The Arithmometer - a unique calculating machine
Mortality tables have long been essential for life insurance companies to assess risks and price policies accurately. In the early days of life insurance, tools already existed to estimate such risks, however the invention of a mechanical calculator made the lives of actuaries much easier.
In 1820, French engineer Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar (1785-1870) invented the first arithmometer, one of the first known mechanical calculators, capable of performing addition, subtraction and long multiplications. An improved, smaller version debuted in 1855 at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, and the device was sold globally from 1855 to 1915.
NN Group’s Historical Collection features a rare and personalised arithmometer, inscribed with calligraphic letters on the wooden top: ‘Arithmomêtre der Nationale Levensverzekering-Bank.’ Each arithmometer has a unique serial number, and ours—number 1436—was manufactured in 1876, as verified through a detailed database that links serial numbers to production dates. Unfortunately, we do not have any further information on the purchase and the way it was used in those days.
Interestingly, only a few museums in the Netherlands have an arithmometer in their collection.
