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Astra

Astra Klasse 0, Serie 01

This Astra adding machine has an 11-digit register, visible in a small window, and 10 digits of input which is also visible in another window. It has a 10-digit keyboard, with keys for double and triple zero, and the usual control keys - total, subtotal, non-add, and repeat. A small lever clears the input. This is a manual machine so it has a large lever you pull to print the input and perform the addition, or to print the total or subtotal. This version has no subtraction or negative totals.

The serial number of this machine is 55986, which means it was probably made in 1942 or 1943.

It was very difficult to get working. The internal parts of the carry mechanism were completely stuck due to dried oil, and there seems to be no easy way to disassemble the machine to get access to those parts. With a lot of spray lubrication and poking parts back and forth with a screwdriver for several hours, it loosened up enough to work.

Video

History

John E. Greve (1880-1967) was born in Altona, next to Hamburg. After his education he went to work in the United States, including a few years at the Dalton Adding Machine Company. He went back to Germany in 1910 and started working at the Wanderer Werke. This company made the Continental typewriters among other things, and Greve developed the first Continental adding machine which came out in 1916. This was a full keyboard machine, but he had wanted to make a ten-key machine similar to the Dalton. The Wanderer management disagreed, so Greve left the company in 1919. He set up a workshop where he developed the ten-key machine he had in mind.

In 1921 John E. Greve founded the Astra-Werke, still in Chemnitz, in order to make that adding machine and its variants. These were the first 10-key machines built in Europe, and they became quite popular, making the company very successful.

In the lead up to and during the second world war they helped the German war effort by machining many metal parts for planes and machine guns, though the calculator production continued as well. Later on in the war this production also involved the use of forced labour by 510 female prisoners from the Flossenbürg concentration camp, and the upper floor of a factory was converted to a sub-camp for housing them.
After the war, Chemnitz was in the Soviet occupied zone. The entire management including John Greve was dismissed, and he spent six months in prison for his part in the company's actions during the war. He then went to Cologne and joined Exacta Büromaschinen GmbH, a company founded by other former Astra and Wanderer employees. Exacta released a bookkeeping machine, the Exacta 6000, in about 1954 but this was not very successful. In 1959 John Greve managed to regain control of the Astra company name and officially moved the company to Düsseldorf, and he tried to restart it with the aid of Kienzle, but this failed. John Greve died in 1967.

Meanwhile in Chemnitz the company underwent several name changes, first to VEB Astra Werke and then to Mechanik Astra Company VEB, both in 1948, and in 1953 to VEB Büromaschinenwerk, and in 1955 to VEB Buchungsmaschinenwerk Karl-Marx-Stadt. They designed many new adding and bookkeeping machines during this time, completely redesigning the mechanisms, which bore little mechanical resemblance to the original designs of John Greve. In the late 1950s they lost the right to use the Astra brand name (as John Greve officially had the Astra company moved to Düsseldorf in 1959) so from then on the machines were given the name Ascota instead (from AStra-COntinental-TAstatur). They successfully managed to transition to electronics, and in 1969 became part of VEB Kombinat Zentronik, and in 1978 part of VEB Kombinat Robotron.

Models

The first generation of machines were put into production in 1923, and were rather large and heavy, though not quite as much as the Dalton machines they were inspired by. There were various printing mechanisms available for these models, as well as an electric motor, which was built into a metal stand underneath the machine. The keyboard has 0, 00, and 000 keys for easy entry of round amounts. It was the first European-made adding-listing machine.

Here are is some serial number data that was deduced from the annual production numbers.

The next set of machines appeared in 1929 and were very similar in form, but significantly smaller and lighter so that they were suitable for the desktop. The electric versions had the motor at the back.

Again there is some serial number data that was deduced from the annual production numbers. It is unclear when production of these models ended, though bookkeeping machines based on the model L were in production until the 1950s.

The model naming was then completely rervamped. At first each machine got a class and model number, instead of a model letter, but this soon was changed again to class and series numbers. These designations are very confusing, and I have not found a good overview of the full range of machines. The J, K, L models were retrospectively called class 1 machines.
Class 0 machines were released in about 1939. These were sleeker, with the keyboard much closer to the ground than before, and have a Bakelite case.

The post-war Astra machines were completely new models, and are not listed here.

Manuals

Astra Addier- u. Saldier-Maschinen Modelle C und Duplex    (PDF, 13.1 MB or archive.org)
Astrawerke Aktiengesellschaft Chemnitz
1923-1931
26-page booklet
150mm × 211mm × 2mm

This is the German manual for the Astra models C and D (a.k.a. Duplex). It briefly explains how to add, subtract and multiply, and then how to handle the paper and ink ribbon.

Advertisements and Articles

The 1925 book Die Rechenmaschinen by Ernst Martin has a short section about the Astra. The book can be found on archive.org.

The 1953 book Addiermaschinen - Einst und jetzt by Adolf G. Schranz has a few pages about Continental and Astra. The book can be found on archive.org.

The 1986 book Buchungsmaschinen - Meisterwerke Feinmechanischer Datenverarbeitung 1910 Bis 1960 by Werner Lange has a short section about Continental and Astra, including a photo of John E. Greve. The book can be found on archive.org.

The 1989 booklet Charakteristik zum VEB Robotron-Buchungsmaschinenwerk Karl-Marx-Stadt describes the history of the company. Below is the first part, up to about 1970. The booklet can be found on archive.org.

Patents

Links

• Rechner Lexikon has a page for the Astra company, as well as for the Klasse 0 adding machine amongst others.
• Wim Hasselo has a large collection of Astra machines with detailed information.
• The Arithmeum has in its collection the models A, B, D, K, L, Serie 12 (K), Klasse 0 serie 01, Klasse 0 serie 02, Serie 22, and Klasse 110.
• Rechenmaschinen illustrated only has a few pictures of an Astra L adding machine.
• German Wikipedia has an entry for the Astrawerke.
• Flossenbürg Concentration Camp has information about the Chemnitz subcamp.
• VDE Geschichte der Elektrotechnik has an entry on Astrawerke.

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