Antique MADAS Calculator with Automatic Division. USA, 1913

Antique MADAS calculator with automatic division, coming from the United States and manufactured in 1913. MADAS calculators were Swiss machines which were sold all over Europe and the USA and reached a considerable sale success. The one that we can see in the photographs remains in good condition in spite of being more than one hundred years old. It is in fine working order and can perform the four basic arithmetical operations perfectly. The mechanism is covered by a metal sheet casing with a black-lacquered finish; the lacquer is somewhat worn by the trace of time and the use, but it is still quite well preserved. At the front side of the calculator we can see different inscriptions and embossed plates which identify the machine and provide information about it. To the left we see the MADAS brand name, the country (USA) and the date the patent was filed (Dec. 16th 1913). At the top right corner there is a riveted plated with red background with the embossed name and address of the distributor for the British Isles which sold the calculator many years ago. On the other hand, the calculator comes with its original black-lacquered metal cover; printed on it we can see the white, red and green brand logo. Inside the cover there is an old-time instruction leaflet in German and English, original and perfectly preserved. For its excellent working order and attractive aesthetic, this antique MADAS calculator with automatic division will delight every lover of old-time mechanical devices.MADAS Calculators - History MADAS calculators were created by a Company founded in Munich in 1893 by the Swiss engineer H.W. Egli. In 1881, Egli returned to his fatherland and opened a workshop in the center of Zurich, which would later move to the suburbs. His aim was to develop and commercialize a computing machine, which he accomplished in 1896. For the first time ever, a direct-multiplication calculating machine could be produced commercially: it was the birth of the Millionaire, a real sale success produced by H.W. Egli A.G. Though, this was quite a heavy and difficult-to-carry machine; in 1908 the need of manufacturing lighter and smaller calculators started to become evident. In 1911 the company begins to work in a new design whose production started in 1914 under the MADAS brand name (an acronym which means Multiplication Automatic Division Addition Subtraction). Until 1912 different models were launched and they coexisted with the Millionaire. In 1931 the company launches a new design that could actually be transported; from then on, the calculators were known as MADAS portable. The machines kept on being improved until 1960. In 1950 competition had started to be fiery in the calculator market and the firm started to decline. In 1970 H.W.Egli A.G. stopped all activity.