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Schubert DRV

This is the more elaborate version of my first pinwheel calculator, with back transfer to the setting register, bought about 20 years after that first one. So it’s a DRV instead of a DW.

It has been a bit of a shelf queen. The previous owner told the story that it was bought for his father by the husband of his older sister, as a kind of token or signal to the boy’s parents that instead of making him work on their canal boat, the boy was intelligent enough to finish high school, his sister and brother-in-law strongly felt that that would be the right thing to do, and the calculator was meant to strengthen that argument. While he did accept the gift, and moved in with them instead of staying with his parents on the boat, by 1965 the usefulness of a mechanical calculator for studying mathematics was already diminishing quickly, (while in addition a good slide rule would perhaps have been wiser to obtain) and this particular machine thus had a very short career- it still looks brand new, and comes with its original manual, cover and warranty card (sadly expired in August 1965, or else when the machine was sold (check) or repaired by someone else than the importer (check ...)). One of the green plastic grips is missing - I'll have to get one from a parts machine at some point, or cast a new one.

Schubert DRV picture 2

Schubert DRV picture 2

The warranty card shows also the address of the original buyer (the brother in law). This is where he was living, in the heart of Antwerp:

The distributor for Schubert was Buromac Puissant, which was taken over in 1961 by Mr. and Mrs. Deprest.

Schubert DRV picture 2

I know this, because the company still exists and is currently one of the largest players in Europe for occasional printings like birthcards etc. They now have 80 employees and are located in Bruges (and three other European countries) but the original office where office machinery and paper was sold, since converted to student housing in the university neighbourhood, was here:

This is the webpage which explains the company history.

The machine needed some exercise for the main crank grip, but other than that is working flawlessly - some pictures:

Schubert DRV picture 2

Schubert DRV picture 2

Schubert DRV picture 2

Schubert DRV picture 2

The (Dutch language) manual for the machine can be found here.