C-975

Antique Felix Mechanical Calculator. USSR, Circa 1930

Awesome Felix mechanical calculator made in the Soviet Union. In excellent working order. Very interesting and original piece.

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Antique Felix mechanical calculator made in the USSR circa 1930, in good condition and preserving all its original component parts. The calculator is in perfect working order and makes it possible to perform arithmetical operations in a fluid and soft way, being a real pleasure to use. It is attached to the original enameled-metal base, which shows signs of rust and wear due to the trace of time and use that provide it with personality and charm. The metal case that protects the mechanism bears a black enameled finish, in fine condition and quite shiny. At the top right corner we can see the brand name FELIX in Cyrillic lettering. Under this word there are more inscriptions, among them the USSR name in Cyrillic (CCCP). The inscriptions and numerals are painted white, while the numerals located over the outcome boxes have been painted in a turquoise-blue color. This antique Felix mechanical calculator is a collectors piece, a real survivor of the machines made in the URSS after the Revolution. Dimensions: Base: Width: 12 in / 30.5 cm. Depth: 7 in / 17.5 cm. Calculator: Top Width: 6.2 in / 15.5 cm. Bottom Width: 8,2 in / 20.5 cm. Height: 5.2 in / 13 cm.Felix Calculators History The first pinwheel calculator was designed by W.T. Odhner in Saint Petersburg in 1886. After the Revolution of 1917, the USSR government nationalized the invention. The Soviets kept on manufacturing Odhner aritmomethers (calculators) under the Iron Felix name after a famous and dark character: Felix Dzerzhinsky. Dzerzhinsky founded the Soviet calculator factory in Moscow in 1924, and was also the founder of the famous Cheka (Bolshevik secret police). He was sadly notorious for his hardness and was awarded the nickname Iron Felix, just like the calculator, among his own colleagues. Odhners original design (nationalized in 1924) was used by Dzerzhinsky for his Felix calculators. While in the rest of Europe arithmometers were becoming obsolete, Felix calculators kept on being manufactured in the Soviet Union until 1978.

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