Mechanical Miracle from 1642—La Pascaline Heading to Auction

Blaise Pascal constructed this revolutionary invention at the age of 19 to help his father with complex calculations during the reorganization of the tax system in Normandy. A brilliant mathematician, physicist, and inventor, Pascal created three types of machines: one for decimal calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), one for accounting (monetary calculations), and one for surveying (distance calculations). The Pascaline can perform the four basic arithmetic operations—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—using eight gears hidden in an elegant brass case decorated with ebony sticks. Although it was created almost four hundred years ago, it remains fully functional.

Most of the nine known models are housed in museums in Europe, such as those in Clermont-Ferrand, Dresden, Bonn, and the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. The model now being auctioned is the only one in private hands and also the only surviving machine designed for survey calculations.

Pascalina will be presented to the public at Christie’s exhibits in Paris, New York, and Hong Kong ahead of its November auction. The auction is part of the sale of the collection of Léon Parcé, a passionate collector of Pascal’s works, who also collected the first edition of his famous work, Pensées, among other items.