We explain the controversy over the sale of the Pascaline, the first calculating machine in history, invented by Blaise Pascal

British company Christie’s decided on Wednesday to suspend the auction of the object in Paris, following an administrative court ruling.

He remains in France for now. The British company Christie’s decided, Wednesday, November 19, to suspend the auction of the Pascaline, the first calculating machine in the history of mankind, invented by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal in 1642. The prestigious London house announced this a few hours before the planned sale in Paris. This news emerged a day after the Paris Administrative Court’s decision to temporarily stop the issuance of export certificates for these machines. Franceinfo again discusses the controversy surrounding the auction of these valuable objects.

A piece from a private collection of about one hundred lots

The upcoming Pascaline auction was announced by Christie’s in early September, as part of the sale of the entire Léon Parcé collection. The man was presented by British society as “very interested in the work of Blaise Pascal”.

La Pascaline is part of a 97 lot, which almost exclusively includes old books. Among them are the writings of Blaise Pascal, but also by other famous French philosophers, René Descartes, the English physicist Isaac Newton, and the Italian astronomer Galileo.

Pascaline Sales “will be an event”anticipating Christie’s. Despite its importance in the history of science, this object is relatively rare. Although Blaise Pascal initially intended to sell the machine en masse, the product was a commercial failure. Only eight genuine Pascalines are known in the world.

A machine with “considerable historical value”

Pascaline was the first machine that made calculations possible. A revolutionary tool that allows you to perform addition and subtraction. A system designed by Blaise Pascal which is not yet 20 years old. This is why Pascaline is described by Christie’s as an object “has considerable historical value”. Its financial value is estimated at between 2 and 3 million euros.

This, according to the British company, “the most important scientific instrument ever offered at auction”. “This is more than just a machine. It is a symbol of the entire history of mankind”assessed mathematician Cédric Villani in a Christie’s promotional video published on October 10 on YouTube.

The picture shows the inside “This wooden box is decorated with black wooden sticks”measuring 36 cm long, 12.5 cm wide and 6.5 cm high. The eight wheels on the upper facade are just the visible parts of a “very clever gear system”commented Cédric Villani, noting that Blaise Pascal had spent three years designing the whole thing. “Even though his hand gestures weren’t right, that’s all (number) fell just in time”explained the former member of parliament. The person who in 2010 was awarded the Fields medal, considered the Nobel Prize in mathematics, also mentioned a “an excellent mechanism of restraint, which the editor of Diderot’s encyclopedia would later admire”.

Another video uploaded in 2017 to YouTube shows how Pascaline works using reproduction. Thanks to the automatic deduction system, addition is accessible as long as you know how to spin the wheel.

Etienne Pascal, the father of Blaise Pascal, who was an administrator, used his son’s inventions to collect taxes, explains Cédric Villani in a video published on YouTube in 2019 by the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts. “It’s like Bercy’s first calculator (Ministry of Economy and Finance)“, he summarized.

A platform for Pascaline to remain in France

La Pascaline is located “at the origins of modern computing”underlined, on November 1, in a column published by the newspaper World a collective that brings together scientific figures, including members of the five Academies, including the writer Erik Orsenna. This “amazing object” allowing France to be “the birthplace of computer adventure: a revolution that changed the way we use the world”. Therefore, they believe that Pascaline belongs “national heritage”.

“It is one of the crown jewels of France’s intellectual and technical heritage.”

Signatory to the forum for the preservation of Pascalines in French public collections

“Blaise Pascal and his Pascalines must remain at the center of the public collection”added the signatories of the forum, demanding that the State cancel the permission to leave the territory granted to Christie’s to sell machines from the Léon Parcé collection. According to them, “The state has rescinded the classification of this pascaline as a ‘national treasure,’ a classification that would have allowed it to remain in France and for public collections and customers to organize themselves to acquire it.”

Certain scientific figures who signed the platform and several associations immediately took legal action to try to block the certificate. Cancellation of authorization, for forum signatories, is only the first step. They wanted the Pascaline from the Léon Parcé collection to join five other collections appearing in French museums. The other two are in Germany, in public collections.

Temporary suspension of export permits

A Paris administrative court temporarily suspended the issuance of Pascaline’s export certificate on Tuesday. The judge found that the machine “it will most likely qualify as a ‘national treasure’ according to the heritage code definition, which is an obstacle in the issuance of an export certificate”underlines examples on its site. “From this he concluded that serious doubts weighed on the legality of the Minister of Culture’s decision to grant the certificate.”

“Justice is very efficient”congratulated Laurence Plazenet, director of the Blaise Pascal international center, to France Culture. He is now “fundamental”That “The Ministry of Culture steps in to classify Pascaline as a national treasure”he emphasized. “The tax reduction for patrons who contribute to the purchase of a national treasure is significant and could lead to many of France’s major patrons joining forces to purchase the work and place it in the French public collection”he explained.

“However, this decision is temporary and only applies until a decision regarding the benefits is given,” wrote the state administrative court. The latter did not provide a date on the next deadline.