Ernest-Narcisse Lobbé

In early 1850s a certain Ernest-Narcisse Lobbé, a Parisian horloger-mécanicien (watchmaker and mechanic), created one of the first keyboard calculating machines in the world (after the machines of James White, Luigi Torchi, Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué, and Dubois Parmelee). The machine (so-called Additionneur mécanique à touches) was patented in 1855 (French patent №24582 from 04 Nov 1855, see the lower patent drawing).

The patent drawing of Ernest-Narcisse Lobbé's adding machine
The patent drawing of Ernest-Narcisse Lobbé’s adding machine

This single column (only one-digit numbers may be entered) key-driven adding machine seems to be a sound and very well-designed device, but it remained only on paper and nothing is known about the device and the inventor—Ernest-Narcisse Lobbé.