Saldorita
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The Saldorita is a small adding listing machine. It uses sliders to input numbers of up to 8 digits, and has an 8-digit internal register. There is no display, so the total can only be seen when printed on the paper, which is a rol of about 62mm wide. Unfortunately the platen is missing all its rubber, as is the roller that holds the paper onto the platen, so the paper is no longer being gripped. Also missing is the wide ink ribbon (60-63mm width). I have replaced two of the rubber feet.
The label on the bottom has full instructions in Swedish:
BRUKSANVISNING FÖR RÄKNEMASKINEN "SALDORITA" | ||||||||
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OBS.! Behandla räknemaskinen varsamt. |
Here is a rough translation:
USER'S MANUAL FOR THE "SALDORITA" CALCULATOR | ||||||||
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ATTENTION! Handle the calculator with care. |
Note that when you enter/add a number by moving the sliders, you will also need to enter any zero digits in the number if you wish to print the number properly. This is because only the entered digits are printed, so if you do not enter a zero digit, the printed number will be missing a digit. In this it resembles the Portable Adding Machine. Pressing the Return button causes the input sliders to be spring back to their starrting position, allowing you to print the current total and/or go on to adding the the next number.
Subraction is a rather complicated procedure. First the Return button needs to be shifted up into the middle position. This disengages the sliders from the register, so that you can enter the number to subtract without actually adding it. The button is then shifted to the subtraction position, which reconnects the sliders to the register. You then have to pull the sliders down to zero, one by one from left to right. Note that you don't pull them fully back to the starting position, only to zero, because otherwise there is a good chance that as the slider disengages from the number wheel, the wheel keeps turning and too much gets subtracted. To help with this there are small metal buttons in front of the sliders which you can press to block the slider from moving below the zero mark.
Here are some picures of the mechanism.
(Svante) Hugo Sandberg (1886/08/04 - 1954/09/30) was born in Motala, Sweden and lived in the area all his life. He was an agronomist and entrepreneur. In about 1937 he set up the Saldoritaverken (Saldorita-works) in Motala to manufacture the Saldorita adder. The actual inventor of the machine named on the patent was C. A. Johansson. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to find out more about this inventor due to him having such a common patronymic name.
The Saldorita was rather unsuccessful, and seems to have been in production for only a year or two, from late 1937 to early 1939. The serial number on mine is the highest I have found, so I guess that no more than 3000 machines were made, and possibly much fewer if the numbering was not continuous.
Here is a list of Saldoritas found online and their serial numbers:
191,
686,
692,
926,
931,
1068,
1364,
2215,
2501
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I have only found only a few ads for the Saldorita. Unfortunately the Swedish newspaper archives are not accessible to non-Swedes, so I have only found ads in Finnish and Norwegian papers.
I know of only one patent related to the Saldorita. It is hard to find old Swedish patents because most have no searchable metadata in the patent databases.
Patent | Filing date | Priority date | Name | Description |
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SE 93,511 | 21-01-1937 | 12-07-1938 | S. H. Sandberg | Locking mechanism for calculator |
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