no active..; 62 years old) J'ai enseigne a Lyon avec ces machines dans les annees 1974 environ |
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| 642 | James Walpole | JJHWalpole(at)aol.com | Alford, Lincolnshire UK |
0 | 1 | 500025 | I bought it from someone in Portsmouth, England - I was very lucky, as he didn't realise what he'd got and only one other serious collector saw the advert, so I got it relatively cheap. Of course, it's only the oldest type 2 until someone finds an even earlier one! Still, the 25th one ever made isn't bad. | |
| 643 | Dr. Tom Mote | pytom(at)satx.rr.com | San Antonio, Texas USA |
210 736 5786 |
1 | 0 | 71866 | I am a retired astronomy prof who attends the Texas Star Party every year. A dozen or so years ago another attendee had a CURTA which, like a Questar, had aroused my lust for many years. He was a better "swapper" than I and relieved my of all the spare dollars I had plus several expensive expensive Nagler eyepieces. My CURTA was and still is in pristine condition and I suspect that I didn't do too badly in the swap after all. I am interested in learning what the going price is for Model I CURTAs now adays. Note: I eventually was able to obtain the long lusted for QUESTAR telescope in another swap and, although it was a beautiful example of optical and machine work, I quickly learned that it hadn't been worth the wait. I swapped it off in fairly short order. <G> |
| 644 | Alfredo Monteiro de Castro Neto | alfredomcn(at)hotmail.com | Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo BRAZIL |
55-16-9136-8597 |
1 | 0 | 8556 | The Curta was used by my father-Joao Nilton Ramos de Castro and I used too in college in 1971. |
| 645 | David Ferster | ferster(at)ameritech.net | Wilmette, Illinois USA |
1 | 0 | 16925 | The case is heavily scuffed, but the machine itself is nearly pristine. Purchased on the web from an antiques dealer. I'd never heard of them before this, but got introduced by an article on the internet a couple of weeks ago. There happened to be one for sale on the web, as well, so I bought it. Turns out to be a pretty early one (Jan, 1952, if I have it right), and it's in amazing condition (except for the case). What a stunningly beautiful piece of machinery. I am in awe. | |
| 646 | Elaine Long | long(at)micro.co.bw | Gaborone, Botswana AFRICA | 0 | 1 | 555279 | I inherited my beautiful Curta Type 11 - serial No. 555279 -from my father who bought it new. It has a black leather carry case with strap. I was wondering if this was an option with the Curta or did my father have the case made especially? I have had the Curta now for 25 years and never used it. The manual didn't come with the Curta when I inherited it and I am now trying to find out how to use the Curta from the internet. I would love to purchase a manual if someone out there has one. Please register me on your site. I must admit I didn't know there was so much information on the Curta out there and your site is absolutely amazing, has totally blow me away to see how many people enjoy this calculator. Thank you for a very informative site. | |
| 647 | Andy Stocker | ajstocker(at)sbcglobal.net | 8772 Bluff Lane Fair Oaks, California USA |
1 | 0 | 62534 | I bought my Curta from a fellow rallyist for $100 in 1967. That same year we started a car rally club - California United Rallying and Touring Association (CURTA) in Davis CA. The Curta still works smoothly after all these years and has that common discolored spot from all the hours being held tightly as we bounced around the back roads of Northern California. | |
| 648 | Daniel Oberlerchner | doberlec[*at*]gmail[dod]com | Munich, Bavaria GERMANY |
1 | 0 | 11307 | I was introduced to the Curta about half a year ago and beeing kind of a geek I wanted one badly. Not only because they are rare but because I marvel at the fine details in which these machines were built. I mean we wonder today about our current technologies which (so it seems) haven't reached their summit yet but the Curta was by all means one of the most intricate and elegant machines build by men for the sole perpose of crunshing numbers back in the days. So, after watching several online auctions I got lucky and was able to secure a Type I Curta (clearing ring and handle in metal - silver subtraction ring) with a rather low serial number (11307). It is in extremely good shape and purrs its numbers nicely. It has a red sticker from ABM of London on it and came with no manuals. The pads inside the metal cylinder are still inside as is the white o-ring to make the whole case watertight. The man who sold it to me is a collector of everything mechanical and old and he said he picked it up in London on a collectors fair. The trace of the machine ends there for me but if anyone out there knows more about the origin of this machine, feel free to contact me. Your website was one of the best locations to get an overview about this lovely machine which was produced about 50 years ago. Thanks in advance for your work and keep the spirit of Hertzstark alive | |
| 649 | Franco Ruffini | Fruffini49(at)gmail.com | Delaware, Ohio USA |
614-747-3013 | 0 | 2 | 544983 542195 |
544983: I purchased my Curta II while attending a historic preservation conference in Bloomington, Indiana in October, 2008. While on my way out of town I stopped at an antique mall and saw the Curta in a display case filled with a variety of collectibles. An accompanying card indicated that the Curta belonged to a single individual. I contacted the seller through the antique mall and found that the Curta was purchased by Raglind Binkley in Germany for her father, Walter Herrel, an electrical engineer working in South America at the time she purchased the calculator for him. He returned to Frankfort, Germany where he worked for AEG until he retired. Upon his death a couple of years ago, the Curta passed back to Ms. Binkley, who later decided to sell it in her booth at the antique mall with the hope that it would end up with someone who would appreciate it. It did. 542195: I purchased this Curta at the estate sale of David B Selby who was involved in media production at Ohio State University and an avid tool collector. PS: Great web site. |
| 650 | John Byrne | John.Byrne(at)cs.tcd.ie | Dublin IRELAND |
1 | 0 | 68295 | I bought my Curta from Desmond Squire, Portobello Road, London for, I think, about £400. It is in excellent condition. I had bought one previously but it was stolen from my house. I first came across the Curta when I met Professor Cornelius Lanczos in 1962. He was a very distinguished numerical analyst (among other things) and used it extensively. I always wanted one since then. He worked at the time in the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies | |
| 651 | Peter W. Allen | pwallen(at)optonline.net | Long Beach, New York USA |
516-889-1551 |
1 | 0 | 24149 | I purchased my Curta on the Internet a few years ago, after reading the fascinating article that appeared in Reader's Digest in July of 2005. |
| 652 | Nico Heemskerk | nico.heemskerk(at)gmail.com | Nijmegen, Holland NETHERLANDS |
1 | 1 | 61501 513077 |
My Curta I is in excellent condition, but I miss the upper half of its storage can. My Curta II has some flaws but is in working condition. I'm an enthousiastic collector of slide rules and the first mechanical computing machines. So I knew that the Curta exists, and I looked everywhere in Holland and I advertised many times, but I seemes that there are no Curta's in Holland or people does not want to sell them. And of course...the money was a problem. At last I bought the Curta's on the Internet. Not so romantic, but now I have them. | |
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| 653 | Marek Niemand | niemands(at)brevet.nu | Goteborg SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 45725 | Receivet as a present from my father in law. He received it as a graduation present when he was done at a technical college back in early 60-ties The calculator is in an absolute mint condition. There is not even a smalest scratch on the metal case.Unfortunately the papers ( purchase note and the original instruction ) have been lost. | |
| 654 | Nick A. Yinger | nayinger(at)comcast.net | Redmond, Washington USA |
425-869-6101 | 0 | 1 | 552368 | I bought my CURTA new in 1968 or 1969 for about $150. I am a professional land surveyor licensed in four western states. I used my CURTA every work day to perform trigonometric calculations in the field involving 8-place trig functions from printed tables. In 1972 I bought a HP-35 ( for about $400 - a princely sum) mainly because it contained the trig functions and I didn't have to carry the book of tables around any more. It was never as satisfying to use. When I took my first 16 hour licensing exam in 1968 electronic calculators hadn't been invented yet, office type calculators were not allowed because they were too noisy, and slide rules were not precise enough, so almost all the applicants used CURTAs. A few old-timers used log-trig tables. Imagine a room full of 50 to 100 surveyors all cranking away like crazy; it sounded like "The Attack of the Killer Bees". I often show my CURTA to young surveyors who weren't born yet in 1972 and sometimes even let them hold it and do a simple calculation. I enjoy your site very much. I think Olaf Veenstra's animation is amazing. |
| 655 | Mike VanLoo | loopdeloo02(at)aol.com | near Brighton, Michigan USA |
0 | 1 | 557457 | In the late 1960s, I became interested in performance rallies and was fortunate enough to be in Michigan, where the hotbed of the best rallyists in the United States belonged to the Ralligators. Bill Braund taught me how to use his Curta and then I acquired my first one around 1970. I lost that Curta and then happened upon my current one in the mid-70s from a mathematician/astronomer who used it to calculate star positions. It went into retirement until 1985 when I entered One Lap of America with Gene Henderson and Su Kemper. Rally rules did not allow electronic computers of any type. It was like visiting an old friend. I was also working with a true German craftsman, Walter Dahm, who took a professional interest in this machine. By "craftsman," I mean when he graduated from his technical school his graduation project was to make a pocket watch which he still possessed many decades later. He would clean and lubricate my Curta meticulously while explaining to me why the cases have left-handed threads ... delicate optical and measuring instruments were stored that way so that you would pay particular attention as you opened the case not to damage them. Meaning, it required a conscious effort to gain your attention so that the device would not fall out and be broken. It's not only my love of mechanical ingenuity that will keep me holding on to my jewels from our past that include a Halda Speedpilot and my abstract and ever-capable Curta, it's the fact that I have a "war wound" on my chin from the impact of my Curta clipping me during a M O N Y series event!! | |
| 656 | David R. Greer | dnagreer(at)charter.net | Spring Lake, Michigan USA |
616 846 1722 |
0 | 1 | 537077 | Today I am a retired Land Surveyor after a professional career of thirty-six years. My surveying career began following my graduation from Wayne State University in 1960. Over the years I became a licensed surveyor in the states of : Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Florida. I was appointed to the Board of Licensing for Surveyors for the State of Michigan where I served for eight years; four years as the Chairman of the Board. When I started surveying in 1960 all trigonometric calculations involved the use of a book " Natural Sines, Cosines and Tangents to Eight Decimal Places," a pencil and ruled sheets of paper ; thus all calculations were " long hand !" This process was cumbersome but it taught " attention to detail " a must to be a good surveyor! I am not sure of the year but believe it to be 1963 or 1964 that the Curta Type II became available and I bought one! It was revolutionary, I could at last get rid of those ruled sheets of paper and not have to add those endless columns of numbers. This change was for me, every bit as stunning as the HP electronic calculator was when it appeared in 1970! Today, my Type II is in it's original numbered box with the literature as sent by The Curta Company, Van Nuys, California. I could not have passed the licensing exaninations in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Florida without my Type II curta! |
| 657 | Byron Johnson | b2j2(at)earthlink.net | Edgecomb, Maine USA |
0 | 1 | 551424 | I am semi-retired as a civil engineer, and still do some work in California, where my license includes land surveying. My first paid surveying (1954) was on a construction field crew in Alaska, and I remember the party chief doing his calculations in pencil on wood lath using logarithms (probably to five places--we were doing rough staking). Our field office had electro-mechanical calculators and the trig function books. Later I opened my own office in Southern California and bought (ca. 1964) a Type II for my field crew. Unfortunately it was dropped into some sand and severely damaged. In 1975 I found a place in Van Nuys that repaired Curtas and sent it in. Finding the damaged unit good only for parts, the repair person (John Hariton) sold me a reconditioned Type II for $55.00, with a trade-in allowance of $15.00. It's now on a shelf with 2 slide rules (ca. 1928 and 1948), Leroy lettering set (ca. 1946), highway curves (ca. 1962), and a planimeter (ca. 1962). The Leroy and planimeter still see occasional use. | |
| 658 | James Nichols | jim(at)patinatools.com | Monterey, California USA |
0 | 1 | 541715? | My father was an antique dealer in St Louis, MO USA and he gave it to me for a gift. | |
| 659 | Leo Vertenten | lpvcomp(at)gmail.com | Bloemfontein SOUTH AFRICA |
0 | 1 | 512615 | : I have a Curta Calculator Type II serial 512615 with a steel round dome top case, as also the original sales brochure, instruction manual and calculator booklet which all came with the calculator. It is excellent condition, in fact the same condition as at time of purchase. Every ounce in a while I take it from the case and lightly lubricate it with sewing machine oil. It is a fantastic build hand held mechanical instrument and I would never sell it. I purchased the Curta Type II when I was a University Engineering student before purchase I used a slide rule, I am now retired and so is my Curta. I am sending this e-mail to you after reading many interesting items about the Curta on various Internet web sites and thought I would provide this info to you of interest. The calculator was purchased and used during my student University studies in the facility of Engineering, upgraded from using a slide rule. The CURTA is in prime condition and still use it from time to time for sentimental reasons. Computers are now used for Engineering calculations. | |
| 660 | Chris Kantarjiev | cak(at)dimebank.com | Palo Alto, California USA |
1 | 0 | 16949 | I knew, vaguely, about the Curta, but it was an object far too precious for me to contemplate. At some point in the early 90s, I decided to go looking for one. This was before the web, so I posted ads on Usenet. I found one about an hour South of me and went to look. The owner lived in a classic Santa Cruz mountain "squatter's house", spread wide and furnished comfortably. He brought out a pristine Type I in its can, and we quickly struck a deal. (Sadly, no documents.) He told me "It's a little sticky" and indeed it was. I had no idea what I was doing, really, but I did a partial disassembly and got solvent into the right places on the setting shafts to set it right again. A little bit of Kano Microil and I haven't had to lube it again in 15 years. The can is in good shape, with the white O ring intact. The bottom pad was missing - I didn't *know* that it should be there, but it seemed really unlikely that the original design was metal on metal, so I installed a pad of black closed cell foam. I use it, very occasionally, for vintage rally... and wish I'd gone looking for a Type II before everyone figured out what they're worth! | |
| 661 | Bob Lincoln | pine3(at)comcast.net | Hartford, Connecticut USA |
860 953 3807 |
1 | 0 | 45986 | Obtained: In 1959 I purchased my CURTA Type I, S/N 45986, for $125 in its aluminum case. At that time I used it for time, speed, distance, (TSD) sports car club rallyes. I participated in the 1960 (SCCA) Sports Car Club of America's Gaspe Canada) Rallye [ le Rallye Gaspesian ] with it. That was an International Rallye which ran approximately 1000 miles from Caribou, Maine, through the Gaspe Peninsula to Perce, in Canada, ending up in Quebec City. I also used it for general calculating purposes (since this was before electronic hand-held calculators) and a lot lighter and more convenient than the Marchand and other heavy desktop electric calculators, and by far, more accurate than the extensively used slide rule. I have also used a Type II CURTA for the same purposes. At the time, I did a lot of research on these calculators prior to purchase, on the product and the developer, Curt Herzstark, an Austrian, who conceived the idea for his calculators while a prisoner in the German concentration camp Buchenwald, during World War II. A most interesting story!!! Mine is still in mint condition and hardly ever used anymore because of the availability of current electronic calculators and personal computers. I do occasionally take it out and refresh my memory about its functions and its proper usage...and the fun we had being able to make instant rallye calculations and/or corrections with a simple turn of the crank. |
| 662 | Jay Leukart | jleukart(at)charter.net | Monroe, Connecticut USA |
1 | 0 | 20005 | I have a a mint condition Curta Type 1 SN: 20005 with the original [metal] canister case (also mint condition) that I am interested in selling to a good home. This one was my father's and I know someone would enjoy it more than I do. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please feel free to forward them my email. | |
| 663 | David J Davis | Daraamanthas(at)yahoo.com | Victorville, California USA |
0 | 1 | 504533 | I obtained a CURTA calculator in late 2006 while deployed to Iraq. While working intelligence, a source brought it to us thinking that it was some sort of charging device for IEDs. I was the only person who had ever heard of or even seen a mechanical calculator and I quickly identified it as what it is. To this day, no one believes me unless I show them your website. | |
| 664 | R. Brian Andrews | r.brian.andrews(at)gmail.com | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania USA |
0 | 1 | 556023 | This Curta was purchased by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for use in the Photogrammetry and Surveys Division (P&S) some time in the late 1960s. It is a type two in very nice shape with only a little wear. I have its case but no documentation. Fortunately the calculator must have been in its case during the 1972 Agnes flood when the Susquehanna River swamped the P&S building destroying many of the mechanical photogrammetric potters as it is in perfect working order now. For my tenure at P&S this Curta sat on the Surveys Manager's desk and I would take it for a few days at a time to learn how to operate it as no one in the office knew how and when I left P&S in 2007 the Curta was given to me as a parting gift and now is one of my most favorite keepsakes and is put to work from time to time. | |
| 665 | Philippe Niemegeers | philippe.niemegeers(at)skynet.be | 1 | 0 | 63359 | I found your web site full of explanations about the CURTA calculators and its history, I thing it's a very good site full of explanations about the history and the technical components and elements. After my father deceased I heritated of such a clculator which I find a very beautifull object and wich I've known for my entire life but I think it's time for me to get rid of all that things from my past and look forward, so I want to sell this CURTA machine. Here are the necessary informations : type I N° 63359, according to the informations on your site it seems to be a newest type I ... I don't know the production year ! Can you tell me if you are interested for purchasing my CURTA or if you know someone that could be interested in. | ||
| 666 | Lloyd Rubin | lloyd.rubin(at)gmail.com | 1 | 0 | 12785 | I have what looks like a Curta I that has been sitting in an unopened moving box for the past 30 years. The serial number is 12785. Other than the deterioration of the cork type circle at the bottom of the inside of the metal case, it appears to be close to perfect. I would like to sell this, but am uncomfortable with the pricing. Can you give me any thoughts on what to price it at, and where to list it for sale. | ||
| 667 | Peder Hansen | peder.hansen(at)northstarwindtowers.com | Omaha, Nebraska USA |
1 | 0 | 32285 | This Curta was my grandfathers and my dad has stored it for the past 20 years. I am trying to dig out more information and will post more as I find more. | |
| 668 | Bill Prince | gormanwpjr(at)gmail.com | 11,111 W. Bellfort, Houston, Texas USA |
281-879-0515 713-401-4599 |
1 | 1 | 50483 551421 |
Fabricated about May 1966
Perfect condition except for some very minor scratching of the anodizing
on the bottom outside ring from the plastic case and from sitting on
things.
HISTORY: I found out about the Curta calculator when doing a search for a large electro-mechanical calculator that I used at the Alcoa Plant in Point Comfort Texas back around 1973, when I was in College and working there during the summer. I remember how neat it was to watch it perform a multiplication. At that time the electronic calculators were already available, so it was odd that these were still being used. Before that time I had never seen any mechanical calculator other than the standard add and subtract (10 key) type. When I was in Grade and High School in the 1950s and 1960s, I was not aware of the Curta calculator. So, several years ago (around 2001), I did a search for electo-mechanical calculators and found out that the one I had used at Alcoa was a "Friden". As soon as I saw a picture of it, I remember it. Well, I ended up buying one on the Internet. It is not fully operational, however. Then I leaned that Friden produced a Square Root electro-mechanical calculator. I have not bought one of these yet, but would like to. During my search for mechanical calculators on the Internet, I ran across the Curta calculators. Wow, I was amazed! I then searched the internet for information on these machines. Of course I had to have one! I bought mine on the Internet from a guy here in Houston Texas (that way I could see one in person) who bought it new and used it (rarely) for road rallies. His name was W. Peter Romfh and he worked for Continental Airlines. I believe that I paid about $850 for it. No steal, but about a normal price at that time. I have since purchased a stepped cylinder for the fun of it. And yes, like everyone, I would love to own a demonstrator model. The Big bucks required for that purchase has put a damper on that, at least for now. I love showing the Curta to friends. The young guys are always amazed that calculations can be done mechanically. I am always amazed that they can be done electronically. The mechanical way is more mathematical and much more interesting. That is why these machines have intrinsic value and old electronic calculators are throw away items. I just bought a Curta I to add to my Curta II and extra Stepped Cylinder. I had been thinking about getting a Curta I for a long time. The size difference very apparent between the I and II, when they are placed next to each other or held in your hand. Both are very contemporary looking in appearance. Serial number: 50483 Assembled about 1962 Metal clearing ring Beveled crank Metal case w/stick-on label The machine is in un-used condition for all practical purposes. It is absolutely pristine. |
| 669 | Bill Hall | bhall52(at)cox.net | Phoenix, Arizona USA |
480-459-8251 |
1 | 0 | 10253 | I appreciate The CURTA Calculator website, it was very helpful in determining that I have an early September, 1950 CURTA Type 1 calculator with #10253. The picture attached below is not the best photo, but it does show the metal case. The case has slight blemish, minor paint chips. The calculator itself looks unused, and to be honest, I am afraid to use it since I do not know what I am doing. I was given this from my grandfather, who was a civil engineer in the 50's and 60's. I would have thought he would have used this, but it does not appear so. The reason for my email is that I would like to sell the calculator. While I found the history and background fasinating, I think it would be more appreciated with an avid collector. I am not sure on how to go about finding out if it is in working order, valuing it and inevitably selling it. If either of you could advise, I would be most appreciative. |
| 670 | Philippe d'Anfray | Philippe.d-Anfray(at)orange.fr | Verrieres le Buisson (near Paris) FRANCE |
1 | 0 | 5476 | This CURTA belonged to my grandfather, I remember I was fascinated by this fantastic machine when I was (something like) 10-12 years old. It is in good condition (except for the crank but I hope I'll be able to have it repaired) . I have the original metal case and the handbook. | |
| 671 | Charles A. Johnson | njnear(at)hughes.net | Gold Hill, Oregon USA |
541-855-8676 |
1 | 1 | 40301 511330 |
I purchased the Type I new from L. A. Scientific in 1961 for $125.00. It was lighter than the log tables I was using for surveying. It has the original metal case. I acquired the Type II from an engineering company I was working for in exchange for items they knew how to use. It has a leather case. |
| 672 | Sheldon Dockswell, PE. | SDOCKSWE(at)arinc.com | 5410 Via Fonte, Yorba Linda, California USA |
714-779-7541 |
1 | 0 | 7762 | I have owned my Curta for more than 50 years. It is a type I S/N 7762. As best I can figure it was manufactured in 1950. My son broke my clearing ring a long time ago. If you know someone that may have that part, I would like to communicate with them. |
| 673 | David Andersen | blkcat(at)gmail.com | Santa Rosa, California USA |
1 | 0 | 51842 | ||
| 674 | Bernhard Nowara | B.Nowara(at)t-online.de | Ludwigsburg GERMANY |
0 | 1 | 522128 | First time I came across with the Curta was in the May 2004 issue of the magazine 'Spektrum der Wissenschaft'. I was fascinated from the mechanics. It's amazing to see such a complex mechanism in such small volume. Later, I bought the Curta II myself as a birthday gift and I still enjoy it. | |
| 675 | Joan Mollison | info(at)mte.co.za | Johannesburg, Gauteng SOUTH AFRICA |
+27 11 787-6121 |
1 | 0 | 6499 | Belonged to my father, William Bradley. Not sure when or where he purchased the calculator, but he used it at his Engineering business. The unit is still in its original metal canister and is in excellent condition. Unfortunately I do not have the manuals. |
| 676 | Stephen B. Hatt | camphatt(at)hotmail.com | Indian River, Michigan USA |
231 238 2017 |
0 | 1 | 549692 | After 37 years in the classroom, most of it teaching honors geometry and algebra to 8th, 7th and even 6th grade students and an avid promotor of the use of calculators (with results shown in good algebraic form) I was well acquainted with the development of electronic calculators. I also had experience using and breaking comptometers and various other electrically powered mechanical and simple mechanical calculators. I knew of Curtas from reading about automobile rallye events. Given all that plus a habit of searching for the unusual piece of machinery on the Internet, it was only a matter of time. A few weeks ago I did a search for Curta. I was smitten, bought my Type II, am thinking about collecting a few others and have been mining you web site on a daily basis. Great job! |
| 677 | Rubens Jugni Junior | rubinho111(at)hotmail.com | BRAZIL | 1 | 0 | 5974 | My name is Rubens Jugni Junior and I live in Brazil. Sorry to invade your e-mail, but I have a calculator CURTA, and by that I think should be rare. The serial number is 5974 and it is in perfect condition. I am sending you some pictures. If you can help me or give another person who can. I wonder if it is a piece of value and it is rare. Thank you. Sorry for the English blame Google. | |
| 678 | Josh Heide | kd6kml(at)sbcglobal.net | Napa, California USA |
0 | 1 | 513830 | I always wanted a Curta since I first saw one in college. This one was listed on the Internet by a new user with no feedback. I took chance and got it for a low price and it turned out to be a really nice machine. I always look for mechanical calculating machines (and old specialty tools for working on my old cars) whenever I go to antique stores. Glad to finally be a Curta owner! | |
| 679 | Karl A. Fisher | fisher34(at)llnl.gov | Livermore, California USA |
1 | 0 | 48260 | The calculator was owned originally by my father. He used it at home and as work (he was a Chemist by trade at Los Alamos National Laboratoy). I remember my father using it for various calculations in his shop. He tried several times to teach me how to use with no luck. Then in 1973 he purchased an HP-45 and the CURTA was essentially never used again. This one is in excellent shape and remarkable device. | |
| 680 | N. Christopher Perry | ncperry1969(at)hotmail.com | Manchester, New Hampshire USA |
0 | 1 | 529438 | ||
| 681 | Jesper Andersen | jesper82(at)gmail.com | DENMARK | 1 | 0 | 50632 | I have got a Curta type 1 in Inheritance after my late uncle. Complete with casing, box with no. 50632 and manual in danish It has been under my bed for the last 10 years, and now I would like to sell it. | |
| 682 | Alfredo F. Logioia | alfredologioia(at)yahoo.com.ar | Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires ARGENTINA |
(54)223-156-80-7757 |
4 | 3 | 4312 45327 59504 78223 501934 531501 558449 |
I am a systems engineer and within a year I made a complete collection of Curtas. Now I have 7 examples from differents models and manufacturing periods. Bought in differents countries, all Curtas are in very good condition. A brief description of each machine: Type I #4312: (Condition: 8/10) Purchased from Marino H. of Aix en Provence, France, who overhauled it before being sold. This machine is very old, with rounded input dials instead of the rectangular ones of the later design and the metal case opens counterclockwise. Type I #45327: (Condition: 8/10) Purchased from Bernard R. of Neuchatel, Switzerland. This is my favorite example to use and learn about the Curta and show to the people. Type I #59504: (Condition: 9.5/10) Purchased from Francisco L. of Lima, Peru, originally bought in France. This machine has a minimum (almost null) use and the condition is superb, with no scratches in the body and its metal container. It was stored for more than 20 years without use. Type I #78223: (Condition: 10/10) Purchased from Tony B. of Derby, U.K., please see description of Curta #558449 below. Type II #501934: (Condition: 6/10) Purchased from Gabriel O. of Chascomus, Argentina, this is a very old type II example. As with the #45327, I use this machine to learn about Curta algorithms. Type II #531501: (Condition: 8/10) Purchased from Jerome G. of Les Sables d'olonne, France, originaly purchased in the USA. It is in mint condition, with very few signs of use. Type II #558449: (Condition: 10/10) Also purchased from Tony B. of Derby, U.K., this machine and #78223 was originally purchased to a collector in London who purchased in 1972 for investment purposes at the end of production when nobody wanted them, preferring electronic calculators. Both machines NEVER were used and they have the original card box and manuals in new condition. Possibly, both machines are within the best preserved Curtas in the world! Now I am building my own web site www.curta.com.ar devoted to my collection of Curtas and other old calculators and computers that I have. I think it may be an early version available on october 2010. |
| 683 | Malc Hewlett | malchewlett(at)yahoo.co.uk | Solihull, West Midlands UK |
1 | 0 | 9278 | First owner was H. V. Shaw of Hunnington in the UK Midlands. He bought it in November 1951, for £35 - 10s - 0d, from London Office Machines Ltd. of 130 Terminal House, Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1 (Tel. Sloane 1626). I knew nothing about CURTAs until I found #9278 in a flea market in Birmingham UK, back in the early 80s; however, I know a bargain when I see one, so I paid the dealer his £10 and went away delighted (and have remained so ever since -- if you've never owned a CURTA, you've never lived!). #9278 came with a black LH-threaded dome-top metal container (no gasket), in its original serial-numbered corrugated cardboard box, all in mint condition and perfect working order. The box contained the statement of sale, plus a 6" x 4" 16-page instruction booklet that says a lot about the CURTA, but contains just 1 worked example (a multiplication -- you have to figure out the other 3 operations for yourself). This booklet has a mustard-coloured cover showing a large hand holding a small CURTA, and has a part number of '37 51 5 e'. On the rear cover, someone has hand-written 'Douglas Brown Tel. HIG 3649' (the original salesman perhaps, or maybe the service engineer). Also in the box was a pre-printed letter from London Office Machines who, by now, were a division of Sweda Limited, based at Sweda House, Lower Belgrave Street, London SW1 (Tel. Sloane 0407). It is dated 3rd July 1963 (nearly 12 years after the sale; how's that for customer service). It says:- In view of the considerable expansion which has taken place during the last two years in our Sweda activities, it has been thought desirable in the interests of our Curta users to transfer this side of the business to a company, Automatic Business Machines (A.B.M), which will specialise in calculating machines. The whole of the Curta sales and service staff have now transferred to A.B.M. and will be fully equipped to give you every assistance in your requirements. To those customers who have a service agreement with us, we are hereby giving formal notice of our intention to terminate these agreements at the end of the current year's service, and A.B.M. will send them a new agreement for their approval on or before that date. In respect of those customers whose machines are still under guarantee, A.B.M. has agreed to take over this responsibility for these machines. The address of A.B.M. is 15 Cromwell Road, London SW7, telephone number Kensington 8877, where all Curta enquiries should be sent in the future. We thank all our customers for their support in the past years, and know that they will receive every attention from the staff of the new company. | |
| 684 | Bob Rostohar | bob19(at)me.com | Austin, Texas USA |
1 | 1 | 50354 512331 |
About 2-3 years ago, a new friend of mine told me about he Curta. He thought that I would find them impressive.....if only he knew! I was immediately taken with the brilliant design, the incredible craftmanship, the beauty, and of course the genius that went into its invention. I have been in the software business for 20 years, and since we can never 'see' what we create, I love being able to touch a masterpiece like the Curta. I have 2 and hope to keep buying them! I have even taught math class at my son's school and had all the kids working the Curta's and the online simulator. It is far more 'engaging' than bunching buttons! | |
| 685 | Hernando Correa | hcorrea5(at)comcast.net | Cupertino, California USA |
408-476-9718 | 1 | 0 | 24846 | In 1954 I was a young science student attending Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia. I read an article in Popular Mechanics praising the accuracy and small size of this incredible mechanical calculator. I was very impressed with it and bought my Curta Type I for US $125.00. Time went by and my Curta Type I accompanied me during my college years and later on as a student at NYU where I got my MS in Physics. I couldn't have made it without it! My Curta Type I also came along with me while working in the aerospace industry for almost thirty years. It has been a long time since I first used my Curta and I STILL ENJOY PLAYING WITH IT and showing it to my friends. I have never dropped it and it has no scratches or dents. It has never been lubricated or repaired and it works like the first day I got it. This morning I tried to remember how to calculate square roots on my Curta but my memory failed me and decided to search the procedure on the internet. I found not only the precise instructions to operate de calculator, but I also found Rick Furr's site. I am pleased to register my calculator with the information given above. Proud owner of a pristine Curta I. |
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| 686 | Bob Wolfson | bobwolfson(at)gmail.com | Marietta (Atlanta), Georga USA |
1 | 0 | 70315 | Bought from collector Richard Fisch, 12/2009 | |
| 687 | Russ Lamb | tr2bulls(at)msn.com | Bellevue, Idaho USA |
208-720-6981 | 1 | 0 | 4873 | I don't know if it's a Type 1 or 2 mint shape and in a metal container with a small manual. It was given to me by an old dear friend in 1970 and I just found it in a box of old Fishing paraphernalia.. 40 odd years later, anything you could tell me about this very cool little calculator would be appreciated. I would like to sell it ! Look forward to hearing from you. I understand how busy you must be. Best regards Russ |
| 688 | Granville Knox | gsk(at)his.com | Newington, New Hampshire USA |
1 | 1 | 31732 513431 |
513431 - prime number CURTA! My first CURTA while at university in the late-50's and wanted one but it was out of my price range. Visited Vaduz and the factory in 1962 but still couldn't afford to buy one. With the advent of the electronic calculators, I lost interest but revisited the issue in the late-90's. Both great condition. | |
| 689 | R. Van Espen | revanes(at)skynet.be | Beringen BELGIUM |
1 | 0 | 504959 | I'm a retired civil mining engineer. I made my career in the coal mines in the Campine area in the N.E. part of Belgium. The last mine closed definitely 1992. This Curta did his job with the mine surveyors. I found this when cleaning up the trays. It is the only "methane safe" calculator (because of the pure mechanical system) I saw in my career. It is in a good condition and has the left threaded water tight container. It needs some overhaul. By removing the bottom plate I saw an inscription on it from januari 1959 as: "xx.01.59 M". I suppose this is a repair date. I saw also that there was a little spring out of his "hole". I think and hope it can be functional with a minimum of overhaul. Regards, Rene | |
| 690 | Christian PEZZINI | cpezzini(at)aliceadsl.fr | South West FRANCE |
1 | 0 | 25143 554322 |
CURTA 1: SN: 25.143 (1954 or 1955) bought on eBay. Quite mint condition because was blocked, so, nobody used it... and I restarted it easily: just some oil was necessary so nice a machine !!!!!!!! "slighly" repaired by myself (bottom ball on central axel was blocked) and fully functional now. CURTA 2: SN: 55.4322 (1969) bought on eBay in 2012 | |
| 691 | Joseph R. Pulliam | joep(at)shsmithco.com | Poplar Bluff, Missouri USA |
573-785-9621 | 1 | 0 | 12075 | My company's founder bought this from a man many years ago. He knew that I collected antique surveying equipment, and gave it to me for my collection. The case has 4 scratches on it and is missing its lower pad. The calculator itself is clean, working and in good condition. Any idea what it is worth? I don't intend to sell, just wondering. |
| 692 | Brian Norwood | brian.norwood(at)gmail.com | Austin, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 44101 | My great uncle was an Air Force Captain in WWII. His B-29 was shot down over the English channel and he was held prisoner until the end of the war. When he passed away 20 years ago, I found a pristine Curta calculator in the metal case amoung his belongings. It is an amazing piece of equipment and an even better conversation piece. | |
| 693 | Fred Del Grande | freddelgrande(at)gmail.com | Sao Paulo BRAZIL |
0 | 1 | 505480 | I've a Curta calculator Type II (11 x 8 x 15 digits), serial number 505480, made in Liechtenstein (Custom Union with Switzerland) by Contina Ltd Mauren (System Curt Herzstark). It was purchased by my father, former civil engineer, in April 8, 1959 here in Brazil. It works perfectly and has the original stell case, warranty certificate and the manual for some reason was from Type I, but I was lucky to download one from Type II in English. | |
| 694 | Norah Newton-Roadman | norahh(at)verizon.net | Bandon, Oregon USA |
1 | 0 | 16917 | This Curta was my grandfather's and he gave it to my father who was a pilot in the USAF during WWII.... It became mine when I went to college in 1965. I have carried it around since and am interested in letting it go to a collector, if anyone is interested. It's in excellent condition with just a bit of rust on the bottom of the inside of the metal can it came in. The can has an opposite open top and I have a "Computing Examples for the Curta" book , an instruction manual, (both from Liechtenstein, where the device was made ) and a sales pamphlet from the Curta distributor in Van Nuys, Calif. (that is stamped with a company in Seattle, WA)..... | |
| 695 | Joao Livoti | joao(at)desmobilia.com.br | BRAZIL | 1 | 0 | 6321 | Hi Rick, congratulations for your web site, I live in Brazil and I found and buy a Curta I , serial number 6321. | |
| 696 | Lord Canesh | lord.canesh(at)gmail.com | Spokane, Washington USA |
1 | 0 | 38580 | I was gifted this beautiful antique when I was between 8 and 10. I am currently 21. It was said that the giver didn't know how to use it. it is so intricate even I get confused. I love the thing and I hope I never lose it. | |
| 697 | Joel P. Kollin | jkollin(at)gmail.com | Atlanta, Georga USA |
