An ANITA Mark VIII or Mk 8 electronic desk calculator designed and built by the Bell Punch Co. of Uxbridge, England, and marketed through its Sumlock Comptometer division in 1961. Measuring 15" x 9.25" x 18" and weighing approximately 30 pounds, the Mark VIII is a full-keyboard, non-printing calculator with 10 columns of plastic keys, a separate multiplication column, and result display of 12-digit numerical indicator tubes (similar to 'Nixie' tubes). Base of the calculator features a patent plate with model number, "C/VIII/010293/A," input rating "88 VA, 60 Cycles," and voltage "110." Electronics used in the Mk 8 include one Dekatron decade counter tube of type Hivac GS10D; about 180 cold-cathode tubes of types Mullard Z700U and Hivac XC31; selenium rectifiers; 10 vacuum tubes (thermionic valves) of type ECC81; and 1 transistor of type Ferranti ZT42. In fine, untested condition, with overall light scuffs and marks.
This model and the concurrently introduced Mk VII were the only electronic desktop calculators in the world for over two years, and many thousands were sold, with the cost in 1964 being £355 Sterling, or about $1000.
Development of the ANITA calculators was started in 1956 under Norbert Kitz (a.k.a. Norman Kitz), who had worked on the pilot version of the ACE (Automatic Computing Engine) computer project in the mid 1940s. The name ANITA, stands variously for 'A New Inspiration to Arithmetic' and 'A New Inspiration to Accounting.' This became the family name for all the Bell Punch electronic models.
