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Born in 1978, married to Katrien, 5 cats and many other animals, approximately 400 antique calculators - I have by now lost count - and one Peerless carbon arc lamp 35mm movie projector.
I started collecting “by accident” around 2001, and the size of the collection has only increased. I am a professor of chemistry in the chemical engineering faculty of Antwerp University, and specialize in molecular structure determination by x-ray diffraction - a rather computing-intensive technique - perhaps that is where the fascination came from ? I’m not sure I would like to try it with a mechanical calculator though.
I have through the years slowly honed my skills repairing and restoring antique calculating machines, and have built up a comprehensive workshop that allows me to fabricate parts (the classical drill press-lathe-mill), but also a large ultrasonic cleaner and a paint booth. I am told that my website, on which I recount my restoration adventures in a rambling, picture-rich but rather incomprehensible style, is a reference for many collectors out there, which gives me great pleasure. I have started my own one-man company Calcusaurus, which, unsurprisingly, deals with the minuscule demand for repair and restoration of mechanical calculators. For this reason, I am looking forward to a very long and productive retirement - in about 20 years.
These are machines that are not particularly my "darlings", but that you nevertheless probably have never seen before ...
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