This page has links to reproductions of advertisements of vintage calculators on this website. They illustrate the transition from mechanical to electronic calculators, and the introduction of hand-held
calculators.
Click on an advertisement to see an image of it, then click on your browser "Back" button to return to this page.
1957
1958
- Monroe LA7-160, "This is: Economical, Fast, Simple, Accurate, Dependable", mechanical calculator.
1960
1961
1962
- Diehl V Series, "Select Diehl "V" range calculators for highest output accuracy and value", mechanical calculator.
- Monroe 8N-213, "Effortless figuring", mechanical calculator.
- Curta, "The calculator for people who count", hand-held mechanical calculator. Featured calculator
- Hamann 500, mechanical calculator.
- Friden SRW, "It's a rare engineering department that shouldn't use a Friden SRW. (Chrysler's missile division uses eleven)", mechanical calculator.
- Bohn Contex, "Brainchild (it figures!). Only $125 (it doesn't figure!)", mechanical calculator.
- Anita Mk VIII, "The first ELECTRONIC Desk Calculator in the world!", desktop electronic calculator. With the Anita Mk VII was the first desktop electronic calculator. Featured calculator
1963
- Burroughs Duplex, "Burroughs Duplex Calculators ... Now from only £240!", mechanical calculator.
- Anita Mk VIII and Comptometer 993S, "The best of both worlds. Electronic: ANITA. Electro-mechanical: Comptometer 993", desktop electronic and desktop mechanical calculators.
- Facit, mechanical calculator.
- Marchant, "Marchant turns man into Superman", mechanical calculator.
- Olivetti Divisumma 24, mechanical calculator.
- Nisa, "A revolution in office calculating", mechanical calculator.
1964
- IME 84rc, "From Italy - a new concept in calculating. The first entirely electronic, fully transistorized, desk-model
calculator", desktop electronic calculator. One of the first all-transistor calculators. Featured calculator
- Monroe LN160, IQ213, 8F213, Mach 1.07, "If one of these calculators can't speed up your business—congratulations!", mechanical calculators.
- Friden EC-130, "Most advanced electronic calculator in existence? Probably. Most beautifully designed? Certainly", desktop electronic calculator. One of the first all-transistor calculators. Featured calculator
1966
- Anita Mk10, "Five Years Ahead of its time: Instant Sterling/Decimal conversion – Now", desktop electronic calculator. Has old British currency (£sd) display capabilities.
- Sharp Compet 20, "The SHARP 20 electronic calculator is the fastest you can buy. And it's the best value for money.", desktop electronic calculator.
1967
- Olympia RAE 4/15, "The biggest noise in calculating machines is completely silent", desktop electronic calculator.
- Sharp Compet 15, Compet 20, Compet 21, Compet 30, "The new Sharp '15' electronic desk calculator—at a price that more can afford", desktop electronic calculators.
- Monroe Epic 2000 and Epic 3000, "Monroe present the world's first programmable electronic printing calculators", programmable, desktop electronic printing calculators. Featured calculator
- Monroe Epic 3000, "Beautifully efficient: The new Epic 3000 Electronic Printing Calculator", programmable, desktop electronic printing
calculator. Featured calculator
1968
- Canon Canola 130S, "All this for $995. The new compact 130S from Canon", desktop electronic calculator. Featured calculator
- Sharp CS-22A and CS-17B, "The mini compact calculator that carries light and works like the devil", desktop electronic calculators. Featured calculator
- Olivetti Programma 101, "Olivetti put a computer on your desk", programmable, desktop electronic printing calculator. Featured calculator
- Hewlett Packard 9100A, picture 2, "Powerful Computing Genie: $4900", desktop electronic calculator.
- Wang 300 Series, desktop electronic calculators.
1969
- Comptometer 993S, "The Comptometer 993 S won't cost you a fortune - but... It's Worth One!", mechanical calculator.
- Commodore, "Commodore adding machines for the new era", mechanical calculator (British Sterling currency model).
