Maybe it was caused by reading Gibson's Pattern Recognition
, but I've had a hankering for a Curta mechanical calculator for the last couple years. I don't need one. I have no use for one. I certainly can't afford one. But these little gizmos trigger the wantsies in me like nobody's business. Like a Leica M3 or a pre-war Smith, they have an intricate mechanical rightness about them, like a little box of elves turning precision-machined gears...
If you didn't have a Curta, way back in the Dark Ages before electronic computers, you just weren't a serious sporty car rallyist.
ReplyDeleteThey were a necessity for one's MG-TD, along with the gloves, the cap and the nitrogen-filled tyres.
I did okay with my K&E Log Log Duplex Decitrig slide rule, though. Lay the windshield down on my 1956 Austin-Healey LeMans, don the goggles, and Be Cool. :-)
Art
Mmmmm...the M3 is the single most sublime image making device (both aesthetically and operationally) ever created.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pacificrimcamera.com/pp/leica/m/mpix/m3.jpg
The quality with which they were designed and made has been a thing of wonder and an object of lust for almost 60 years now. As Ferris Maximus decreed, if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
Wow.. the odd thing to think on is that it's newer than your 1911 or Smith...
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for a curta for a few years now. My excuse was it would circumvent "no electronic devices during tests" rules, and my slide rule sheath was cumbersome in the desk/chair (not to mention looked strange in the 21st century). Really, though, I just have a fascination for mechanical computers.
ReplyDeleteThe going price for a curta is devastating to my wallet and heart. I've never been able to find a replica even though I've been told they exist.
Thanks for reminding me of everything I never had. I will be fantasizing about a curta for a week now and be insufferable at the dinner table.
When I was growing up we had some variation of the Addiator...
ReplyDeleteMechanical Calculators at the Vintage Calculators Web Museum.
The "math grenade"!
ReplyDeleteVery elegant design! I like!
ReplyDeleteThanks a ton, now I want one. I'm thinking about framing that poster in my house somewhere.
ReplyDeleteStaghounds got what came to mind first, but my second thought was that one of those is a pretty good excuse to stand up that machine shop I've been considering.
ReplyDeleteJim
Had to wiki the Curta, loved this quote:
ReplyDeleteOne chagrined owner, on showing up to the dealer to retrieve his $600 Curta, now reassembled for an additional $300, was told, "don't feel bad. Curtas really cost $900. Everyone takes them apart."
Kinda surprises me that nobody's making copies. Say, in Russia.
ReplyDeleteThey ebay for a thousand or so. I can't imagine that it would pay to make and distribute them for a competitive price.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, it seems like something whose manufacturing costs could be cut massively using modern materials and CNC manufacturing.
ReplyDeleteUnlike, say, the internals of a 1911, I don't see that MIM would be inappropriate for replica Curta guts...
There really is a wonderful elegance to those machines.
ReplyDeleteIt really shows how all math is just addition and subtraction.
That and it goes clickety-clack!
On a production scale MIM would probably do alright - the question is, does anyone have the drawings around, and second what would dies et al cost for these parts?
ReplyDeleteJim
Arrrrg!Another gadget for the "when I win the lottery" list. To make matters worse, I hopped on eBay to see what they cost, then decided to check out what they had in the way of sliderules. Ended up re-opening an account with them to bid on a few. It's like dangling a bag of Ketamine & MDMA in front of a raver, I tell you!
ReplyDeleteI share the "I want one!" sentiment.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with old technology??? Is it nostalgia? Some form of "the green was greener"? Curiosity?
In a similar vein, I had some urge to get a sextant and copy of Bowditch after reading some Aubrey / Maturin novels. Why? If I want to know where I am, GPS is much faster and accurate. Yet, I have a hankering to learn to do it "the old fashioned way".
enjoy some nice views to the curta from my web site...
ReplyDeletered