Curta I no.72340
physical object
Identifier
2022.1.4
Description
The Curta I no.72340 was produced in Mauren, Liechtenstein in 1968. Approximately 4800 were made that year, and they sold for $160. It is black and features a plastic can. The Curta is a pocket mechanical calculator designed by Curt Herzstark known for its compact design and iconic silhouette. In total, 78,727 Curta Is were produced and are sold for between $1,300-$2,500. They were produced from April 1947 to November 1970, and were first designed by Herzstark during his time as an 'intelligence-slave" in a World War II concentration camp. After his liberation in 1945, Herzstark redrew its construction from memory and production shortly began by Contina Ltd.
Its contemporary design featured a single drum replacing the multiple drums of other calculators. It could add and subtract numbers entered through slides on the side of the device. Turning the crank adds the input number to the result counter.
The Curta weighs 8 oz and is 53x85mm in size. Curtas, also affectionately called ‘math grenades’ or ‘pepper grinders’, were considered the best portable calculators available before they were replaced by electronic calculators in the 1970s.
Related Term
mechanical calculating devices (describes)
