The Curta.org Bulletin Board

[rivest]

Thought you guys might be interested. It's a rather thick book by the way.

http://www.oughtred.org/curta-book.shtml

This book is about Curt Herzstark, the inventor of an ingenious device that made history in the world of science, technology and office equipment, namely, the Curta Calculator. It was and still is the smallest mechanical calculator in the world and resembles a hand held pepper mill. It can perform all four basic arithmetic functions, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, as well as root extraction. The CURTA Calculator was unsurpassed in its convenient size and versatility until the appearance of the electronic calculator in the late 1960s. It was a favorite calculating device for car rallies in the 1950's.

This book is the story of the remarkable life of the inventor of this ingenious device, how he started in his father's mechanical office machine company in Vienna, eventually running the company himself, designing the Curta and becoming embroiled in WWII as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp and finally the difficulties of setting up full production after the war in Liechtenstein.

The Oughtred Society is proud to sponsor this publication. This project was initiated by the late Thomas Wyman who managed and funded the translation of the Curt Herzstark German language autobiography. The Oughtred Society funded printing of this book, as a service to Oughtred Society members and other English language readers interested in Curt Herzstark and the CURTA Calculator.

[Rubberswan]

Is this an English translation of “Kein Geschenk Für Den Führer”?
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Curta 1 - 61153
Curta 2 - 508965

[stenella]

Yes it is. I read the original, and it contains a lot of interesting and useful information, which is nowhere else to be found. The writing itself is not the best though, I wouldn't decribe it as a "riveting read" ...but as a Curta lover this is a must-have anyway.

[2010*smiths]

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

[Curt A. Calculator]

A couple of questions for anyone here who has purchased a copy of the English translation:

- Does the book itself have reasonable quality binding/paper/print quality, or is it one of those slapdash quick print affairs?

- Is it a good readable translation?