The Vaucanson A.V.A. 13 is a pinwheel calculator made in France. The case has a very distinctive backwards-leaning shape. It has 10 digits of input, an 8-digit counter, and 13 digits in the register. All three registers have a clearing lever. The counter has a carry mechanism, and there is a switch to select whether it counts additions or subtractions.
On the front of the base there would usually be a plaque from the distributor or supplier. In its place this calculator has a decal bearing the text "Koninklijke Landmacht, Waarde ƒ425,--", meaning it was used in the (Dutch) royal army, and had a value of 425 guilders. On top of this is a tag with the army's inventory number for this machine. According to the seller, it was used at the Havenkazerne in Schoonhoven by the Regiment van Heutsz.
The plaque on the back of the case has the model (A.V.A. 13), the variant (102 AB), and the serial number (27,196). It is unclear what the variant number indicates, but I think the last digit may be the paint colour. It was probably made in around 1950. There is a second plaque on the base inside the machine that also bears the serial number.
The counter has number wheels and a carry mechanism that is identical to that of the main register, so the parts are probably interchangable. The three clearing levers and their gears are also the same.
Ateliers Vaucanson was founded in 1914 in Saint Nicolas D'Aliermont, France. Manufacturing was done at Saint Nicolas, but the head office was at 11 Rue de Surmelin in Paris. The company is named after Jacques de Vaucanson (1709-1782), who was an inventor who designed many machines (an all-metal lathe, an automatic loom) that powered the industrial revolution, but is best remembered for his music boxes and incredible automata such as the Digesting Duck. Ateliers Vaucanson was really the successor to Lamazière & Bünzli, which had operated from the same addresses since at least 1909.
Ateliers Vaucanson made a variety of precision instruments, including clocks, speedometers and cinema equipment. They started making calculators in 1932.
In 1956 Ericsson acquired the majority of the shares in the company, and Vaucanson began to manufacture Eriksson phones (probably the popular "Cobra" Ericofon). The Vaucanson name soon stopped being used.
I have not found a single complete list of all models, so I have compiled this table from various sources, including Rechner Lexicon, Cris Vande Velde, and an article by Martin Reese in HBW 104.
The first calculator was the model A, which had a small capacity, no input display
register and no input clearing mechanism.
They expanded their range by introducing
three capacities, models A, B and D, and gave them all input display registers. The
cheaper variants without input display were then called Ay and By. For some reason
only the model B had a carriage shift mechanism using paddles for the right thumb.
In the end a different naming scheme was used. The models were renamed A.V.A xx and
A.V.B xx, where xx is the register capacity, the initials A.V. stand for Ateliers
Vaucanson, and the A or B denotes which carriage shift mechanism is used. Soon after
this name change, the counter direction mechanism was simplified, so the switch changed
from being vertical to horizontal. Almost all AVA/AVB have the horizontal switch, but there
are a few transitional ones with the vertical switch.
| Model | Capacity | Carr. shift | Counter switch | Input display | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 7×5×10 | Knob | Vertical | No | No input clearing |
| A | 7×5×10 | Knob | Vertical | Yes | |
| Ay | 7×5×10 | Knob | Vertical | No | Comb input clearing |
| B, B1 | 10×8×13 | Paddles | Vertical | Yes | It is unclear how model B and B1 differ. |
| By | 10×8×13 | Paddles | Vertical | No | Comb input clearing |
| BZ1 | 10×8×13 | Knob | Vertical | Yes | It is unclear whether the carriage shift is the only difference with B. |
| D | 10×11×20 | Knob | Vertical | Yes | |
| A.V.A. 13 | 10×8×13 | Knob | Horizontal | Yes | |
| A.V.A. 20 | 10×11×20 | Knob | Horizontal | Yes | |
| A.V.B. 13 | 10×8×13 | Paddles | Horizontal | Yes | |
| A.V.B. 13T | 10×8×13 | Paddles | Horizontal | Yes | With back transfer mechanism |
The early A models were also rebranded, distributed and sold by Japy, while the last models were also occasionally rebranded Pascal.
I have found very little related to the Vaucanson calculator in online newspaper and magazine archives, as there is not much French material freely available and the Vaucanson was not widely distributed outside of France.
Vaucanson have many patents unrelated to calculators. One of their first is a patent for a clock pendulum that is powered electromagnetically rather than with weights (FR 508,979).
| Patent | Filing date | Publish date | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR 42,326 E | 30-09-1932 | 11-07-1933 | Ateliers Vaucanson | Crank stopper |
| FR 738,085 | 02-06-1932 | 20-12-1932 | Ateliers Vaucanson | Calculator |
| GB 526,446 | 16-03-1939 | 18-09-1940 | Ateliers Vaucanson; Caisse Enregistreuse Idéale | Cash register |
| FR 976,821 | 30-10-1948 | 22-03-1951 | Ateliers Vaucanson | Carry selection switch |
| FR 1,033,290 | 01-03-1951 | 09-07-1953 | Ateliers Vaucanson | Carry selection switch
See also: GB 707,804 |
| FR 1,034,178 | 20-03-1951 | 20-07-1953 | Ateliers Vaucanson | Improved carry |
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