1 | 0 | 60612 | I used to drool over ads for these machines when I was a kid, but never saw one. In the 80's I was talking to a friend and the subject came up. He said he had one in his desk and I asked to see it. He was not interested in selling, so I asked him if I could borrow it. I did. By the time I was ready to return it, he was in Japan on assignment for 2 years. When he came back, I offered to buy it. He hesitated, said yes and said he would sell it for $20. SOLD. It is in great condition with the case. | |
| 698 | Eric Francis | squirrelhenge(at)gmail.com | North Little Rock, Arkansas USA |
0 | 1 | 521119 | Greetings! My name is Eric Francis and I've recently become a Curta Type II owner. My father, who passed away last month, had one among his effects. I don't know the circumstances under which he acquired it; his infantry unit served in Europe at the end of WWII, and he stayed on as a civilian employee of the occupation through about 1950, but I believe his Curta was manufactured several years later. However, he was a lifelong admirer of Teutonic ingenuity and I suspect he bought one Stateside when he ran across it. The Curta is in excellent condition as far as I can tell, except for one thing: The carriage ring will not turn past the numeral 8, though it is numbered up to 15. I've run it through a few of the exercises in the Your Curta Calculator fold-out instructions and it came up with the correct sums/products/etc. I also have the booklet Computing Examples for the Curta Calculating Machine, though I've not delved into it as of yet. I also have the black, bullet-shaped case. The Curta's serial number is 521119, and it was made in LIechtenstein by Contina Ltd. Mauren. I love this little machine and hope to get the hang of working it better. It's all very steampunk! | |
| 699 | Jessica Julien | jessicaj(at)alleytheatre.org | 713-315-5450 | 0 | 0 | I saw your name and address on the Curta collectors page. My name is Jessica and I work at the Alley Theatre in Houston for the properties department. We are doing a new play called Intelligence Slave by Kenneth Lin about the invention of the first Curta in the concentration camp. We need to build multiple prototype Curtas for the play and while researching online has been very helpful, it is difficult to find out information about the history behind these calculators. Any information you have either historically or just from actually holding one of these calculators that you think would help us to build something accurate would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you know of any resources or people around Houston, TX that might be helpful that I could contact I would appreciate it. I've emailed the three people off the Collectors page that put Houston in their address already and hope to hear back from one of them. Thank you so much for your time. | ||
| 700 | Richard Vincent | Vinehouserv(at)aol.com | Bridgwater, Somerset, England UK |
1 | 0 | 9241 | I found it in a load of old military stuff about 40 years ago I thought it was some kind of timed hand grenade (teenager) I don't think it has ever been used apart from me seeing if it worked it is still in its corrugated cardboard box. PS amazing web site. | |
| 701 | Valery Monnier | valery.monnier(at)wanadoo.fr | FRANCE | 1 | 0 | 2938 | I am not a specialist in Curta, but i own an early one (Serial 2938) in very good condition. www.arithmometre.org | |
| 702 | Robert Paul Bergsman | r.bergsman(at)verizon.net | Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA |
610-924-5812 | 0 | 1 | 546004 | I found this "pepper mill" on the Internet. The auction ended on a week day at about 11:00am. Not many serious bidders can take part in a mid-day auction. So, I got a really good deal. My Curta is in new condition. No signs of wear on the body, or case. It came in the original box. The box is also stamped with the same serial number as on the calculator's base. While in high school, In the late 50's and early 60's, I read Scientific American every month. I did not understand any of the articles. But, I could understand, and enjoyed Martin Gardner's monthly column; Mathematical Games and Derivations?. In almost every issues there was an ad for the Curta Calculator. Now I own one. It is a piece of history, a work of art, and a mechanical wonder. Martin Gardner died several weeks ago. All of us, who enjoyed his column, morn his passing. |
| 703 | Faiz Shahab | faiz_shahab(at)hotmail.com | Jakarta INDONESIA |
+62217542387 | 1 | 0 | 30353 | I am very surprised to learn today that a Curta website is exist! As I own one (1) Curta Type I, I think it would be good to ask you to include myself in the list just for the record that a Curta was also landed in Indonesia around 37 years ago. I got this incredible machine from my uncle in the early 1973 as a gift. I personally used this beautiful calculator during my first year in college in 1973, but then replaced it with an HP-35 pocket electronic calculator sometimes in 1974. I have no idea when and where my uncle purchased it. Also, I have no knowledge about such machine prior to getting it and, after I got it, I just used it with pride as my all other classmates were using slide rules at that time. Operating Curta during an exam or a lab work had always put a little bit of embarrasment and "joy", as the sound generated by the machine when I performed the calculations by cranking it spread out to the whole room. Since 1974, my Curta has "retired", but I still keep it in my storage until today. Unfortunately, the manual is missing. The machine is still in its aluminium round box, but due to high humidity, the bottom pad became brittle and has disappeared already and the two screws at the bottom of the machine are already corroded (see the scanned picture attached). |
| 704 | Doug Middleton | dougm(at)wi-five.net | Scurry, Texas USA |
817 845 4256 | 0 | 1 | 525151 | Hello Rick! Great web site. I have a Type II SN 525151 That is as new in a metal can. The can has left hand threads and is very nice with a small dent and a scuff mark. I received the Curta from the widow of a geophysicist that was an eclectic gather like me. He had an old Triumph in storage too so he may have thought about rally too. I too am surrounded by Boy Scouts and now a girl Scout too, so I know what you mean! Thanks for your hard work on the web site. |
| 705 | Michael Werner | mgwerner(at)gmail.com | Barrow, Alaska USA |
1 | 1 | 38566 535166 |
After reading about them for years, I finally bought one online. An incredible piece of machinery, and art. 38566 is my second Curta. I wanted a smaller one for day-to-day use. This one needs a little work, so will probably go to the shop soon. | |
| 706 | William T. Schrader, Ph.D. | schrader(at)niehs.nih.gov | Research Triangle Park, North Carolina USA |
1 | 0 | 43859 | This unit was bought my my father back in the 1950's or early 60's when he was doing international sales for a defense contractor company. In order to produce accurate prices that were correct down to the decimals, and to do volume discounts, etc? he needed something like the Curta. He bought it on a trip to Europe at some point. He gave it to me after he retired. I've had it ever since, and delight occasionally in showing it to some of my colleagues here in the IT department? It truly is a marvelous mechanical device! | |
| 707 | Vincent Merlen | vmerlen(at)gmail.com | Montreal, Quebec CANADA |
1 | 1 | 10024 503487 |
I own two Curtas, one for each type. I first found out about these marvels in 2007 while searching for information about the earliest HP calculator. I quickly felt the urge to own one and since it would pop up in most of the searches I did on Google, I decided to try my luck. I did buy two on the Internet but quickly sold them back, making a decent profit both times. As soon as I did, I knew I had made a mistake! Time passed and I forgot about Curta for a while. Then a couple of months ago, the urge came back. I went back on the Internet and won an auction for a type I with serial number 10024 in excellent condition. It even has a distinctive mark that is not due to abuse but to an error in manufacturing : the [8] appearing on the upper knurled ring is clearly made of three superposed little circles instead of two. The upper collar also bores the famous "System Curt Herzstark" engraving which I understand was more common on lower serial number type I Curtas. It works flawlessly! I am also the proud owner of a very early type 2 Curta (SN 503487) which I found on the Internet in the classified ads! It came with its original metal can and both are in pristine condition! The ad had been in the classifieds for almost a full month and only a few people had visited it. I thought I had a chance so I contacted the seller and offered him to buy it. We reached an agreement and the rest is history. Knowing my father would probably be interested in these, I contacted him recently and asked if he knew about Curtas. His answer completely took me by surprise : not only did he know about them but he had one that my grandfather gave him a short time before he passed away. Even better, I learned that the later not only sold these in the fifties, but he was one of the very few trained and authorized repairman in North of France! What a coincidence or was it? I'm still hoping to find a complete kit with the cardboard box, but seing how much these sell for on the Internet. I think I'll never be able to fulfill this desire. I would also dream of finding one in a yard sale as many here apparently did ; I think it must be the ultimate experience for a Curta aficionado to find one this way! | |
| 708 | David Windsor | david.windsor(at)gmail.com | Victoria, BC CANADA |
1 | 0 | 73706 | I first saw the Curta at my mother-in-laws place back in the early 2000's. She said my father-in-law had used it years ago, he was a civil engineer with the forestry department for almost 4 decades. "He used it for counting trees or something" she said. In March 2010 I was doing some renovations in her house and saw it again. I asked her about it and she gave it to me. It is in excellent to near mint condition. The plastic can has a few dings and scratches, the 'target' label on top is undamaged and the 'Curta Open' label has a tiny bit of the the top left corner label folded over, looks like came that way, not new damage. It has both top and bottom bumpers inside. The Curta Type I has only a few tiny paint nicks, one on the crank-knob and a few on the bottom, on the ring not the plate. Some of the paint is worn off the top edge of the bottom ring where it rests in your palm during use. The biggest loss though is the missing clearing lever. It still has all five decimal markers on the top ring, but only two of the three bottom ones. I just love precision made tools, the Curta tops my list, just above automatic watches, watches are not versatile enough to beat the Curta for top spot. | |
| 709 | Jay Holovacs | Jayh6(at)verizon.net | South Bound Brook, New Jersey USA |
1 | 0 | 20247 | I have a type I (SN 20247) which my father (a designer for an aircraft equipment company) purchased when I was a child in the 60s. As I remember he paid about $400 for it. He let me play with it only a little at the time. After he died, I got the calculator and his slide rules. The Curta was lovingly used. The metal case is lightly worn, for the calculator itself, a slight bit of rubbing wear on the knurls is the only evidence of use. | |
| 710 | Peter Hewetson | peterhewetson(at)britpensions.ca | British Pensions Consultants Inc. 4 Tollerton Ave.,Toronto, Ontario CANADA |
3 | 2 | 8335 29468 40579 511869 545150 |
I bought a poster from you recently, and thought I'd register my Curtas with you while I'm at it (very good idea for the Curta community, if there was some way of searching the serial numbers against names it would be great security for buyers). By the way, I'm very impressed by the poster, nice job. Hope I can do half as well getting those patent diagrams printed out and framed! I learned of the existence of the Curta from Pattern Recognition, and after finding a bit more about them, knew I had to have one - and after finding more about them, knew I had to have one of each type! I got #8335 from Jack Christensen, a near-perfect example of an early type 1 (thanks Jack!) after a total teardown and replacement of parts from his NOS collection. #511869 is an excellent, really clean all-metal type 2. #545150 has the plastic canister and crank, and works perfectly, no dings or major scratches, but needs a good cleaning when I have the time. Both type 2s were bought on the net. Still looking for a nice all-black type 2 and a "cosmetically challenged" type 1, if anyone's interested in selling, and would be willing to trade up using #545150, which is in good shape overall. (update)As in my previous message to you, thank you for creating and maintaining your excellent website, thanks for the great poster etc etc. Just a quick note - the Curta on my desk that I use for everyday calculations is 40579; the serial number is engraved above the other lettering on the baseplate (your website lists the newest known one of these somewhat prior to mine). Also, just FYI I am still trying to run down just how many early grey-body type 2s had the original setting-slider arrangement - BB-RRR-BBB-RRR rather than the standard BB-R-BB-R-BB-R-BB seen on virtually every type 2. This variant can be seen at www.curta.li - the site owner, Murff, calls it a "Bernerin". The owner of 512132 informs me that his machine is of the later (standard) knob grouping; this makes the series a maximum of 1499 machines (from 510633 to 512132). I own 511869 and would be interested in another one if I ever see one for sale. I'd also let 29468 go if you know anyone in the market for a very-fine-to-excellent example! | |
| 711 | Stan Stumbo | stanstumbo(at)comcast.net | Bainbridge Island, Washington USA |
0 | 1 | 501149 | Apparently one of the earliest Type IIs, made in mid-March, 1954 according to the calculator. I purchased mine on the Internet from a man in England. His father was its original and only owner. | |
| 712 | Carlos Navalon | carlos(at)mnavalon.com | Barcelona SPAIN |
1 | 1 | 26051 561477 |
With reference to Curta's, I have two, the type "I" SN 26051 with metal box and type "II" with SN 561477 with plastic case. Both are in very good condition. I got them on the Internet in Spain and Austria to the prices of 496 and 500 Euros respectively. Concerning me, I am fond of all instruments of calculation. I have about 100 slide rules and mechanical calculators about 40, apart from abacus and other things. Greetings and congratulations on your WWW page. (This is a Google translation) | |
| 713 | Marco Pederzoli | mpederzoli(at)racine.ra.it | Faenza ITALY |
1 | 1 | 30032 ?????? |
I discovered the Curta thanks to the site Dark Roasted Blend. I was instantly intrigued and started to look on the Internet. After over a year of hunting, I won a Type II. But, as I wanted a Type I, I went to Italy Curta Service (that luckily is at 25 km from my home town) and we made a deal. Now I have my Type I! | |
| 714 | ABDUL MAJID BIN WAHAB | majid(at)remotesensing.gov.my | Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA |
60133065110 | 0 | 1 | 527100 | My first impression tought it was a hand granade, received from my grandfather in mid-1990's, last time he working with Australian Army in Borneo |
| 715 | Jed Hartman | logos(at)kith.org | Mountain View, California USA |
1 | 0 | 24310 | Purchased it on the Internet, from a seller in Argentina. I know nothing about the history of this particular unit. I've been admiring Curtas for years, and finally decided to buy one. It's not in perfect condition, but everything seems to work; the only significant flaw is that the foam pad in the base of the case has hardened and partly crumbled. ...Oh, and now I see that if I'm not careful in setting the numbers on the setting knobs, the knobs may fall between numbers, which this Curta seems to treat as a 9. So I'll have to be careful about that. | |
| 716 | Stephan Fricke | stephan.fricke(at)yahoo.de | 45770 Marl, NRW GERMANY |
0049 2365 492059 | 2 | 0 | 37901 25575 |
If have got 2 CURTAS TYPE I, SN 37901 in perfect working Condition, and SN 25575 in perfect, MINT Condition without any scratches or something else. It locks realy new. Note, I am looking for a CURTA TYPE II in perfect condition with Metal case. |
| 717 | Rob Smith | rob(at)rscsmith.demon.co.uk | London, England UK |
0 | 1 | 533985 | I've just been bitten by the Curta bug, having read William Gibson's "Pattern Recognition". After several months of hovering on the Internet I decided that the obsession wasn't going to go away and I took the plunge. It's 3 Dec 2010 and I've just taken delivery of my Type II, SN 533985. I have no idea of its history. It came with the original manuals in French, but no information on the original owner. I'd never used one before. What a fantastic piece of equipment! I've been showing if off in the office today. I have yet to find someone who has seen one before, even amongst the old engineers in the office. Thanks for all your work in keeping vcalc.net up and running. A fantastic resource for us newbies. | |
| 718 | Guy Robinson | guy(at)robinsonpackaging.com | Chesterfield, Derbyshire UK |
+44 1246 505196 | 1 | 0 | 40502 | Handed down from my father in around 1968 who bought it new (I believe) and hardly ever used as electronic devices came into being during my childhood. Has always sat on shelf and been played with occasionally. Then in 2010 I met a road rally navigator who had one. When I picked it up off her desk she told me to be very careful with her precious device!! She was surprised that I knew what it was and how it worked! |
| 719 | Ian Neve | ian(at)ian-neve.co.uk | London, England UK |
0 | 1 | 548151 | It has probably been in my possession around 30 years and was given it in exchange for a pair of first world war navy binoculars. It was a reluctant exchange as the donor had borrowed the bins and either lost them or preferred them! | |
| 720 | Amos Barnett | currawong(at)gmail.com | Canberra, Australia or Fukuoka JAPAN |
0 | 1 | 518404 | I have a Type II, SN: 518404 which I inherited from my father. Unfortunately he has passed on, so I don't know where he purchased it, but likely it was in England. I'm sure he would have actually made use of it, as he was a scientist. However, since electronic calculators came along, it ended up in his cupboard, where I discovered it as a child. I recently went back to clear out my house and found it again, in almost perfect condition, probably due to it being sealed in its metal case. A couple of the adjustors on the side were slightly stuck due to a tiny bit of rust, but I got it working again. Indeed it's one of the most beautifully designed and made pieces of equipment I've ever seen. I will be keeping it purely in appreciation of this. | |
| 721 | Peter Allen | pwallen(at)optonline.net | Long Beach, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 24149 | I am the proud owner of a type 1 Serial Number 24149 I punched it online after reading the fascinating story that appeared in the Readers Digest several years ago. | |
| 722 | Edward Lim | rivest(at)gmail.com | Singapore, SG SINGAPORE |
3 | 3 | 38197 43441 57442 501442 522206 548699-D |
548699 (Skeleton) I came across the Curta when I searching for vintage calculators online and was immediately intrigued by it. Yes, the Curta can do that to you, as attested by so many owners. It has a unique charm that cannot be described. In addition to collecting the machines themselves, or "pepper grinders", I also collect some Curta-related literature. | |
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| 723 | Peter Burton | pburton50(at)hotmail.co.uk | Worcester UK |
+44 (0)1905 754175 | 0 | 1 | 548061 | As a retired computer programmer, I have always been interested in computing and computers and from a young age studied computer architecture. At the age of 12 I purchased a brand new completely mechanical Lancaster bomber bombsight computer via the Wireless World magazine. At 14 I made myself a programmable computer using old surplus Post Office relays which were purchased in job lots again from the same magazine. This machine had similar calculating attributes to the Curta but took 20 minutes to perform a division and occupied approx. one cubic yard! After growing up with all the HP pocket programmable calculators and progressing on to orbital dynamics calculations using the DEC VAX super-minis and mainframes I longed to revert to the look and feel of the old mechanical era. I was so pleased therefore, to come across your web site and subsequently purchase a Curta for myself on the Internet. It is in near mint condition and works perfectly and is a real find considering the most realistic price I paid for it. It is a type II with the plastic case and flat-topped handle. The metal case of the machine is fine crinkle grey and the sliders are coloured BBRBBR...etc and slide very easily. There are no scratches or marks anywhere on the Curta or its case and all the numbers are finely engraved and easily readable. Since it's acquisition, I've worked through all the calculations in your literature and looked at all the videos and kinematic CAD models. What an amazing machine. Hats off to Curt Herzstark. |
| 724 | Harry Walter | harry.walter(at)imail.de | Stuttgart GERMANY |
1 | 0 | 6195 | I own a very early curta I from 1950 serial number 6195 in excellent condition, as new, it works properly. I got it from a friend living in Munich, and he got it from a neighbor, who didn`t know, what to do with it. My friend thought, I could be interested in such a strange thing. At first I didn`t know too, what it is. But now I know it! | |
| 725 | Thomas Collins | tcollins.collins055(at)gmail.com | Garfield heights, Ohio USA |
216-240-8221 | 1 | 0 | 21435 | About 10 years ago i was working on a home in Cleveland Ohio. I saw some people hauling out dresser's bed's boxes bag's to the curb for trash.I walked across the street and asked what was going on. They said the person who lived their died and his family paid them to clean out the house. They said if i see something I'd like to have help myself to it. So i started looking threw the boxes and came across a small brown. Inside i found this curta in it's steel case in mint condition also in the box was the Manual and warranty paper's. If you know or could fined out I'd like to know the year and month it was manufactured, it's a truly beautiful machine. Thank you for your time respectfully. Thomas Collins. |
| 726 | JR Schenk | Jr.schenk(at)yahoo.com | Encinitas, California USA |
0 | 1 | 560377 | I was in high school in Switzerland when the first affordable electronic calculators became available (1975-1978). Curta, saw that they could not compete, and offered the reminder of their stock for CHF 50.- (about $15 at that time) to high school students. I bought it thinking it was cool. Since then, I became a mechanical engineer, and have shown it to many engineering colleagues drawing many ooooohhhs and aaaahhhhs! | |
| 727 | John Marley | john.marley(at)gmail.com | Green River, Wyoming USA |
1 | 0 | 43231 | When I learned about the Curta several years ago, I thought it was just so cool that I had to have one. I found this one on the Internet. It's in excellent condition. | |
| 728 | Richard Deibel | jddeibel(at)comcast.net | 0 | 1 | 528555 | I think I bought my Type II in 1961 or 1962 | ||
| 729 | Doug Parrish | dkparrish(at)comcast.net | Howell, Michigan USA |
517-548-0705 | 0 | 1 | 526078 | For the past couple years (2009 to the present), I have been following auctions for vintage calculators, specifically the HP-67 and the HP-97. Several CURTAs appear on a vintage calculator site daily, but I did not even bother looking at them until several months had passed. Then I realized that they were indeed a unique item because they seemed to be in great demand. I began following them, looking up everything I could find on the internet about them. One day in late 2010, one came up for a good price for 3 days. Realizing that another opportunity like this one would never come by again, I swooped in and did the deed. It arrived from Washington, D.C. a week later, securely and very safely packaged. It is in mint condition, always having been stored in its container. The previous owner told me that it was formerly owned by one of the developers of our modern GPS technology. It has turned out to be quite a conversation piece. I have even started visiting antiques malls, asking around carefully if anyone has ever seen such a device. One fellow at our local antiques mall told me he knew exactly what I was talking about, had seen one in Cleveland and bought it before it even went up for display. The YouTube video showing how to extract the square root of a number using the CURTA is fascinating. With practice, I suppose it could extract any root of any number. Sure wish someone would write down the steps, however. |
| 730 | Paul Schuytema | paul(at)schuytema.com | Monmouth, Illinois USA |
1 | 0 | 40479 | The Curta was my father's when he worked as a sausage and processed meat engineer at Oscar Mayer (the metal can still has an Oscar Mayer metal ID tag on it). He used it at work and in road rallying. I've had it since his death in 1977. | |
| 731 | Ahmet Cullu-TETSIM | ahmet(at)tetsim.com | Istanbul TURKEY |
1 | 0 | 6132 | I have in my possession a CURTA Type 1 with Serial No 6132 passed on to me by my late father-in-law who was a well known Architect Prof. Orhan Safa. It is in good condition and still working. Came across your website looking for ways for the maintanance of the calculator. Your site is full of valuable information and I admire your passion in this ingenious piece of machinary. | |
| 732 | Les Hamilton | Hamiltonl(at)comcast.net | Palo Alto, California USA |
0 | 1 | 536649 | CURTA(s):Grey Type II with leather rally case I have a collection of slide rules and mechanical calculators. A workmate showed me his Curta and I was hooked. I searched on the Internet and found this very good condition Series II, I placed the winning bid 10 seconds before the auction closed by upping the bid by $1 from my mobile phone while I was on the beach. | |
| 733 | Jan Jutefors | ryssby(at)mail.com | Kalmar SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 44626 | I fond it on a fleamarket for about $ 4. Two times it was sold here in Sweden at auktion: 2006 Stockholm Type II abt $ 500 2008 Gothenburg Type I abt $ 350 | |
| 734 | Steve Fischbach | spam(at)outletexpress.net | Seattle, Washington USA |
1 | 0 | 24946 | I acquired this Curta in 2011 from the second owner who lived in Canada. The original owner was a Dutch surveyor who purchased it in the Middle East and later emigrated to the Canadian Yukon. I presume this unit was manufactured in early 1952. The unit is in perfect working order thank goodness as I had no intention of letting my curiosity get the better of me by opening it up. This site has helped cull my need to tinker by letting me see the inner workings with the great illustrations and demonstrations. The metal case, sales brochure, manual and introduction book are all in great shape. I was intrigued by the seemingly complex nature of such a device. I get so much satisfaction hearing the gears turn with such precision. I wish I had more to contribute to this site, but for now I am fascinated by the history and depth of interest by so many people here. | |
| 735 | Kirby Crawford | kirbycra4d(at)charter.net | Rice Lake, Wisconsin USA |
0 | 1 | 539629 | Plastic case, clockwise opening I purchased this calculator in May of 1967. My girlfriend and I were on vacation in Europe from our jobs with the US Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, Africa. I was working as a geodetic surveyor conducting mapping surveys in the deserts of eastern Sudan. While on vacation we visited an engineering supply store in Kaiserslautern, Germany where I purchased Curta #539629 new for around $150 US. I used the calculator on numerous engineering and mapping projects at many remote locations around the world including the Norsk Polarinstitutt expedition of 1971 up in the Arctic regions of the Spitzbergen Archipelago. I still take it out of my showcase occasionally to enjoy making mechanical calculations as a nostalgic exercise. It still works perfectly and I still marvel at its exquisite and precise engineering. | |
| 736 | Sergio E.Niski | serniski(at)gmail.com | Sao Paulo BRAZIL |
1 | 0 | 9143 | ||
| 737 | Martyn Cook | martyvx(at)msn.com | Colchester UK |
0 | 1 | 532300 | I have a type 2 curta No 532300 in excellent condition in black metal case in original box and with the 4 arithmetical rules. I have had this for some 20 yaers and used the machine in my job as a engineer. | |
| 738 | Ricardo Felix Rossi | rfrossi(at)hotmail.com | Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo BRAZIL |
0 | 1 | 513544 | My name is Ricardo, I'm Brazilian, living in Sao Jose dos Campos, a very important city 100km far from Sao Paulo City. Just one Type II unit, with original manual and case. Recently I became a happy owner of this fantastic device which is Curta Calculator. As a Mechanical Engineer, I am very impressed with such mechanism and its precision. I researched Internet to evaluate my unit's age and using all calculation methods I discovered it was manufactured between 1955 and 1957. It's amazing! This Curta was owned by a friend, an old English engineer which spent his last years in Brazil, near my parents house. Since his widow decided to move to another place, she gave this unit and other objects to my parents as a gift in recognition of the years of loyal friendship. So, considering I am the only Engineer in the family and that I have particular interest in ancient engineering devices, my parents decided to give it to me. I didn't know any thing about such kind of calculator so far, so I researched Internet to find more information about it. This is how I found this website. Using age calculation by serial number, I think my unit was manufactured between 1955 and 1957. Besides it works pretty well, it's embedded of very interesting history which I'm proud to tell to friends visiting my house! Regards from Brazil, Curta people! Thanks Rick! | |
| 739 | Jay | winchester264(at)aol.com | 1 | 0 | 40142 | I have a type 1 no 40142 that has the sn on top. I have had it for over 40 yrs and never knew what it really was. | ||
| 740 | Bill Solomon | bill(at)wbsolomon.com | Maple, Ontario CANADA | 0 | 1 | 546113 | I purchased my Curta new in about 1965, used it for a couple of years when I was involved in rallying, and totally forgot about it for 40 years until my daughter alerted me to this web site. It brings back memories of my misspent youth! | |
| 741 | Rick Grunwald | dlineranch(at)gmail.com | 0 | 1 | 552170 | Mr. Furr I am a retired surveyor and have a Curta Type II # 552170. Calculator, HP-25, with both manuals. HP-41CV w/surveying 1 and math stat. and manuals. HP-48SX w/cogo card. HP-48GX w/cogo gx/sx and 128k. The Curta is in very good shape and the calculators are used but also in very good shape. Briefcase stored in the field, so as not to be exposed to dust. I have custom leather case for 48 gx and stock vinyl Hp cases for the others. Curta has plastic case and original instructions. | ||
| 742 | Jaime Garcia Jimenez de Arechaga | baa22306(at)gmail.com | Montevideo Uruguay | 1 | 0 | 2059 | I'm in Montevideo Uruguay and I have the Curta I serial number 2059 | |
| 743 | Ray Griest | Ray Griest | Trabuco Canyon, California USA |
949-459-8748 | 0 | 1 | 510477 | This CURTA belonged to my Dad who bought it new in the early 1950's. My Dad was R. Howard Griest, Chief Scientist at Hughes Aircraft. He designed the guidance system for the first Falcon air-to-air missile and worked on the first moon lander. I know he used his CURTA and a slide rule on these and other projects. He loved mechanical gadgets - anything from cameras to calculators. When Dad passed away my Mother gave me his CURTA which is in like new, mint condition. |
| 744 | Jean Aitken | jaitken(at)persona.ca | Calgary, Alberta CANADA |
1 | 0 | 58260 | This Curta was a gift to my husband Ian Aitken from my brother in-law. My husband passed away in Feb, 2011 and I found it while going through his things. | |
| 745 | Peter G. Osborn | pgo(at)peterosborn.com | Felden, Hertfordshire, England UK |
+44 1442-236255 | 1 | 0 | 52339 | My father, Dr. Sidney B. Osborn, bought this Curta to use on his PhD into the use of radiation in medicine, in the 1960s, when I was a kid. I remember it well. My sister and I could earn pocket money using Curta to do some of the seemingly endless calculations for him. My father died recently, and I've now become the proud owner. It's in quite good condition, not having been used for many years. |
| 746 | James Fricker | fricker(at)optusnet.com.au | Melbourne AUSTRALIA |
0 | 1 | 511023 | My Type II s/n 511023 has the black metal case. It is in "as new" condition in perfect working order (but no original instructions). (Last used by my father, an engineer, in about 1960) | |
| 747 | Robert Taylor | spcretaylor(at)gmail.com | Saint Louis, Montana USA |
0 | 1 | 519840 | 1 Curta adding machine in metal case (support node in case lid is present but broken), Certificate of guarantee, 52 page book of examples, packing slip from Heuer Timer Corp (invoice no. 10677), 64 page mathematical handbook, fold out sheet entitled "Your CURTA Calculator" on one side w/ The 4 Arithematical Rules on the other side. All documentation is in good condition, though aged but without tearing. I inherited this device from my grandfather who ordered it from Montgomery Ward on July 2, 1962. | |
| 748 | Ruth Blume | rblume10(at)mchsi.com | 0 | 1 | 537070 | I have the blue box and the leather carrier, distributor's information, magazine add, 51 page booklet of computing examples, instruction booklet and plastic container. It seems to be in excellent condition. | ||
| 749 | James Dee | PilatusJED(at)aol.com | Thunder Bay, Ontario CANADA |
1 | 0 | 31817 | First seen on The Canadian Antique Road Show from Thunder Bay, Ontario. Got curious and had to have one. Lost out on many on the Internet and finally won one from England. | |
| 750 | Jim MacIntyre | jim.macintyre(at)live.co.uk | Rye, East Sussex, England UK |
0 | 1 | 548156 | My mother bought my CURTA at a car boot sale for £0.50 about 25 years ago. Neither my mother or the gentleman selling it had any idea of what it was, or it's function. My mother bought it because she felt it was "interesting". She gave it to me because she thought I could use it for my work. I was a surveyor at the time. It has a green body, and has a black plastic case. | |
| 751 | Bruce MALTBY | bmo(at)clearspan.co.za | Bryanston SOUTH AFRICA |
0 | 1 | 536760 | Web searched & purchased the above from Larry & Carole MEEKER of Patented Antiques.com in Somerset CA Cost a bit ! but rec'd it last Friday & it's in excellent condition without box but c/w perfect plastic container & all the instructions. I've also a collection of mechanical watches, my contacts in that field are also fascinated by the Curta. | |
| 752 | Rob Shook | labrador992001 (at) yahoo.com | Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 66933 | My father purchased it new (unsure of the date, location, or circumstances) and it has been given to me. Perfect working condition, plastic storage case | |
| 753 | Crawford MacKeand | jcbmck(at)gmail.com | 1 | 0 | 63721 | I'm sitting looking at a Type I Curta that I've had since I bought it in Geneva in about 1965-66. It has s/n 63721 and was purchased by me from Papeterie Delachaux S.A. at 27 Croix D'Or, Geneve when we were in Switzerland on vacation. The project I had in mind for it never came to pass, and so it has sat on shelves in various houses in England and since 1968 in the USA. As a result it works just fine, as it always has done on rare test calculations, is in as-new condition, with unscratched plastic case, and with printed instructions, a printed guide dated 1964 and a single sheet guide to "computing examples". All are still in the original box too, and that is hardly marked itself. Looking at the serial number, and the date range in which I know I bought it, confirmed by the dated literature and the years in which we visited Geneva (just one time by car from England), I can see that some of the methods for deriving year of manufacture from serial numbers must be in serious error. But it's just one data point! I've been retired now for about 20 years, and when I see the prices asked, I think it is time to pass it on to somebody who wants one more than I do!! I guess I'd better get my camera going and fire up on the Internet. Many thanks for an interesting web site. | ||
| 754 | Marvin R. Crawford | mrccm123(at)comcast.net | St. Augustine, Florida USA |
904-460-2268 | 1 | 0 | 19604 | I found this Curta destined for the trash when I was looking at some furniture and debris at curbside near my home. It was in a funny box with straw like string covering the box sides and top. Inside were the two instruction manuals and a guarantee from the Gilbert Sales Company, Fort Lauderdale, FL. And a glossy black metal case that opened, what I thought odd, backwards (clockwise). Inside the case was this fascinating calculating machine in very good condition. It showed wear consistent with use and worked perfectly. I was smart enough to read the instructions prior to attempting use of the device. I put it through the accompanying example math calculations and it performed flawlessly. I guess it is true the saying that "one man's trash is another's treasure". I intend to keep it unless offered a lot for it... |
| 755 | Andres Ruales | aruales(at)pciudad.com | Quito ECUADOR |
1 | 0 | ????? | I found your collectors page by coincidence, I have a CURTA which belonged to my Dad, will check on it for more details and let you know. As told, it was my Dad's, it looks brand new except for the manual which is kind of deteriorated. | |
| 756 | Steven Bird | ssbird(at)internode.on.net | Melbourne, Victoria AUSTRALIA |
1 | 0 | 58206 | I was watching a TV show on antiques, and the Curta was their "mystery item of the week". It really caught my attention. After a several years of lobbying I convinced my wife to let me buy one for my 40th birthday In 2011 I purchased this Curta from Romano at Italy Curta Service (who I can recommend highly) as I wanted one that had been serviced. Luckily it was also in genuine mint condition. Before this the Curta was owned by a collector in Germany. | |
| 757 | Alberto Plessmann | apless(at)gmail.com | Caracas Venezuela | +85 212 7931221 | 1 | 0 | 36251 | I own a CURTA`s calculator that is in perfect condition and working properly. It belonged to my father whom i belive bought it somewhere around 1955 and 1960. If there is somebody interested in buying it, fell free to contact me... |
| 758 | David Ross | ross(at)hypertools.com | SW Washington USA |
2 | 1 | 47643 80177 504241 |
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| 759 | George Landreth | glandreth(at)sbcglobal.net | Northern California USA |
1 | 0 | 72528 | Purchased new by my Dad about 1968-1970(?) In perfect condition - barely used at all "It is a thing of joy and beauty." | |
| 760 | B. E. Popham, Jr., O.D. | bepophamod(at)bellsouth | Cartersville, Georgia USA |
770-655-0360 | 1 | 0 | 77194 | I learned of the Curta on an online video. Knew I had to have one and did much reading and research about the Curta. Finally found the one I wanted on a website, talked with the owner and made the purchase. Much $$. Number 77194 is in "same as new" condition and looks as if it had never been used when I received it. It had belonged to a Phd in mathmatics, I was told, and was bought new by him. He is now in a nursing home and his niece decided to sell what she said was one of his favorite possessions. I told her to tell Uncle Brad that she sold it to the right person because I will treasure it as he did. |
| 761 | Adrian Jones | Adrian(at)woodsgood.ca | Ottawa, Ontario CANADA |
0 | 1 | 531202 | Obtained from American buyer or antiquities through an eBay auction, August 2011 | |
| 762 | Tim Hankey | tim.hankey(at)btinternet.com | Thetford, Norfolk UK |
1 | 0 | 73138 | Purchased new in Singapore 1968. Still complete with Manual. Sits on my desk to remind me what outstanding engineering was! | |
| 763 | Francis T Lombardi | flombard(at)twcny.rr.com | Syracuse, New York USA |
315 254 5402 | 1 | 0 | 34206 | I purchased my Curta in 1956 at a PX Air Force base in Germany when I was flying a C 119 throughout Europe. When I returned home I used it successfully for computung payroll for a young business until the electronic calculator took over. Just sent it to Jack Christensen who replaced a clearing lever and reported that it was in great shape. The details are: CURTA Type I No. 34206, Black Metal Case, "Instruction for the Use of the CURTA", Brown cardboard box with the serial number on the cover. |
| 764 | Andre Lucena | andre.lucena(at)yahoo.ca | Edmonton, Alberta CANADA |
1 | 0 | 77545 | I have become fascinated with these little gizmos since a friend mentioned (and showed me a picture of one) in 2005. After a craving of almost 6 years I finally pulled the trigger on a mint Type 1 (SN 77545). The person I got it from also got it from (on eBay) and no information on its origin is available, though the manual has "received in 1967" handwritten on its cover. | |
| 765 | Mike LANGEN | mike(at)mikelangen.com | Oise FRANCE |
+33 (0)3 44 81 61 42 |
1 | 0 | 14172 | My father bought this machine in Frankfort (Germany) in the 50's or 60's. I think he was probably unable to handle it, so am I. I got it some thirty years ago. Do you want me to send you some photos? I'm interested to sell it. Congratulations for the phantastic work you've been doing. Great. |
| 766 | Graham Nash | farmer(at)westserv.net.au | Canberra, ACT AUSTRALIA |
5 | 3 | 4440 7430 38872 52241 78106 503302 511861 546850 |
I have been viewing your excellent site for some time now, and thoroughly enjoy the regularly updated information,
and links to other useful Curta sites.
