Let's play a little "necromancy" since I've also salvaged two VRE100C (the original Thaler variety) with datecodes from 1999 and 2001, originating from STI "Superfilters" that I tore down for the cryocoolers they contain. Alongside of these engineering marvels (air liquification has some magic to it...), a lot of high-quality electronics stuff could be salvaged, many ultra low tolerance resistors, low offset op-amps and precision caps are useful items.
But the Thaler voltage references are probably the most valuable and useful (electronic) components, especially since they are well aged and shouldn't drift virtually anymore. After they spent enough time in the drawer, I finally went ahead and made two nice reference sources, powered by two 9V block batteries each. I also added a trimmer to the fine tune inputs in case I'ld get access to a really accurate 10V source. The pre-regulator duplicates as a on/off switch. Current consumption is 5mA as specified. Since I'm currently out of 9V batteries, I didn't start "real" testing yet, but performance appears promising when powered from a lab supply.
FYI, I attached the schematic and a photo of the references. If someone (preferably from europe due to the ease of shipping) would like one of these PCBs, I'll be happy to share them at expense since I've got three left that I won't have any use for.
Cheers,
Thomas