The original Arithmometer was built in 1820 by Thomas de Colmar. It could perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division on number up to 5 digits in length. While it was not the first device with these capabilities, it was the first of its kind to be reliable enough for use in the workplace. The Arithmometer received commercial success from 1820 until the early 1900's.

Over the course of its production, the Arithmometer received many design changes. While the outside appearance of the device largely remained the same, the internal mechanisms were continuously improved in order to improve reliability. In particular, the carry-over mechanism was different on almost all revisions of the device.