I became aware of Curta calculators a few years ago when doing a voluntary work placement at GeoScience Australia (the Australian Government
Geological Survey). Scattered around the building are display cabinets housing all sorts of outmoded but very beautifully constructed scientific
and surveying instruments, including a number of Curta calculators. Curiosity got the better of me, and after reading about the Curta, I was hooked.
Ever hopeful, I am always popping into antique shops and 2nd hand shops to see what I can find, but the pickings are slim in Australia and I
have never seen a Curta for sale. I also tried this strategy when travelling through Spain and Morrocco .... alas, it is only the lucky few that
can tell those $15 junk store bargain stories.
Eventually I bit the bullet, and made a purchase on ebay. My first Curta was a pristine very late type 1, for which I paid way too much ...
a fact not helped by the then very weak Aussie dollar. Still, it was a lovely machine, and soon I was thinking about getting a second Curta ....
so I had "one of each" (a type 1 and a type 2). Pretty quickly I discovered that there that many subtle variations out there that there is no way
I could hope to own them all .... and then there's the whole "prime number" thing.
As a means of limiting my desire for these machines I decided that it would be good to aim for nice examples of what I perceive as the significant
production variations based on the evolution of the canister. For me this comprises a total of nine machines, six type 1's and three type 2's.
Of these, I so far have the following eigth:
Type 1 4440 - pin slider - "Curta Reschenmachine" engraving - Right hand canister - engraved "CURTA" with square "A" - original
manuals and black sliding carton (original?) Type 1 7430 - normal sliders - "Curta Reschenmachine" engraving - Left hand canister - engraved CURTA with square "A" - original manuals Type 1 38872 - normal sliders - all metal construction - unusual baseplate with number on top - Left hand canister - engraved CURTA with round "A" - original manuals and carton Type 1 52241 - normal sliders - plastic crank - metal clearing ring - Left hand metal canister with decal rather than engraving - all original papers, manuals and carton Type 1 78106 - normal sliders - plastic crank - plastic clearing ring - plastic canister with decal - original manuals and carton Type 2 503302 - all black construction, short metal crank - metal canister - engraved CURTA with round "A" - original manuals Type 2 511861 - grey painted body (transitional type) - grouped coloured sliders - long metal crank - metal canister with decal rather than engraving Type 2 546850 - grey painted body - "normal" slider arrangement - plastic crank - plastic clearing ring - plastic canister with decal - original manuals .... I remain on the lookout for an early type 1 in the 2### serial number range with "Curta Reschenmachine" engraved on the canister. |
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| 767 | Robert Koffsky | spintech(at)optonline.net | Albany, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 71270 | I have a Curta (Type I, Serial #71270) for sale with an interesting history and a unique piece of literature, perhaps. After WWII my father Samuel Koffsky, who was Chief Engineer at the Simmons Machine Tool Corporation (Albany, NY) traveled to Europe at the behest of the Marshall Plan and his company. Simmons was a leader in building standard and specialized machine tools and had worked 24/7 during the war supplying arsenals around the country with specialized machines as well as manufacturing basic machine tools installed on the Navy's largest ships. He returned with rebuilding contacts for the company. He also brought back a Curta and an agreement for Simmons to become a distributor in the US for the calculator. He used the Curta regularly along with his slide rule on the job and it was a permanent fixture on his desk. He died in 1953 having never come into the digital age and I inherited his Curta. I used the Curta in high-school and took it to college only to have it subsequently stolen. After a number of years, when I could afford it, I bought a new Curta from The Curta Company in Van Nuys and that is the one I am interested in selling. It is in like new condition as I was by then using digital calculators and had no use for it. I have all of the original literature that came with the Curta including Your CURTA Calculator, Mathematical Handbook, and Computing Examples for the CURTA Calculating Machine (from Contina AG). Additionally I have an original sales brochure in English with the Simmons-Curta Business Machines information overprinted on the back. I have spent a bit of time searching for information on this early Curta/US connection but to no avail. Please find below the image of the front and back of this brochure. Any information your could provide would be greatly appreciated. As mentioned above, I am interested in selling the Curta and its accompanying materials and would likewise appreciate any information you could provide on proceeding forward. | |
| 768 | Diego Raimondo | diego.g.raimondo(at)gmail.com | San martin, Buenos Aires ARGENTINA |
1 | 0 | 2078 | I found her at a carnival in Montevideo, Uruguay | |
| 769 | Glenn Piersall | piersallg(at)aol.com | Seattle, Washington USA |
0 | 1 | 525553 | My CURTA belonged to my uncle who gave it to me some years ago. The can has like-new pads both in the bottom and top and has the original white O-ring. The calculator is in pristine condition. My uncle took very good care of his toys and so do I. I'd be interested in a manual to accompany this unit if I could find one. | |
| 770 | Joel Kickbusch | Joel.Kickbusch(at)gmail.com | Rockledge, Flordia USA |
0 | 1 | 530170 | My wife got this for me as a present. Yes, I have a wonderful wife! It has the metal shell, the original instructions, and a leather case with strap. The metal clearing ring was broken when I received it but other than that it was *perfect*. I had Jack Christensen ship me a NOS ring. I have a great time fixing that! So, it was pretty cool that I it was damaged when I got it. I got a German version of the repair manual (thanks to Ernie Jorgenson) and learned a lot about the workings without taking it all apart. I'll leave that to others... I like to play with it, and have started trying to learn cube root calculations. A fine instrument that deserves to be used, IMO. | |
| 771 | MATTHEW JACOBS | MATT(at)MJJACOBS.COM | GLEN ROCK, New Jersey USA |
201-445-9669 |
1 | 0 | 527785 | For 40 years, I'd seen the Curta sitting on my fathers desk. He'd take it out when he needed it, but ALWAYS put it right back into the case. His hands were a-whirl and I always wanted to know what he was doing, but he was adamant that we were not allowed to touch his Curta, which was one of his prized possessions! My Dad is now gone for several years, and when my mother asked if I was interested in some of his old hats, the prized Curta was hiding underneath! Finally, I am now the proud owner of my very own Curta Model II (and have also been able to add my Fathers collection of interesting slide rules to my own)! Dark Roasted Blend dot com ran a full page article today on mechanical calculators, and spent the first half on Curta's. http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/09/stunningly-intricate-curta-mechanical.html |
| 772 | Jim Falk | Melbourne AUSTRALIA |
2 | 1 | 5424 76436 5????? |
I have three Curtas. The first is Type 1, serial 5424 - one of the original production models with pin sliders and gold lettering. It is in near mint condition complete with its metal box and original foam rubber shock absorber. The only deviation from mint is a slight patina on the two metal screws in the bottom - excusable for one so near the beginnings. This is definitely the pride of the collection. The second is also Type 1, but much later serial 76436. It is mint and comes with its original metal case and the original cardboard box in which it was sold, all in mint condition, including its instruction booklet. It was owned by the seller's grandfather who worked for one of the large business machine companies. It was probably given to him as a gift and was then stowed by him fairly rapidly on a shelf where it stayed keeping in pristine condition. The third is a Type 2, better than excellent and complete with its metal case and a leather carrying case into which that slides. All three Curtas are in perfect working order. They were purchased (at very reasonable prices) on eBay to form part of a larger collection of approaches to calculation from the first publication of logarithms (in the early C17) through to the "vanishing point" of the HP-35. | ||
| 773 | David Irwin | dairwin_2000(at)yahoo.com | West Sussex, England UK |
1 | 0 | 15604 | Having read your very interesting website, you may wish to list my details on your registry page | |
| 774 | Peter Holm | peter.c.holm(at)ericsson.com or peter.cr.holm(at)gmail.com |
Gothenburg SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 56030 | I have an old Curta since many years. I got it as a present from my Uncle Sture hwo used it durig the sixties when he worked as accounting manager at a small firm imporing American cars to Sweden | |
| 775 | Peter Hagen | pphagen21(at)wi.rr.com | Franklin, Wisconsin USA |
1 | 0 | 53600 | With metal case and 2 manuals, "Your CURTA Calculator" and "Mathematical Handbook". This CURTA belonged to my father, Marcus Hagen. He was a design engineer and appreciated the design and workmanship of the unit. I only remember seeing him use it on rare occasions and then it was placed back in its case and stored away. When he died several years ago, it became mine. I am currently looking for a good home for it. | |
| 776 | Andy Guyer | bassabassa(at)comcast.net | Broomfield, Colorado USA |
0 | 1 | 552775 | I found my CURTA in a pawnshop in Las Vegas, NV. The name of the shop is "Gold and Silver Pawn" of "Pawn Stars" fame. You have a clip of my CURTA at the end of your site. They gave me a sweet deal, much less than what they purchased it for (from the video). I've used your instructions and am now fluent with "The 4 arithmetical rules". Thanks for the very informative web site! | |
| 777 | Sebastian Mendoza Guzman | sebastian.mendoza(at)gruporedi.com | MEXICO | 1 | 0 | 3635 | The calculator I found in the things of the father of a friend who died and instructed me to take care of their things. | |
| 778 | Ryan Albrecht | ryan(at)ryanalbrecht.ca | Toronto, Ontario, CANADA | 1 | 0 | 75960 | I bought this Curta over eBay from someone in CANNES, France as a gift to myself.
It is a legacy to the modern computer, and a brilliant device. This one has a sticker from the shop where it
was sold on the bottom that reads: INNOVA Concessionnaire exclusive 10, RUE AUX OURS - PARIS 9 R N D DES VICTOIRES - PARIS TEL 887 46 80 |
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| 779 | William Levine | wlevine(at)cox.net | Wichita, Kansas USA |
1 | 0 | 67243 | I've wanted one since I was in Jr. High and saw the ads in Scientific American. Couldn't afford one on my allowance. Bought it on eBay in 2009. | |
| 780 | Dave Richardson | caveman280843(at)yahoo.co.uk | Grimsby North East, Lincolnshire UK |
1 | 0 | 67509 | I used my Curta to calculate stock market trades in the 70's until it was replaced by an electronic machine. It was well used at the time but is still in excellent working order as it has been kept in its bakelite case ever since it became redundant. I was searching Yahoo for a user manual as I could not remember exactly how it worked. The internet not only provided the manual but had links to your site and the history of the machine. Amazing, I did not imagine that so much information would be available. | |
| 781 | Devin Mulder | Muskegon, Michigan USA |
0 | 1 | 557998 | CURTA(s): Type 2 grey body with black plastic case My Curta was given to me by my mother. It was originally my dad's curta and he used it for TSD (time/speed/distance) road rallies. Before he had this Curta he had an older type 1 Curta, which one day when he was using it the gears and springs inside all broke and went everywhere. He sent it back to Liechtenstein to be repaired and instead of fixing it they sent him a new Curta type 2. | ||
| 782 | Gareth Davies | cyngary(at)mweb.co.za | Port Elizabeth, Easter Cape, SOUTH AFRICA | +27413672544 |
1 | 0 | 61307 | It was given to me by an American friend in 1971-1972 who obtained it of someone in Mauritius. It's in its container and I managed to obtain an instruction manual FOC from HILTI A.G in 1972. In about 1973 I had to make a trip to Salisbury which was then Southern Rhodesia and at customs I was made to demonstrate it whilst the customs officials sheltered in the back of the room in case it was an explosive device. This was during the War of Independence of Zimbabwe. |
| 783 | Gabriel Johnston | gabe(at)rallybimmer.com | Anoka, Minnesota USA |
1 | 0 | 74703 | Learned about Curta's in the rally community here in the upper Midwest. Always been a gadget guy so I found what I thought was a decent deal on eBay of all places. Unfortunately it currently needs some small parts in the upper lid, and did not come with a case. Hopefully it will be restored to operational before too long. If it is not repairable I guess I will have to find another one! Thanks for the neat site and maintaining the Registry. Way back when I purchase a Type 1 (SN 10342) but sadly after consulting with Jack Christensen I decided to pass it along to another enthusiast rather than repair it. So I purchased this Type 1 to replace it. I bought it, again via eBay, from an old car rallyist's son. This was great as I am interested in them for their role in early rallye history. I have actually used this one on a couple of TSDs after reading up on some techniques and talking with the older rally boys who still come to events. Note: Gabriel sent the serial number 747073, that can't be correct. I'm guessing it's 74703.... | |
| 784 | Douglas Rothenberg | rhd888(at)aol.com | Shaker Heights, Ohio USA |
1 | 0 | 77495 | Type I Curta (plastic case) First heard about the Curta calculators after reading the January 2004 Scientific American article. Could not put it out of my mind. Such an amazing device and even more amazing story of creation. Finally did the eBay thing until I succeeded. Am still learning how it works and how do calculate. | |
| 785 | Matt O'Brien | mobrien(at)bradley.edu | Peoria, Illinois USA |
1 | 0 | 49062 | Found on eBay. Love it | |
| 786 | tamer tellikursun | tamer(at)alfen.com.tr | Istanbul, Kadikoy TURKEY |
1 | 0 | 27752 | Very clean with original box. I found from fleamarket in Istanbul. Also I never paid! Free of charge!! Because tthe seller dont know what its for. | |
| 787 | Gary Nivaggi | gnivaggi(at)live.com | Orlando, Flordia USA |
407-493-2189 | 1 | 0 | 20112 | Hi Rick and good evening.....I received today the Curta poster and it is truly impressive. I look forward to taking it to work to show some of my fellow Manufacturing Engineers and some of the other folks who would appreciate it, but never knew the Curta existed. This past weekend I became the proud owner of a Curta when the FedEx truck stopped in front of our house....I guess that technically I had become the owner a few days prior when I hit the "Buy It Now With PayPal" button on eBay. It's a fairly early Type I with S/N 20112 and from the dating method I figure it to be from around late 1952, possibly early 1953..... putting it a few months older than myself. Hey, maybe we were both conceived on the same day....I'll have to ask my father if he remembers screaming out "Curta" during that magic moment in late September 1952. The auction write-up had several very clear photos and seller touted the unit as being mint, along with the case. It also came with the original serialized box, and though a bit tattered I spent some time patching up the tears and it now looks quite well. Also included was the original instruction manual dated 10/28/50 and the unfilled warranty card. The seller stated mint and he wasn't kidding. I have always had an ability for incredible attention to detail, which can sometimes be a curse, just ask my wife. I don't believe this gorgeous device or the metal case ever spent more than a few brief minutes outside of the cardboard box.....it's really that sweet. I had been checking out the Curtas on eBay for a couple years prior and once I made the purchase, I spent quite a bit of time on your website learning how it worked. I never had the desire forty years ago to own a Curta, since I had to have one of the new four function, red led-display Bowmar's, A/C adapter, rechargable batteries and beautiful zippered case. Eighty bucks new and these days for a dollar at the Dollar Tree you can get more functions. That's the story Rick and thanks again for the great and informative website. |
| 788 | Steve Saslow | k7ew(at)hotmail.com | Portland, Oregon USA |
3 | 2 | 3605 57555 73368 500315 511525 |
I have about half a dozen Serial Number(s): I have two others, but will have to give their serial numbers later, presently being serviced by Master Jack! You can see, two of them are very early. 3605 came from Australia. 500315 came to me from Wales, but had apparently been in China (has a label, Shewan Tomes & Co Ltd Hong Kong Distributors, on the case bottom). 73368 has a Servco Surveyors Service Co...Costa Mesa CA label on the lower case, outside. 511525 has alternating groups of three red knobs-three black, repeating, from right to left: 3 red, 3 black, 3 red, 3 black. My other type I came from a Canadian surveyor. All from eBay. My other type II came from the accountants' area of a major Canadian Beer company, indirectly via eBay. I have taught myself some leather-work, and gotten guidance from Jack C., and have made good leather cases for nearly all my little collection. I taught middle and high school math and sciences for over 40 years, and used one of my Curtas - very carefully! - to enrich a number of the lessons. It fascinated many of my students, and several clearly fell in love with it! | |
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| 789 | Falko Ducia | falko(at)ducia.com | Wien AUSTRIA |
0043 664 4603344 | 1 | 1 | 7704 543293 |
My father startet with Curta I to calculate his , when I studied civil engineering in Zurich I got the II, I used it until we calculated with IBM 1130 and STRESS (Structural Engineering System Solver). I found you site, I am glad not to be allone with the mechanical wonder, both work very well, |
| 790 | Jeff Harris | jeffsharris(at)gmail.com | San Francisco, California USA |
(650) 265-1224 | 1 | 0 | 38391 | Nothing exciting about the history ... I've been a fan for a few years and finally caved and bought one on Ebay. |
| 791 | Ray Hinton, Jr. | ray.hinton(at)gmail.com | New York, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 30223 | Found among my grandfather's things. He worked a lot with computers back in the day (like, starting in the 40's or 50's), and had various other calculating machines, including a "Rapid Calculator" desk machine, and a pocket circular slide rule. The Curta is in a nice metallic cylinder storage case, which has a sticker inside it for "CURTA Calculators of Canada Ltd." I doubt it's ever really been cleaned, so there's a little schmutz that's built up in the slots for the decimal balls. Other than that, it's in great condition. Works like a dream. Beautiful design, fantastic engineering. | |
| 792 | BOURBIN | yannic.bourbin(at)wanadoo.fr | SCEAUX FRANCE |
+33 6 07 43 06 81 | 1 | 0 | 21783 | A friend of mine has decided to sell it to me. |
| 793 | Sam Sherry | Sam9266(at)aol.com | Albany, Georga USA |
1 | 0 | 17088 | My father who passed away in Dec. 1992 was a retired Major in the Marine Corps and acquired it sometime during his time in the service. I do not know if it was used by him in the military service for sure but I do remember him and my uncle, also in the Marines, using it at home many years ago. I Just recently moved about 2 weeks ago and just unpacked it along with a bunch of antiques I have collected over the years and actually had it sitting on an end table when last night I saw an episode of Pawn Stars on TV that featured a Curta. I already knew it was a calculator and due to its extremely precise and detailed movements always figured it had some value but never realized it was actually so collectable. After the show I decided to Google it and found your site with all this wonderful information. It appears to be in working condition however some of the movements are either sticking or I'm just not using it correctly. The Curta has sentimental value to me of course as I lost my father while I was still in my 20's at age 56 due to a form of cancer related to his heavy contact to Agent Orange herbicide during his tour in Vietnam as a supply officer. He was an amazing man who I have always been very proud of and miss terribly. | |
| 794 | Dave Donovan | dave.donovan(at)bp.com | London, England UK |
0 | 1 | 508949 | Given to me by a colleague at work who had two. Originally intended to count joints of drilling pipe or similar in middle east. Looks unused. | |
| 795 | William (Bill) de Swardt | Johannesburg, Gauteng Province SOUTH AFRICA |
27 11 8846252 | 1 | 0 | 13274 | My late father Gus de Swardt, an engineering surveyor, acquired the instrument new in, or about, 1970 from Suttner's, the sole South African agents. The instrument and its case are in excellent condition but the instruction booklet has been lost. I would be extremely grateful if I could be informed as to how to obtain a copy. Although the instrument was well used and well looked after I doubt whether it had ever been serviced. Unless I can find a reliable and knowledgeable person in SA I may approach you again for advice. Best wishes for 2012. Bill de Swardt | |
| 796 | Chris Williams | crwcomposer(_at_)gmail.com | Denton, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 43473 | I purchased my Curta from a man who was the guardian of his wife's uncle's estate. His wife's uncle had been a Senior Manufacturing Engineer for General Motors in Michigan, and he was presumably the original owner. | |
| 797 | francisco tognon | ftognon(at)gmail.com | Cordoba, Cordoba ARGENTINA |
1 | 0 | 66572 | extra info | |
| 798 | Jorge Frankon | jorgefrankon(at)gmail.com | Buenos Aires, Capital Federal ARGENTINA |
54 911 5045 5674 | 1 | 0 | 14168 | My grandfather Meyer Prengler bought it in Liechtenstein during a business trip in Europe in the early 50's, and in the early 70's he gave it to me. Now, 2012, I gave it to my son, he is 15 years old. My CURTA works PERFECT and is in a very good condition, with the original metal case. I love to use it time to time. |
| 799 | Peter Lau | pjlau(at)comcast.net | Lowell, Massachusetts USA |
0 | 1 | 520108 | Purchased on eBay | |
| 800 | Frank Walsh | frank(at)fwalsh.com | London, England UK |
1 | 0 | 3403 | It is in full working order, with no signs of use, and still has its original padded metal case. My father (an accountant) had given to me and sadly I broke off the knurled turning handle and one of the adjuster pins playing with it as a child. However, it is perfect in every other way and still calculates perfectly. I have no idea how my father came by it, apart from he worked in East Africa in the 1950's and our family Doctor was a German surveyor of the death camps. So possibly it was brought from Europe at that time. | |
| 801 | Robert Fey | rfey33(at)yahoo.com.au | 0 | 1 | 527607 | I am the proud owner of a type II CURTA in metal case and instruction book.( all in excellent condition) From the website it would appear that this was produced in very early 1958. It was purchased in November 1965 for the Tariffs department of CENTRAL AFRICAN AIRWAYS(CAA), national carrier of the ex- federation of Southern Rhodesia,Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. I was working for the airline and in 1974,having moved into the Tariffs Dept took possession of the Curta and eventually managed to persuade Management to sell it to me as a defunct item of equipment. I still have the receipt for it - R$9.00( Rhodesian dollars) and at that stage the R$ equalled USD1.50 ! | ||
| 802 | Gordon A. Brody, MD | gabrodymd(at)mac.com | Palo Alto, California USA |
1 | 0 | 56035 | Inherited from my uncle, Norman Alexander, a chemical engineer. I remember he purchased it in Frankfurt in the mid 1960s. The case and calculator are in absolute mint condition with very little use. He retired from active work not long after he acquired it. I was taught to use it by him and a highlight of my visits to him were cranking the curta. He became very ill over the last 10 years and the CURTA disappeared. I found it a few weeks ago after he passed away. He had an enormous chemical engineering library and it was stuffed into a bookcase. Here in Silicon Valley it is an admired curiosity. | |
| 803 | Christophe Guerin | christophe.guerin(at)orange.fr | SAINT GOURSON, CHARENTE FRANCE |
05 45 31 53 15 |
1 | 1 | 23602 500740 |
My Curta was broken when I bought it, but I fixed it with two nails, a litlle piece of aluminium and a few parts of typewriters. After washing it in the sink, it works perfectly. I'm not joking : I really made a pin and the plunger with two nails for concrete (they're made with super steel), and rebuilt a numeral wheel tooth with a tiny bit of aluminium. Model II, n° 500740, with the original papers : warranty 1 year from the 13th of april 1953. It has been orderded in january 1953, with 3 month delay for delivery. The price was 69500 francs (around 170 USD at that time) and the price of a model I was 59500 francs (with immediate delivery). This second Curta is in perfect condition, I had nothing to do, exept a bit of cleaning. Note on the picture that the reverse button has the vertical arrows, while my model I, which is a few month newer, has the older horizontal arrows. |
| 804 | Maria-Jose Casaus-Reig | girisarri77(at)gmail.com | Valencia SPAIN |
(34) 963696513 | 1 | 0 | 4011 | My Curta was stored away in a cupboard for decades, half forgotten. It had been purchased, probably in Madrid, by my late father, an engineer by profession, who died in 1955. One day, in 2012, I decided to re-activate this fascinating piece of machinery, that is now working flawlessly in my hands... |
| 805 | Douglas R Brown | drphysic2033(at)gmail.com | Las Cruces, New Mexico USA |
1 | 0 | 70071 | Moved to Las Cruces from the Sacramento Peak Solar Observatory in 1977. Some years later told the ex-director of the observatory about my interest in Curta calculators since 1963 when I was in high school in Seattle Washington where I was introduced to them by a rally car driver that used them for speed/time/distance calculations. Within a year of that conversation, he was approached at the observatory by a staff scientist there, Dr. Don Neidig, asking him if he knew what "this thing"was. He said not only did he know, but knew someone who would buy it if he wanted to sell. The Curta, now mine, was found in a closet of his widowed mother's house, having been purchased by his father and never used. He wanted only $250 for it, but I argued that it was worth more than that, and if you can believe it, I purchased it for $750. It has all the manuals, warranty card that it was purchased with, and not a mark on it. If there is an interest, I can scan the documents. I am fond of old mechanical things, cameras, typwriters, calculators, but don't really collect them. The Curta is just one of the nicest parts of this group. | |
| 806 | Keene Kelley | keenekelley(at)hotmail.com | New Orleans, Louisiana USA |
1 | 0 | 34091 | I have a mint condition CURTA type I. My grandmother gave it to me years ago. It was either my grandfather's or my uncle's. | |
| 807 | Steve Hossner | hossnerbiz(at)yahoo.com | Hillsboro, Oregon USA |
0 | 1 | 509770 516257 |
Found (509770) locally on Craigslist for a reasonable price. This unit has been well used, but still works smoothly and perfectly. Amazing piece of engineering! I purchase this (516257) locally from the original owner's son. Came with original paperwork showing the purchase in 1962 from a dealer in Switzerland. It is in Excellent condition, only light wear around the clearing lever pivot. | |
| 808 | Derek Kozel | derek.kozel(at)gmail.com | California USA |
1 | 0 | 52185 | The curta is in very fine condition visually with the largest visual blemish being wear on the top edge fom the clearing ring and slight discoloration of the digits and inscriptions. The case is in good condition, no dents but with numerous minor scratches. The O ring and bottom foam pad are present and intact, but the top foam pad is missing. I'm working on getting it cleaned and constructing a display case. | |
| 809 | Leonardo Uno | leouno(at)oi.com.br | BRAZILia, Distrito Federal BRAZIL |
55-61-9267-2292 | 1 | 0 | 25864 | In 1999 a old teacher give me this Curta and ask if I could discover how to use that. I discovered by myself (Internet wasn't the same thing as is today) and I show to him how to make some calcs. He say "I'm whit this for about 30 years and you discover in 3 weeks, take, it's yours". So I keep my Curta in my desk and show to my friends my "cool" calculator. |
| 810 | Erkan Karaoguz | filizerkan(at)doruk.net.tr | Istanbul TURKEY |
9O 532 332 25 43 |
1 | 0 | 69288 | THIS CURTA OWNED BY MY GRANDFATHER FOR MANY YEARS, I DON'T KNOW HOW, WHY AND WHERE DID HE BUY IT, AFTER HID DEAD I STARTED TO SAFE IT SINCE 1982 IF ARE THERE ANY SERIOUS COLLECTOR WHO SAFE IT BETTER THAN ME, I AM READY TO SELL THIS MACHINE TO SOMEONE. YOU CAN CONTACT ME BY E-MAIL OR CAN USE MY TELEPHONE NUMBER. NOTE: MY CURTA IS IN NEAR MINT CONDITION AS YOU SEE TO ATTACHMENT PICTURES. |
| 811 | Charles Walters | charliewalters(at)aol.co.uk | UK | 1 | 0 | 3392 | I have had my father`s old Curta at home since he died 5 years ago. It is a Type 1 SN 3392, which I put at about Jan 1948 for production. Perhaps you can verify that. I can remember , as a young child, my dad using it for calculations and his hand spinning quickly to get results. It has not been used for over 40 years maybe 50. Seems to work ok. Does not appear to be many about of that age. | |
| 812 | Jody Huneycutt | jodyhuneycutt(at)gmail.com | Ellijay, Georga USA |
706-636-1967 | 1 | 0 | 73722 | In the summer of 1967, after my freshman year at Georgia Tech, i had a summer job working as a rodman on a land surveying crew for a company in Forest Park, GA, named Jimmerson-Dixon Engineering and Surveying. One day that summer, I was working with one of the principles, Bill Dixon, who was a Registered Land Surveyor, and he pulled out a Curta to do some calculations. I fell in love with it and saved part of my pay ($1.25/hr) for the rest of the summer and bought one that Fall. My best memory is that it was priced at $125; so, out of the 12 weeks I worked that Summer to earn money for my next year of college, over 3 weeks of my pay went to buy the Curta. I used it for the next 3 years of college, even using it to take the EIT exam (I really had to lobby the proctor to use it, because of the "noise" it made, but he eventually allowed it). After I graduated and went to work as a civil engineer at the Fulton County, Ga Public Works Department, I continued to use it until the cost of electronic calculators with their easily obtainable trig functions came down to below the cost of the Curta, then I switched over. I am retired now, but I still have it. It's in excellent condition, in the original plastic case, and it works perfectly, just like it did in 1967. I have the booklet that came with it, but the original box was lost 30 or more years ago. It's kept in a display bell jar and usually only taken out to demonstrate to visitors. I still love it, though. I think that it represents the epitome of the engineering profession, it does it's job easily, accurately and with no superfluidity.. It's "elegant". According to the formula shown in the webpage, my Curta I was manufactured in September, 1969. Maybe I am incorrect as to when I bought mine, since I worked for Jimmerson-Dixon in the summers of 1967 and 1968, I guess It could have been 1968 when I saw Bill Dixon using his, but I really don't think that I waited until over a year later to buy it. |
| 813 | Richard Rex | rmxv(at)verizon.net | Doylestown, Pennsylvania USA |
1 | 0 | 33699 | This is in mint condition, though frequently used, which says something about its quality (ditto its case, which is virtually unmarked). Was owned by an RAF navigator who claimed it was used on Canberra (light bomber) operations, but I'm not sure how that would work (as a pilot myself I can't imagine using it in a tiny, cramped cockpit). Many years ago we did a swap - his Curta for my Webley & Scott 0.22 air pistol, two beautifully made pieces. | |
| 814 | Shahabuddin Ibrahim | shahabib49(at)gmail.com | Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory MALAYSIA |
1 | 0 | 58260 | My story (Dated 9 September 2012): I was born in 1949. In 1971 when I graduated with a in Diploma in Land Surveying from Technical College Kuala Lumpur, I was appointed as a cadastral surveyor in the State of Perak Department of Survey. This was where I first encountered this magnificent calculating machine. As a field surveyor having to do precise trigonometric calculation with the aid of 7 figures Log Table, doing numerical computation was a daily routine. Computation speed was the essence as the amount of calculation to be done per working day was enormous. After years (1971-1973) of practise I was so good at using it that I could slide the counters and turn the knob without even looking at the machine. It was done quite instinctively. Most of my engineer friends who then at best only uses the slide rule was rather envious of my tool of the trade. I never thought then that a day would come when the Curta would be replaced by an ordinary looking machine known as the electronic calculator. That day came in 1974 when an Australian Land Surveying graduate brought back home his calculator to impress us. Since then the Department did not bother to maintain or repair the Curta as it was much cheaper to replace it with an electronic calculator. I understand that old/damaged Curta was thrown into mining pools to conform with Government write off policy. This explains the scarcity of the machine in Malaysia. I proceeded with my career as a Land Surveyor for another thirty years or so as an Academician after continuing with my post graduate studies in England and the USA. By then the Curta has already been placed in the backyard of history and precise and repetitive calculations were mostly done using computers. In 2012 while viewing one of my favourite History Channel TV programs, The Pawn Stars, a Type II Curter was brought into the shop by a lady who sold it for US$725. Since then my yearning to have my very own Curta Type 1 has rekindled. The Curta had been my trusted companion while doing cadastral survey works in rural Malaysia and surveying the Malaysian-Thailand border as a topographical surveyor. I started to ask around about the Curta amongst my Land Survey colleague here in Malaysia but unfortunately most have not even heard of it let alone seen one. Some of those whom I know have used it before could not be contacted or have already passed on. While talking about it with my architect daughter-in-law, she suggested that I browse through eBay. And to my surprise there it was with loads of other information which I have not even heard of before. On two occasions I tried to bid for it but was unsuccessful. In the end I gave up on bidding and decided to ask my daughter-in-law who was in Melbourne to purchase it through eBay from a seller based in Alberta, Canada for US$900. This is the story of a proud owner of the Curta Type 1 Serial Number 58260. Holding the Curta in my palm have the effect of transporting me back to the years when life was tough and challenging as a young field surveyor. My Curta and I are proud of our small contribution to this blessed land, Malaysia. | |
| 815 | Hiroyuki Kitagawa | kitagawa(at)amphenol.co.jp | Yokohama, Kanagawa JAPAN |
+81-80-1424-6727 | 0 | 1 | 517234 | I am the owner of a type II CURTA in metal case and instruction book. The condition is like new. The instruction book seems that was printed few days ago. My grandfather who was just a doctor during the world war II. He got it in the 60's and gave it to me in 1991. |
| 816 | David Penner | dnlpenner(at)gmail.com | Yreka, California USA |
