Divisumma 18 Electronic Printing Calculator by Mario Bellini for Olivetti
Italy, 1972. Made of a combination of injection-molded plastic and a rubber membrane encasing the keyboard. Original packaging and spare thermal rolls included.
Because the calculator is portable and intended to be hand-held, Bellini personalized it through an inventive use of form and materials. What is especially intriguing is the continuous, flexible, rubber-skin keyboard. The skin, which protects the machine from dust, is anthropomorphically suggestive. Articulated pushbuttons, covered with the soft rubber skin, are like nipples. The emphasis is not on calculating and power, but on stimulating a sense of pleasure. Emotive responses are not usually associated with adding machines, yet this is an irresistible artifact. One cannot help but want to hold it, touch it, play with it.
Dimensions: 1 7/8”H x 9 3/4”L x 4 3/4"W
Condition: Wear consistent with age. Powers on but not operational.
Available for pickup in Chicago or email hello@carefully-picked.com for shipping quotes.
Italy, 1972. Made of a combination of injection-molded plastic and a rubber membrane encasing the keyboard. Original packaging and spare thermal rolls included.
Because the calculator is portable and intended to be hand-held, Bellini personalized it through an inventive use of form and materials. What is especially intriguing is the continuous, flexible, rubber-skin keyboard. The skin, which protects the machine from dust, is anthropomorphically suggestive. Articulated pushbuttons, covered with the soft rubber skin, are like nipples. The emphasis is not on calculating and power, but on stimulating a sense of pleasure. Emotive responses are not usually associated with adding machines, yet this is an irresistible artifact. One cannot help but want to hold it, touch it, play with it.
Dimensions: 1 7/8”H x 9 3/4”L x 4 3/4"W
Condition: Wear consistent with age. Powers on but not operational.
Available for pickup in Chicago or email hello@carefully-picked.com for shipping quotes.
Italy, 1972. Made of a combination of injection-molded plastic and a rubber membrane encasing the keyboard. Original packaging and spare thermal rolls included.
Because the calculator is portable and intended to be hand-held, Bellini personalized it through an inventive use of form and materials. What is especially intriguing is the continuous, flexible, rubber-skin keyboard. The skin, which protects the machine from dust, is anthropomorphically suggestive. Articulated pushbuttons, covered with the soft rubber skin, are like nipples. The emphasis is not on calculating and power, but on stimulating a sense of pleasure. Emotive responses are not usually associated with adding machines, yet this is an irresistible artifact. One cannot help but want to hold it, touch it, play with it.
Dimensions: 1 7/8”H x 9 3/4”L x 4 3/4"W
Condition: Wear consistent with age. Powers on but not operational.
Available for pickup in Chicago or email hello@carefully-picked.com for shipping quotes.
