The CURTA Calculator Page
Last Update: December 31, 2003 -- THE CURTA REFERENCE
Last Update: December 31, 2003 -- THE CURTA REFERENCE
THE CURTA CALCULATOR POSTER Introducing the classic Curta Calculator poster for all Curta fans. This fabulous poster shows a detailed layout of the inner working of Curt Herzstark's amazing machine. All Curta parts are close to actual size and displayed in multiple exploded views. Every part is labeled with its original name as designated in the Contina A.G. factory service manual. The elaborate and detailed poster design was nearly a year in planning and execution. Original factory photographs, drawings and artwork have been combined with new imagery to produce this engineer's view of a mechanical masterpiece. Many thanks are due to Carl and Jack for their encouragement and enthusiasm. The Curta Calculator poster is very suitable for framing and will make a wonderful gift to any Curta enthusiast. It is an essential element in any Curta collection. The poster measures 24 1/2" (62cm) in width and 16" (41cm) in height and is printed on high quality Strobe Gloss 100 pound paper. The poster will be shipped in a rugged 3"x18" Kraft Mailing tube.
Buyer Feedback!
Countries Sold To (so far)
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Visit Jan's Curta Web page: http://www.curta.de/
The picture uses 16 Million colors.
There are equivalent versions of POV-Ray for MS-DOS, Windows 95/98 & x86
NT, Macintosh, PowerPC, Amiga, SunOS, Linux (on Intel platforms) and generic
Unix.
Great Job John!
Well I finally did it. Thanks to the support of my friend Carl I fully
disassembled a type 1 Curta. The really good news is I put it back together and
it still works! This page is BIG so go here only if you have a high speed
connection or the time to spare. Each picture can be clicked on for a larger
view too. -Rick-
I've received a number of e-mails asking for pictures of Curt Herzstark.
Unfortunately the few shots I had are poor 3rd or 4th generation Xerox
copies: Luckily Prof. Karl Kleine from Jena, Germany has just discovered some
original pictures of Curt (click on these pictures for a larger version):
Here are the before and after pictures of Curta 2185. It was discovered in a flea market antique shop in Montevideo, Uruguay. The
original owner of the Curta was a busineman in Montevideo who used to import
merchandise from Europe. He died and his wife sold it to get some extra money.
Jack sent some great emails detailing the restoration process. A
compilation of those emails can be found at the following link:
Here are three different styles of type 1 Curtas. Notice the difference
between the handle top, the entry knobs, the labeling/lettering, and the storage
cans?
Details of these early prototypes can be seen in some of Curt's patents.
CURTA MODEL II calculator, NM w/case Item #541588446
These two pictures were taken by Rick Spaulding. He used an Olympus C-3030
and a Dynalite studio strobe kit for lighting.
Here's another nice picture I found on the Internet, unfortunately I don't
know who took it.
The Helmut G. Ayen Collection
Page is a set of 33 beautiful pictures that I was sent from Helmut Ayen in
Hossingen, Germany. He not only owns a pair of type I and type II Curtas but
also a pair of type I and type II Demo Curtas! Enjoy the pictures and as always,
click on any picture to get a larger version.
A good article from backup
magazine 6/88 page 5-9 and 1/89 page 41-45
I have discovered a total of 16 CURTA patents!
You can also find HTML versions of the patents at Andries de Man's site
Thanks to Skip Godfrey for sending these pins to me.
I'd be real interested to learn if there were any other pins made and if
there were more pins I'd like to get a picture to put on the web site. I'd like
to know more about the annual meeting... email me with info... mailto:rfurr@vcalc.net
According to Reinhold Rehbein, the history says that, a short time before the
factory in Lichtenstein was closed, Curtas were made from different spare parts.
Almost every old Curta factory machinist has made a variant.
Mathematisches
Maschinen-Museum im WorldWideWeb
Prof. Karl Kleine found this picture in an article about use of calculators
in German schools. Guess what those boys of age 10 to 11 have in their hands???
The same CURTA Operating
Manual rendered simultaneously (CURTA ESP) by Andries de Man.
A
French CURTA manual translated by Andries de Man.
A
second French CURTA manual translated by Andries de Man.