1 | 0 | 10271 | When my parents estate things were being gone through for keepsake or sale, I asked for the Curta because it was my father's, who was a land surveyor party chief for many years. His first calculator was the Curta. | |
| 817 | Jim Gray | azvette-1(at)msn.com | Tucson, Arizona USA |
1 | 0 | 68675 | Curta 1, #68675, with operating instructions and computing example booklet. All in pristine condition. I purchased in Hong Kong in 1968, and has been stored for most of its life. | |
| 818 | Marco Kuehne | marco.kuehne(at)gmx.de | Freiburg GERMANY |
1 | 0 | 54797 | I saw my first Curta in my uncles office in end of the 90's. During his years of school and study (50's to 70's) he collected some slide-rules, used by himself. He tried to explain "how to use" slide-rules to me. I was confused ! After that lesson, he opened a drawer and showed me his Curta ! Afer a 15 minute introduction I was in love. A few years later I saw a second Curta in "Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA". And two years later I saw a third Curta: My !! It was a gift to me from my whife for marriage.... crazy, isn't it ? Optical condition is slightly used, but technically excellent. My whife bought it somwhere in France. | |
| 819 | Ric Capucho | ric.capucho(at)gmail.com | Hutten, Zurich SWITZERLAND |
+41 79 629 9484 | 1 | 1 | 6824 504270 |
I first read about Curtas in the New Scientist article about ten years ago (2012 as I write), and mentally filed my impressions under "interesting, I should have a look on eBay one day..." and then promptly forgot all about it. Then I read the William Gibson book last year, and the Curta references rang a bell. So I reread the NS article, and immediately did my web trawl. I was fascinated, of course, as we all are. So, lots of clicking about on this website (and the other one across the road). Interesting... very, very interesting. And then during the annual pilgrimage I take with my father-in-law to collect the wine from a Malans vineyard not a million miles from Vaduz, he decided to drive on a route from his old army days, got a bit diverted, and we went through Mauren, with me straining my neck for some hints of the factory (nothing I could see...). So by then I was all fired up, so many months of web research and general coveting followed, keeping a close eye on eBay auctions, average costs, what's what, etc. I'm now the very proud owner of an early (I think 1949) round pin Type I and an early 1954 Type II. |
| 820 | James Kavanagh | jdkavanagh(at)hotmail.com | London, England UK |
1 | 0 | 15689 | Great site thanks. I recently bought a Curta Type I in Geneva, Switzerland, SN 15689 which I think makes it a mid August 1951 model? Very beautiful, a little slice of genius with mechanical watchmaker precision in the manufacture. | |
| 821 | Danny Almeida | dpalmeida2(at)gmail.com | Limerick, Pennsylvania USA |
1 | 0 | 16425 | I found a Curta Type 1 SN# 16425 amongst my father personal effects after his passing. It seams jammed. The leavers are difficult to slide and the operating handle won't turn. Any advise on releasing the levers or where I can send it for repair? I haven't done anything to it to loosen it. I wouldn't spray it with a lubricant such as WD40 without advise to do so. My Response: The numerical entry sliders can be lubricated with a light weight machine oil (e.g. Sewing Machine oil). WD40 works temporary but it tends to evaporate. You can easily access the sliders by removing the two screws on the bottom of the Curta and sliding off the lower half. The jammed crank is much more serious and probably requires professional disassembly. | |
| 822 | Laurent DUPONT | ldupont91(at)gmail.com | Rambouillet FRANCE |
1 | 0 | 42571 | Some elements of my new functional calculator without environment impact... I find a real bargains at the local flea market this week close to my location (40E !!!)... | |
| 823 | Chris Murphy | christopher.murphy2(at)ntlworld.com | Bedfordshire, England UK |
0 | 1 | 519695 | I inherited a Curta calculator type II serial No 519695, from my father who used it in his work as a Land Surveyor in the 1960's. Considering the use it got out in the field, he looked after it very well and apart from a few minor scuffs on the metal storage case, it is in pristine condition. It was put away in a drawer five or six years ago and I never realised its value or how collectible they are. I have put it up for sale on eBay at £850.00! Do you feel this is a realistic price? As I am now the de facto owner I thought I should also register it on your site. Let me know if you require any more information. | |
| 824 | Larry Forman | larry(at)forman.net | Sacramento, California USA |
0 | 1 | 557237 | I just purchased a Curta Type II S/N 557237 off eBay. It was from the estate of an electrical engineer with plastic and leather case with new manuals. I doubt it was ever used. It is in mint condition. I am also an electrical engineer and now teach math part-time, so having one of these is PERFECT! I will attempt to keep it in close to mint condition, but I intend to use and enjoy it. I do not want to keep it as a museum paper weight. However, I can be very gentle with it and intend to be very careful with it. It is in perfect condition and works just like the new unit it is. | |
| 825 | Nuno Girao | nunogirao(at)gmail.com | Lisbon PORTUGAL |
0 | 1 | 534551 | After discovering this extraordinary mechanical machine, I bought one at eBay, from a guy called Nick, from Lancashire, United Kingdom, in October 2008. It's a Type II, in very good condition and working perfectly. | |
| 826 | L Van V Dauler Jr | curtalvvd(at)spamex.com | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA |
4 | 3 | 9819 20656 46699 76804 531866 541336 546602-D |
SN 76804 (With cardboard box and manuals) SN 546602 ("Cutaway" version showing the inside mechanisms. Works perfectly.) A mathematics teacher introduced me to the Curtas in the late 50's. I have always wanted one and started accumulating them several years ago on eBay. As you can see I now have more than the one I originally wanted. They all work perfectly, are in excellent conditions and have their metal or plastic cases. One has a leather one as well. | |
| 827 | Francisco Dieguez | fd_uy(at)yahoo.com | Montevideo, Uruguay | 1 | 0 | 2189 | Last week my father (Dr Uruguay Dieguez) gave me a Curta (type I nro 2189). The first owner -I suppose- was Ronald Webster Kay, a friend of my father. He (Ronald) die about 12 years ago. His father was an english government agent (presumible english spy) how came to Uruguay and married an uruguayan women. His son (Ronald) had Diogenes syndrome and was a hermit man. They and my father were fire guns collectionist and knows each other for its hobby. Ronald did not have any family in Uruguay, after his father dead, so my father takes care of Ronald. When Ronald die, my father inherit his possesions. We found the Curta in 1994 and my father keep it for my. Last week my father give me the machine... an incredible calculator in perfect state with a manual in spanish. I think the machine was buyed in latest '50 or beginning of '60. | |
| 828 | Anthony Deschamps | anthony.j.deschamps(at)gmail.com | Windsor, Ontario, CANADA | 1 | 0 | 58681 | Bought on eBay in July 2012. It's in very good condition. | |
| 829 | Albert Meloy | ameloy(at)me.com | North Carolina USA |
0 | 1 | 557401 | As I am preparing to relocate to NC from Michigan by way of Ohio, I discovered my old Curta. It was used when I was road rallying in late 60's early 70's. In good condition w/black plastic container. | |
| 830 | Hochstrasser Rudolf | rudolf.hochstrasser(at)bluewin.ch | CH 2034 Peseux, Neuchatel, Suisse SWITZERLAND |
1 | 0 | 27936 | "Je m'en sers tous les jours pour mes calculs, elle fonctionne parfaitement." --> I make use of it the every day for my calculations, it functions perfectly. | |
| 831 | Wolfgang Lederer | A-1180 Wien, Eckpergasse 36 AUSTRIA |
1 | 0 | 2154 | From my father I inhereted a CURTA, which I did not notice until some days ago. I think it is a Type I with serial number 002154. It is in very good condition and I think it works well. I send You a some photos and ask You for further Information. I think it was produced ca. 1948 and that date fits wery well in my personal history. I was born 1945 and my father was at that time auditor. I remember the machine from my childhood, it was not long used, my father died in 1956. He then had a well going office, of course with newer machines, mechanical electric-calculaters and so on. | ||
| 832 | Max Schlapbach | maxschlapbach(at)bluewin.ch | 2565 Jens SWITZERLAND |
1 | 0 | 78827 | extra info | |
| 833 | Carol Bergen | focuson(at)hotmail.ca | Brandon, Manitoba, CANADA | 0 | 1 | 544608 | CURTA(s): Type II with Grey Body To the best of my knowledge this Curta has always been in the family. My Uncle bought it new and I was fascinated with it since the first time I saw it. I acquired it about 30 years ago. | |
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| 834 | Wessel van Zyl | wessel(at)realty1agulhas.com | Bredasdorp SOUTH AFRICA |
1 | 0 | 56664 | Hi I'm staying in Bredasdorp South Africa and got an Kurta type 1 with serial no 56664 in immaculate condition. My question, is there an Kurta club and what would my Kurta be worth if i would sell it? | |
| 835 | Dominique Boutigny | boutigny(at)gmail.com | Vallieres (Haute-Savoie) FRANCE |
+33 6 82 22 13 44 | 0 | 1 | 522705 | This CURTA belonged to my father, he was a Chief Financial Officer in an hospital and he used to prepare the budget with the help of this CURTA. I think that it was in the late 60's. The CURTA is still working perfectly and it is a very nice memory of my late father. |
| 836 | Carlos CARRILLO | carlos(at)carrillo.ch | Geneva SWITZERLAND |
0 | 1 | 521752 | I remember that, when I was about 10 (I am now 60), one of my school fellows brought a CURTA to the school, probably a Type I. Since then, I never heard again of it. But about 30 years, I remembered it and tried to find one. I found it at an antiquarian in Geneva and bought it for 1'000.00 Swiss Francs (about USD 1'000 today). I just found your site today after I uploaded a picture of my calculator to www.thefancy.com and looked around there. Very interesting site ! Thanks ! | |
| 837 | Doug Neilson | douglasneilson(at)eastlink.ca | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island CANADA | 0 | 1 | 518648 | Just re-discovering the Curta that I inherited from my Grandfather 20 years ago, and that has been sitting completely neglected on a shelf since then. I finally realised through web sites like this what a real wee gem it is and have taken the trouble to learn how to use it - a laborious process for me. (It took my son 15 minutes to have it perform for him though - entranced by the machine in an age of incomprehensible digital black magic ). My machine is a type 2, serial # 518648. It is like new, original metal case. Body is grey, though ( apparently this serial # range should be black ??). Original instructions (dog eared and falling apart - glad I'm not the only one that had to concentrate to master the thing), mint condition metal case. Bought by my Grandfather in Glasgow, Scotland, for £45 (GB pounds) in 1962. That would have been a months wages for many then. I now realise I had seen one in real "use" before too - by the navigator of a Vulcan bomber over the Barents Sea in 1979 that I was lucky enough to fly on. A real pleasure to use, and great fun watching my kids master it too. | |
| 838 | Steve Reznik | reznik.ranch(at)gmail.com | Del Norte, Colorado USA |
1 | 0 | 70738 | In 1984, I received this Curta in trade. I wasn't exactly sure was it was, so I called information in Liechtenstein and obtained the phone number to the Liechtenstein National Tourist Office. They told me to send them some pictures, which I did, and they wrote me back with Curt Herzstark address and recommended that I contact him for an owners manual. I then wrote to Curt and he sent me back several manuals for the Curta, as well as a typed letter, signed by Curt, that says: "thank you for your letter of Oktober the 25th and for your interest in the CURTA. I have much pleasure in enclosing the requested manuals. The model on the photograh stms probables from the 1965 Production. Yours sincerly," | |
| 839 | Yves Dordet | yves.dordet(at)continental-corporation.com | Toulouse FRANCE |
0 | 1 | 538903 | ||
| 840 | Carl Woodard | carlw(at)carlwoodard.com | Sacramento, California USA |
0 | 1 | 534730 | This calculator was given to my father back in the early to mid 1960's to use on the road to do calculations for bidding on highway construction jobs in the 5-State area (Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska) for Peter Kiewet. He never used it and just put it in his drawer for several years until I saw it one day and asked to have it. He gave it to me and I spent a few days trying to figure out how to use it and then put it away. It traveled with me wherever I moved to but stayed in my box of 'special stuff'. It looks new with no scratches or wear, whatsoever! | |
| 841 | Tom Fota | tom.fota(at)gmail.com | San Diego, California USA |
858-484-8668 |
0 | 1 | 558113 | I purchased my CURTA calculator new around 1974-75 from a motorsports shop in the Detroit area that carried rallying equipment. I don't recall the name of the shop and I no longer have my receipt. I participated in TSD rallies with the Motor City Sports Car Club (MCSCC) in my 1974 Toyota Celica GT during the winters in the mid-'70s. Since it was my car and I liked to drive, and I couldn't train my navigator on how to use the CURTA, it didn't get any actual rally experience. I kept it as a novelty and curiosity and occasionally bring it out to show to friends. It still works perfectly, very smoothly, and is in very good to excellent condition. I still have the original blue & white box, plastic storage case, fold-out user manual, and Computing Examples booklet. I would consider selling for the right price. |
| 842 | Kevin Smith | smithk(at)Grangeinsurance.com | Columbus, Ohio USA |
1 | 0 | 49067 | Good morning. I recently came to acquire a Curta Type I that had belonged to my father. I have had it for about a year and I have been doing some research which is how I have come by way to contact you. Admittedly, I know nothing about these unique devises other than what I have read. When my mother gave the Curta to me I thought it was quite interesting and vaguely remember seeing it in my youth. I was also amazed how good of condition it was in and that dad had kept the paperwork and the box it came in. Later on I started looking these up on line and couldn't help but to realize that there is something different from dads Curta than others that I saw and then I realized that it was missing the operating handle. How or why, I have no idea. Considering the immaculate condition of the Calculator I really don't know what happened to it. | |
| 843 | Andres Alvarez | andresalvarezarango(at)hotmail.com | Medellin, Antioquia COLOMBIA |
0 | 1 | 517792 | extra info | |
| 844 | Doug Clouston | dougclous(at)btinternet.com | Broom, Bedfordshire, England UK |
1 | 0 | 78346 | Case: Plastic I was given this CURTA about 20 years ago by one of my one of my colleagues when I was working in the aerospace industry. He thought it would sit well with the odd bits of early spacecraft mechanisms that adorned the window ledge of my office at the time! Most of these mechanisms we designed for satellites at that time had to operate in space without intervention or repair for 10 years or more and were pretty clever. However I think few of them compare to this mechanical calculator. | |
| 845 | Richard Bicknell | rangerrich1961(at)me.com | Santa Clara, California USA |
1 | 0 | 13138 | I recently inherited a Curta mechanical calculator. I remember this calculator sitting on my grandfather's desk (wool merchant), after he passed away it sat on my father's desk (doctor), now after he passed away it is sitting on my desk (park ranger). We were/are all fans of cool gadgets. | |
| 846 | Esteban Ballesty | eballesty(at)gmail.com | Buenos Aires ARGENTINA |
1 809 880 5233 |
1 | 0 | 13922 | |
| 847 | Jib Ahmad | susnhot99(at)hotmail.com | Houston, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 50134 | I first saw a Curta Calculator at a Boy Scout event where we were teaching the Scouts about Surveying. I thought it was the most amazing machine I had ever seen. So, five years later I have now found one on eBay for a great price and am the proud owner of one. As I can afford one I would like to get a Type II for my collection. | |
| 848 | James F Graham | jamesg1103(at)earthlink.net | Lexington, Virginia USA |
540 464 4554 |
0 | 1 | 539412 | I first saw a Curta in the 1950s while working for an oil exploration company based in Ankara Turkey. One of our field geologists used his Curta as he roamed the Anatolian hinterlands looking for interesting structures. (We found no oil in Turkey.) I purchased my own new Curta in the mid to late 1970s. Immersed as I had been for years in the corporate accounting and finance world I thought the battery-powered electronics would soon terminate Curta's business so I bought one as a "conversation piece" for my desk. Regards from Rockbridge County! |
| 849 | Jose Paz | pepedelapaz(at)gmail.com | Madrid SPAIN |
0 | 1 | 508396 | Bought via Internet on April 2004. Metal case and leather carrying case. | |
| 850 | Ulf Nilsson | ulf(at)billesholmsindustriservice.se | Billesholm SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 46165 | I have just bought a Curta Type 1. And I like to be part of your origination. I am very thrilled over this little mechanical device J It's just magic! And the one I got, is better than mint condition!! It is never being used! It is just incredible to get a machine from April of 1961, 52 years old, in new condition. Not a scratch at the bottom of the can, and even a little bit oil under the clearing ring. The cardboard box also looks original, with the serial number on it. It must have been sold in Sweden as new, the instructions is in Swedish, plus how to make square root. Someone must have bought it, and forgot about it. But I'm very happy J | |
| 851 | Bob Darlington | rdarlington(at)gmail.com | Los Alamos, New Mexico USA |
505-695-9342 |
1 | 0 | 44613 | My good friend Paul Bergsman gave me this superb Type I. Not a scratch on it (including the bottom). It's in new condition. It came with the box with matching serial number. It was manufactured in November 1960 and was one of 3240 made that year. |
| 852 | John Sidney Ballard | jballard(at)acsalaska.net | Fairbanks, Alaska USA |
(907) 347-7175 |
1 | 0 | 55995 | I acquired this little machine in 1964 or 1965 as a college student. I had been very interested in slide rules, owning several including a couple of 11 inch circulars. I lusted for some time after the Curtas which were advertised in Scientific American. Other students resented the sound of the Curta when I used it during tests. Another note: Rarely in life one has an insight into something that they realize as being revolutionary. While attending school I obtained a job as a custodian and would clean the Geophysics Institute building on the west ridge at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. One night while in the Radio Design Laboratory I noticed several HP-35 calculators on a bench. I didn't know anything about Reverse Polish Notation but I figured things out soon and was amazed at the capacity to do transcendental functions. I went home in the morning and, almost getting teary eyed, I told my wife that I had seen something that would change the world. I still own several HPs including a still faithful HP-55. |
| 853 | Sebastian Dammers | s.d(at)s-dammers.com | Bavaria GERMANY |
9 | 6 | 5023 8121 11140 22146 22961 22983 26713 66561 80151 500438 502852 507157 509135 555001 555476 |
My first Curta was the Curta II - I found it on eBay Germany. Unfortunatly it came without its canister, but was in mint condition. The Curta I came to me through my uncle - he had owned it for many many years, using it only a few times. He originaly got it from a german coal-mine where it was used by a mine surveyor. It is in mint condition and came with its canister. Be sure to check up Sebastian's on-line 3D CAD version of the Curta: https://grabcad.com/library/curta-typ-i-rev-02-1 | |
| 854 | John A. Heinz | jheinz(at)uw.edu | Edmonds, Washington USA |
425-412-0590 |
1 | 0 | 21473 | Upon returning from the Korean War in 1956, I began my career as a mechanical engineer with a consulting engineer firm in Seattle, WA. Due to the volume of calculations required, with accuracy beyond slide-rule accuracy, I opted for the Curta, which I purchased in late 1956 or 1957. I have treasured it ever since. It was serviced by Jack Christensen in 2012 and is in absolutely mint condition, with right-turning black metal case. |
| 855 | Bill Fravel | billfravel(at)comcast.net | Pasadena, Maryland USA |
410.255.7068 |
0 | 1 | 545260 | Purchased from AJS Incorporated, West Franklin Street, New Freedom PA. As I recall, this was an engineering drafting service company. I was a dedicated Time-Speed-Distance rallye participant, and for years I ran as a driver using the tried and true SOP (Seat-of-the-Pants) method. I actually achieved a 1 second score on a night rallye from Baltimore to Cumberland MD in the Baltimore Area Sports Car Council (BASCC) Maryland Monte Carlo weekend; we won our SOP class. This moved me up in the competition level class structure, so I needed to start doing real calculations. I became a navigator and borrowed a Type I and then I bought the Type II. Somewhere I have the holder I made for my table I built into my TR-4A and then a 356 SC Porsche. I went back to driving and my navigator used my Type II. I have the original box and all the manuals. I started with the Your Curta Calculator pamphlet direct from Liechtenstein. Go Hokies! I know where Blacksburg is! VPI Class of '65 |
| 856 | Ian Slippers | ianslippers(at)yahoo.com | Pretoria, Gauteng (Province) SOUTH AFRICA |
+27723945970 | 0 | 1 | 533719 | I have known about the Curta since the early 1990's, I was then about 10 years old (I might be one of the youngest curta owners on this site) I finally after many years by chance saw one on a local classifieds site, and bought it for 5000 SA Rand in 2013. (About USD $500). What a bargain! It is absolutely fascinating and in pristine condition!!! Included in the purchase; "Calculation techniques", "Computing examples for the Curta", "the key to every calculating problem!" and "your Curta calculator" manuals. |
| 857 | Desmond Smith | heyaskdes(at)gmail.com | Seattle, Washington USA |
425-829-2337 | 0 | 1 | 500992 | I have been in the possession of an old (what I believe to be early) CURTA type II. It is in good condition and fully functional. It belonged to my grandfather who was a Colonel in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. He traveled all over the world and likely bought this himself as used it for his job. While it is a interesting item, my grandfather passed away many years ago and I would be interested in selling it to a collector/enthusiast who would be more interested in sharing it with the world. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please let me know. |
| 858 | Michel WATTELLIER | michel.wattellier(at)gmail.com | Saint-Quentin FRANCE |
1 | 0 | 10804 | ||
| 859 | Tom King | TomKing123(at)aol.com | Danville, California USA |
0 | 1 | 550934 | The Curta is fairly good condition its fully functional but it does have a broken part on the very top - the "loop" had apparently broken some time ago because the piece is not still with it. | |
| 860 | Charlotte Hartmann | Charlotte.hartmann(at)hotmail.com | Copenhagen DENMARK |
1 | 0 | 14586 | I inherited the calculator from my father, who used it in his childhood home. | |
| 861 | Karen | karona97(at)gmail.com | 0 | 1 | 531909 | I have a Curta Type II Calculator that was my father's. He used them in road rallys back in the day. I saw your name on the internet and seem to know lots about the Curta. I am curious to find out what mine is worth. Would you be able to help me with that? It is in near mint condition and has a blue manual with it. It is in a metal case and I learned that it was made in 1965. Serial number 531909. | ||
| 862 | Ross Edwards | rossnrob(at)gmail.com | Sydney, NSW AUSTRALIA |
612434531032 |
1 | 1 | 63410 555265 |
I have a few mechanical calculators which I used at school and university. These Curtas are now the pride of this collection. I want to be able to show my grandkids what I used and what my generation used in the days before electronic calculators. |
| 863 | Russ "Riverfront Papa" | bigpapamamaducky(at)gmail.com | 1 | 0 | 40419 | My Father passed away last year and I found a Curta type 1 serial# 40419 and my question is on the bottom of it between where it says made in Liechtenstein and where it says by Contina LTD. Mauren mine says (Custom Union with switzerland) I have viewed every pic of Curta type 1's I only found like 2 type 2's that say that on the bottom and I have yet to find another like the one I have saying that on the bottom and also mine the printing on the bottom is strait across not curved like every one I have seen and the serial # is on the top line I seen on your page about there being around 1800 with the serial # on the top line so I was wondering is this a very rare one with the number on top and with the (Custom Union with switzerland) on it please let me know it is driving me nuts not being able to find any info on this I included a picture of the bottom and if you like I can sens more of it. Yes, that is a fairly rare model deviation, only about 1800 (oldest picture: 38600 & newest: 40469) type I's have Serial Numbers on top row of bottom plate (most Curta's have the serial number on the bottom row of the bottom plate). | ||
| 864 | Jose Marti | fueraepin45(at)gmail.com | Aguadulce - Almeria SPAIN |
+34666421389 |
1 | 0 | 25745 | I was working in the construction of a complex in Valencia Spain in 1965 and the Curta was my personal calculator for the calculation of deforestation, land transport and contributions of concrete for filling of trenches always the sense of rotation of its axles, its softness, its precision and light noise of spinning me fascinated, and knowing that my kids didn't appreciate it. It is in perfect condition with its metal cover but without instructions. |
| 865 | Ryan Davenport | dssleds(at)shaw.ca | Calgary, Alberta CANADA |
0 | 1 | 541792 | I saw some info on the CURTA on the internet a few years ago and decided I needed to own one. It took a while before I found an example that I wanted - the box is a bit dinged up but the calculator itself (grey body) and the plastic canister are both in virtually brand new condition. Fascinating piece of equipment! | |
| 866 | Ernst Leffelaar | ernesto.leffelaar(at)t-online-de | Bergisch Gladbach GERMANY |
1 | 0 | 12318 | My father bought this CURTA in 1955 in Guatemala, Central America, where we lived. He was setting up the representative office and store of PHILIPS for Guatemala and El Salvador. He worked very, very hard and his CURTA was his best assistance during hours and hours of after dinner work at home. Even today, nearly 60 years later, I still keep the sound of his CURTA in my ears: rrrrrr-clac, rrrrrr-clac, etc. Some 15 years ago he gave the precious piece of technique to me. I learned how to use it and stored the little machine in its steel case on a safe place. Recently I visited the Arithmeum, a museum of mechanical calculators at the University of Bonn (Germany). Now I love my CURTA even more than ever (a) because it reminds me of my father and the 20 years that I lived in Central America and (b) since the visit to the museum I realize what a precious piece of technique I have got. By the way, my father, Jan Leffelaar, war Rotarian for many decades too and even was President of the Club in Guatemala. We are Dutch but I live now in Germany. To all who read this: keep your CURTAS in perfect state - it is a marvelous piece of technique!!o | |
| 867 | Nancy Turner | nancy(at)oldfieldsfarm.com | 0 | 1 | 512795 | It is in very good condition with the metal case. | ||
| 868 | Denes Papp | pappde(at)me.com | 1 | 0 | 40285 | It is the variety with the serial # on top. | ||
| 869 | Satoshi Kouya, Ph.D. | n2qp(at)(at)arrl.net | Chiyoda, Tokyo JAPAN |
1 | 0 | 17691 | My wife bought it from one of her friend who loves Curta. She gave it to me as my birthday present. I was so excited because I thought Curta is very rare item and should be just in a repository of a museum. I am teaching some engineering classes in a university and then this small treasure will be an excellent sample when I talk about a history of calculator. | |
| 870 | Michael Gerstman | mgers34912(at)aol.com | Sunrise, Florida USA |
954 632 0847 | 2 | 2 | 5709 30454 531481 551970 |
Saw them as a child thought they were neat. Got this one (30454) on eBay. Remember them as a kid, always wanted one. They all were bought on Ebay. The 551970 was a basket case. It was damaged by someone turning it backwards. Many parts were damaged. The person I got it from said it was in "perfect condition" but admitted she didn't know if it really worked. With all the info on the net about the Curta I think you would know if it was working or not. She listed it "as is" and would not negotiate a reduction in price. I sent it out to be repaired by Romano in Italy. It came back in about a month all repaired, the cost was $298 (280 euros). I will be sending the others to Italy to be CLA'd. Caveat emptor. 531481-This one also an ebay win is fully operational, but appears to have been dropped on the rotation arm. It is bent a little I will probably send It to Italy for repair when I can. I am looking for a canister for it. The one on ebay is plastic. The one for it is supposed to be metal. 551970-This one I got on ebay fairly inexpensively. The Curta was listed "as is". It did not move according to the seller. I put in a low bid and I won it. When It arrived I noticed that it did not turn easily. and it moved in reverse. Took off the bottom plate and it had no pawl lever or roller. Removed top cover and found all the metal arms were bent backward. Sent an email to an American repairer. He said he might get to it about 2 years. I then sent an email to the Italian person who repairs Curtas. He had me send it and within a week I had a repair price. That was acceptable. I sent the money, asked him to repair it. Got it back 2 weeks later. It is in perfect condition. Ready for another 40 years of use. I acquired another Curta Model I (5709). This time on Ebay from someone in Peru. The woman was asking $600.00. She was selling it for someone else. To her it looked ok. I corresponded with the woman in Peru. She had agreed that if it needed to be repaired she would return enough to cover the repair. I paid her the money and it came about a week later. It was a "basket case" the whole thing was locked up, and looked like it had some rust internally. It had round levers instead if rectangular ones, I sent it off to Romano in Italy, he said it would cost about $300.00 to fix. The woman in Peru returned me $280.00. It came back from Italy looking and acting like it was 1948 and just came from the factory. I now have Curta's from 1948 the year I was born, the year I graduated High School, the year I graduated college. |
| 871 | Robb Brinkley | DrRobb(at)yahoo.com | Tulsa, Oklahoma USA |
0 | 1 | 537463 | Took a chance on an "as-is" model from a thrift store on the Internet. They were unsure how/if it worked. Got it in perfectly working excellent condition with original serial number matching box and zero blemishes on the machine that I can detect. | |
| 872 | David Poubelle | poubelle(at)cox.net | 0 | 1 | 508289 | I sure like your site, BTW. I got interested in Curtas when I was a kid and used to see the ads in tech magazines of the day. Of course, back then it was like a year's allowance for a kid to buy one so that never happened. But your site has been a great source of information so hang in there and keep on keeping on. I've had 3 Curtas as an adult.....two crinkle-gray Type 2s and the one under discussion in my note to you. Like you, I have never seen the style of can or exterior packaging this one has. Whatever the cause, it's certainly unusual and I was hoping to find out if there are others like it. That weird paper cylinder and the matte paint on the top of the can.....not anything I've seen before. The serial number is 508289 (an all-black Type 2) and the previous owner told me (and I've found some info to back up the details) that it was quite a subject of dispute because of claims about the sort of material it was made from, along with a claim that it was the last one of a series of 30 (or the first one made after the series) made of that material. This, of course, would mean your 508272 would fall right in the middle of that run of 30. I don't know that anyone ever resolved the dispute but the previous owner ran it on eBay a few times some years back and got no takers so when we crossed paths awhile back we struck a deal and I got it. To tell the truth, it's in such nice shape that I really don't even like to use it, which is sad. All that said, when I bought 508289 it came with a Word file of the listing information from the attempt to sell on eBay. You might know about all that stuff; it goes into detail on the material (duraluminum) and such. If you don't remember all that info I could send you a copy to "refresh your memory." So, if you have any further leads or clues or come across anything, I'd sure be happy to hear about it. Or if you just want to chat Curtas, that would be cool, too. (I also wrote to the Curta Registry fellow, hoping to make contact with the owner of 508288 (a Ben Wright). With a SN just one digit lower than mine, his might also share the peculiar packaging-and material-characteristics of mine. But no reply so far.) | ||
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| 873 | Steve Brook, MD | Radio23(at)aol.com | Crittenden, Kentucky USA |
1 | 0 | 15087 | I saw my first Curta while perusing Meeker's Antiques online and fell in love immediately. After speaking to Larry and being offered a nice deal I took delivery within a week. My Curta was manufactured in August of 1951, so it'll be 63 years old this year, and it's condition is outstanding. | |
| 874 | Willem Boekhoven | willem.boekhoven(at)gmail.com | NETHERLANDS | 0 | 1 | ?????? | Recently I was cleaning up a room of my grandfather and I found a Curta Calculator type II. I happenned to watch a pawn type of show on TV were they explained this little mechanical engeneering wonder so I knew this was a special thing. The state of the calculator is near Mint and doubting about selling or keeping. This [is a] beautifull apparatus. | |
| 875 | Wesley Lilienthal | weslilient(at)gmail.com | 1 | 0 | 12886 | I write to you with admiration for the website you curate for Curta calculators, their history, and specifics. As you are the owner of an impressive number of Curtas, I am hoping you can provide me with some insight as to the dimensions of a couple of missing pieces on my own Type 1. I recently (and joyfully) acquired a Curta Type 1 (SN 12886) in fantastic condition save for a missing storage canister o-ring and lower pad. In the interest of replacing these pieces with new, are you able to provide me with: o the cross-sectional diameter (cord thickness) of the original o-ring on a Type 1 metal canister: 58.5mm diameter, .3mm thick. o the lower canister pad's thickness and material makeup (foam or solid rubber): 54mm diameter, 3mm thickness. o I use the heavy foam mouse pads to make mine. | ||
| 876 | Curtis Holmes | curtholmes41(at)gmail.com | Tucson, Arizona USA |
1 | 0 | 9835 | Purchased in late 60's and used for sports car rallies until 1971 - It has been in a box with old pictures since then. I just retired and found it in my attempt to get "organized". Perfect condition but I have not yet found the manual. | |
| 877 | Brett Franklin | brettjfranklin(at)hotmail.com | 1 | 0 | 10057 | My wife has just discovered her Fathers Type1 Curta serial number 10057, which I believe to be April 1950. Sadly he has passed away and no one in the family wants it. My father Inlaw used it during the 50's in London aiding insurance calculations. I would say by your descriptions it falls into the 'Excellent' category. | ||
| 878 | Ian Stones | ian_stones(at)yahoo.co.uk | Shrewsbury, Shropshire UK |
