Historical Calculator Collection
A visual archive of calculating tools from ancient to modern times.
From early counting boards, abacuses to slide rules and other calculators, this collection explores how humans have calculated, counted, and solved problems throughout history.
🏺+ 🧮 + 📏 Counting boards, Abacuses & Slide Rules Collection:
🏺Counting Boards:
• Greek Counting Board (often called “Greek Abacus”)
One of the earliest known counting devices, using stones or markers on a flat surface.
• Roman Calculating Board
A flat board marked with lines or grooves, used with small stones (calculi) to perform arithmetic.
🧮 Abacuses:
• Roman abacus
A portable calculating tool with grooves and sliding beads, widely used across the Roman Empire.
• Suanpan (Chinese Abacus)
A traditional Chinese abacus with a 2:5 bead configuration, capable of complex calculations.
• Nepohualtzintzin (Mexican Abacus)
A pre-Columbian calculating device used by the Aztecs, based on a vigesimal (base-20) system.
• Schoty (Russian Abacus)
A horizontal bead abacus used in Russia, known for its simplicity and speed.
• Jupan (Korean abacus)
A Korean variation of the abacus, similar to the Chinese suanpan.
• Soroban (Japanese abacus)
A refined version of the abacus with a 1:4 bead system, still used for mental arithmetic training.
• Indian abacus
A modern educational tool used to teach arithmetic and mental calculation skills.
• Bàn Tính (Vietnamese Abacus)
An enduring symbol of traditional Vietnamese commerce and education.
📏 Slide Rules:
• Charpentier Calculimètre
An early mechanical calculating device used for practical arithmetic operations.
• Halden Calculex
A compact mechanical calculator designed for quick numerical calculations.
• Otis King cylindrical slide rules (Models K & L)
A unique cylindrical slide rule using a helical scale for increased precision.
• Pickett N600-ES
A classic aluminium slide rule widely used in engineering and education.
• Simplon XL-10 (Log Log)
A specialised slide rule capable of advanced logarithmic and exponential calculations.
• Thornton Duplex
A dual-sided slide rule offering a wide range of mathematical functions.
• Moko Lightning Calculator
A mid-20th century mechanical calculator designed for speed and portability.
• Helical slide rule
A slide rule with a spiral scale, allowing for extended precision in calculations.
• Enigma slide rule cipher
A specialised slide rule designed for encoding and decoding messages.
More coming soon.