Ernie is offering a total of 7 documents related to the Curta:
CU1. Service-Handbuch For Curta Rechenmaschine Model II 11 X 8 X 15. This
manual is written in German, however it has many 'exploded' detailed service
pictures of the Curta Model II. $19.00
CU2. Service-Manual for Curta Calculating Machine Model 1 - 8 X 6 X 11. This
manual is written in English. Like CU1 it has many 'exploded' pictures of the
Curta Model 1. $19.00
CU3. Curta - The Universal Pocket Size Calculating Machine System C.
Herzstark. This is a manual that explains the features of the Curta. Has a
number of very nice pictures. We assume that this piece was used to market the
Curta. $6.00
CU4. Instructions For The Use Of The Curta - Size 1: 8 X 6 X 11. This is the
operators manual that was included with a new Curta. Written in English. $16.00
CU5. Computing Example For The "Curta Calculating Machine." Contains pages of
practical examples for this fine machines. In English or French. $17.00
CU6. Rechenbeispiele fur die Curta Rechenmaschine $15.00
CU7. Die CURTA und ihr Erfinder Curt Herzstart (The Curta and It’s Inventor)
This is a wonderful piece printed in German. Lots of photos. Circa 1988. $8.00
Please make checks available to:
Please e-mail or send us your snail mail and we will send you our FREE
catalog of photo-reprinted old office machine manuals.
Office Machine Americana "Any questions, please email (Ernie Jorgenson) at ejorgens@lewiston.com."
Jack Christensen repairs CURTA calculators. I've known Jack for many years
and can highly recommend him.
Here are a few questions I asked Jack:
What do you charge to clean a Curta?
Typically $85 to $115, depending on the work involved. More often than not,
the upper carriage needs a complete disassembly, whereas the main body can be
cleaned without a complete disassembly. If the main body needs to be completely
disassembled, something is usually bent, out of adjustment, or broken.
What do you charge when repairing a Curta?
I charge $65 per hour of my time. It seems my hours are about 90 minutes
long, however, because I rarely finish in the time I originally quoted. Extended
repair time is absorbed by me.
What spare parts do you have? Are they expensive?
I actually have many hundreds of new original Curta parts. Most are for
inside the instrument, though. I use them when I do general cleaning and
repairs. Outer body pieces, replacement cannisters, and external parts that are
easily damaged or broken due to abuse are not generally available, although I do
occasionally locate some these items. Sometimes I have to fabricate a part, or
repair an item as best I can. Obviously, this takes time, and the cost is high.
Parts costs are charged as the traffic will bear. I usually try to be blunt
about this to the Curta owner, often telling them that a severely damaged unit
is best sold as a "parts Curta". Unfortunately, I've sometimes had to tell this
to someone who wanted to repair a Curta looked upon as an heirloom. What to them
appears to be a minor issue actually turns out to be a major problem (e.g., a
crank handle tilted downward is due to a broken main shaft).
I think the most I ever charged for a repair was about $375. There were many
severe problems with the unit. Generally, when the price gets to be above $175
most people simply decide to keep the damaged Curta as a memento.
Can you replace a clearing ring? What costs are involved?
The plastic clearing rings are easy to install. I have several new ones, but
I typically do not sell them separately as a spare part. Rather, I install them
during a general cleaning and repair.
Metal rings are more difficult to replace. As with the plastic clearing
rings, I will only install a metal clearing ring during a general cleaning and
repair. It takes a special tool to properly swage the rivet in place. [Editor's
note: Very old Type I clearing rings were held on with a screw and nut. The nut
was also crimped to the screw threads.] I used all the new metal clearing rings
I had about five years ago, but I do have a few used ones that were removed from
other damaged Curtas. I have these for both the Type I and the Type II. The
original rivets needed to re-attach the clearing ring are hard to come by, but I
do have a few of those, too.
Jack's company, Timewise also manufactures a line of rally equipment
for TSD competition. The units include TSD computers for running in a Computer
Class, units designed for Odo Class competition, and competition and checkpoint
clocks. Jack can be contacted for special-order equipment or particular
modifications desired for Timewise equipment. Jack also repairs older Zeron
equipment. A wide selection of sending units are available.