0 | 1 | 524054 | Bought it on eBay in the UK in January 2014. Have been collecting vintage electronic and mechanical calculators for a while and have been waiting patiently for the right Curta to come along. | |
| 879 | Jack J. Grynberg | t.burns(at)grynberg.com | Denver, Colorado USA |
1 | 0 | 31989 | [I'm] a Denver oilman of long experience (graduated from Colorado School of Mines in 1950). This CURTA was purchased new in Switzerland in 1958, and has been in the continuous possession of the owner ever since. | |
| 880 | Jonathan Spira | jonathan(at)spirafamily.com | 0 | 1 | 556195 | After several years of curta envy, I'm finally an owner. Purchased from Jeffrey Barteet (Santa Barbara, CA) in January 2014 Jeffrey said he purchased the calculator from a retired engineer at an estate sale 25 years ago. I have the calculator (grey body) with plastic case and leather field case. | ||
| 881 | James Solomon | jtsolomon(at)gmail.com | Roswell, Georga USA |
0 | 1 | 516985 | How thankful I am for the Curta Calculator website you administer. I found a Type 2 among things my father had packed away after retirement, which I was going through many years after he passed away in 1999. My dad was a civil engineer for a natural gas pipeline company. I don't know the story of how he acquired this Curta unit but it appears to have lived in the bottom of a desk drawer. It is still in the original box and packaging from Curta/Contina, original booklets, all virtually untouched since it was shipped in 1961 and all look brand new - even the postage stamps on the box. Only the shipping label has yellowed over time. I feel like this unit deserves a proper home in a museum or well-protected collection (I have vintage bicycles). Curta collectors are welcomed to contact me on my cycling handle, roadscrape88 on the mail at g. | |
| 882 | Andrea Trentini | me(at)atrent.it | Milano ITALY |
1 | 0 | 5149 | I bought it about 15 years ago at a flea market, I did not know its story and importance until recently, now I'm very happy to own a piece of computing history. | |
| 883 | Frank A. Fuss | ffuss(at)nycap.rr.com | Altamont, New York USA |
0 | 1 | 522122 | I'm the current owner of a Curta Type II calculator, Serial No. 522122. I've owned this Curta since about 1965-66. I believe I purchased it as a used unit. My main purpose for obtaining a Curta was for Time-Speed-Distance auto rallys. All of the Curta owners I ever met were rally enthusiasts. My Curta is a black with grey housing unit. I have the original case and, possibly, the original instructions. It is still in operating condition (no surprise there). It mainly resides in my collection of old mathematical devices, including an abacus, several slide rules and an old TI digital calculator. It's hard to believe that you can buy a $5 device today that will outperform all of these older devices (at least as far as doing math). | |
| 884 | Georges Sebaaly | Georges_sebaaly(at)hotmail.com | Montreal, Quebec CANADA |
+1-450-455-6810 +1-514-953-4546 |
0 | 1 | 530259 | Bought the CURTA from CURTA Calculators of Canada Limited in Toronto, Ontario in 1966 the year I started my engineering studies. Immediately after that date, I discovered the electronic calculators and retired this brand new CURTA in a safe place with the multitude of slide rules I had collected earlier. Needless to say that this unit is brand new, never been used and still have the original carton box it came with, the Warrantee Card, the User's Manual and a booklet entitled Computing Examples for the CURTA Calculating Machine. This machine is an engineering marvel and a beauty to have and to admire. Satisfaction comes from just holding this unit in my hands to feel all the engineering and craftsmanship that took to develop and produce. It is a great pride for me to own one of these great machines. I love it. |
| 885 | Richard Shilling | rls(at)htri.net | Cat Spring, Texas USA |
979/690-5065 | 0 | 1 | 512695 | Excellent condition with only a couple of minor scuff marks on the metal can. Even the pads in the metal can appear to be in like new condition. Mechanical operation is pristine. Calculator has a gray body with alternating setting knobs colors of two black, one red, two black, one red, etc. Subtraction ring is the fluorescent orange color. Calculator has the metal crank, metal clearing ring, 6 top decimal markers and 5 bottom decimal markers. Presumed date of manufacture - August 1959. Serial number is stamped, not only on the bottom plate but also on a metal plate attached to the underside of the body, visible only after removal of the bottom plate. Calculator has reportedly never been repaired or worked on. It was apparently very well cared for. I intend to keep up that tradition. Story: I obtained this calculator from Karman King, wife of David Hatten and proprietor of the Windrush Antiques store in North Carolina. The calculator was originally purchased new by her father-in-law, William Hatten, who was still alive as of my purchase date of February 5, 2014. According to Karman: "William Hatten lived in London and worked as a surveyor during the 1950's. He later became a geophysicist and travelled the world, living and working in such places as North America, Africa, and Australia. William Hatten is presently approaching 90 years of age and is still a very smart man." I am currently employed as Senior Engineering Consultant with Heat Transfer Research, Inc. in College Station, Texas and work in the areas of heat transfer research, software development, and technical support. My first degree was in mathematics and I very much enjoy old mechanical devices that have so much thought and creativity in their construction and operation. It helps reminds us of the many unsung geniuses that lived in years past and ensures a degree of humility for those of us who sometimes get caught up in our modern ways of doing things. The Curta calculator is additionally special because of the consistent high degree of quality put into its design and manufacture over many years. It's one of a kind. In this age of planned obsolescence, most corporations would laugh at (or fire) the engineer who insisted on that degree of quality even though the marketing guys continue to set prices as if that quality were actually there. |
| 886 | Jeff Constantine | jconstan(at)gmail.com | Seattle, Washington USA |
1 | 0 | 8025 | How did I get it? I got lucky on an eBay auction. I would like to have more of them! | |
| 887 | Lloyd D. McDaniel | LMcDaniel(at)AOL.COM | Costa Mesa, California USA |
714-641-4090 | 0 | 1 | 533862 | I was a R&D Engineer for Rocketdyne, Turbo Machinery "Carburetor" dept for the J2/F1 rocket engines. My office was in Canoga Park, CA and had to make many trips to the test stand in Santa Susanna, CA. when there was a test of the latest impeller/inducer design in a hydrogen chamber. I bought the Curta II in mid '60s from Rocketdyne store to use when I was at the test stand. My technician was also a college roommate and was into sports car rallys (Time, Speed, Distance). We went on a couple and I started using the Curta II both for work and play. Later, Sam Beal, my navigator, built the computerized Beal Box at UCLA to do all that TSD calculating and we were CA state champions in 1966/67. I retired the Curta when Rocketdyne did away with the Marchants/Frediens and we went on the computer mainframes. The Curta remained in a drawer along with the original Curta operating, maintenance, instruction pamphlet and a 51 page booklet "Computing Examples for the CURTA Calculating Machine" in English from Liechtenstein. Both usages were most rewarding but technology marches on. |
| 888 | Andre Teodoro Ferreira Jr. | andre_tfjr(at)yahoo.com.br | Atibaia, SP BRAZIL |
2 | 2 | 5890 72086 504336 520232 |
(5890) I bought it from a lady Auricchio, the CURTA belonged to her husband. About of the Curta type I (72086), I bought a gentleman who was studied in Germany and the first thing he did was buy a Curta calculator, around 1970, but then saw that they were available as electronic calculators and bought one too, since he was the Curta calculator is not used and saved. About two other Curtas type II, I bought an offers from the internet, I don't know their story, except it belongs to family members. | |
| 889 | ROSARIO LOPEZ FERNANDEZ | rosalofe(at)cop.es | SOTO DE LLANERA, Asturias SPAIN |
1 | 0 | 23892 | Curta type I METAL BLACK | |
| 890 | Adonica Gieger | adonica(at)pobox.com | Tallahassee Flordia USA |
0 | 1 | 511895 | Complete with its metal case and original operating manual. Our family friend, Dr. Ed Cooke, a real-estate appraisal expert from Missouri, used it extensively in his work. After he retired, "Cookie" showed me the Curta and gave it to my father. (This was in Mississippi, in the very early 70s, if memory serves. Daddy was an appraiser, too, and I was already a budding math geek.) I found it again when Daddy passed away a few years ago. It seems to be in perfect working order! I have no interest in selling it, but thought you might want to add one more Curta to your registry! | |
| 891 | Andhika Yudha Putra Perkasa (Nick: Kika) | kikaplainwhite(at)gmail.com | Depok, West Java INDONESIA |
+6221 9930 5346 | 1 | 0 | 30436 | My CURTA was belong to my late grandfather. He was an army personnel of Indonesia. I can't barely remember what was my grandfather' specific job in the army, but I know that one of his job was to make maps for Indonesia. So I guess, the CURTA was dedicated to calculate things which I can't say exactly what. |
| 892 | Jean Roberts | twoaussies(at)aol.com | Melbourne, Flordia USA |
0 | 1 | 518574 | Type 11 Manufactured in Liechtenstein by Contina Ltd. Mauren My husband and I used this Curta for sports car time/speed/distance rallies, and were very successful in Sports Car Club of America Rallies in Florida starting in 1962 and finishing about 20 years later when more sophisticated equipment appeared. My husband died recently and I was cleaning and found this 1961 Curta. | |
| 893 | Christer Fossum | christer.fossum(at)gmail.com | Oslo NORWAY |
0 | 1 | 513034 | Saw it on a TV-show and got very interested - found one on the eBay. | |
| 894 | Ricardo Hoegg | rhb(at)gmx.com | 1 | 0 | 28395 | I own Curta sn# 28395. It was left to me by my grandfather. Near as I can calculate based on your formula posted on your website, it was issued early July 1953. I want to know its auction value. It is fully functional. It has its metal case. It is marred by a bit of rust on the bottom, and inside the case at the bottom. Otherwise it is in very good condition. | ||
| 895 | Alfredo Logioia | alfredologioia(at)yahoo.com.ar | Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires ARGENTINA |
4 | 4 | 4312 45327 59504 78223 501934 509872 531501 558449 |
I am a systems engineer and within a couple of year I made a complete collection of Curtas. Now I have 8 examples from differents models and manufacturing periods. Bought in differents countries, all Curtas are in very good condition. A brief description of each machine: Type I #4312: (Condition: 8/10) Purchased from Marino H. of Aix en Provence, France, he overhauled it before being sold. This machine is very old, with rounded input dials instead of the rectangular ones of the later design and the metal case opens counterclockwise. Type I #45327: (Condition: 8/10) Purchased from Bernard R. of Neuchatel, Switzerland. This is my favorite example to use and learn about the Curta and show to the people. Type I #59504: (Condition: 9.5/10) Purchased from Francisco L. of Lima, Peru originally bought in France. This machine has a minimum (almost null) use and the condition is superb, with no scratches in the body and its metal container. It was stored for more than 20 years without use. Type I #78223: (Condition: 10/10) Purchased from Tony B. of Derby, U.K., please see description of Curta #558449 below. Type II #501934: (Condition: 6/10) Purchased from Gabriel O. of Chascomus, Argentina, this is a very old type II example. As with the #45327, I use this machine to learn about Curta algorithms. Type II #509872: (Condition: 9/10) Purchased from Pablo L. T. of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was originally purchased in New York on August 13, 1958 by an Argentine Aeronautical Mission agent for investment only and he never learned to use it!. This is a classic all-black type II example near to the end of production of this version (around s/n 510500). After this Contina adopted the classic light gray/green olive color schema. Type II #531501: (Condition: 8/10) Purchased from Jerome G. of Les Sables d'Olonne, France, originaly purchased in the USA. It is in mint condition, with very few signs of use. Type II #558449: (Condition: 10/10) Also purchased from Tony B. of Derby, U.K., this machine and #78223 were originally purchased to a collector in London who purchased in 1972 for investment purposes at the end of production when nobody wanted them, preferring electronic calculators. Both machines NEVER were used and they have the original cardboard box and manuals in new condition. Possibly, both machines are within the best preserved Curtas in the world! I invite to all readers to visit my website www.curtamania.com where you can see pictures of my Curta collection. I recommend to visit the "Type & Age of your Curta" page where you can see the estimated manufacture date based on the original Contina production records released on October 2011. Also there is a large database of more than 3400 Curtas and more than 23000 pictures sold in recent years on the internet. | |
| 896 | Doug Moffitt | dougmoffitt(at)drum-fife.com | 0 | 1 | 521154 | I have Type II # 521154, which I purchased new in Zurich in 1959/60. Somehow, I convinced my father that I had to have it!. As I recall, I paid 500 Swiss Francs, but I don't recall the conversion rate to dollars at the time. I have used it for sports car rallyes and occasional other uses. It has not been overworked. It is in fine working shape. I now only get it out to wow visitors. As a side note, it seems to vary somewhat from your on-line table of characteristics, in that it has all-metal parts -- clearing handle, rotor, etc., and squarish slides, but a grey body. This is not a combination that appears in your table. | ||
| 897 | Vincent de La Bachelerie | vbachelerie(at)orange.fr | Rueil-Malmaison (near Paris) FRANCE |
+33607720731 | 0 | 1 | 506316 | extra info |
| 898 | David Elworthy | david(at)friendlymoose.com | Los Angeles, California USA |
1 | 0 | 49687 | The Curta belonged to my father, who used it in his work as a research scientist. I can remember him sitting in our living room in the 1970s cranking out calculations with it, even though probably had his early HP electronic calculator by then. There is a sticker on the case that says it was supplied by Automatic Business Machines of London. It seems to be in good condition, despite not having been used for many years. | |
| 899 | Robert James | rob.james(at)pillsburylaw.com | San Francisco, California USA |
1 | 0 | 520079 | I first saw a skeletonized Curta at a slide rule exhibition and knew I had to get one (this one acquired at auction from a French seller in 2013). Only later did I learn of the auto rally connection. A wonderful product of the human mind-in concept, design and manufacturing. The contents of this message, together with any attachments, are intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed and may contain information that is legally privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message, or any attachment, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the original sender or the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman Help Desk at Tel: 800-477-0770, Option 1, immediately by telephone or by return E-mail and delete this message, along with any attachments, from your computer. Thank you. | |
| 900 | Eoin McMahon | eoinmcmahon0(at)gmail.com | Oxford UK |
0 | 1 | 508990 | My father liberated this from a UK government facility which was closing down. Workers were allowed to take items for which the employer had no further use. Mine is unusual as it is engraved with "S O" and a crown in the middle, which was the logo of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, the government department which owned all the government's biros and paperclips. It was liberated in the early 1980s but had been hanging around his office for decades. To my inexpert eye, this engraving appears to be similar to the engraved "CURTA" on the side of the barrel and I think it is factory-engraved. The crown is painted the same cream colour as the "CURTA" logo, but the letters "S O" are painted white. | |
| 901 | Rich Maddalena | rich(at)6060building.com | Citrus Heights, California USA |
1 | 0 | 16814 | Not sure of the exact purchase date, I believe it was mid to late 1950's. My Father purchased the Curta to calculate the size and holding capacity of milk holding tanks on sales calls to dairies for our manufacturing business. It was passed on to me as I took over the sales tasks of the business and I used it through 1961. It is in excellent condition and has a prominent resting place in my office as a reminder of how things used to be. I remember it was purchased from an office machine sales company in Petaluma CA for $300.00. | |
| 902 | Heather Canter | cantersinscotland(at)gmail.com | West Kilbride, Scotland, Great Britain UK |
1 | 0 | 12205 | I was cleaning out my dad's workshop last Sept and came across this little gadget. I looked it up on the eBay to see what it was and it's value and was pleasantly surprised to discover this amazing instrument. Since my dad has now passed away I can only speculate about my Curta's origin. My dad was stationed in Germany during the Korean War and I'm sure he purchased this while there. He was an engineer and loved anything mathematical so I'm sure he would have found the Curta quite impressive. I have decided to keep it as a reminder of my dad and his love for calculating and am looking forward to learning how to use it myself. Thanks for all the information and instruction manuals on your website- they are most helpful! | |
| 903 | Tristan Palmer | thegardener(at)gmail.com | London, England UK |
1 | 0 | 19875 | I bought my Curta on Ebay a few years ago after reading about them in a on-line Wired Magazine article in which it was featured as a "Geek object of desire" The story is very interesting and I decided that I would like to keep one of them for my own.. So.. I was lucky enough to get this one. It's in great condition but itg's case has some damaged / missing paint. It is an extraordinary object and I feel grateful to own it. | |
| 904 | Teresa Schiano Dutton | quercusalba27(at)gmail.com | Baltimore, Maryland USA |
0 | 1 | 530007 | I have a Curta calculator, which was my husband's. I am unsure of where he purchased it, possibly in Europe as he lived in Madrid, Spain for ten years. It is a Type II, no. 530007 and was made in Liechtenstein. | |
| 905 | Brian Herrel | brian.herrel(at)gmail.com | Cary, North Carolina USA |
0 | 1 | 556008 | Browsing Ebay,for interesting antique mechanical devices, I stumbled upon Curta Calculators, then did some research and became enthralled with Curt Herstark and these incredible machines. I've been in the communications / information technology industry for over 20 years, and love seeing what can be done without mechanically without computers or electricity. | |
| 906 | Salim Oemar | salimoemar(at)gmail.com | Jakarta INDONESIA |
6281586123814 |
1 | 0 | 71637 | I get it from a friend in 1981, a few days ago I was looking for a calculator for my office needs on the internet and by accident I found this site, then I remembered that I had this item , and now I want to sell, who would dare kira2 high, then I will sell to him. I honestly do not know how the operation of this tool, but of physical sight, I see this tool almost never used, I just twirling alone. |
| 907 | Marco Olivieri | marcooli(at)libero.it | Lazise, VR ITALY |
0 | 1 | 552313 | I inherit it from my uncle. I love it! | |
| 908 | Rob Gresham | rgresham(at)bigpond.net.au | Canberra, ACT AUSTRALIA |
+61407260903 |
1 | 0 | 53352 | extra info |
| 909 | Walter Picco | Wpicco(at)libero.it | London, England UK |
0 | 1 | 526470 | I purchased this Curta from Romano at Italy Curta Service (who I can recommend highly) as I wanted one that had been serviced. It's in very good conditions and working perfectly. | |
| 910 | Hans Rudolf Keller | hr(at)kellersnet.ch | Kurlistrasse 19, CH-8404 Winterthur SWITZERLAND |
+41 79 430 36 33 |
8 | 4 | 985 10418 80249 80250 8029?-D 80366 80374 80390 561240 561241 561602 559447 |
SN 0985 (round buttons) SN 10418 (round buttons) SN 80249 (original sales box & manuals) SN 80250 (original sales box & manuals) SN 8029? (Cut-out demo model, two last digits cut off, so you can see up inside.) SN 561240 (original sales box & manuals) SN 561241 (original sales box & manuals) SN 559447 (metal turning handle) I first came across Curtas as a geodesy student at Zurich in 1968. Some of the assistant profs were very adept at operating them, but we younger guys were totally into programming the university's CDC 6500, using Algol and Fortran. Solving large linear equation systems with a Curta sucks, was our attitude. So I never learnt to operate one. After a career in the Oil Services industry, mostly abroad, I sold my company and retired. Some time later I noticed that a Swiss cadastral surveyor advertised his collection of Curtas. He said he had picked these up at a fire sale when the factory closed. Anyway, I bought the lot. As I also at the time sold my Swiss cadastral office, I gave seven machines to long term associates (80255, 80271, 80279, 80280, 80281, 80283, 80310). The above is what is left with me. All Curtas are in mint condition, never having been used. I am basically ready to sell the lot, perhaps keeping one for remembrance. Other stuff: salesman's attache with all the parts laid out. Various manuals & articles in various languages. |
| 911 | Gustav Arre | gustav.arre(at)gmail.com | Linkoping, Ostergotland SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 35452 | My grandfather was an electrical engineer in Stockholm from the 50's to the 80's and passed away in the late 90's. I'm myself a student in mechanical engineering and my grandmother gave me this CURTA as a christmas present, she thought it should pass from engineer to engineer and I will pass it on to my children when I get old. The CURTA is a Type 1 and seems to be in very good condition without scratches. | |
| 912 | Barry Moore | barrysmoore(at)gmail.com | Sydney, NSW AUSTRALIA |
0 | 1 | 513044 | Purchased Dec 2014 from Mittagong antiques center with original metal canister and instruction manual. Looks unused and in excellent condition. I originally wanted a Curta in 1977 at age 21 and on holiday I saw then in Liechtenstein. The item complements my 30 plus slide rule collection. | |
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| 913 | John Pountney | jjpountney(at)aol.com | London, England UK |
2 | 1 | 7217 79960 550234 |
I set out to buy a type 1 and type 2 both as late models as possible but both with original box/instructions and this I managed to do over a 3 month period, the type 2 is not as late as the type 1, but they are difficult to find in brand new condition like this. Type 1, #79960 (october 1970) purchased from Theodor Bay in Germany (Oct 2014) with original box and instructions in German in unused mint 10/10 condition, the history is unknown. Type 2, #550234 (february 1969) purchased from Michel Thanos in France in (Dec 2014) with original box and instructions in French in unused mint 10/10 condition with original importers sticker (INNOVA) on the base plate, the owners father had had 2 curtas but never used this one. (update) Already have 2 mint curtas, so i wanted another one i could take out and use on a daily basis without worrying about small wear and tear marks. I found a great early type 1 #7217 dating from May 1949 which is one of the first with narrow rectangular setting sliders and one of the later ones with the makers name in a circle on the baseplate and "system curt herzstark" on the side underneath where it says "CURTA" sold to me by Tom Wilmot from Ipswich who says it was originally bought new by his grandfather Major Martyn Sacheveral Wilmot, no box or instructions, but metal cannister is in great shape. | |
| 914 | Robert Griffith | ragriffithsr(at)bigfoot.com | Columbus, Ohio USA |
614-491-1332 | 0 | 1 | 560578 | extra info |
| 915 | Kerry Wagner | kerry.a.wagner(at)gmail.com | Trenton, Alabama USA |
256 763-1925 | 0 | 1 | 538716 | I have a Curta Type II that was my father's. He bought it new when I was very young. It is just like brand new. I remember my dad taking it out of the shipping material and reading the instructions and showing me how he would do some things on it. He put it away and never used it again. It stayed in his home "office" for all these years. This thing has not been used more than a couple of times and is in perfect, like new condition. |
| 916 | Gregg Kilbourne | gkilbourne(at)scappoose.k12.or.us | Scappoose, Oregon USA |
0 | 1 | 551368 | 551368 (Perfect condition) My father-in-law was an engineer and passed away recently. I've inherited a number of his engineering tools. This device looked interesting but I didn't know what it was. A little research on the internet led me here. | |
| 917 | Bernie Cohen | profbernie(at)gmail.com | UK | 0 | 1 | 541683 | I bought a Curta last year on eBay and thought you might like to record it on your registry. It has pride of place in my collection that I use to illustrate my talk on the History of Computation. It came missing its clearing ring. I bought a plastic ring and rivets from Romano in Italy with the intention of installing them. | |
| 918 | Prof. Karl-Gustav Strid, PhD | KGStridAB(at)gmail.com | Karlstad SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 40121 | 40121 (metal black): I received the Curta (factory new, in black metal can) as a gift from my father on the occasion of my university immatriculation exam in June 1959. I used it throughout my studies for a degree in engineering physics. It still remains in mint condition -- with no scratches or marks. | |
| 919 | Fulvio Antico | fulvio.antico(at)libero.it | Bellante (TE) ITALY |
2 | 1 | 80247 80247 501181 |
Serial Number: 80247 (I think the second highest Type I number registered) I bought my Curta on dec, 5th 2014 through the web from Manuel Dierbach - Germany and loved it at once. The machine is brand new and includes the plastic case and the booklet early type 1 s/n 5420 got on ebay auction. the machine came without booklet and cannister, with the clearing lever's ring broken (I'll get it repaired as soon as possible) but the rest seems to be in good conditions, it seems to be slightly used. I have no details on the history of the machine but the following anectode told me by the seller: the last owner (not the first for sure!) sold it among other things he wanted to dispose and thought it was a fishing reel. early type 2 s/n 501181 got on ebay auction, the second oldest registered at this time. this machine is really in mint condition, with a shining metal cannister, no booklet at moment (I was promised to receive the original one, should it be found later). With the permission of Adam Parker-Rhodes, who sold it to me in november 2015, I can report that he inherited it from his father Arthur Frederick Parker-Rhodes, a known and polyhedrical british scientist whose notices can be found on Wikipedia. He bought it in 1954 and used it till the 70's for calculations in noticeable mycology, quantum mechanics and nuclear phisycs studies he published; I feel stunned having it in my hands! | |
| 920 | Robert Gregory | rgregory(at)iprimus.com.au | 0 | 1 | 518701 | I have a curta calculator no 518701 in mint order. | ||
| 921 | Alan Carter | racarter(at)ntlworld.com | Yarm, North Yorkshire UK |
1 | 1 | 30048 517106 |
I first saw a Curta on a BBC programme called "Bargain Hunt" and wanted to own one. I found a Type I at auction and bid successfully for it. The Curta was in excellent condition visually but needed some TLC internally, so I sent it to Romano Manaresi in Italy, who cleaned the machine and fixed a bent carry lever. After that the Curta works perfectly and looks great! Purchased at auction January 2016 Excellent condition but needed some TLC, so sent it to Romano Manaresi who did an excellent job, as usual! | |
| 922 | Charles Habenicht | ch2co(at)yahoo.com | Englewood, Colorado USA |
1 | 0 | 19588 | 19588 (Perfect Condition!) I saw it at an estate auction several years past and recognized what it was from my youth spent as a surveyors assistant during summers. I fell in love with the thing at first sight and always wanted to have one. They almost gave it to me because I knew what it was, but I offered them $50 for it and they were very appreciative, as was I! There was no box or instructions, but the metal case is in very good condition. Thank you for doing this site. | |
| 923 | Richard Moore | rjmnook(at)gmail.com | Waterlooville, Hampshire UK |
0 | 1 | 540929 | Bought at auction on eBay. Complete with original box and manuals. Provenance: was original supplied to ICI executives. Bequeathed to daughter then sold. I am the 4th owner. Clearly had quite a bit of use. It's complete and working but needs a good clean | |
| 924 | Kelvin (Kelly) John Henocq | Kelly(at)henocq.f9.co.uk | Corfe Mullen, Dorset, England UK |
+44 01202 697861 | 1 | 0 | 75087 | I owned the Curta type 1 since 1969 when it was given to me by my parents while I was at college studying for an HND (Higher National Diploma) in engineering at Bournemouth Technical College, Dorset, England. The Curta immediately replaced my slide rule and I used it for the remainder of my course; however, I was asked to cease using it in the final exams as other students found the noise distracting. I continued to use it throughout my carrier as a junior design engineer until my company purchased two very early Casio scientific calculator with decade tube displays which were the size of a portable type writer; they had decade tube displays and were extremely expensive. |
| 925 | Claude LE PEN | claude.lepen(at)wanadoo.fr | PARIS FRANCE |
+33 607 217 083 | 1 | 0 | 4549 | I found this early CURTA I (1948) in my father's stuff. He got me, as his son, and the machine on the same year! He was an accountant and I remember he used it with pride when I was a child. My mother carefully kept it after his death 10 years ago. She recently died and I inherited the machine. It is a very good condition. My son made an option on it but I am in no hurry to cede it... |
| 926 | Doug Kaye | doug(at)rds.com | Kentfield, California USA |
1 | 0 | 76748 | I saw a post ( http://goo.gl/OmJgkI) on BoingBoing by Jason Weisberger about his CURTA Type 2. It brought back all those memories of car rallies from the 1960s. I never owned a CURTA back then, but I knew of them from reading about time-distance rallies. When I read Jason's post, I decided to head over to eBay to see what I could find. I lost one auction, but succeeded on my second, getting a mint-condition Type I from a guy in Indiana who had just purchased it at an estate sale. It's complete with plastic case, original box (same s/n as the calculator), instruction sheet and Computing Examples booklet. | |
| 927 | Darrel Huckabay | d.huckabay(at)sbcglobal.net | Folsom, California USA |
(916) 201-4436 | 1 | 1 | 77270 520049 |
SN 77270 - Plastic Case SN 520049 - Metal Case My parents were active in time-speed-distance rallying in California starting in the late 1950s. As a result, while still in high school I learned to navigate at first using a circular slide rule and ultimately progressing to using a Curta. The Type II was purchased new by my parents in the 1960s. The Type I is a more recent purchase. I found it on Craigslist in Oregon earlier this year (2015). It was originally owned by a cartographer working for an eastern Oregon county. It was purchased to navigate on the Monte Shelton Northwest Classic Rally as the Type II was having some problems. It worked flawlessly. I can't say the same for the navigator. At this point I would like to get the Type II repaired or obtain another to use on next year's rally. |
| 928 | JuliAin Alejandro Lell | julianlell (at) gmail.com | General RodrAguez, Buenos Aires ARGENTINA |
1 | 0 | 39078 | On a typical insomnia night, I was watching Youtube videos, and somehow I ended up discovering Curta calculators. As a programmable electronic calculator collector (and slide-rules collector as well) I inmediately fell in love with this wonderful machine. Two hours later, I found and bought a beautiful Curta calculator from a guy in Buenos Aires (published on the web for only 500 USD!!). The Curta is almost mint, and has original manual in spanish, and original flyer in spanish too. It was originally bought in the U.K. in 1958, by my sellers father, and has been stored for the last fifty years inside a box in his closet. The calculator was discovered by the seller a couple of weeks ago (Aug, 2015), after his father past away. I was really happy when I find out that my Curta is a rare one (~1.800 in 80.000 Type I produced), featuring serial number in the first row of the bottom plate, wich I learned in this great web site. | |
| 929 | Christian Fischer | cfwma(at)yahoo.com | Mauren LIECHTENSTEIN |
1 | 0 | 100014 (1a) | Rare Type Ia (prototype) I live 50 meters away from the Location where Contina AG was! ;o) Thank you! Great Website! | |
| 930 | Federico Benito | fbmozos(at)hotmail.com | Ávila SPAIN |
1 | 1 | 63349 559850 |
As a collector of small computing machines, I first met the Curta through books and websites devoted to this subject. Whenever someone asks me for this machine I tell the same thing: before I knew it closely, I thought it was one of those expensive whims of collectors, seeking for that to be small and well-made, for boast... How wrong I was! As I had one in my hands I knew it's one of those things that are appreciated from the outset. I am now the proud possessor of a machine of each type (both in very good condition), and the inevitable poster ;-) Sites like eBay and Etsy are to blame... | |
| 931 | Tobias Fjellstrom | fjellstromljungberg(at)gmail.com | Stockholm SWEDEN |
+46(0)702852061 | 1 | 0 | 43401 | Couldn't resist it. Just love it. |
| 932 | Bill Jaenicke | billjaenicke(at)gmail.com | San Juan Capistrano, California USA |
1 | 0 | 18185 | This was my father's Curta Calculator. He was educated as a mining engineer but later worked for Whittaker Corporation as a VP in their materials division. I remember him using it for more mundane checkbook reconciliation computations in the late 60's. I've had it since he passed in 1998 and just recently pulled it out of storage. I started researching Curtas on the internet and was happy to find so much information -- and instructions for its use. A truly amazing machine! | |
| 933 | Matthew Smith | matthew_on_the_move(at)yahoo.co.uk | Northampton UK |
3 | 2 | 6394 58736 68795 506938 535630 |
I have been interested in mechanical calculators for many years and have gradually built up a modest collection. My first Curta was a Type I from 1965, purchased shortly after seeing one in the National Technical Museum in Prague. Since then I have purchased four more, all in excellent working order, including a Type II with Swiss-made leather field case and a lovely early Type I with pin sliders that has pride of place in the collection. | |
| 934 | Will Nickum | wcnickum(at)gmail.com | Bainbridge Island, Washington USA |
206-799-0459 | 1 | 0 | 7360 | I just discovered your website, thank you for all your efforts to disseminate and curate the history of this unique instrument! I inherited one of these from my father, who passed away in 1990. I never talked with him about this tool, although I wish I had. It was likely purchased by him, or perhaps by his brother, both of whom were marine engineers, and who also worked for their father. While it could have been purchased by my grandfather, I think he was mostly retired by the late 40's, and died in 1951. The unit is in excellent condition, with a nice black metal case, but no manual or any other paperwork. |
| 935 | Naor Miguel Nemmen | nemmen(at)nemmen.com.br | Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul BRAZIL |
1 | 0 | 3886 | I just discovered a Curta Type I nº 3886, that belonged to my father. I'll send you some pics, I didn't remeber it... it is trully charming and a very elegant piece of engeneering. | |
| 935a | 2016 |
