Sauter’s calculating machine
Sauter’s calculating machine add and subtract and can also multiply and divide large numbers, well over a billion. When the machine was built its mechanics were mindboggling and it can be regarded as a kind of forerunner of the computer.
The German inscription states: “A machine to count with quickly and reliably without thinking”.
Its maker, Johann Jacob Sauter, was born in Germany in 1770. He ended up in Sweden at the beginning of the 1800s and worked as a clockmaker in Stockholm. It is unclear whether he brought his calculating machine with him or whether it was built here.Quality value or craftsmanship value involves objects that require great skill and lots of time to create. Good craftsmanship can in itself arouse interest and admiration, and the objects are often made of expensive materials.
Before the 1900s the raw material could be expensive but the time taken to produce something was not valued very highly. If a person was not an expert or in high demand, their work time cost almost nothing. In Sweden today almost the exact opposite is true. However, in other parts of the world many people still work for an income that is impossible to live on.