Antique Lipsia Windlass Calculator in perfect working order. Germany, 1920s

This attractive machine is a Lipsia pinwheel calculator made of metal and standing on a solid wooden base. The calculator was made in Germany in the 1920s, and has survived to our days en very good condition and working order. It can be used to perform the four basic arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) in a simple and reliable way. All its component parts are amazingly preserved and move fluidly and softly. At the front of the calculator we can see the brand name Lipsia sketched to the left of the digits. Lipsia calculators were manufactured by O.Holzapfel & Co., a company located in Leipzig, Germany. In fact, Lipsia is the Latin name for Leipzig. They are pinwheel machine and their mechanism is identical to that designed by W. T. Odhner in Russia in 1873. Odhners invention was in turn based in Leibnizs arithmometer, developed in the late 17th century. It is an efficient mechanism that became part of thousands of mechanic calculators made in the first half of the 20th century. The calculating machine that we can see in these images has a black-lacquered metal sheet case in very good condition. The chromed-metal mobile parts and the bakelite pieces are original too. The calculator stands on a solid oak wooden plank with four small legs and a silvery handle attached to one side. The plank can be locked to a plywood protecting case, original from the time and with the serial number 7463 printed inside. The lock and the key are original and remain in working order. Because of its excellent working order and fine design, this antique calculator deserves to become part of a good collection of historic machines.