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| 936 | Alan Matson | amatson(at)gmail.com | Burlington, Vermont USA |
0 | 2 | 539393 511170 |
539393--Purchased on eBay for my father around 2005. I was an avid TSD rallyist in the late 70s and early 80's. I never owned a Curta but borrowed them for certain rallies when friends weren't competing. In the 90's my Dad accumulated a significant collection of slide rules so I bought him a Curta for his mechanical calculating device collection. My Dad died in 2008 and I inherited the Curta and have used it and demonstrated to many over the years. Plastic case....and it's in great condition. I also have a fair amount of the original paperwork with this instrument. 511170--Purchased on eBay for a cheap, cheap price as it was disassembled. I have put it back together once, but it did not work well. There are a couple bent pieces that I need to fix. I am currently taking it back apart and will be rebuilding once again. Might well have need for a couple parts in the near future. Metal case. | |
| 937 | David Hammelef | Davhamm(at)yahoo.com | Novi, Minnesota USA |
0 | 1 | 531821 | A coworker told me about Curta's years ago and recently got the bug again. Tried winning a few on Ebay, and then this one came across Curta.org's for sale. It came to me From Pennsylvania it was the owners fathers he remembered seeing it when he was a kid, his Dad since past and he decided to sell it. Didn't realize when I bought it its a Prime and a Twin Prime serial number. Pretty sure this won't be my last curta, this thing is cool, but I want a Type I | |
| 938 | Lin McMullin | Linmcmullin2(at)gmail.com BLOG: teachingcalculus.com |
Ballston Lake, New York USA |
214-558-6260 | 1 | 0 | 59986 | Purchased on Ebay. |
| 939 | Ravindran J. | ravindranj62(at)gmail.com | Coonoor, Tamilnadu INDIA |
97897656793 | 0 | 1 | 516192 | My Dad gave it to me during 1987. Since it is of no use to me now, I would like to sell it. I have the manual also. The Curta is in good working condition with a black metal canister. |
| 940 | Kerry Cartier | disasterguy(at)wildblue.net | 0 | 1 | 532716 | I have Curta Type II S/N/ 532716, which has a metal canister. This Curta turned up at Habitat for Humanity in New Braunfels, Texas. It was advertised on eBay, and I phoned HFH and made an offer they accepted. It was advertised as a Type I, but the case color gave it away as a Type II. Despite its age, it works perfectly. These photos show the metal canister, and the serial number on the bottom of the Curta. I'll note that, as my daughter says, "Back In the Day..." I could do wonders with a Curta and a Picket slide rule. | ||
| 941 | Bruce Boehm | bruce_boehm(at)alum.mit.edu | Chapel Hill, North Carolina USA |
1 | 2 | 57856 522196 511138 |
Type I, S/N 57856, a gift from my father in law, an engineer, who used the Curta during the 60's, acquired Nov-89 Type II, S/N 522196, purchased from a collectibles dealer in Oregon, acquired Jan-97 Type II, S/N 511138, a gift from a friend, acquired in 2003 | |
| 942 | Ming Pin Mai | morrisbin(at)gmail.com | XindianDist, NEW TAIPEI CITY TAIWAN | 886+930198669 | 2 | 1 | 34345 49407 523475 |
My Curta always from ebay |
| 943 | Rich Bireta | rbireta(at)gmail.com | Lawrence, Kansas USA |
0 | 1 | 558284 | Bought new approximately 1973 from an ad in the back of Autoweek. Used for TSD rallying in the US 1973 to 1980. Used again for TSD rallying 2004 to 2007, including 2004 Press on Regardless in Michigan. Eventually replaced by Richta Rally Calculator, an Anroid/Apple/Palm application. | |
| 944 | Scott Jones | sajones1(at)cox.net | Elkhorn, New England USA |
1 | 0 | 55863 | I am the executer of my father's estate (he died 2 months before his 91st birthday) and I was going through his things in his bedroom when I found it. I had no idea what is was but it was intriguing so I took it home to look it up on the internet. It is a type I calculator in a metal can and looks like it is in great condition. I do not have the box or the manual for it. I believe that the serial # (55863) indicates that it was built in 1963. It belonged to my father, who left it to me. I don't know how or when he acquired it. I hope that's useful. | |
| 945 | Larry Byler | annlarry(at)pacbell.net | Sunnyvale, California USA |
+1 (408)241-6424 | 1 | 0 | 18166 | extra info |
| 946 | PAUL BRAUNSTEIN | baseplans(at)msn.com | Tempe, Arizona USA |
602-616-7345 | 0 | 1 | 542557 | It was in my survey closet of my engineering and surveying company, has plastic case for it and also leather carrying case, the Curta is like it is new |
| 947 | Uli Edelmann | uli(at)edelmann.info | GERMANY | 1 | 0 | 15383 | i inherit the attached Curta 1 from my dad | |
| 948 | Matthew Sommer | Matthew.C.Sommer(at)gmail.com | New York, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 74017 | 74017 (Plastic Case): I was browsing the internet on a lazy day at work watching videos about old technologies, mostly old audio equipment, and a video came up about the Curta. I instantly knew I had to have one! I purchased my mint condition Type 1, still with original box and manuals, a couple of weeks later on ebay on December 20, 2016 for just over a grand. It was originally purchased in 1970. | |
| 948a | 2017 |
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| 949 | Gerhard Lange | lange.pho(at)t-online.de | Aachen, Nordrheinwestfalen GERMANY |
0 | 1 | 560261 | The CURTA was a gift which I received around 25 years. Downside is the Company Hans Schwarzkopf GmbH mentioned. | |
| 950 | Ken White | Ken(at)alumni.hmc.edu | Palos Verdes Estates, California USA |
1 | 0 | 15172 | I have had a Type I CURTA since about 1959, when I inherited it at the death of one of my uncles. He was in the cotton business and required calculations with enough significant figures to buy and sell cotton bales at a profit. I played with the machine in high school and college as a curiosity and sometimes when I actually needed the precision. This past weekend we visited the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA, where we saw a nice display of CURTAs. I told one of my grandsons I would look up CURTA on the internet, and so I did. | |
| 951 | Godfrey DiGiorgi | godfreydigiorgi(at)me.com | 408.431.4601 | 0 | 1 | ?????? | I've known of the Curta calculator since I was in high school but never thought that I'd actually own one. I saw your Curta poster on EBay and bought it ... It's lovely! ... and started looking at the Curta again. I realized that I'm retired now, I have all the time to study and play with things like this that I could want, and so: I found a Type II on EBay that was reasonably priced and looks to be in decent shape. It's on its way to me now. So I have to learn how to use it. Your site has been a treasure trove of excellent information about the Curta, thank you again. I've now read the instruction manuals and gone through many of the examples, I think I get it. Can't wait for the device to arrive so I can practice for real! My question is about service and maintenance. Depending on the condition of the one I bought, I might need to send it out for a clean and lubricate, etc. I saw you have two or three folks listed who work on the Curta, but your listings are a couple of years old. Do you know if they're all still in operation, or should I contact them to ask what their current status is? The Curta satisfies my love of fine clockwork mechanisms and my mathematics background. It's a lovely thing, like a fine watch or camera. As the world turns ever more to the advantages of digital technology and electronics, I feel we are losing something marvelous and rewarding if we do not also remember and marvel at the joy in these kinds of craft. These mechanisms have their place, just as the electronic mechanisms of the present and future do. | |
| 952 | Erin Ryan | erin.ryan18(at)gmail.com | 0 | 1 | 530798 | I have a Curta Calculator type II from 1965. As you can see by the pictures, the case has some wear, however the calculator itself is in excellent condition. | ||
| 953 | Wim van Veghel | wimvanveghel(at)icloud.com | Asten, Noord Brabant NETHERLANDS |
0 | 1 | 501350 | Was long been fascinated by a Curta, in particular the number of parts what's in that time were processed to even balls of 1 mm. In 2014, I am over the internet came into possession of a Curta II from 1953. I noted in passing a small defect and I have this last year reviewed at: Hans-Rudolf Roshard in Switzerland. It's just to enjoy with a Curta. | |
| 954 | J. Peterson | linux(at)saccade.com | Menlo Park, California USA |
0 | 1 | 534948 | Purchased off Ebay. As seller described, in excellent working condition with plastic case. I'd been fascinated by Curtas for years, and thought about 3D printing one from Marcus Wu's design. But the cost of printing the plastic parts at Shapeways was approaching the price I found on Ebay, so I figured it was better just to get the real thing. | |
| 955 | Carlos Dias Carneiro | carlos.d.carneiro(at)gmail.com | RIO DE JANEIRO, RJ BRAZIL |
0 | 1 | 503062 | THE CALCULATOR USED TO BELONG TO MY GRANDFATHER, IT IS IN PERFECT WORKING CONDITION, AND IS A LOT OF FUN TO PLAY WITH, AS WELL AS USEFUL TO TEACHING MATH ALGORITHMS. | |
| 956 | Athena Korai | athena.korai(at)gmail.com | Athens GREECE |
0 | 1 | 530590 | I recently found a Curta Calculator at my parents home. It was bought and owned by my father. I am sending you the details as I would like to register the curta on yout page! My father was a great collector of a variety of things! Among his things was this wonderful calculator which impressed my deeply especially after I read about its story! The CURTA is in Mint State!! | |
| 956a | 2018 |
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| 957 | Ridhuan Abu | ridhuan.ahass(at)gmail.com | Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory MALAYSIA |
1 | 0 | 64802 | This curta is a gift from my dad. In the late 80s when I was a small boy, I found this Curta in my dad's file cabinet. At first I thought this was a fishing reel (LOL). At that point I did not know nor do I care. Until last year (2016) 20 years later, my father gave to me and explained that this is a tool for calculating. My father was a former rubber and oil palm plantation manager in Malaysia. He worked in the estate since the 60's. Where at that time many plantation managers in Malaysia are Englishman. Maybe the Curta was used by them as well. Condition: Excellent operating. But the clearing lever ring/pin has long been broken. The metal case and bottom of the calculator shows wear or tear. | |
| 958 | Patrick Schibli | patrick(at)schibli-tech.com | Sion, Valais SWITZERLAND |
1 | 0 | 34281 | My father bought this Curta in the end of the 1950' and used it at his office in Geneva. I remember as he showed me how it works as I was a young boy. He give it to me a few years ago. The Curta works perfectly and looks like unused. | |
| 959 | Mike Last | LAST_PL(at)yahoo.com | Na'alehu, Hawaii USA |
808-929-8422 | 0 | 1 | 557654 | I purchased my Curta from the national distributor, The Curta Company, Van Nuys, California. Sometime between late 1968\and early 1970, I ordered it but I'm looking for my receipt, but so far no luck. I paid $165 plus another $16 for a leather carrying case. I've had it for the entire time and used it regularly until 1973 when I got my HP-45. What a great piece of engineering it (the Curta) is! The Curta came with a booklet (10.5 x 15 mm) that was copyright by CONTINA AG, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, with computing examples, but no date. It also included a fold-over pamphlet, "Your CURTA Calculator", listing examples of the four arithmetical rules. This pamphlet was also printed in Liechtenstein by BVD Vaduz. Another piece of literature I found was a small tri-fold titled, World Famous CURTA, listing the national distributor from whom I purchased. I'd like to have it looked at by a service technician because even after ONLY 45+ years it might need some cleaning, etc. Thanks for a great website. Aloha. |
| 960 | Rob and Denis Rose | usarose11(at)gmail.com | Atlanta, Georga USA and Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA |
678 361 3630 |
1 | 0 | 3672 | My brother Denis bought this in South Africa from an estranged family estate sale with a metal counter clockwise hard case. This very early Type 1 needed service and lubrication. We found Jack Christensen in IL and sent it to him. He endured thru some health issues to send us a perfectly working very early Type 1 Curta. This Curta was manufactured in March 1948 with serial number 3672 - there were 79527 Type 1 CURT's made. In March 2018 this Curta will be 70 years old. My brother Denis own 3 other Type 2's |
| 961 | Alfredo V. Almeida | alfvital(at)gmail.com | Sao Paulo BRAZIL |
0 | 1 | 509045 | I was introduced to the Curta about 28 years ago by my father in law, who was economist. Along of the years, it was possible to perceive how important was this calculator for him. The intimacy on managing it. And how much proud was he when teaching us how to handle it, are simples things that make us proud to receive the responsability to keep this calculator safe. Not only because it is rare but because it is wonderful at the fine details in which these machines were built. The Curta accuracy, engine, etc, send us back to the past. He gave the to my soon, which also is a mathematic lover. My soon knows that this Curta belongs to him and it is temporary under my protection. I'm not clear which type it is, but I guess is Type II. Manufactured: February, 10 to 15th, 1956 It is in extremely good shape and purrs its numbers nicely. The pads inside the metal cylinder are still inside (grey) and is the white o-ring to make the whole case watertight has some yellow marks. As far as I know, my father in law was the first buyer. Thanks for the chance to learn more about this lovely machine. | |
| 962 | David Davis | Davidjohndavis1971(at)gmail.com | Utah USA |
0 | 1 | 504533 | This was brought to me by a man in Iraq while I was deployed in 2006. He thought it was a hand generator for setting off an IED. As soon as I saw it I knew what it was and made sure it came home with me. I would also like to have it cleaned up and made useable again. | |
| 963 | Christophe Carcenac de Torn | ccarcenacdetorne(at)gmail.com | Bordeaux FRANCE |
0 | 1 | 518721 | I'm the proud owner of a Curta Type II #518721. My grand father worked as a financial director, he bought it in the early 1960's. He retired and kept it preciously until he handed it to me as a legacy. The Curta is complete, in pristine condition, with its manual, its metal case and no missing parts. This object of precision still works a treat. Its silky, clicky sounds still amaze me. As a mechanical engineer by education, a Curta is an object of mesmerising fascination. As a grandson, this very Curta will always remind me of my grandfather. I can still remember him showing us how to use it. He told us that he paid the price of a small car for his beloved Curta. Enough talked about my Curta. Rick, I must thank you for your well made web site and its wealth of information. | |
| 964 | Ben Wychocki | benwychocki(at)gmail.com | Chicago, Illinois USA |
1 | 0 | 58669 | 1 Curta Type 1, SN 58669, manufactured in 1965 I purchased this Curta Type 1 and case from a man in France who said he bought it along with some photography equipment. It is in near mint condition, with the case having only a minor amount of finish wear. | |
| 965 | Name | f.lveinot(at)gmail.com | Nova Scotia, CANADA | 1 | 0 | 33130 | I have a Curta calculator type 1 model number 33130. This unit came into my procession about 45 years ago at a place I was working. It has been in the original box with all the paper/manuals basically since then . I would say it is in new condition with absolutely no marks. | |
| 966 | Richard L Strohkirch | richard(at)northcountrymi.com | Gladwin, Michigan USA |
(989) 426-4949 | 0 | 1 | 557719 | Fresh out of Michigan Tech University, while working at General Motors, Saginaw Steering Gear Division, around 1971, I joined the Saginaw Valley Sports Car Club of America. A roommate at the time, Jim Miller, was Club President and asked me to be his Navigator for Road Rallies. I did some studying and decided I needed to buy a Curta Calculator, so I purchased a new Curta and learned how to use. No recollection of what I paid. We won several Road Rallies in the next couple years. I left Saginaw in 1972 and my Rally days were over. My Curta was probably not used more than 10 times in a couple years, put back in the original box in 1972 and stored in a warm indoor environment. It's time for me to list on eBay and find this lightly used, Very Good Condition Curta a new home. |
| 967 | Mark Summers | mark(at)marksummers.net | Buda, Texas USA |
1 | 0 | 516319 | Had never heard of the Curta until 2018. Followed a few auctions on eBay and found a mint condition Curta II from Germany (292573411647). Based on my understanding of the production date, it was being created (December 1960) at the same time I was being created (born April 1961). | |
| 968 | Harrison SPAIN |
hmspain(at)gmail.com | Los Alamitos, California USA |
714-886-8039 | 1 | 1 | 63968 546874 |
I'm an electrical engineer (retired) wishing I had a Curta back in college (early 70s). Unfortunately, we all used slide rules back then. The Curta is a testament to human ingenuity, and one of the few devices that you can actually own (and still work) from that era. When I found a Type I on Ebay in mint condition, I had to have it. I then proceeded to find a Type II in mint condition. |
| 969 | Pedro J.Ortiz, Jr. | portizjr13(at)gmail.com | San Juan PUERTO RICO |
787-510-3909 | 1 | 0 | 20637 | MY CURTA WAS BOUGHT BY MY FATHER MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS AGO. IT IS IN MINT CONDITION TOGETHER WITH YHE METAL CASE. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SELL IT. |
| 970 | Robert W. McConchie | rwmcconchie(at)comcast.net | Oak Harbor, Washington USA |
0 | 1 | 556033 | Perfect condition in plastic cylinder case. Owned since Feb 2004. Keeping it. | |
| 971 | Paul C. Consani II | Paul(at)paulcc.net | Portland, Oregon USA |
0 | 1 | 547638 | I got mine when I was 12 (2015), I got the money as a combined birthday and Christmas present , and after some looking I was able to find one on eBay for a reasonable price. It's in really nice condition, but I don't have the case or manual. I've always been interested in old technology mathematics and just had to get one. | |
| 972 | Norton Johnson | nm_johnson(at)mac.com | Tucson, Arizona USA |
0 | 1 | 542901 | Story | |
| 973 | Peter Fox | peterfox(at)w3z.co.uk | Bonsall, Derbyshire UK |
0 | 1 | 545183 | I am a retired Structural Engineer and collect slide rules (UKSRC). One of our members brought her Curta to one of the meetings and I was so impressed with the calculator and its silky smooth operation that I decided that I had to have one. After a short search I found a nice example with a scientific instrument dealer at a very reasonable price. | |
| 974 | Christopher J.Johnston | cjjohnst738(at)gmail.com | Coquitlam, British Columbia CANADA |
604_773-5126 |
0 | 2 | 523345 540153 |
I first found out about these incredible machines and so loved them that I purchased two . They are both in EXCELENT condition ,good paint, no broken parts ,and FULLY FUNCTIONING with no slipping on any of the cogs or gears or operations . i bought the Curta post which i framed nicely and also an instruction booklet . one of them is in a metal can and the other is plastic .But as I said they are excellent and i use them regularly . i bought both of them on ebay from a dealer in France. Kind regards Christopher. |
| 975 | Ray Lopez | rl(at)well.com | San Antonio, Texas USA |
210-240-0017 | 1 | 0 | 54798 | I bought this Curta on eBay because I've always wanted one. One of my goals in life is to find another one at an estate sale. |
| 976 | David Muraski | dgmuraski(at)charter.net | Stevens Point, Wisconsin USA |
715-347-7043 | 1 | 0 | 20285 | in very good -to mint condition with metal tube, manual and cardboard box that it was mailed in. This belonged to my father who was plant manager at Ovaltine Food Products in Villa Park Illinois for many years. I don't know how much he used it. I think this was made around 1951. |
| 976a | 2019 |
2019 |
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| 977 | Ed Bernard | efbernardc(at)gmail.com | Medford, Oregon USA |
541 779-3040 | 0 | 1 | 508411 | Puchased March, 2004 on E-Bay from Kurt McMann. His father had purchased it circa 1959. No case. I was not aware of this calculator until Scientific American article of March 2004. People should know that this calculator will do square roots. |
| 978 | Marius Swart | zen17h(at)gmail.com | Johannesburg, Gauteng SOUTH AFRICA |
1 | 0 | 66533 | Bought in a local online auction in 2017. Great condition, but likely repaired at some time as it came in a plastic container instead of the metal ones that would be used for it's serial number. This or some other registry I forgot about at the time listed it as owned by someone in Germany, likely sold afterwards | |
| 979 | Aaron Dickson | oouhriu(at)gmail.com | 1 | 0 | 29366 | I just recently bought a Curta Type 1 and i was wondering if you could answer some questions for me. I was wondering about if my Curta was worth what i paid for it ($580USD) and what its actual worth is? [$450-$950) I would never sell it but I'm just curious. Do Curtas normally look that clean or has mine not been used that much? [Yes they do, It's amazing how well they hold up.] The Curta works perfectly but does not come with any manual or anything, so I was also wondering where i could buy a manual for the book? [download it from my site] I was looking for any kind of book with instructions that was used with the Curta. [The normal "manual" is just a long single sheet set of instructions, on two sides] I'm totally fascinated by it and have been for a few years now but have never seen one at a reasonable price. [They hold their value due to their popularity] Any information you can give to me would be wonderful, or even the contact details of someone who could give me this information. [All the info I have is on my web site] | ||
| 980 | Dennis R. Blanchard | DennisRBlanchard(at)gmail.com | Sarasota, Florida USA |
941-923-3316 | 1 | 0 | 35465 | After my military duty in the late sixties, I went to work for the A. G. Russell Company ( http://www.arthurgrussell.com/ ) in Bristol, Connecticut as their only electronics technician. It was a fantastic company to work for and I was fortunate enough to work for the sole electrical engineer, Warren Dion. Warren was a WW II veteran and one of the most brilliant engineers I've had the pleasure to know. He took me under his wing and taught me as much as my brain could hold. We really hit it off and I worked for him for about four years. The company engineered, designed and manufactured special purpose machinery. Most of it was automation machines for manufacturing. It was complicated equipment and lots of fun to work with. Warren had a Curta calculator and used it for his day-to-day calculating work. He was a wizard with it. He had always wanted to become a radio amateur. I had my radio license and helped him to earn his. He was already somewhat proficient in Morse code and learned everything very quickly. In those days, the code was required, it no longer is. After I left the company to finish my engineering degree, I went to work for Digital Equipment Corp., another fine company. I moved away to New Hampshire but we kept in touch over the years via ham radio, almost every weekend. One day, a package arrived, and it had a Curta in it. Warren had two of them and gave me one. I can't tell you how thrilled I was. I never really learned how to program it that well, electronic calculators had filled my calculating needs. Nonetheless, I value the Curta more than any calculator I have ever owned. Warren passed a number of years ago, but I can still see him sitting in his office, spinning the lever and coming up to solutions to problems. Thanks for allowing me the memories. |
| 981 | Albert Wong | atwong(at)alumni.uci.edu | Los Angeles, California USA |
1 | 1 | 18100 557019 |
Bought type I on ebay. Seems to be used in the field. As a really distinct small. Red colored very small almost fine dirt or wood dust with a floral smell??? Bought type II on ebay. It seemed to be a in a private collection that decided to sell it. Looks like it was never used. | |
| 982 | Peter Thompson | peter.th32(at)gmail.com | Viozan FRANCE |
1 | 0 | 22027 | I also have the orangey brown book of "Computing Examples for the CURTA Calculating Machine" in A1 condition. | |
| 983 | Mark Jarbo | markjarbo(at)primus.ca | Ottawa, Ontario CANADA |
1 | 0 | 34687 | This was left to me by my father. Unsure if it was my Fathers or originally my Grandfathers but trying to get more info. It is in very close to mint and better condition than most I have seen listed. | |
| 984 | David D. Van Wagoner | david.vanwagoner(at)gmail.com | Davidsonville, Maryland USA |
0 | 1 | 523786 | An engineer in the office where I worked stumbled across plans for a 3D printed Curta but at first had not idea what a Curta was. Before you know it, he had infected me with his enthusiasm for the engineering that went into the device (He's a Mechanical, I'm an Electrical), and when I realized that they are not unlike the Swiss watches I own in their complexity and craftsmanship, and available on eBay for less than a typical watch with a Swiss Movement, I entered a bid. A couple of days later I won it, with no complications or drama. My primary calculator today (2019) is an HP48 (1991), but from the serial number I discovered this Curta calculator is nearly as old as I am and it is becoming my new best friend! Stepping through the algorithm to solve for a square root is almost as soothing as petting my dog! | |
| 985 | Bill Carson | bill.carson(at)progeny.net | Middletown, Rhode Island USA |
1 | 0 | 40162 | I have a 1958 Curta Type 1 calculator that belonged to my father. | |
| 986 | Stewart Schafer | stewart.schafer(at)sasktel.net | North Battleford, Saskatchewan CANADA |
(306) 446 4443 | 1 | 1 | 41610 542765 |
My father who was an engineer, bought a Curta type 2 calculator in the late 1960s and showed me it when I was a boy. I remember sitting in my father's office while he was working, playing with the calculator and listening to the gears turn. I was always fascinated with how it counted the numbers and the sound it made when the handle was turned. In 2011, my father passed away and leading up to his death, he had rented his house out. During that time, the tenants found the calculator and took it. We did not discover the calculator was missing until much later. Unfortunately, we did not record the serial number and therefore we did not have proof it had every existed or that my father had one. Over the years I thought about looking in second hand stores to see anyone had one or if Curta calculators even existed. One day my wife suggested that I look on e-bay and after some hesitation, I went onto e-bay to look. I was amazed, not only in finding one type of Curta calculator, but several Curtas and that people were selling them. It was then that I noted that there were two model types of Curta calculators. After some debate with myself, I decided that I wanted to have a Curta calculator as a show piece, and started seriously looking on e-bay. After lots of looking, I decided to buy one of each. Although I don't have my father's original type 2 calculator, at least I feel that I have an example of what my father had used. Hopefully my children find it as interesting as I still do. |
| 987 | Benjamin Somner-Bogard | bensomnerbogard(at)icloud.com | London, England UK |
1 | 0 | 50751 | Bought it in early 2018 for my 17th Birthday on eBay. It is in very good condition as it has been untouched for many years, the previous owner inherited it and then placed it in storage. | |
| 988 | Don Holmgren | djholm(at)comcast.net | Leadville, Colorado USA |
1 | 1 | 18223 514853 |
I first saw a Curta in high school in about 1975 or 1976. My physics teacher was a road rally enthusiast who drove his Porsche 911 all over Colorado. He competed in the class that allowed only mechanical calculators, and so he used a Curta extensively. I don't recall whether it was a Type I or II. He was a terrific physics teacher; in fact, both of my brothers and I all went on to get PhD's in experimental physics! I had long forgotten about Curtas until I built a 3D printer for my 60th birthday and subsequently stumbled onto M. Wu's 3D-printed 3:1 scale Type I. This brought back memories, and when I read the Scientific American article I got really hooked. I next was lucky to stumble upon an E-Bay sale from a pawn shop (Newport Pawn of Newport OR). My winning bid was $760. The seller had great photos. This Type II is in terrific shape. The only wear is on the metal case, and on the top where the clearing ring pivots into the retaining pin (a tiny scratched arc). The metal case has the bottom pad in place, but is missing the top padding. The Curta is engraved: Commissioner "Dom" Tavaglione I've found a possible match in Riverside, California, a State athletic commissioner by that name. I'm hoping to get more info from the seller. I'm ecstatic to have a working Type II, prime number serial number no less! Now it's on to try to 3D-print and assemble a Type I replica. I found this Type I on an estate sale listing on eBay, priced very reasonably. The original owner must have lost the case, as it came in a Canon Telephoto Lens case with foam padding to protect the calculator. The foam padding had long since started disintegrating, so a careful cleanup was necessary. The movement was quite sticky, but got better with careful exercise. I eventually purchased watch oil and did a partial disassembly (base and cylinder cover) to access parts for careful (and sparing) lubrication. It works perfectly now. I contacted the seller asking for more information about the estate. This Type I had belonged to a commander in the Navy, who cherished it. The family didn't know anything more than that. My collection is now complete, a Type I and a Type II, both prime serial numbers! | |
| 989 | Scott Miles | smiles69(at)gmail.com | Federal Way, Washington USA |
1 | 1 | 59944 547417 |
My father had a Type I Curta, and I was as enamored with the miniature mechanical calculator as he was. The Curta was stolen some thirty years ago. I purchased SN 59944 on eBay in Aug of 2019. It was found at an estate sale in NC, and shows no signs of wear. I added the type 2 to my collection in 2020. | |
| 990 | Jason Affourtit | jpaffourtit(at)gmail.com | Belmont, California USA |
1 | 0 | 77723 | I first learned of Curta calculators via reading William Gibson's "Pattern Recognition". After learning more about them, I wanted one for a number of years. One day I finally pulled the trigger on this unit after eBay / other internet searching. | |
| 991 | Laurance Rosenzweig | rosetwig(at)gmail.com | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA |
1 | 0 | 530503 | 530503 (circa 1957, judging by the s/n) After studying them (and other mechanical calculators) for several years, and lurking around the edges of many an EBay auction, I decided to finally take the plunge and purchase one from Romano Manaresi at Italy Curta Service. It arrived yesterday in perfect condition, and I cannot say enough in praise of Romano and the work he does. Now I'm busy practicing how to do square roots, consecutive multiplication, and anything else I can wrap my head around. | |
| 992 | Richard Rutkowski | richard.rutkowski(at)gmail.com | Matthews, North Carolina USA |
(704) 622-4279 | 1 | 0 | 38085 | The Curta I found on Ebay seemed almost mint and when I purchased it for an exceptional price and it arrived, I was overjoyed since it was in near mint condition and containing all parts. I first heard about the Curta Calculator from a video by Cliff Stoll whom I had dealt with for many years. I then found your website which is just chuck full of Curta data! Attached are photos of my machine. Thank you for your efforts in celebrating and pulling together documentation of this amazing piece of technology! |
| 993 | Roberto Pinheiro Domingos | hruodber(at)gmail.com | Rio de Janeiro, RJ BRAZIL |
0 | 1 | 509255 | First time I saw a Curta it was in a tv show. I was delighted with the sophistication of the mechanics and the elegance of the project, after all I am an engineer. Shortly after I found an ad of a Curta for sale on the internet in São Paulo, . It was an expensive Curta for my budget, but I bought it and I'm still enchanted by it. | |
| 994 | Clement Van Dinter | clement.van.dinter(at)gmail.com | Brussels BELGIUM |
0 | 1 | 522981 | 522 981 (serial number on the top of the bottom) + black metal case I received this Curta many years ago as an informal present from my uncle (he was born in 1926). As he was an architect I suppose that was the reason - or the excuse - for him to buy this Curta. It's in perfect shape, so I don't think he used it that much. I guess he prefered to hold it and look at it, just as I do. | |
| 995 | Randy Hyatt | randyjhyatt(at)gmail.com | Newbury Park, California USA |
1 | 0 | 20144 | A friend of mine knew that I collected slide rules and was fascinated by mechanical calculators. I was telling him about the Curta calculators after I stumbled upon them while looking for slide rule information. He approached me a few weeks later and gave me this Curta as a gift. He said, “I collect too many things and found this while purchasing some other collectibles” and then gave it to me as a gift. | |
| 996 | Rafael Garcia | rafael.a.garcia.r(at)gmail.com | Bogota, Cundinamarca COLOMBIA |
(57) 317 524 9700 | 1 | 0 | 4031 | First, I recognize the work you do to highlight this wonder of human ingenuity. I inherited this curta from my grandfather and it has been in my possession for more than 20 years. |
| 997 | Allen Wilson | allen(at)mod.net | Atlanta, Georgia USA |
234 222 1110 | 1 | 1 | 9302 501643 |
I love my Curta. It's in excellent condition and never requires software updates. |
| 998 | Bassam Abdul-Baki | babdulbaki(at)gmail.com | Woodbridge, Virginia USA |
0 | 1 | 507344 | I've always liked calculators. One day, I came across a Curta online and I knew I had to get one. I just couldn't afford it. On July 9, 2017, I finally became the proud owner of one." | |
| 999 | Mats Jacobson | 040.mats.jacobson(at)gmail.com | Hollviken, Skane SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 27642 | 27642 (1954): Got this one from my late fathers own little company. He died 1977 and in my possesion since then. Probably bought in Germany since he much business with that country. | |
| 1000 | Chris OBrien | cob666(at)gmail.com | St Peter's, Nova Scotia CANADA |
0 | 1 | 537089 | I purchased this Curta outside of Framingham, MA several years ago. I found it through a craigslist advertisement. The Curta didn't come with either of the cases or any documentation. It shows a little wear but is in otherwise pretty good shape and functions properly. | |
| 1000a | 2020 |
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2020 |
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| 1001 | Jimmy Ipock | jipock(at)gmail.com | Choctaw, Oklahoma USA |
4056591392 | 0 | 1 | 558123 | I have been wanting a Curta for many years and finally was able to justify the expense, after collecting more common and numerous vintage computing machinery. I was fortunate to find one with the original container and leather field case |
| 1002 | Jim Hawkins | usenet(at)j-hawkins.com | Middletown, New Jersey USA |
1 | 0 | 544169 | Just got my Curta a few days ago, sold to me by original owner who purchased it on Jan 20, 1969, so it's over 50 years old and in near mint condition. The only wear shows were clearing lever moved in and out. I am a retired Electrical and Software engineer. I love math and numbers. I also love mechanical devices. I've mastered calculating square roots of 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 with the help of two YouTube videos on square root of 3 and 5. | |
| 1003 | Al Stremble | astremble(at)gmail.com | Larkspur, Colorado USA |
303-681-2374 | 1 | 1 | 16885 558073 |
My first teaching assignment at a California Community College was the Sliderule. During the second semester, Craig came out with an electronic calculator that could add, subtract, multiply and divide for about $150.00. Although I had heard of the CURTA, the price was more than the Craig so I went electronic (1973). Always wanted a CURTA as a piece of superior engineering and its associated history. |
