If you open up a calculator, cell phone, or any other piece of modern technology, you’ll see a lot of circuits and high-tech stuff, but not much that can be considered attractive or even interesting.

Old mechanical devices were just so much more fascinating. Their endless moving parts and huge metal guts were beautiful and complex in a way that no modern technology can match.

Photographer Kevin Twomey sees the strangely lovely mechanical hearts of antique calculators. These aged adding machines come from the collection of Mark Glusker, a mechanical engineer who collects the old machines.

Glusker asked Twomey to photograph his collection, and the photographer was struck with inspiration when his friend removed the cover of one to show him the inner workings. Although they had planned to photograph the calculators dressed and in full working order, the direction of the project quickly changed.

The series, simply entitled “Calculators,” showcases the complex internal technology of machines that predate the sleek, high-tech pocket computers we know and love today. For those of us who have grown up without the joy of taking apart and reassembling real household machines, these 1960s calculators and their hundreds of moving parts are a rare visual treat.

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This regal cabinet was built in the 19th century, but it holds some surprisingly advanced secrets. Hidden behind nearly every surface is another compartment, drawer, tool, or other delight.

The Berlin Secretary Cabinet is a marvel of European furniture making. It was built by the legendary Abraham and David Roentgen, master cabinetmakers of the late 1700s to early 1800s, and owned by King Frederick William II.

Its size alone would make the cabinet remarkable, but the fact that it is positively stuffed with complex mechanical devices and hidden functions makes it a treasure. It is filled with so many tricks and secrets that it seems more like a giant puzzle than a piece of furniture.

Topped off with a chiming clock, the Belin Secretary Cabinet is incredibly ornate. Its marquetry panels are complemented by the decorative hardware, much of which also functions as triggers to reveal the hidden compartments.

Building something of this size, scope, and complexity would be a feat even today with modern technology and power tools. But the father and son Roentgen team made this marvel completely by hand.

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Today, when we need to do a bit of math that we can’t do mentally, most of us pull out our mobile phones and open up the calculator app. Before that, pocket calculators (or wristwatch calculators) were popular with the mathematically challenged. But what – besides a pen and paper – did people use before digital calculators? They used something like the Curta. Before electronic calculators, the Curta was considered the best in portable calculators.

The Curta is a mechanical calculator with a rather unusual (and kind of creepy) history. It was developed by a man named Curt Herzstark during the turbulent times of WWII. Herzstark  began his work on a hand-held calculating machine in the 1930s, but his work was interrupted in 1938 when Nazis took control of the factory in which he worked. The half-Jewish inventor was later taken to a concentration camp, where he surprisingly was allowed to continue his work on the project. The guard in charge of his work department planned to let Herzstark build his device and intended to present it to Hitler after the Germans won the war.

Obviously, Hitler never got that gift. But Herzstark continued his work on his hand-held calculator. He faced unscrupulous business partners and an unstable world economy, but thanks to the timely filing of key patents he eventually completed and sold his incredible device. He would die before seeing just how popular they became – first as practical everyday instruments, and then as beloved collectors’ items.

The hand-held cylinder features digit “slides” all around its body and a crank on the top. Simple calculations are performed by entering the numbers, then turning the crank in the appropriate way. More complex calculations like multiplication and division are performed by a precise series of pushing, pulling, and turning the crank. The Type I Curta weighs a mere 8 ounces and features an 11-digit result counter. The later Type II Curta weighs about 13 ounces and features a 15-digit result counter.

The last Curta was manufactured in 1972 after approximately 140,000 units were made. In the 1960s and 1970s they were a popular way for rally car drivers to keep track of their times and distances. Today, they are a widely coveted collector’s item, particularly because of their intricate mechanisms and superb craftsmanship.

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Many of us played with “spy” cameras when we were kids, but not all of us know just how long these tiny hidden cameras have been popular. These three cameras disguised as pocket watches were all built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, meaning that photography enthusiasts have been happily snapping secret shots for a very long time.

The Lancaster Pocket Watch Camera was made in 1886, making it one of the oldest examples in the world. The particular model pictured here was the ladies’ version and was only produced for four years. It was quite difficult to use, requiring the user to undo four latches and remove the glass, then place a new metal material holder for each exposure. It did not sell well, and today only four are known to still exist.

The Photoret Watch Camera was made in 1893 by the Magic Introduction Company. For an original cost of $2.50, the little spy camera could take six exposures before it required reloading. Its rotary shutter could be held open by inserting a straight pin into the small hole on the camera’s front, allowing for time exposures.

The Ticka was produced by Houghton in London from 1906. While some versions of the Ticka were solely pocket watch-sized cameras, others (like the picture with the red background at the top of the page) featured a faux clock face with the hands set permanently at 10:07. This hand position indicated the viewing angle that made it possible to take pictures with the Flicka without the aid of a viewfinder.

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What happens to old technology when we no longer find it useful? All too often, it ends up in landfills – but these inventive artists have found plenty of ways to give old machines new life.

This stunning sculpture from English artist Keven Law is a behemoth at nearly 23 feet tall. Its name, WEEE Man, is an allusion to the waste electrical and electronic equipment from which it is made. Among the old parts used in the piece’s construction are a ton of old household appliances, aged computer hardware, computer mice which form the teeth, and old washing machine doors that make up the haunting eyes.

Artist Robert Pettit somehow manages to make old, obsolete cell phones look positively graceful. This beautiful and carefully constructed display is composed of 5,000 cell phones which were once destined for the landfill.

Motorcycles are seen by many as the ultimate symbol of freedom, but how long will we be able to enjoy the open road if we keep loading up landfills with old technology at such an alarming rate? This sculpture from an artist known as Alex Andromeda uses pieces of old computers and VCRs and reincarnates them into a graceful new form.

Looking almost like a topographic map of some urban landscape – complete with tiny buildings and unusually routed streets – this sculpture from Grace Grothous is actually a collection of old circuit boards. The tiny structures on its surface are the original circuits which used to usher data around for the circuit boards’ previous owners before they were discarded, presumably for newer models.

The city center of Hamburg, Germany was temporarily adorned with this incredible sculpture made of 322 old refrigerators. The sculpture from German artist Ralf Schmerberg was sponsored by the local utility company to display just how much energy older refrigerators waste. To illustrate the point, a large electricity meter was placed outside to measure how much power was running through the bizarre igloo.

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