- Sharp Micro Compet QT-8D, "It's hand-sized and weighs just 3lbs.", desktop electronic calculator. The first calculator with LSI (Large-Scale Integration) integrated circuits. Featured calculator
1970
- Addo Ten/3 MkII, desktop electronic calculator.
- Monroe 920, "Monroe 920: the leading lightweight. 8.8lbs. of compact calculating wizadry!", desktop electronic calculator.
- Sharp Micro Compet QT-8B, "Micro Compet QT-8B is the world's smallest electronic calculator", hand-held electronic calculator. One of the first hand-held (battery-powered) electronic calculators. Featured calculator
- Dictaphone, desktop electronic calculators.
- North American Rockwell Microelectronics Company, "Sharp figures with MOS/LSI. Ours.", manufacturer of LSI calculator integrated circuits for Sharp.
- Precisa 364, "Why buy a Precisa multiplier instead of just a simple add/lister? Well...look what it can do...", mechanical calculator.
- Ricoh Ricomac 1200, "Ricoh + LSI = Ricomac 1200 A New Calculating Formula", desktop electronic calculator. Featured calculator
1971
- Singer-Friden 1116, desktop electronic calculator.
- Sharp EL-8, "We just cut the electronic calculator down to size. Again.", hand-held electronic calculator. Featured calculator
- Electronic Arrays, "Electronic Arrays will build any circuit that your little calculator desires", manufacturer of LSI calculator integrated circuits.
- Marchant I, "This is the Marchant for Field Engineers, Auditors, and the Chairman of the Board", hand-held electronic calculator.
Featured calculator
- Canon Canola L121, "It's Canon that counts. New micro-electronic midget calculator has over 15,000 elements", desktop electronic calculator.
- Adler 1200, "Calculating little piece", desktop electronic calculator.
- Tektronix Scientist 909 and Statistician 911, "a programmable calculator that speaks your language", desktop electronic calculators.
- Monroe 10 "Shrimp", "Introducing the Shrimp. A different kind of calculator. It prints. It's electronic. And it fits in the palm of your hand", version of the Canon Pocketronic,
hand-held electronic calculator. Featured calculator
- Busicom exec 80-DA, "personal portable electronic desk-top calculator: small size—big hearted", desktop electronic calculator.
1972
- Commodore C110, "New C-110: personal portable electronic calculator", hand-held electronic calculator. Featured calculator
- Sanyo ICC82D, ICC1122, ICC1415P, desktop and hand-held electronic calculators.
- Rapid Data Rapidman 800, "Join the Pocket Revolution", hand-held electronic calculator. Featured calculator
- J.T.A. 8P, "At last a pocket computer to fit your pocket...", hand-held electronic calculator.
- Hewlett-Packard HP-35, "First through the arithmetic barrier: HP-35", the first hand-held scientific electronic calculator. Featured calculator
- Hewlett-Packard HP-35, "Hewlett-Packard presents the world's first pocket calculator that challenges a computer", the first hand-held scientific electronic calculator. Featured calculator
- Sinclair Executive, "The other pocket calculators fit neatly into your briefcase", was then the thinnest calculator and the only calculator to be powered by button
cells. Featured calculator
- Unicom 1000P and 1010P, "Unicom announces the end of the adding machine...", desktop electronic calculator.
- Mostek Corporation, "Pocket Computation from Hewlett Packard. We're on the inside!", manufacturer of calculator integrated circuits.
- Texas Instruments Klixon keyboard, picture 2, "Dunk this page into a cup of coffee" [the page was laminated with plastic], high-quality calculator keyboard.
- Texas Instruments TI-2500 Datamath, "The Texas Instruments electronic calculator ... a pocketful of miracles.", hand-held electronic calculator. Featured calculator
- Sharp EL-801, "The new Sharp "Shirt-Pocket Size" calculator", hand-held electronic calculator. Featured calculator
1973
- Hitachi KK-181B, KK-521, KK-521P, "Reliability begins with reliable parts. So we make our own, including the circuits", desktop and hand-held electronic calculators.
