Curt Herzstark's story. 12 Days of Curtsmas 5

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  • Опубліковано 10 гру 2023
  • 12 Days of Curtsmas Chapter 5: Curt's story
    These are a few moments from the life story of Curt Herzstark, inventor of the Curta. My main source is the interview by Erwin Tomash available here: conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11...
    Footage is a Curta Type I, built in 1952. Stay tuned for episodes every other day, December 3 - 25. Thanks as always to the person who gave me the Curta.
    Chapter 11 (December 23) will be a mailbag episode! So please ask questions, etc.
    End song inspired by "Hotter than a Molotov" by The Coup. • The Coup: Hotter Than ...
    Jingle bells sound from www.freesoundslibrary.com, CC-BY-4.0
    Modern Buchenwald photo by Wikimedia user Zairon, CC0-1.0
    commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

КОМЕНТАРІ • 26

  • @robstewart7109
    @robstewart7109 7 місяців тому +13

    I really wish your channel would get more traction. Your content is great.

  • @adtheviewer
    @adtheviewer 7 місяців тому +4

    Wow, who knew a video about an adding machine could make a man cry. Well told sir.

  • @zeke7237
    @zeke7237 7 місяців тому +6

    No one else on UA-cam could do justice to this amazing device.

  • @Great_Beholder_Brooke
    @Great_Beholder_Brooke 7 місяців тому +7

    An incredible device made by an incredible man. You tell his story well

  • @Laundry_Hamper
    @Laundry_Hamper 7 місяців тому +19

    Very well told. Apparently Contina did manufacture a few other things, record players and measurement equipment, but also the first production SLR camera to use a pentaprism to direct the image from the camera's mirror to its viewfinder (well, they manufactured it after they took ownership of the company which had already been making it, and moved its production to their Lichtenstein factory). It was only after that they were bought out by Hilti that they ceased production of everything but the Curta. It's a pity that Curtsmastime comes but once a year 🥲

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  7 місяців тому +8

      Yes the Contina cameras also had nice KNURLS!

    • @Laundry_Hamper
      @Laundry_Hamper 7 місяців тому +1

      @ChrisStaecker I hear that in Egypt they have some _serious_ KNURLS

  • @pierQRzt180
    @pierQRzt180 7 місяців тому +5

    The curta is here in my hand. My precious

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  7 місяців тому +4

      ha- not exactly the image I was going for!

  • @wmeisel
    @wmeisel 7 місяців тому +4

    Really beautifully told, Chris. You outdid yourself on this one.

  • @vimiew
    @vimiew 7 місяців тому +4

    I have absolutely been enjoying this mini series.

  • @dp29931
    @dp29931 7 місяців тому +6

    Considering his background, this series should probably have been named "The 8 Days of Curtanukkah".

    • @dp29931
      @dp29931 7 місяців тому

      Add, subtract, multiply, divide...When you give the Curta a spin, everyone wins!

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  7 місяців тому +14

      Maybe so. But Curt was raised Lutheran, which is the German's German religion- his dad was Jewish but his mom was Lutheran. And I've never seen any evidence that Curt identified as Jewish in any cultural or religious sense. And since Jewish descent is traditionally matrilinear, it is only in the Nazi's arbitrary definitions of race that Curt gets that label at all.
      (Please somebody correct me if Curt really did consider himself Jewish- I haven't read everything so I may have just missed it. And I might as well say that I haven't seen anything to suggest that he was serious about being Lutheran either.)

  • @1ucasvb
    @1ucasvb 7 місяців тому

    Simply outstanding video! The ending was beautiful.

  • @MrPekmano
    @MrPekmano 6 місяців тому

    Beautifully told! I love how you oscillate between times before zeroing on the critical days where Curta was drawn and manufactured. The final pinning of Curta and Buchenwald Gate as a set of reciprocal imagery is also masterful…this is actually screenplay worth

  • @farpointgamingdirect
    @farpointgamingdirect 7 місяців тому +4

    Very entertaining series

  • @chasebase76
    @chasebase76 7 місяців тому

    Moving, thank you.

  • @PovlKvols
    @PovlKvols 7 місяців тому

    Great series and very enjoyable! I bought a Curta Type 2 a couple of months ago in Germany. It looks almost new! The mechanical feel of this little machine is unbelievably nice and crisp. Interesting fact: The effective price of these machines is about the same as when they were new, or about the same as a good laptop today!

  • @StephenRansom47
    @StephenRansom47 7 місяців тому +1

    A Blessed Angel must have been watching out for the young Curt … how many times did he step around fate?
    Amazing Series, sir.

  • @chriswalford4161
    @chriswalford4161 7 місяців тому

    Thanks for the Curta Advent calendar.
    Maybe that implies we need a chocolate Curta?

  • @A2ne
    @A2ne 7 місяців тому +4

    Woot

  • @kelleysimonds5945
    @kelleysimonds5945 7 місяців тому

    You make great content...

  • @sambrose1
    @sambrose1 7 місяців тому

    On the Curta day of Curta, my Curta.....

  • @getjaketospace
    @getjaketospace 7 місяців тому +1

    Curta