| 1004 | Josh Oliver | Josh(at)ollyeng.com.au | Adelaide AUSTRALIA |
0 | 1 | 550513 | In very good condition with plastic container. Originated in France from an antiques dealer. | |
| 1005 | Jacky Young | jacky.young(at)btinternet.com | Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland, Great Britain UK |
+44-781-317-6888 | 0 | 1 | 548914 | I bought the Curta which was advertised on The Curta.org. It was owned by Mr Nat Edgar from Voorburg in the Netherlands. I bought the Curta from his son after Nat had passed away, the transaction was easy and the communication great. I have registered ownership but left Nats name on the list as he had registered ownership in 1979. I would love to know where it was prior to Nat's ownership. |
| 1006 | Dr. James Daniels | jmdaniels314(at)gmail.com | Vancouver, CANADA | 0 | 1 | 510278 | My dad, Dr. James Daniels, bought this long ago. Black, black metal case. Only sign of age is the cork lining at the bottom of the metal case is crumbled. Still has the stickers inside for CURTA Calculators of Canada on Davenport Road in Toronto. Based on the manufacture date (1957), I assume he bought it while in Vancouver at UBC. As a professor of physics he was always doing some sort of calculations, he probably packed this away when he bought an HP card-Programmable calculator about 1980. I did a few sample calculations, it still works. | |
| 1007 | Andrea Rimondi | andrea.rimo(at)gmail.com | Bologna ITALY |
1 | 0 | 16626 | I bought my curta on ebay shortly after discevering its existance. It was faulty, but luckyly I live closeby to the Italian Curta repair shop so I took it there. it was repaired and cleaned and works perfect ever since. | |
| 1008 | Antonio Perez Ayala | antonio.perez.ayala(at)gmail.com | Mexico City, Federal District (CdMx) MEXICO |
1 | 1 | 51339 534315 |
51339 with black metal box and the original "Instructions for use of the CURTA" manual from CONTINA Ltd with 48 pages. 534315 without box. Both are in perfect condition. About 6 years ago I started collecting old electronic calculators, mainly Hewlett-Packard, of which I have several models, some quite interesting (like a new boxed Xpander, unused!). Later I also got some mechanical calculators and that's how I learned about CURTA. I bought my two CURTA's on eBay (at quite high prices). I also got a * copy * (6 letter size sheets) of a manual titled "Your CURTA calculator" that has a stamp that I assume was the original purchaser: "C. H. Berry Jan 29 1962 | |
| 1009 | Daniel Ramos Sanchez | daneloramos(at)gmail.com | Amecameca MEXICO |
5524922135 | 2 | 1 | 3493 48170 524479 |
Provided in Spanish... translated by Google Desde siempre me gustaron los sistemas mecánicos, cuando conocí las sumadoras mecánicas gracias a una Original Odhner que adquirí sin saber que era empecé a coleccionarlas, así me hice de algunas sumadoras Facit, Monroe, Resulta, Remintong Rand, Friden y otras pero siempre en busca de alguna Curta económica que pudiera comprar y encontré estas 3 piezas. [T] I have always liked mechanical systems, when I met mechanical adding machines thanks to an Original Odhner that I acquired without knowing what it was, I started collecting them, that is how I got some Facit, Monroe, Resulta, Remintong Rand, Friden and other adding machines but always looking of some cheap Curta that I could buy and I found these 3 pieces. Encontré estas 3 Curtas buscando por internet la Curta Type 2 (524479) Marketplace, siendo la primera de fecha de compra 30/04/2018, vendedor Enrique Moreno de Tlalnepantla $11,500 MXN, tenia el arillo de revoluciones un poco dañado el cual yo tuve que reparar viendo videos por YouTube así me anime a desarmarla y repararla, en condiciones le pongo un 9. [T] I found these 3 Curtas by searching the Internet for the Curta Type 2 (524479) Marketplace, the first being the date of purchase 04/30/2018, seller Enrique Moreno de Tlalnepantla $ 11,500 MXN, it had a little damaged gear, which I had to repair watching videos on YouTube so I encourage you to take it apart and repair it, in conditions I put a 9. Curta Type 1 (48170) con caja, siendo la segunda la encontré en la pagina de segunda mano con fecha 19/09/2018, vendedora María de Zapopan Jalisco $10,000 MXN, era parte de la colección del padre fallecido la de señora María, condicion de 10 esta nueva. [T] Curta Type 1 (48170) with box, being the second one I found on the second-hand page dated 09/19/2018, seller María de Zapopan Jalisco $10,000 MXN, it was part of the collection of the deceased father, that of Mrs. María, condition out of 10 is new. Curta Type 1 (3493) la ultima adquisición y la mas rara, Marketplace Facebook de fecha 20/10/2019, vendedor Angel Edo Mex, $3800 MXN es de los primero números de seriales cuenta con pines redondos de selección y con la descripción: System Curt Herzstark debajo de la palabra CURTA, sin embargo esta dañada y funciona a medias, condición 7 ya esta en proceso de reparación. [T] Curta Type 1 (3493) the latest and rarest acquisition, Marketplace Facebook dated 10/20/2019, seller Angel Edo Mex, $ 3800 MXN is the first serial number with round selection pins and the description: System Curt Herzstark under the word CURTA, however it is damaged and works halfway, condition 7 is already under repair. Seguiré subiendo información si adquiero nuevas piezas, Gracias por leerme. [T] I will continue uploading information if I purchase new parts. Thanks Rick Furr for you nice work c: |
| 1010 | Mert Capkin | mertcapkin(at)gmail.com | Hoofddorp NETHERLANDS |
1 | 1 | 33469 530312 |
I am a mechanical engineering student at the Delft University of Technology and one of my classes involved the engineering behind and the history of mechanical calculators. During one of the lectures the professor was telling us about the Curta calculator, how amazing it was and still is! I was immediately intrigued by it and I started searching for it online. After some time I found a type 1 for a decent price and not much later I found a type 2 for an even better price! Now I am the proud owner of both types! :) | |
| 1011 | Eric Osen | hollyneric(at)comcast.net | Vallejo, California USA |
1 | 0 | 67878 | I saw the story of the inventor on television and was amazed with his struggle and perseverance. Didn't know where to find one of his calculators, and looked on EBAY and found a type I for around 300 dollars with case and manuals in pristine condition. I take it out every once in a while just to be sure I remember how to do basic functions and marvel at the accomplishment of this invention. | |
| 1012 | Scott E. Davison | buffip(at)aol.com | Burkburnett, Texas USA |
1 | 1 | 58277 514290 |
Both purchased on eBay for premium prices. The Type I is nearly mint condition with one small blemish that barely is noticeable. The Type II is in mint condition and appears unused. Both have their original storage cans in near mint condition. Both were nicely lubricated by previous owner. The Type II arrived in original factory cardboard shipping package with all the original paperwork, and they both function flawlessly. | |
| 1013 | Mike DiGirolamo | mike(at)w4xn.com | Charlottesville, Virginia USA |
434.898.4500 | 0 | 1 | 557178 | Purchased it through eBay from England. It's in very nice condition. I'm a newbie. Been looking at these since the '60s. Used slide rules in school, then HP calculators. This is a piece of mechanical genius. Learning the math functions now.. |
| 1014 | David Rios | driosr(at)gmail.com | ANDORRA | 1 | 0 | 7278 | First of all, thank you for your amazing web page, the information inside it is a great help to know (and love) more about this jewels. I want to help you to make your page better a bit (if it's yet possible). I want to know you I recently acquired a Curta Type I with a serial number 7278 with rectangle entry levers. Note: A new record low serial number for rectangular enter levers! -Rick- | |
| 1015 | Trevor Taylor | blod(at)blodinwilbo.plus.com | Wilberfoss, York, East Riding of Yorkshire, England UK |
1 | 0 | 9970 | This has been in my possession since my Father passed away in 2002. He was a brewery manager in Kent up until his retirement in 1974. The brewery closed in 1990. This item was amongst other office artefacts given to my father on closure. | |
| 1016 | Ron Dockswell | rdockswell(at)gmail.com | Roseville, California USA |
1 | 0 | 7762 | This was my father's Curta. As a kid, I broke it and in 2009, he sent it to Jack Christensen. My father passed away and after 11 years, Jack found me letting me know he had repaired my dad's Curta. I paid for the services and he sent it to me last week. | |
| 1017 | Emilio Defez Candel & Elena Defez Juarez | edefez(at)imm.upv.es | Valencia, Comunidad Valenciana SPAIN |
+34 639417627 | 2 | 2 | 43343 51342 519818 548721 |
I work as an university professor of mathematics and due to the confinement of Covid 19 I was attracted to the subject of old calculating machines, of which I have been able to make a small collection. I managed to buy a type I curta for a good price, and my daughter Elena and myself found it so incredible and fascinating that we could not but buy another type I and two other type II, one just from the year I was born, 1968. Precisely with the last type II (SN 519818) that we bought on eBay, the seller assured us that it worked correctly, "Tres bon etat" it said, but it was not, the machine did not operate correctly. Looking on the internet we found "Curta Service Italy" and contacted by email with Mr. D. Romano Manaresi in Italy, who cleaned the machine and was able to fix it with his great skills, so that the machine works wonderfully (Thank you very much D. Romano !! We recommend very much his services!!) Also, through Mr. Romano we were able to get a leather case for it (they sold it to us without packaging). I am looking for an original metal case, although I think my daughter has loved the leather one so much that it is her favorite. I do not rule out, if circumstances allow it, to expand my small collection, because I consider it a wonder that machines with about 60 years work so well. |
| 1018 | Daniel Zalcman | zalcman(at)aol.com | Boston, Massachusetts USA |
1 | 0 | 11549 | My Curta was recently given to me by my father who had inherited it from my grandfather, Samuel Beck, in the early 1980's. According to the information found on this website, this particular Type 1 was manufactured in 1950. It's still in the original metal container in what I would call near-mint condition (the rubber base at the bottom of the inside of the container has dried out and cracked due to its age). It also still has the original carboard box it came in, which has the matching serial number on it, as well as the instructions manual. There is also a small brochure that says "Checkmate that problem!" with a picture of a CURTA on a chess board and lists the name of the retailer where my grandfather purchased it in PA on the back with a handwritten "134.70" which I assume is the price he paid. Had I not known the date of manufacture, I would easily have assumed it was made in 2020! | |
| 1019 | Cesare Baj | cesarebaj(at)gmail.com | Cernobbio (Como) ITALY |
0 | 1 | 549867 | I inform you that I am the proud owner of an immaculate Curta type II s/n 549867. An information to add to your list of owners. I bought it a few years ago on ebay. I am a science writer and I am going to write an article on the Curta for the mathematical magazine"Prisma". I am putting on the market (in november) a new mathematical board game "Mathematicus" a sort of Monopoly, bu but all mathematical, with hundreds of cards with questions of 4 different levels (the game is for people from 8 to 99). One question was on the Curta. Your site is precious. Wonderful work. | |
| 1020 | Dominique Betin | dominique(at)betin.fr | Pantin FRANCE |
1 | 0 | 45971 | I discovered the Curta calculators on YouTube channel called "Le Myriogon" talking (in french) about the mechanical calculators on exhibition in a French museum Musee des Arts et Metiers). I bought mine on eBay. | |
| 1021 | Greg Walsh | skylightprods(at)gmail.com | Pulborough, West Sussex, England UK |
1 | 0 | 38813 | I bought this from an antiques dealer in Dorking Surrey UK about 15 years ago and it has been a fascination to me and conversation piece ever since. Amazing machine that still works perfectly. A true analogue wonder in the digital age!!! | |
| 1022 | Susan Warren | susankwarren(at)me.com | Tucson, Arizona USA |
0 | 1 | 510875 | My father, John Warren, was an architect/engineer in Munich, Frankfurt and Heidelberg, Germany from 1949-1980. This was his Curta Calculator which I inherited. I have 2 manuals and it's in excellent condition. | |
| 1023 | Ed Norris | e.o.norris(at)gmail.com | Dix Hills, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 74970 | Plastic case, clearing handle missing; carrying 10 in the turns counter unreliable... otherwise in good working order. hoping to send to Timwise for evaluation | |
| 1023a | 2021 |
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| 1024 | Per Cronholm | cronholm.pelle(at)gmail.com | Stockholm SWEDEN |
1 | 0 | 32276 | I have a Curta I, #32276. My father Åke Cronholm was a workaholic and an engineer, constructing bridges. He was part owner in the engineering company Kjessler & Mannerstråle who were big in constructing roads, bridges and water towers at the time. In the evenings in the late 50's and early 60's I was rocked to sleep by the whirring of mechanical table-top calculators, as he was up working half the night. To be able to work even when the family was on vacation in the Swedish archipelago, he bought a Curta, and later the early electronic calculators from Commodore and HP, all at terrible costs, compared to today's prices. As I was going through old boxes with stuff today, I found an HP-67 and the Curta. I said to my daughter, who obviously couldn't guess what it was, that these are probably cult today. A short visit on Google proved me right! Especially the Adam Savage vlog! My Curta is in very good condition, working perfectly and with only a little wear underneath the reset handle. | |
| 1025 | Faron Bean | fdbean(at)bellsouth.net | Lebanon, Tennessee USA |
1 | 0 | 518069 | I have wanted one for 15 years ever since a co-worker showed me his. My wife gave me the money to get one for Christmas and I was on ebay for weeks researching to find a buyer I trusted and a CURTA that was in my price range. I lost two previous bids and finally won the third one I went after. The machine arrived about a week after I bought it and the pictures did not do it justice. I'm not sure the seller knew what he had. It is in mint condition without a scratch on it and functions beautifully. I couldn't be happier. | |
| 1026 | Steve LaMothe | slamothe57(at)gmail.com | 0 | 1 | 528255 | I have a type 2 I purchased 40 years ago at a yard sale. The unit is in pristine condition with original user manual S/N | ||
| 1027 | Alberto Magnani | a.magnani(at)adinet.com.uy | Montevideo Uruguay | 1 | 0 | 2841 | I inherited from my father. I am 61 years old and it always belonged to him. He used it for some kind of work at home. No idea what he did. It was never considered a toy but he taught me how to use it. I also have the manual in Spanish. I imagine that is quite rare. | |
| 1028 | Yannis Doukakis | yannis(at)wings.systems | Thessaloniki, Macedonia GREECE |
1 | 0 | 78375 | Bought from eBay. Excellent condition, all functions working, with case, carton box and original manual. | |
| 1029 | Carlos Alberto Pedrosa | carlos(at)pedrosaconsultoria.com.br | Ribbeirao Preto - Sao Paulo BRAZIL |
+55 81 982229990 | 13 | 9 | 3920 5358 6309 9717 9718 11996 12019 24852 27978 34882 37733 53945 57482 500008 505429 505434 505475 514128 522586 541045 545472 546126 |
Today I have fifteen (15) Curta Calculators Check out some nice pictures from Carlos' collection. 8/30/22 - I acquired a Curta Calculator with a Serial Number (SN) sequential to the one I already had, forming a pair, a rare chance for me, I have the SN 9718 one and I got the SN 9717 one. |
| 1030 | Carlos E. Winter | winterce(at)gmail.com | Sao Paulo BRAZIL |
1 | 0 | 5949 | This calculator belonged to my grandfather. He was an engineer especialized on railroad construction. He probably bought this calculator back in the 1930s or 1940s. | |
| 1031 | Finn Dyrkorn | fdyrkorn(at)gmail.com | Oslo NORWAY |
0 | 1 | 501864 | Was only allowed to buy the Curta after an interview with the seller, where I had to prove my interest in mechanical wonders. | |
| 1032 | Christopher Griffith | cgriffith9(at)bcit.ca | Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA |
1 | 0 | 66699 | I received this Curta cleaning out an old storage closet for the Geomatics Department at BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology). I knew about them from collecting old surveying instruments. | |
| 1033 | Mike Craft | MikeC.Net(at)g4nsn.co.uk | Farnborough, Hampshire UK |
0 | 1 | 524557 | I bought this one second hand. It was purchased from someone who had inherited it from a collector of scientific instruments, who had passed away. It is in absolutely mint, museum quality condition and is fully working. I also have the original instruction leaflet which says it was purchased from Straker Brasser in Ludgate Circus, London EC4. From the serial number, I believe it was most likely manufactured in 1963. | |
| 1034 | Walter Hofer | wphofer(at)bluewin.ch | Walkringen, Berne SWITZERLAND |
0 | 1 | 503540 | I'm a mechanical engineer. Since 20 years I was always looking for a Curta, but they were rare and expensive. Last year I found a Curta in ebay in France for CHF 1000. When the marvel arrived I tested them and that thing was defect. I was disappointed and sent it to Curta Switzerland. The result: A total revision is necessary! Costs about CHF 550. I had to wait 4 months. Now my Curta has arrived and I'm happy. The vendor was accommodating and paid CHF440 back. So I have a CURTA II total revisioned by a expert for CHF 1110. | |
| 1035 | Craig Weidert | mr.craig(at)gmail.com | Los Angeles, California USA |
1 | 0 | 10693 | Thanks for your excellent website! | |
| 1036 | John Lindgren | john.lindgren(at)stanfordalumni.org | Santa Rosa, California USA |
408-334-3198 | 34 | 16 | 3312 3332 3423 6151 7005 7777 9336 9776 12919 16593 18761 20234 20774 22038 25354 31078 33403 36340 39531 39598 40841 44623 44833 51533 57162 59311 66052 67421 74683 77465 78008 78157 Type I-D Type I-B 500603 503280 507350 508175 512286 516406 526523 528475 531369 532219 538375 552757 557407 557758 561181 Type II-D |
SN 20774 (parts CURTA) SN Type I CUT DEMO (perfect condition) SN Type I BLANK (made from NOS spare parts, pin style, perfect condition) SN Type II CUT DEMO (perfect condition) How I got started collecting is a different path, I suspect, from most on this list. After having my DNA analyzed a couple of years ago I learned that several of my past ancestors were in fact Ashkinazi Jews from Europe. I had no idea this was the case so I wanted to find some way to connect with this part of me. Being an engineer myself, I studied CURTA history and decided to form a collection and learn how to maintain and repair them (several on the list have been restored to health, including repairing damaged canisters). I learned a great deal from Jack Christensen and Manuel Dierbach (Germany). Jack has been especially kind to me in sharing his deep knowledge of CURTAs - he serviced my first broken CURTA and I bought a really nice early one from him. I agree with everything said in the list about Jack, he's the best when it comes to CURTA repair, including being a source of mechanical knowledge that is very hard to find. Manuel has become a good friend as well and we often communicate about anything related to CURTAs - including his extensive CURTA collection, manuals, and "clearing rings" that he provides on EBAY. Manuel sold me several of the best CURTAs I have on the list, including the beautiful cut demos made by Heinz Kruegel (Germany). We got some of the new wooden canisters being sold by Romano at curtaservice.it (no affiliation, just a big fan). The canisters truly are a work of art. Romano has also helped me get much needed parts as well. Thanks to you, Rick, for maintaining the list. It is nice to have universal documentation to protect CURTA owners from possible theft. |
| 1037 | Lithgow SAF Museum | kerryguerin(at)lithgowsafmuseum.org.au | Lithgow, NSW AUSTRALIA |
61 427 560 238 | 1 | 0 | 31420 | Our CURTA is a model 1 complete with L/H thread metal case and "Instruction for Use" booklet. It was made in 1955 and is in excellent condition. It was used at the Government Small Arms Factory, Lithgow Australia. Found and rescued from a skip bin on-site by John Marshall in the 1970s. It was donated to the Lithgow SAF Museum by John's family this week (26/8/2021) and it will become part of our metrology section display. |
| 1038 | Rob West | jrwest1129(at)sbcglobal.net | Houston, Texas USA |
713-464-1129 | 1 | 0 | 77171 | Ran sports car TSD rallies in the 60's using a slide rule for calculations. Bought the Curta in '69 to improve my rally skills. Fantastic machine has seen a lot of miles telling me if I was “on time”. |
| 1039 | Addy Lopes | Hugoritos(at)free.fr | Elancourt, Yvelines France |
0 | 1 | 547379 | When I studied Math and Physics at the CNAM (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers) in Paris, there was a comrade using a Curta. He was a very bright student that later became a well known... finance guru. Although I was already deeply involved in electronics, I was fascinated by the Curta as a mechanical marvel. 40 years later, just as I was retiring from a long career in large computer systems design, support and business development, my Executive VP offered me a Curta. In mint condition. Made in Liechtenstein in 14-Jul-1996. How did he know my passion for such a marvel, I really don't know. Mysteries, mysteries.! But it was the most cherished retirement present of all I had received. | |
| 1039 | Anmol Brian | anmolbrian(at)gmail.com | Mangalore, Karnataka INDIA |
9845608394 | 1 | 0 | 75587 | My father gifted me from his antique collection. |
| 1040 | Stephen Widmark | widware(at)prodigy.net | Boulder Creek, CA USA |
1 | 0 | 27151 | I've been interested in the Curta since I read about them in Scientific American some years ago. I finally splurged and bought one from a German seller on eBay. Sent from my iPad | |
| 1041 | Jay E. Garbus | jgarbus(at)carolina.rr.com | Matthews, North Carolina USA |
0 | 2 | 506695 523478 |
Purchase from Manuel Dierbach. Watched on YouTube and thought that is what I need. No batteries to worry about and well built. It is a fantastic machine. Wish they still made it. Found the Curta II black on eBay. I wanted the black one since it looks nicer. I had the color gray Curta II, but the black is nicer. The one I have now has the silent spring. I also bought the leather case for the Curta. I think it better protects the Curta. |
|
| 1042 | David Warshaw | Dave(at)crashman.org | Catonsville, Maryland USA |
1 | 0 | 10397 | Purchased from a retired airline pilot on eBay in 2021. It included a metal left-hand threaded case. Movement was sticky and required much more force than felt right. Sent it off to Romano at Italy Curta Repair and now it's like new. That guy is a treasure. | |
| 1043 | James R. Gallivan | ogallivan(at)verizon.net | Pomona, California USA |
1 | 0 | 16524 | I first saw a Curta in 1963 at a car rally. Later when I was in astronomy I borrowed one to assist in orbit
calculations of asteroids when the Freedman calculator needed repair. I always admired the feel of such a precision machine and ordered a working
one one online that turned out to have problems with one digit so it was returned. A number of years ago I bought a wonderfully maintained
June 1952 model Curta 1. Not even a scratch on the can. It was fortunate in ways for Curtas that electronic calculators came along, as this
decreased the wear on those that survived. My Curta should last for all eternity! I last used my Curta for a sailing celestial navigation
certification class. It's as reliable as the classic sextant. At about $1,500 they were about the same cost.
I had wondered about the cases left handed screw thread and found this from the previous owner/collector: Shortly after delivery of the first Curta calculators many came back with a problem. By screwing the lid of the can, the rubber buffer in the lid pressed on the crank and twisted it by a few degrees clockwise. This blocked the setting functions. In order to eliminate this "error" all Curta cans got from this time on the well-known left-hand thread. The Curta's fascinating stories are as interesting as the mechanics! |
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| 1044 | Douglas Mahone | doug(at)dmahone.com | Santa Cruz, California USA |
(916) 541-6607 | 1 | 0 | 7729 | According to curtamania.com, this unit was manufactured in February, 1950. It was purchased new by my grandfather,
a civil engineer and surveyor in Ames, Iowa, later on the faculty at the U. of Arkansas.
When he passed in 1974, I inherited it. I was in grad school (architecture) at MIT and used the Curta for my schoolwork. Unfortunately, it was knocked of my desk and damaged… the main shaft apparently was bent. It still worked, but poorly, and I was afraid I would make it worse if I kept using it. By then, I could afford my first HP engineering calculator, so the Curta was relegated to the back of my drawer. About a dozen years ago, I decided to try to have it repaired. I found Jack Christensen and sent it to him. It returned in near mint condition, working perfectly. I still have the original cardboard box and operator's manual. I don't use it for calculating anymore, but it's a prized artifact of the final years of mechanical computing. It's also a fond reminder that my crusty old grandfather was an early adopter of advanced technology. |
| 1045 | Paul Bergsman | paul.n3pso(at)gmail.com Text only Email: 12675066164(at)tmomail.net |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA |
1 | 1 | 40266 546004 |
Type 1 Curta, S/N:40266, very fine condition, with instruction poster, instruction booklet and Computing examples
booklet. All 3 in English and in very good condition. Case is black metal can Black with black metal Clearing. Found on eBay.
Type 2 Curta, S/N:546004, very fine condition, with instruction poster, Instruction booklet, and Computing examples booklet. All 3 in English and in very good condition. Case is a black, plastic can. Found on eBay. |
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| 1046 | Tony Powers | tpowers(at)dokkenengineering.com | Folsom, California USA |
1 | 0 | 10237 | I inherited my Curta from my father, who died in 2015. He got it with the land surveying business in Cleveland, OH, he bought when his boss, Saul A. Bauer, retired in about 1970. Mr. Bauer bought the Curta for the business, Bauer Surveys, Co., he founded in 1925. Mr. Bauer was registered land surveyor No. 53 in Ohio. | |
| 1047 | Patrick Conus | pasorasi(at)bluewin.ch | Geneve Switzerland |
0 | 1 | 553972 | I'm a watchmaker in Geneva. I already have various calculating machines (Odhner, Addiator) and I
had wanted to acquire a Curta for a long time.
I bought this one on eBay from a German seller who is also a watchmaker. He found it in the workshop of an old watchmaker he was clearing. The curtain is in its box and is in perfect condition. |
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| 1048 | Randy Bush | randy(at)psg.com | Portland, Oregon USA |
0 | 1 | 539259 | No Story | |
| 1048a | 2022 |
2022 |
2022 |
2022 |
******** 2022 ******** |
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| 1049 | Dean Rudenauer | rudenauer(at)earthlink.net | Pomona, California USA |
626-905-2825 | 1 | 0 | 21360 | My Great Uncle, Mr, Remington, bought this CURTA new when he was doing field surveys in the mid-1950s
in Taft, California. I got this story second-hand from my Aunt Alice, his wife. When he passed in 1985, we were going through his
things, and found the CURTA in the bottom drawer of his desk. At first, I didn't know what it was, beyond a mechanical curiosity
(pre-internet days). I've kept it around ever since. A few years ago, a colleague of mine came by, saw it sitting on the bookshelf,
and after freaking out about seeing it there, explained to me what it was, and pointed me to these pages. I know everything about it
now and it's MINE! All MINE! LOL
It is in pristine condition, and works flawlessly, smooth as silk. |
| 1050 | Kerim Umur | kerim.umur(at)gmail.com | Address... Turkey |
1 | 0 | 6212 | I always knew my father had a Curta in his library but did not look at it in detail. Recently I investigated how it works and got fascinated about it. It is a 1950 version with pinned entry levers. It is in perfect shape. I'm proud to have a chance to use this marvelous device. | |
| 1051 | Dumitru-Mihail Ionica | ionicadumitru(at)gmail.com | Bucharest Romania |
1 | 0 | 69112 | In 2017 I started collecting mechanical calculators and I found out about the famous Curta by accident,
while searching eBay for pinwheel machines. I didn't realize it was actually pocket sized when I first saw it, and when I looked it up on
the web and on YouTube, I immediately fell in love with it. In fact, there was a Curta for sale near me right there and then, but at the
time I couldn't afford it.
For a few years I've searched for one I could buy safely, because shipment to where I live isn't that easy, especially for something like the Curta, which brings me to my own, which I acquired today. I paid about 1126 US Dollars for it, probably because of the small problem of it having the clearing ring snapped off - but it's apparently made of metal, so I should be able to repair it by welding, when I have the time. The machine works perfectly in any other way, so I couldn't let such a nice occasion slip by, just because of the clearing ring. As for how much I know about the Curta, I can say I know its story and how to use it, and I do enjoy actually using it. :) |
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| 1052 | Stephen C. Snell | stephencsnell(at)gmail.com | Fuquay Varina, North Carolina USA |
1 | 0 | 62837 | I am the original owner. Purchased in the 1964~1966 timeframe to support my part-time job with a land surveying company in Monterey County California. Used extensively during my BSEE studies at UC Davis. Lost the little emblem on the top of the case! | |
| 1053 | Walter Tabax | contato(at)wetabax.com.br | Sao Paulo, SP Brazil |
+55 11 3473-3334 | 1 | 0 | 4655 | CURTA(s): perfect state, working, with box without manual My father was salesman. He bought this calculator ca 1966. I don't know any other information. I upload some photos at http://imgur.com/a/mtSCy#0 |
| 1054 | James Beard | jamesdavidbeard(at)gmail.com | East London South Africa |
1 | 0 | 5524 | My Curta was given to me by my friend and neighbour Don Bryce, he got it from his father Basil Bryce. | |
| 1055 | Adrian Colesnicenco | colescoles71(at)gmail.com | Vizzolo Predabissi, Milan, Lombardia Italy |
0 | 1 | 500037 | I already knew about this little calculator and had read about it a long time ago. I bought it last week for a few euros at a street market. I noticed it because it was without the lid and I had seen the top. I said to myself "that's not possible". I was very lucky.... Cleaned and oiled, works perfectly. It's a fantastic machine. | |
| 1056 | Gabriel Nazar | nazar_g(at)hotmail.com | New Orleans, Louisiana USA |
504 343 6893 | 1 | 0 | 45517 | My dad gave it to me when I was 10 (early 1980's) when I told him that I want to be an engineer! |
| 1057 | Paulo Couto | paulo.couto(at)gmail.com | Porto Portugal |
1 | 2 | 29943 550012 511555 |
My first Curta was a type II-1969, bought in 2014 on Ebay from the UK. It has a plastic canister
In love with it, I had to buy another one, In the same year I found a type I-1955 on Ebay and ended up buying it. Again, from the UK. This one has a metal canister. My third Curta has a very different story. In 2019, in Paris rushing to the Orly airport to fly back, I noticed what seemed like a Curta operating handle in the middle of a garbage bin (they use transparent plastic bags in the metro). I passed by, but suddenly I had a second thought and… was it a Curta? I turned back against tthe moving crowd and without any shame I put my arm through the garbage bin and reached it. It was a Curta indeed! A type II-1959 next to its metal lid. I searched further for the lower part of the canister without success. I was overwhelmed. It was working fine and my thought was who placed it in the bin? Why? It sits now proudly in my collection, waiting for a metal canister that I will have to find someday. |
|
| 1058 | Steven Green | stevegreen(at)clara.net | Malmesbury UK |
0 | 1 | 526651 | I remember the Scientific American adverts for the Curta in the early 1970s, but my interest was really set off by the article in the same magazine in January 2004. I was fascinated by the story of how one man invented a small mechanical device under such dire circumstances and wanted to have one of his machines for myself. I was fortunate in purchasing via eBay a pristine Mk II. The metal can has a small ding but the Curta itself is in excellent condition and was, I suspect, hardly ever used by the original owners. I'm still trying to learn how to use it effectively, but I just love it! | |
| 1059 | Saroar S Shamsi | epigraphmail(at)yahoo.com | Dhaka Bangladesh |
+8801714086548 | 0 | 1 | 557651 | In 2015, I came to know about Curta for the first time. It was a YouTube video, where a mathematician was telling the history of Curta and demonstrated how it worked. I liked it instantly and decided to have one. From the same video I got to know that it was available at eBay. Back then, it was quite difficult to buy something online from Bangladesh, so I requested my best friend who lives in the USA to buy it from eBay and he did so in early 2016. I had to wait for about six months for him to find someone to send it to Bangladesh. Finally, in July 2016 I got the Curta. It is in good physical condition and works perfectly. [It has the manual and the brochure.] |
| 1060 | Norman A. Stuart | nstuart(at))ysainc.co.za | Johannesburg, Gauteng South Africa |
+27 (0) 83 407 7560 | 0 | 2 | 525448 532921 |
I have been surveying now for 62 years, and have had my own survey company for the last 42 of those years
carrying out survey projects throughout the African Continent.
I purchased the Curta calculator whilst surveying in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) way back in 1965. The calculator proved a real blessing when working in the bush. Prior to that I use to carry around a Facit calculator. Although a very efficient I usually left in the truck as it was too heavy to lug around in the hot sun all day. When I had to carry out calculations I would just return to the truck & use the Facit & the Natural Trignometric Tables. However, with the Curta it changed everything, making my field work & calculations so much easier. Once the scientific calculators such as the HP35 came on the market, the Curta was added to my antique collection. The second Curta calculator in my collection was given to me by a survey colleague who also happened to work in Rhodesia. |
| 1061 | Joao Lopes | mail at joaolopes dot org | Setubal, Setubal Portugal |
1 | 0 | 7184 | I've wanted to own a CURTA for a few years now and found a local owner (Luis Figueiredo) who was
selling is grandpa old CURTA, it's a type 1 from 1949 with a broken Clearing Lever Ring, it's just awesome.
Also since it's such a low serial number I'd like to do it justice and repair the ring with a real one instead of a 3d printed. If you have some advice I'd appreciate it. |
|
| 1062 | Randall Gray | rc.gray(at)posteo.net | Portland, Origin USA |
1 | 0 | 39621 | Curta Type I SN 39621. This Type I was originally purchased, most likely, in the late 1950's
(manufacture date: May 1958) by my grandfather, William W. Hudson. Bill was project manager of large civil engineering works in
the Pacific Northwest for Morrison Knudsen (MK). He was in charge of the construction of numerous projects, including Cedar
Spring Dam (Silverwood Lake) outside of Hesperia, CA, for the the construction of a large portion of I-84 along the Columbia
River Gorge, and a large hydro-electric project amongst the polar bears in northern Canada. He most likely used this neat little
device to help with the number crunching involved in such large projects.