- Hewlett Packard HP-80, "Hewlett-Packard announces the most revolutionary financial device of our time: the HP-80", the first hand-held financial electronic calculator. Featured calculator
- Rapid Data Rapidman 800, Rapidman 801, Rapidman 1208LC, Rapidman 1212, Rapid Printer 2000, picture 2, "If your accountant
isn't impressed by Rapidman's speedy, easy operation or the cast-iron guarantee...", desktop and hand-held electronic calculators. The Rapidman 1208LC was one of the first calculators
with a Liquid Crystal display.
- Bowmar MX50, "If Bowmar can work on the moon - Bowmar can work in your hand!", hand-held electronic calculator.
- Sinclair Cambridge, "The new Sinclair Cambridge. Logs, trig, powers and roots...", hand-held electronic calculator. Featured on British calculator site
- Otis King, "Why pay £50 or more for a Calculator? A fabulous bargain", cylindrical slide-rule. This was about the last gasp for the slide rule. Featured calculator
- Litronix 1100, "Space Age Technology from the USA. The first professional pocket calculator at a family pocket price", hand-held electronic calculator. A sign of the electronic calculator price war which had started.
- Advance mini Executive, hand-held electronic calculator. Featured on British calculator site
- Sinclair Executive, "The features that earned the Executive a unique Design Council Award" (brochure provided courtesy of Gary Walton). Featured calculator
1974
- Sands 004, "A Genuine 'Memory' Pocket Calculator. Yours for under 1/3RD of importer's recommended selling price!",
hand-held electronic calculator. (Provided courtesy of Steve Martyniuk).
- Heathkit IC-2006, hand-held electronic calculator, catalog listing.
- Heathkit IC-2009, hand-held electronic calculator, catalog listing. Featured calculator
- Texas Instruments SR-11, "Texas Instruments SR-11. The electronic press button instant slide rule", hand-held electronic calculator.
- Hewlett-Packard HP-65, picture 2, "HP-65: It's programmable", the first programmable hand-held electronic calculator. Featured calculator
- Laskys calculator flyer page 1, page 2. An interesting collection of calculators of this period from this British discount dealer. Grateful
thanks to Gary Walton for providing the scans.
1975
- Adler Lady, picture 2, "Lady The First Calculator For Her", hand-held electronic calculator for the "Lady". Featured calculator
- Garrett CM20, "Open & Shut Case", desktop electronic calculator, strange "space age style". See also the article "RCA Calculators - or are they space helmets ?".
- Keystone 2050, "Meet the little genius from Keystone", hand-held electronic calculator.
- Monte Carlo, picture 2, "Monte Carlo ..... A Small Calculator that solves Big Problems", tiny hand-held electronic
calculator.
1976
- Casio pocket-LC II (LC-812), "One Penlight Battery; 250 Hours", LCD display, long battery life, hand-held electronic calculator.
- Casio micro-mini (M-800), "The mini-est electronic calculator in the world", LCD display, tiny hand-held electronic
calculator. Featured calculator
- Sharp EL-8026 "SUN MAN", "Satellite technology to power a pocket calculator with solar energy", LCD display, hand-held electronic calculator, has solar cells on rear for recharging. The first calculator with solar cells, though for charging the battery. Featured calculator
1977
- KOVAC SOLAR-1, "Sun Power: The Ultimate Energy Source", LCD display, hand-held electronic calculator, has solar cells on rear for recharging.
- Teal Photon, "Teal announces the world's first pure solar-powered calculator", hand-held electronic calculator, powered by solar cells. One of the first solar-cell-powered calculators.
Featured calculator
- Sharp EL-8019, "You are looking at the only folding calculator in the world. It folds together like a lady's compact and thanks to advanced Sharp technology gives
1200 hours operation from one set of batteries", LCD display, hand-held electronic calculator.
- Sharp EL-8120, "You are looking at the slimmest rechargeable calculator in the world—a mere 7 mm thin, created by advanced Sharp technology", LCD display,
hand-held electronic calculator.
Gary Walton has kindly made available scans of a number of advertising brochures for calculators of the 1970s at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1B61nMTJ8hYbR9Ej6s2VeKP3X-51-ru7E.
Text & photographs copyright, except where stated otherwise, © Nigel Tout 2000-2024.