…a 1936 Model EK Facit Electric Calculator

The first electric calculator manufactured under the Facit brand by Åtvidaberg Industries of Sweden was the Model E in 1934. The revised Model EK, of which this is an early example, was introduced with refinements in 1936. Although small and compact, it weighs a mighty 9.8 kilograms. The Model TK was the manual hand-cranked version of the EK.

Almost 15,000 examples of the Model EK were produced between 1936 and 1943. They were numbered from 40000, so this one, which carries the serial number 40238, is one of the first of the production.

A brief history of the Facit calculator can be found at:

Facit History

…a Sunderland lustre ware mug

The mug celebrates the establishment of Peace between the English and French, and shows the fleur-de-lys on one side, and the Union flag on the other, with a dove of peace carrying an olive branch from the English side to the French.

 

It may date from the first Treaty of Paris, in 1814, and the exile of the Emperor Napoleon to the Isle of Elba. If so, it was somewhat premature, since the following year Napoleon escaped from Elba, raised an army, and was famously defeated by the Duke of Wellington, among others, at the Battle of Waterloo.

Peace, of course, has reigned between our nations ever since.