Title
Olivetti Summa Prima 20 mechanical calculator
Year/Period
1960s
Region
Singapore
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 12.0 x 17.0 x 28.0,
Object size: Refer to parts
Object size: Refer to parts
Accession No.
2021-00774
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mr Chee Lee Kuang and Mdm Ang Yut Leng
This Olivetti Summa Prima 20 mechanical calculator was used by Mdm Ang Yut Leng to provide bookkeeping services for coffeeshop owners in Singapore throughout the 1970s. Mdm Ang carried out her work at home, which allowed her to take care of her two young children while helping her husband – who worked in a barbershop – to supplement the family income. Made by the Italian company Olivetti in the 1960s, the Summa Prima 20 is the predecessor to the electronic calculators that consumers are familiar with today.
