Brunsviga
Grimme, Natalis and Co.
Braunschweig, Germany


The German company Grimme, Natalis and Co. of Braunschweig obtained the German patent rights to the Odhner pinwheel calculator in 1982, and produced similar machines under the Brunsviga name. The company improved and developed the Brunsviga which became one of the most successful mechanical calculators and was produced up to the early 1970s.
The company merged with Olympia in 1959 but Brunsviga name continued to be used. Hand-held electronic calculators under the Brunsviga name are known, maybe badged for whoever owned the Brunsviga name at the time.

The "Pin-Wheel" mechanism was invented independently in the USA (1872) by Frank S.Baldwin and in Europe (1874) by Willgodt T.Odhner. In 1892 the ODHNER CO. licenced patent rights to the sewing machine company Grimme, Natalis & Co. - later named BRUNSVIGA Werke in Braunschweig / Germany. Its chief-engineer Franz Trinks promoted the BRUNSVIGA at such success, that the competitor ODHNER CO. (former St. Petersburg / Russia, later Goeteborg / Sweden) attached the sign "Original" to their machines to distinguish them from their identical look in the beginning. BRUNSVIGA machines improved tremendously ("System Trinks") and after 1900 the "BRUNSVIGA" became a synonym for "Calculating-Machines" in Europe. In 1932 BRUNSVIGA made the "Model 10" with "Split-Stepped-Drum" technique (System BALDWIN/MONROE - The descendant "11E" is in this collection...) nd had great success with this economical calculator too. In 1959 BRUNSVIGA joined the Typewriter & Calculator Company OLYMPIA Werke in Wilhelmshaven / Germany.


Source : vintagecalculators.com

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