Jack Christensen
Curt Herzstark, interview by Erwin Tomash, audio tape(s) and transcripts,
Nendeln, Liechtenstein, 10 September 1987, OH 140. * Transcript available in English or German for purchase from the Charles
Babbage Institute on paper, computer disk, or by e-mail transfer. Herzstark, an Austrian inventor and manufacturer of calculators, describes
the development of the Austrian Calculating Machine Manufacturing Company
(Rechenmaschinefabrik der Austria Erstanden Compagnie) and his subsequent work
in the industry. The company, founded in Vienna by his father, Samuel Herzstark,
in 1905, introduced the first electrically-driven calculator based on improved
designs of the Thomas Arithmometer. Herzstark describes the disruption of the
industry during World War I, his involvement with the company after the war,
competition with American companies, and his first invention, a mechanical
memory for holding subtotals, which appeared in 1928. Herzstark managed the
company in 1930 and began work on his own design for a hand-held calculator.
With the Anschluss of 1938, the company was again converted to war production,
and produced custom gauges for German tanks. Herzstark, a Jew, was able to avoid
arrest until 1943, when he was sent to Buchenwald concentration camp and worked
as a technician. He recounts his arrest and internment, and how he completed the
design of the CURTA hand-held calculator, a prototype of which was produced in
Weimar, Germany, by Rheinmetallwerke at the end of the war. The Prince of
Liechtenstein bought the design and the calculator was initially manufactured by
the CURTA division of Contina AG of Liechtenstein. It was produced until 1972,
when the electronic calculator forced it from the market. Contact: mailto:kevin@fs1.itdean.umn.edu CBI can provide: paper copies of the transcript for $0.25 per page;
April 25, 1997 -- Skip Godfrey got a reply to his fax to Stefan Beck.
Jan Meyer's Fantastic Curta Simulator!
The Simulator
A complete Curta simulation, with which all arithmetical examples can
be accomplished.
You don't have Curta? Then you can use the Curta simulator .
It needs Flash Player 6, which you can download here
free of charge.
Curta Type II Ray Traced Picture!
The CURTA Collectors and Registry Page
The Curta Disassembly
Curt Herzstark - The Man
The CURTA Demo Collection Page
It had extensive
damage due to water contamination.
The Curta was sent to Jack Christensen for a major
overhaul.
Restoration of the oldest Curta...
Curta Manufacturing Evolutions
Curta Prototypes
Some Nice Curta Photos
The Helmut G. Ayen Collection
Curt Herzstark and his Pocket Calculator CURTA.
(click on the picture)
CURTA Patents
Curta Pins
These pins were made for an annual collectors
meeting in Liechtenstein.
Miniature Machine Performs Engineering Calculations
A Chrome Curta
A Gold Curta
School Curta
CURTA Date by Serial Number
CURTA Literature Listing
The CURTA Manual
CURTA Articles
CURTA E-mails
CURTA Ads
Machine
Americana 
CURTA Operation Manuals, Repair Manuals and More
Ernie Jorgenson with
Office Machine Americana P.O. Box 1161
Lewiston, Idaho 83501 USA
1-208-746-8325 1-208-798-0416 (fax)
chronos@northshore.net
Timewise
32
Old barn Road
Hawthorn Woods, Illinois 60047
(847) 550-5052
http://home.comcast.net/~timewise1/
An Interview Of CURT HERZSTARK From 1987
It
can be purchased through e-mail (they snail mail a bill to you) for $13.00.
I
just imported it into M/S Word (Arial 12pt) and it's about 56 pages long.
Charles
Babbage Institute at University of Minnesota
Web page: http://www.cbi.umn.edu/oh/display.phtml?id=82
Order:
The Curt Herzstark Transcripts by Erwin Tomash (OH 140)
Specify: Format:
ASCII Text, WordPerfect
Media: Copies, floppy, e-mail
Language: English,
German
Supply your snail mail address
text
file of the transcript in WordPerfect 5.1, 6.0, 6.1,
or ASCII for $10 per
disk used plus $3 per oral history;
ASCII text file transfer of the
transcript by e-mail for
$10 per order plus $3 per oral history.
CURTA Video
It's about 20 minutes, with nothing else, just this.
(Good video
quality) Stefan Beck, fax + 41 1 950 55 92.
The
video is $80.00, including shipping, and he suggested sending cash and sending
it as a registered letter (A bank draft in Deutschmarks cost $15.00).
The Curta Calculator by Jim Bianchi
Curta Mechanical
Calculator as used in TSD rallying by Jim Bianchi
(as published in rallye
magazine, March 1976)
http://www.VintageRally.com/gear/curta_rm.html
Links to other CURTA Calculator pages:
The Calculator Reference by mailto:rfurr@vcalc.net
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