He also had a Type II that my brother currently has -- someday I will remember to ask for the serial number. I wonder if that one got more use as it's bigger and maybe easier to use than the little Type I. He also left a collection of some expensive (for their time) slide rules that I also have. What would you use? Slide rule or Curta? Obviously, I'm asking the wrong group -- I know what the answer is! 39621 shows some scratches on the bottom of the metal case but the Curta itself is in excellent condition. Being all metal must help in that regard. In fact, the reset ring still leaves a hint of oil on top of the main body when swung out to use. They sure made these to last, didn't they? Thank you for the opportunity tell my little story and thank you to Rick Furr for maintaining the website! |
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| 1063 | Jason Burger | jaskoburger(at)gmail.com | Durban, KwaZulu Natal South Africa |
0 | 1 | 545179 | My curta was gifted to me by my grandfather. My grandfather, Desmond Woodrough, was the head accountant for Tongaat Hullet Sugar. I am an Engineer and will keep the piece in the family. | |
| 1064 | Michael McGrath | usc.mike(at)hotmail.com | Gothenburg Sweden |
1 | 0 | 6894 | I am an avid collector of vintage Hewlett Packard calculators and vintage swiss watches and my research led me to the CURTA (I had not heard of it until couple months ago) Being a fan of fine mechanics and vintage calculating I had to get a CURTA. I found mine on an auction site and, despite the price, I am elated to finally have on in my hands and learn how to calculate with it. | |
| 1065 | Frank Barrett | fdb912(at))gmail.com | Boulder, Colorado USA |
303-237-0911 |
1 | 2 | 77530 525723 524721 |
All three came from the estate of a friend, Dr. William Jackson, of Denver, Colorado. For more than 50 years he collected cars (mostly Porsches) and automotive memorabilia. All three are in excellent condition and function properly. |
| 1066 | Gordon Brebner | brebnerg(at)gmail.com | Scotland, Great Britain UK |
1 | 0 | 42462 | This was my Dads (George Brebner deceased 2020) CURTA and I've always seen it my entire life (52 yo). Immaculate condition. Has its metal case. Serial number would indicate it's from 1960. | |
| 1067 | Fred B. Rosenberger | frozenfred(at)gmail.com | St. Charles, MO USA |
1 | 0 | 67406 | My father found out about them, and we bought him one off Ebay for his birthday. When he passed, My sister and I both wanted it. My mother bought a second one, which is now in my possession. | |
| 1068 | Robert Haeni | robert_haeni(at)bluewin.ch | Unterlunkhofen Switzerland |
7 | 2 | 4854 9506 15160 42610 62056 79851 100027 (1a) 505700 560601 |
I became aware of the Curta calculator about 45 years ago as a student, and of course couldn't afford one
at the time. So I lost sight of it until I came across Cliff Stoll's article in the Scientific American on the Internet a few years ago.
That's how I started collecting. All Curtas have their original canister, two of them with original instructions. They have either been completely overhauled by Curta Switzerland, or were in top condition when purchased. I only describe the properties that I find particularly interesting:
4854 - from Curta Schweiz
9506 - from Curta Schweiz
15160 - from Curta Schweiz
42610 - from M. Bader, Switzerland, originally from Inova, Paris
62056 - from Curta Schweiz
79851 - from R. Tauern, Liechtenstein (FL)
100027 - from R. Tauern/J. Tschol, FL 505700 - from Curta Schweiz
560601 - from R. Tauern/J. Tschol, FL |
|
| 1069 | Shaun Richmond | shaunrichmond(at)gmail.com | Guildford, Surrey UK |
1 | 0 | 4442 | It belonged to my grandfather. No idea where if acquired it. It's a lovely thing. I think the ring on the top has been replaced by a small piece of aluminium but other than that, it's in great condition. The case is a little worn and appears to have had something stuck to it (perhaps a label with instructions or a chart of some kind) but it's hard to make out any detail. Just thought I'd register it here as feels like the right thing to do. | |
| 1070 | Joshua Diamond | josh(at)windowoffire.com | Croton-on-Hudson, New York USA |
0 | 1 | 514649 | the calculator itself — in perfect coondition. The metal canister — with the original gasket (showw some very minor wear) A promotional brochure (in English) The instruction sheet (in German) The Computing Examples booklet (in English) The original warranty card The warranty card and promotional booklet are stamped as follows: BURNS INDUSTRIES, P.O. BOX 38, BUFFALO 22, NEW YORK I assume that my data purchased it from BURNS INDUSTRIES by mail order. I inherited the unit from my late father, Earl Louis Diamond, PhD., who I believe purchased it sometime in the early 1960s. He used it for many years, for everything from preparing the family's tax returns to timing calculations for sports car rallying. |
|
| 1071 | Steve Pierce | stevepierce(at)mac.com | Raleigh, North Carolina USA |
1 | 0 | 76133 | I purchased this Curta in Miami Florida on 16 Oct, 1971 so I could get into TSD Rallying. I read all the books and used the Stimson rally tables. I was Hooked? I quickly learned (with the Curta) how to navigate by 'Time' and the Curta kept track of my (corrected) milage. No, it's not cheating :) I accumulated a few trophy's early on, including the 12 hour Florida Targa VIII in 1971. My Curta is still in Mint condition with all the packaging, including the sales receipt :) Those were fun times... | |
| 1072 | Jarmo Rousku | jarmo.rousku(at)icloud.com | Lahti Finland |
+358 40 5064893 |
1 | 0 | 52132 | My mom was working in a furniture factory as an accountant and the director of the factory dies. New director
find the Curta from the office, did not know what it is. He gave it to my mom saying maybe your son can do something with it. It was early 70's
and I was in middle school that time. I recognise it as kind of calculator, but don't know how to use it. I took it to my math teacher asking
if he knows anything about it. He was very interested and ask if he can take it home for few days to have a look. He never seen Curta
before. Few days later he explain me how to use it. Since that I've saved it as kind of treasure of mine remembering this story behind it. |
| 1073 | Jan Schermer | jan(at)schermer.cz | Prague, Praha Czech Republic |
420 608 022 225 | 1 | 0 | 3259 | I'm a geek and vintage computing fascinates me.
I bought my first Curta about 10 years ago for a few hundred EUR. It wasn't in a perfect condition and failed the carry test which I didn't want to live with, so I returned it and bought my current Curta in a great condition that works perfectly. I played with it for a while and then put it in storage. Now in 2022 I'm resurrecting it and relearning how to use it. It is a marvelous machine and the ultimate geek's toy! It is a Curta Type I - Metal Case with left-turning trear, rounded pins. |
| 1074 | Chris G McMahon | chrisgmcmahon(at)gmail.com | Sydney, NSW Australia |
1 | 0 | 61309 | My father was a mechanical design engineer and designed rolling stock and carriages for the Victorian Railways. He passed away approximately 10 years ago at the age of 90 and passed on to me as his only son his slide rules, drawing equipment and his CURTA. It is in perfect working condition with no damage to either the CURTA or the case. I would entertain any reasonable offer of purchase. | |
| 1075 | Robbe Th. | Bilzen, Limburg Belgium |
1 | 0 | 3092 | I have been looking for a CURTA Calculator for quite a while now, and recently found & purchased my first one on FB Marketplace.
Type 1: 3092 - 21/07/2022 The CURTA is in great mechanical condition. There's a thick layer of dust on the outside and a tiny bit of corrosion on the inside. Unfortunately, the clearing lever (ring) was snapped off. I'm going to cast a new one from aluminum. I'm currently researching a way to clean and service this awesome mechanical wonder back to its former glory. (Thanks to the documentation found on this website!) |
||
| 1076 | Song Baolin | 2634028979(at))qq.com | Nanjing, Jiangsu China |
1 | 0 | 7428 | I picked up the 7428 at an ideal price from a friend in Shanghai, which is in its original box, along with a 45-page instruction manual in English. It's in extremely nice physical and functional condition, with only a tad of discoloration on the grey hammertone from handling. According the description of the friend, this calculator belonged to his grandfather and has been in China since the late 1940s or the early 1950s. In the 1950s, this calculator was rare because it was not sold in China. He told me about it that his grandfather bought it from a U.S. naval officers in Shanghai in 1949, or from Americans returning home between 1950 and 1952. After his grandfather died in 1961, it was passed on to him by his father. | |
| 1077 | Steve Quinn | palyasm(at)hotmail.com | Adelaide, South Australia |
0 | 1 | 506313 | Good visual and working condition, with case | |
| 1078 | Stephen Freeborn | stephenfreeborn(at)gmail.com | McAlester, OK USA |
801-376-0463 | 1 | 2 | 28017 503129 511681 |
51681 was my first Curta. I sent 511681 to Italy for repairs. UPS lost it in either Louisville or Albuquerque. I still google it occasionally to see if it will show up online for sale. If anyone ever finds it, I'd love to get it back. My other two devices work well. I took a chance and sent my second broken Curta to Roman in Italy. He did a great job fixing it up. |
| 1079 | Susanna Svedberg | svedberg(at)doppios.org | Stockholm Sweden |
1 | 0 | 37370 | My father's Curta has been sitting here for some time now. I always found it interesting but I never spend any time with it… | |
| 1080 | Grant Mogford | California USA |
1 | 0 | 77698 | My Curta was found with some of my Father's rally memorabilia. I have the original box, all the paperwork including the registration card. My Father bought his Curta from the Vilem B. Haan motorsports store on Santa Monica Blvd in what is now known as Century City, California. | ||
| 1081 | Alan Boyd | grosporina(at)hotmail.ca | Toronto, Ontario Canada |
1 | 0 | 27459 | I picked up this unit from a German seller through eBay. I'm an engineer by trade and have been keen on mechanical devices and was keen on getting a Curta for a few years. When my brother showed off the one he bought it was the push I needed to finally get one. I probably could have got one for half the price if I had when I first learned about them but still am so happy I got this piece of history. This one is in excellent working condition, hardly any cosmetic blemishes and still has the original case. The case shows signs of a hard life, but it's done it's job to keep the calculator in great shape. | |
| 1082 | Paul Waldron | DBAPaul(at)gmail.com | Nassau, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 10338 | My Father (Wesley Waldron) was an Electrical Engineer for General Electric Research & Development and received this Curta from his employer in the 1960s or '70s, but never really used it (he preferred Texas Instruments calculators). The Curta has been sitting on my shelf for about 40 years. | |
| 1083 | Tristan Weger | tweger1999(at)gmail.com | Cincinnati, Ohio USA |
0 | 1 | 515681 | I purchased this CURTA from a seller in New Jersey. It has been in his family since it was purchased in 1960 by his grandfather who escaped the Soviet Union during WWII and Immigrated to Brazil for about a decade. He then moved to the USA where he purchased the CURTA and used it in his job as a civil engineer in New York City until the new generation of calculators came out, it then sat in his desk for the next few decades. The calculator is in almost new condition with no visible scratches or scuffs to itself or the case. | |
| 1084 | Byron Sheppard | byron.sheppard(at)gmail.com | Santa Cruz, CA USA |
1 | 0 | 43592 | Purchased originally by my grandfather, precise date unknown, likely early 50's, to upgrade from his slide rule. He was an optics and astrophysics professor at Johns Hopkins, and gave me his Curta when I was a teenager (and he was in his mid-sixties) in 1972 because he had just acquired a brand newly introduced HP35. I'm sure the HP35 is long gone - the Curta lives on | |
| 1085 | Gail Shapiro | gshapiro3(at)gmail.com | Trumansburg, NY USA |
1 | 0 | 34351 | I have a brand new Curta never used. My father owned an office equipment store decades ago 1940 or 50s till around 2000 and bought this thinking it was something that would be desired that he could sell. He sold typewriters and calculators and adding machines, forms and desks etc. Pre Staples. pre computers and a very small store. Anyways, he passed away in 2003 , he may have given it to me before then or i took it after he died not knowing what to do with it. He didn't know how it was used and I just looked at it ! Its been in a box since then!
It has the Instruction brochure with it, box stamped with Made in Liechtenstein , its all metal and in mint condition as its brand new! The box stamp has the numbers 34351 on it. Type 1. Number 34351 on the actual Curta. I see what they are worth on eBAY and would like to sell this to someone who has a love or interest in them! |
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| 1085a | 2023 |
2023 |
2023 |
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| 1086/td> | Chris Rogers | sweepthebeach(at)gmail.com | El Granada, California USA |
0 | 1 | 531486 | My father bought his Curta, likely new, around 1965. He was an electronics engineer and loved gadgets involving mathematics, optics and photography, and astronomy. I don't think he used it much for work, but my sister used it a lot for her higher math courses at UC Berkeley, and was quite proficient at it. I acquired it after he died, and my son and I are now trying to learn how to use it. It is in mint condition, with its metal canister, leather case, and small manual all intact. | |
| 1087 | Marc Pellacoeur | marcpellacoeur(at)sfr.fr | Bourges, center of France France |
06 60 69 85 46 |
6 | 8 | 2835 4188 5587 6596 39943 67646 68335 76881 500546 500849 503275 516553 551857 554488 |
All I have to say about Curta is on my site https://www.curta.fr/ |
| 1088 | Ross Richardson | rossadrichardson(at)hotmail.com | Perth, Western Australia Australia |
0 | 1 | 501539 | I bought this unit in June 2021 from a collector in Germany. He acquired it from an antiques dealer who passed on the information that it had originally been owned by a female professor of mathematics from a university in Vienna. This early, all-black Curta is in very good (unmarked), fully-operational condition, and came with the original black metal can (also in an excellent unmarked condition), reproduction manuals and instructions, and an original advertising brochure. I first became aware of Curta calculators some (maybe 20) years ago, when a surveyor I worked with brought in his Type I model to show a group of engineers and surveyors. I have a fascination with clever mechanical items (watches, clocks etc) and this Curta certainly holds my attention. | |
| 1089 | Gerry Wilson | gerrymwilson(at)gmail.com | Gold Coast, Queensland Australia |
1 | 0 | 42225 | Found at the back of an office desk drawer at Imperial college ,London. | |
| 1090 | Joakim Henriksson | joakimh(at)runbox.com | Rüschlikon, ZH Switzerland |
1 | 0 | 34680 | My father passed away and I just inherited his Curta. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid in the 1970's, but I clearly remember my father using it every now and then back then. I fear I know nothing about how it works. I searched the INternet and this is how I found your page. | |
| 1091 | John Braga | jbcrownsys(at)gmail.com | Totnes, Devon UK |
UK 07850 051414 | 0 | 1 | 505095 | I found it on Ebay. The seller said it was his grandfather's, had been in a drawer for many years, and he knew nothing of the history, so was not able to tell me when it was last serviced or repaired. It looks to be in excellent condition but unfortunately is unreliable on subtraction, and the reversing lever cannot be moved. Addition works fine and the action is very quiet and precise. I need to find a skilled Curta technician (preferably in UK) who can fix it. Happy to pay the right person. Can anyone please help? |
| 1092 | Luke Fiebig | Luke.R.Fiebig(at)Gmail.com | Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States |
0 | 1 | 560538 | The Curta is a special bond between my father and I. I had discussed my fascination with it for many years, and as a gift for graduating engineering school, he was able to get me a type II. My fascination remains the same every time I use it. | |
| 1093 | Gabriel | gabrielnes(at)gmail.com | Madrid, Madrid Spain |
1 | 0 | 22608 | Bought it from a man that got it from his neighbor that passed away. | |
| 1094 | Pasquale Milano | pasquaz83(at)gmail.com | Ferno (VA), Lombardia Italy |
1 | 0 | 551892 | I want to have a Curta by a long time, this year I decided to bought one on ebay, after a long, patient research I found this perfectly working Type II at reasonable price. The previous owner was a french woman, she worked in a large french company. Her boss on retirement gave her the Curta in 1985. After many years she lost sight of Curta but few months ago she found it in a old closet of her basement. She decide to sell it on ebay and I was there :) |
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| 1095 | Casey Handmer | casey.handmer(at)gmail.com | Los Angeles, California USA |
1 | 0 | 44150 | Bought it from Rick Stanard. Obsessed since Scientific American article January 2004, finally bought one of my own 20 years later. | |
| 1096 | Garth Bouwer | tunneltigers(at)yahoo.com | Moorreesburg, Western Cape Province South Africa |
1 | 0 | 5577 | I obtained the Curta from a professor at a University, who was working at the University after his retirement, as a laboratory manager in 1984/5.
They had about 10 of them in their excess stores at the time, along with a really large collection of other vintage and antique survey Instruments. I offered to purchase a Curta via a donation to the university and was granted my request. The University had decided to sell the excess instruments and so they then put them all out to tender as a job lot. Nearly all of them were antique or vintage. The winning tender was a scrap metal company.....and so the brass, copper and other metal instruments - along with the Curtas - were sent for smelting. Luckily I had managed to acquire one of them for a donation before that shortsighted and fateful event and so it alone was saved. It is in pristine condition and is kept in its metal case in a cabinet, to protect it from dust and moisture. It is taken out every now and again and a calculations are performed, just to keep the moving parts from seizing. I have long been fascinated by the story of its inventor and the calculator's exquisite mechanical beauty and fine operation. I count myself as privileged to have been it's preserver and curator for these past 40 years. It would appear from your list, that I have one of the oldest (known) Curta's still in RSA. I have only seen two up for sale in our country in the past 20 years. |
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| 1097 | Jan N. Luttjehuizen | j.n.luttjehuizen(at)home.nl | Bellingwolde NETHERLANDS |
1 | 0 | 65787 | I bought a Curta I, # 65787, in september 2020 for � 750,00. Please add this to the very interesting table on the website | |
| 1098 | Matteo Orsenigo | matteo.orsenigo90(at)gmail.com | Figino Serenza, Como Italy |
1 | 0 | 67303 | Serial Number(s): 67303 (approx. feb. 1967)
Bought from a gentleman in North Italy, near Turin area (and probably the Curta lived there almost all of its life), the model appears well maintained, and also its plastic canister.. The handbook (in french) appears quite consumed. I discovered Curta in a Scientific Italian article in February 2004, when I was a 14 years old boy, and finally bought one of my own 19 years later. |
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| 1099 | Mike Higgins | mike(at)kayaker.net | Duncans Mills, CA USA |
707-632-4246 |
1 | 0 | 55590 | As a kid in the 1960's, I recall seeing Curta ads in the back of magazines and wishing I could afford one of those. The article in Scientific American in 2004 reminded me and I was able to buy one on eBay and make The Dream Come True. It was priced low because it had a broken clearing ring. I sent it away for cleaning and had a plastic replacement clearing ring put on. Everything works perfectly. I have used the metaphor "turn the crank once" to mean "execute a loop in a computer program once" and now I have that crank in my hand! I also like to use the metaphor "he was thinking so hard you could hear the gears lashing" and now I can demonstrate what that sounds like with my Curta! It is one of my prized possessions kept on my desk for inspiration. I keep in practice doing long divisions occasionally but have to look up how to do a square root once every 5 years or so. |
| 1100 | Robert B. Denny | rdenny(at)dc3.com | Mesa, Arizona USA |
0 | 1 | 547383 | I found this Type II on eBay after an extended time of looking at listings and reading descriptions. When I saw that the seller had retrieved it from his Father's safe box after something like 50 years, I thought it was worth the risk. It was. This one is pristine and works flawlessly. I have done a light lube using tiny bits of the Liberty watch oil, and only to the parts reachable by removing the outer cover/base. The inner serial # matches the one on the base. I'm thrilled!! | |
| 1101 | Ethan Shalev | Ethan_Shalev(at)hotmail.com | Kibbutz Alonim ISRAEL |
1 | 0 | 60898 | A family member of mine was moving and sent me a few things she didn't need. Among them was a Curta in pristine condition. I didn't know what it was, but when I researched it (and was blown away by the story) I told her it was valuable and would return it to her as she is in some financial distress. She asked me to try and sell it for her. I include here some photos. The serial number is 60898 (1965?) and is a Type 1. The outer case has some scuff marks but the machine is pristine. | |
| 1102 | Phil Kong | fourkingkong(at)gmail.com | Barmstedt Germany |
1 | 0 | 61912 | Found this when going through my grandfather's old things. It's in pristine condition, and functions without any problems. He spent some time studying in Germany up until the breakout of WWII, but not sure when or why he picked this up. It's an amazing machine! | |
| 1103 | Kevin Davis | ohlandworks(at)aol.com | Columbus, Ohio USA |
2 | 2 | 74071 531432 507322 Demonstrator Kit |
I have inherited a number of Curta calculators owned by my father who passed away in 2022. These were his pride and joy and I really don't have a need for them. He was a well respected civil engineer and surveyor in Columbus, Ohio and owner of Thomas Engineering and Surveying Company for many years. I ran across your name at the Vcalc website and thought I would reach out to you. Below is a listing of the types and serial number of what I have. | |
| 1104 | Yujia Zhang | Noelzhangg(at)outlook.com | Waterloo, Ontario Canada |
1 | 0 | 12233 | I was not at first heading for Curta, I am a big fan of sterling silver. But one day I saw this machine at a local antique store. When I went back home I did some research with the help of Marcus Wu. I got one. When I asked the antique store clerk to bring it out off the shelf to play with it, I found the leftmost digit thing was stuck at 9, and could not be moved at all. But later it works magically! (PS:I have read everyone's story, I guess I might be the youngest(24) here haha!) | |
| 1105 | Quinn Golden | quinngolden(at)gmail.com | Dansville, NY USA |
0 | 1 | 523192 | I received it upon the passing of a good friend and Rally Navigator/Engineer. We participated in numerous rallies with myself as driver and he as navigator. We mostly used electronics with an 8083 processor, however we would also participate in rallys where are the use of electronics was prohibited. He navigated with the Curta and was quite proficient with it. He was also an Engineer with Raytheon Corporation. His team developed long range radar in the 1960s. I have a little doubt the long lasting implications of calculations performed on this little machine. | |
| 1106 | Gary Thomas | Gary.george.thomas(at)gmail.com | Ithaca, New York USA |
0 | 1 | 558794 | Bought it new in early 1970's from a store in Buffalo N.Y. Used it for TSD rallies, now using a Timewise 798A. still rallying after 54 years | |
| 1107 | Charlie Jacoby | cgjacoby(at)gmail.com | Coralville, Iowa
USA |
0 | 1 | 511627 | I was doing sports car rallies in the 1970�s and noticed people with their Curtas but I could not afford one at the time.
I have always appreciated fine machinery and I found this model in the 1990�s while going through an antique shop. My model is in perfect condition; I only use it to tally up lists of numbers (usually at tax time). |
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| 1108 | Nathan Pizar | nathan(at)pizar.net | Southern California/Nashville, TN
USA |
0 | 1 | 521466 | I've always wanted to own a Curta since I first read about them in high school over 25 years ago. Mine was purchased on Ebay in March of 2023 from a seller in France who deals in Curtas and other mechanical calculators. Great condition, perfect working order. It came with the original black metal canister that has the rounded dome-style top, no scratches and almost zero wear. There are no stickers or further labels other than the silver text on the bottom. Manufactured by Contina Ltd Muaren. | |
| 1108a | 2024 |
2024 |
2024 |
2024 |
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| 1109 | Dan H | mesfdy94(at)gmail.com | Plainview, NY USA |
0 | 1 | 551429 | I have always been fascinated by CURTAs as someone who loves mechanical systems and mechanical design. Purchased my first one off EBay in July of 2023 | |
| 1110 | James D. Gafford | james(at)jamesgafford.com | San Rafael, California USA |
415-328-5644 |
0 | 1 | 507351 | I possess Curta Type II Serial No. 507,351.
Imagine my delight finding the Curta page on the vcalc.com web site! How the Curta I have came into my possession is (I think) an interesting story. Judging by the links on the Curta page to ways of estimating manufacture date, mine appears to have come out of the factory in September, 1955. My father, Mr. John L. Gafford (1922-2006) was a relatively recent graduate of the University of New Mexico in Electrical Engineering, having returned physically undamaged from enlisting in the U.S. Navy for the duration of WWII. (He was a “plank owner,” a member of the first commissioning crew, of the battleship USS New Jersey, BB-62.) The war delayed his finishing college, marrying my mother (Mrs. Marnelle Gafford, neé Heare, 1926-2020), and starting his family. I was born in March of 1956, the first of my parents' three children. I recollect Mother at one time many years later decrying the money Dad had spent on the Curta, inasmuch as they were just starting their family and their lives together. But he evidently thought it a strong necessity using it regularly as he did, along with his slide rule, as an employee of the California Electric Power Company. I inherited his Curta when Dad passed away in 2006. It is in near-mint condition, works smoothly, and the white gasket on the case is still pliable. |
| 1111 | Steven Brower | brower(at)browerpropulsionlab.com | Brooklyn, New York USA |
1 | 0 | 22946 | I just bought a type 1 and would like to be added to your list. All my info is below, and I'll ask that you not put my phone number into another public record! Oh, also I'm in the USA. Serial: 22946.
I expected this unit to have problems but it came extremely clean and totally functional. I was going to open it up to see that the numbers match but I will wait- it seems to me that this one is unmolested. The metal case for it, on the other hand, is not in the best shape- It looks to me like someone was trying to open it in the wrong direction with some pliers! I guess by the time they got in there they realized they shouldn't turn anything else in a resistant direction. Anyway, I am very interested in making parts for these at some point, and I am eager to learn more about how they work. Thank you for maintaining this site and providing so much great info! |
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| 1112 | Alessandro Seccia | seccia.alessandro(at)gmail.com | Pescara Italy |
1 | 0 | 44279 | Congratulations for your site Vcalc.net, you have brought together a very interesting archive for the news contained and for the history of each owner. I wanted to ask you if it was possible to add me to it. I came into possession of my dream CURTA (as a boy) at an exhibition for typewriter collectors in 1978 in Partschins, Tyrol, Italy, thanks to Stefan Beck, a Swiss collector and now owner of a Museum. It is perfect, like new even if it is from 1960, I paid £600,000 Italian for it. | |
| 1113 | Walter Braun | walterbraunjr(at)icloud.com | Greenwood Village, Colorado USA |
303-521-0238 | 9 | 8 | 32-D 2210 5003 33841 33841 37463 40462 68505 72971 500208 500497 504584 511583 513406 527270 529695-D 560129 |
This Christmas 2023, I was finally able to locate a pristine new Sinclair programmable calculator as a present for my “little” brother who I recall was heartbroken at 10 when his Sinclair suddenly stopped working. He had purchased it himself and Dad helped him to return the product after several weeks and understandably wouldn't let him buy another. I recall the tiny white calculator fitting perfectly in his hand and was surprised just how small it was when it arrived. This filled a hole and made a 10 year old part of him very happy. He showed me it could only get Pi correct to 4 digits and no longer neatly fit in his hand.
During my search I came across this mechanical calculator and ran across it again the next time on EBay. It seemed expensive but I thought I might as well get the cleanest one available which at the time was selling at $1900. It looked much better in person due to the lower expectations created by high resolution photos. After only a few days on the internet exploring Rick Furr's VCalc site and others I decided I needed a model 2 that I wouldn't feel as bad about using. Since January I now have a number curta's and Manuel Dierbach who graciously parted with a very low number C1 and several other very fine examples I have thus far been fortunate to find a couple nice ones but owe many thanks to Manuel Dierbach for the nicest and best examples of special interest in my little collection. I will always be looking for something even more unusual In order of purchase: C1 48462 - EBay C2 534074 C1 33841 - From Manuel Dierbach C2 524338 C1 68505 C2 504584 - From Manuel C2 511583 - From Manuel C1 2210 - From Manuel ( with much gratitude ) CA 32 is a demo model CA 529695 is a demo model |
| 1114 | Richard Juday | richard.juday(at)gmail.com | Longmont, Colorado USA |
303-774-9700 | 0 | 1 | 525681 | I inherited my Curta II from my beloved old bachelor uncle -- also named Richard Juday -- who taught chemistry at the University of Montana for decades. I had known of the device since at least as long ago as the 1950s, and I was quite pleased to have this one bequeathed to me. It is a nice addition to my collection of slide rules and other pin-wheel calculators. |
| 1115 | Tony Stephen | tonytrustwine(at))gmail.com | Hopland, California USA |
1 | 0 | 21593 | Like many, I learned about the Curta reading one of my favorite authors, William Gibson. I’ve been a fan of intricate devices since childhood and found the Curta story to be inspiring.
Using a national search tool, I eventually found an out of date CraigsList ad from Santa Fe, New Mexico USA, listing a Curta Type 1. I contacted the person who placed it, determined he still had it, and agreed on a modest price. I sent him the money and he sent me the Curta. It is in beautiful condition with the original black metal case. There are no blemishes. I ordered the expensive Swiss lubricating oil and lightly cleaned and oiled it. I kept it locked up for a while but now it sits on my desk so I can enjoy its conformation, precision, and the feel of its complex gearing step through mathematics. Thank you for your dedication to preserving and promoting this fascinating machine. |
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| 1116 | Michael Perkins | perkinsms (at) gmail.com | Arlington, Virginia USA |
0 | 0 | 519112 | Purchased by my Grandfather and used designing satellites and other aerospace projects during his career in the 1950s through 1970s in California. I have been able to calculate some square roots using the device. | |
| 1117 | Wolfgang ROMMELT | wroemmelt(at)yahoo.de | 53343 Wachtberg Germany |
1 | 0 | 63162 | After studying Maths and Physics in Bonn, in 1970 I worked in Cologne (on the River Rhine). I travelled every day by train from Bonn (also on the Rhine) to Cologne and in then walking to work, I used to pass by a shop selling office equipment; every day I used to see the little calculating machine Curta Type 1. Eventually, I couldn't resist any longer and bought the Curta, which was almost like new. I used it for a few years for simple calculations in basic arithmetic until one could buy electronic pocket calculators. These days I keep my Curta in my desk and occasionally pick it up. I am still amazed at the little miracle! | |
| 1118 | Neil Scheuerlein | neils1958(at)gmail.com | Savannah, Tennessee USA |
(760) 518-9336 | 0 | 1 | 531255 | it was my dad's. He passed at the age of 71 in 2003. Sometime later I got it. He was a purchasing agent for Bechtel tasked with buying the parts for nuclear power plants. I have no story beyond that. My Curta is stuck, I have looked on occasion for someone to get it to work, but so far no luck. |
| 1119 | M. Dominique Cardon | dominique.cardon(at)free.fr | Montigny-Lencoup France |
1 | 0 | 30399 | I got my Curta from my father after he died in 1998
He was a French engineer and worked for Belgium in Congo (->Zaïre -> RDC)
when he bought its Curta in 1955, one year before my birth in Kindu Port Empain. He was taking topographical surveys on the Congo river. (I extrapolated the year of purchase from the information you give on your web page) |
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| 1120 | Peiro BONNALÂ | peiro.bonnal(at)gmail.com | Lozere France |
0 | 1 | 561045 | I bought it while I was living in Switzerland on Ricardo.ch (the Swiss equivalent to eBay) from someone who was living in Zurich. It seems that it is one of the last to have been manufactured : #616 from the end! It came in very good condition. I'm a mechanical engineer by training and amazed by the genius of its creator even if he developed these handheld calculators "on the shoulders of giants": Pascal, Liebnitz, Roth, Thomas de Colmar, Maurel, Odhner, etc. I also own several slide rules and desktop mechanical calculators. My interest is not to own very old or unique items but instruments or machines implementing various operating principles so that I can, from time to time, play with. Many thanks for your website and the resources you are sharing. | |
| 1121 | hector smulovitz | hsmulo(at)gmail.com | Buenos Aires Argentina |
0 | 1 | 501812 | I inherited this from my father who was an Argentine engineer. | |
| 1122 | Axel Bidault | axel-bidault(at)orange.fr | unknown France |
0 | 1 | 500713 | My name is Axel, I'm from France, and last June I bought an early type 2 curta (# 500713). It came with its beautiful metal canister and little French instructions book, and had never been repaired nor opened. Unfortunately, the machine stayed for decades and one day was used with its -very very- old lubrication that had glued all parts of the ten carry mechanisms... When I bought it, the crank could be turned, but dials on the result register increased with no reason ! So I disassembled the curta entirely to make a diagnosis, and here is what I saw : - Many parts of the machine were like new ; - All the ten carry levers were bent ; - All the ten carry springs were stuck on their frame, 9 of them were extremely worn, and one was broken ; - During disassembly, I dropped a tranmission shaft circlip and it was impossible to find it back. So I had to imagine and manufacture several tools to bring my curta back to life : - A tool to correct the bent of ten carry levers ; - A tool to make transmission shafts clips ; - A tool to make ten carry levers springs ; - And of course, the complete tool kit to disassemble and assemble the machine. I cleaned and lubricated all parts (based on the lubrication chart), correct all carry levers, and manufacture 21 carry springs to replace all of them. The curta works now perfectly, and I'm very happy to have been able to pass through all technical difficulties that I met ! Best wishes from France ! |
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| 1123 | Graham Underwood | cleevecourt(at)me.com | Richmond, North Yorkshire UK |
1 | 0 | 21031 | Just bought a Curta 1 from an antiques auction. It's in immaculate external condition (looks almost unused) and came complete with instructions and guarantee (in Italian) and original cardboard box with serial number label on it. Unfortunately every part of it is seized up. I have so far just popped off the bottom and inside feels very 'gummy' so I'm hoping that a strip down and clean with be most of what it needs. Thank you for a superb website, I shall need all your information to help me out. Wish me luck! | |
| 1124 | Henry Wolf | h.d.wolf60(at)gmail.com | Dublin, OH USA |
0 | 1 | 501094 | Was my grandfathers (Registered Civil Engineer) and he would let me drive it while he was doing calculations when I was kid. My mother tells me that he had a Type I and traded it in for a Type II when it came out. Want have it cleaned or teach myself to do it. | |
| 1125a | 874 | 678 | 1552 | TOTAL COUNT | ||||
| 1125b | -- | -- | ------ | D=Cut Demo Curta, DB=Cut Demo Curta in Green box, B=Blank Curta (No Serial #) |
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Rick Furr (rfurr@vcalc.net) Join our List !E-mail me with your information.Please be patient with me if it takes a few weeks (or months!) for me to update the list.I'm totally swamped at work and stay really busy volunteering with Rotary International. -Rick- |
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JOIN THE LIST, Send me an email... E-mail Subject: "CURTA People List"
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