US EditionCourt Blocks Christie's Sale of Pascal's 1642 Calculator
The Paris administrative court suspended the export of one of nine existing Pascalines, prompting Christie’s to halt the auction during a legal review on potential national treasure status.
- On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, Christie's suspended the Paris auction of La Pascaline at the owner's instruction after a Paris administrative court provisionally halted export authorisation late Tuesday.
- Paris administrative court provisionally suspended the export authorisation despite the French culture ministry saying an export certificate had been issued in May while scientists and researchers appealed to block the export.
- One of only nine surviving examples, La Pascaline is the only one believed privately owned and was expected to fetch 2 million euros, devised by Blaise Pascal in 1642 to aid his father.
- Preventing export, the provisional court ruling would stop buyers from taking the Pascaline abroad, and Christie's said the sale would be suspended pending the court's final decision, which could take several months.
- Photographs from September 11, 2025, show La Pascaline on display at Christie's in Paris, highlighting its recent public exhibition ahead of the halted sale.
49 Articles
49 Articles
1642 Calculator Pulled From Auction in France
A Paris court has halted the sale of one of the world's oldest known calculators, blocking its scheduled auction and export from France. The ebony-inlaid device, known as La Pascaline, was invented in 1642 by Blaise Pascal when the French mathematician was 19. Christie's had estimated it could sell for...
France intervenes to stop auction of ‘world’s first calculator’
One of the world’s first calculators, devised in 1642 by the French polymath Blaise Pascal, was pulled from auction — at least for now. Less than 24 hours before Christie’s was set to sell for an estimated $2-3.5 million, a Paris court revoked its export license, after advocates lodged an appeal arguing that the device, one of nine extant, is a “national treasure” that should remain in France. The instrument — which Pascal invented at 19 — was e…
Pascaline was the work of 19-year-old mathematician and thinker Blaise Pascal, one of the few examples still in existence.
An extremely rare calculator is to be auctioned in Paris. Christie such an auction house speaks of "the most important scientific instrument" that has ever been offered, but at the last moment the auction is bursting.
One of the world's first calculating machines was to have been sold at auction. But now a court in Paris has determined that it is best to stop the planned deal. "It is a national treasure that must be protected," the court said.
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