Computers & Business Machines

Imagine the loss, 100 years from now, if museums hadn't begun preserving the artifacts of the computer age. The last few decades offer proof positive of why museums must collect continuously—to document technological and social transformations already underway.

The museum's collections contain mainframes, minicomputers, microcomputers, and handheld devices. Computers range from the pioneering ENIAC to microcomputers like the Altair and the Apple I. A Cray2 supercomputer is part of the collections, along with one of the towers of IBM's Deep Blue, the computer that defeated reigning champion Garry Kasparov in a chess match in 1997. Computer components and peripherals, games, software, manuals, and other documents are part of the collections. Some of the instruments of business include adding machines, calculators, typewriters, dictating machines, fax machines, cash registers, and photocopiers

This black and white photograph shows a graph comparing data on the ease of use of various computer screen interaction devices.
Description
This black and white photograph shows a graph comparing data on the ease of use of various computer screen interaction devices. It was included in a 1965 SRI report to NASA.
The photographs of acquisition 2015.3073 relate to the evolution of the computer mouse.
Reference:
William K. English, Douglas C. Engelbart, and Melvyn L. Berman, “Display-Selection Techniques for Text Manipulation,” IEEE Transactions on Human Factors in Electronics, March 1967, Vol. HFE-8, No. 1, pp. 5-15. This image was published as figure 2.
Location
Currently not on view
date made (print)
2014
date made (original photograph)
1965
maker of the print
SRI International
ID Number
2015.3073.01
catalog number
2015.3073.01
nonaccession number
2015.3073
These oddly cut index cards are actually programs for the very first video games.These program cards were used with the “Brown Box,” prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system.
Description
These oddly cut index cards are actually programs for the very first video games.
These program cards were used with the “Brown Box,” prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system. Users of the "Brown Box" could play a variety of games by flipping the switches along the front of the unit. The games included ping-pong, checkers, four different sports games, target shooting with the use of a lightgun and a golf putting game which required the use of a special attachment.
To play these games, the user placed one of these program cards between the two sets of switches on the "Brown Box" (as you can see in the picture). The dots on the card indicated in which position the switches should be set. Magnavox licensed the "Brown Box" and released the system as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972, with the switch system replaced by a plug-in game slot and plastic program cards.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1967
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.05
catalog number
2006.0102.05
accession number
2006.0102
This machine paved the way for the video games of today.In 1967, Ralph Baer and his colleagues at Sanders Associates, Inc. developed a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system.
Description
This machine paved the way for the video games of today.
In 1967, Ralph Baer and his colleagues at Sanders Associates, Inc. developed a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system. Since Sanders hoped to license the technology for a commercial venture, Baer understood that the games had to be fun or investors and consumers would not be interested. In an oral history interview (copies available in the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History), Ralph Baer recalled, “The minute we played ping-pong, we knew we had a product. Before that we weren’t too sure.”
Originally called TV Game Unit #7, much like the "Pump Unit" before it, it became far better known by its nickname, “The Brown Box.” The name comes from the brown wood-grain, self-adhesive vinyl used to make the prototype look more attractive to potential investors. The "Brown Box," though only a prototype, had basic features that most video games consoles still have today: two controls and a multigame program system.
The "Brown Box" could be programmed to play a variety of games by flipping the switches along the front of the unit, as can be seen in the picture. Program cards were used to show which switches needed to be set for specific games. "Brown Box" games included ping-pong, checkers, four different sports games, target shooting with the use of a lightgun and a golf putting game, which required the use of a special attachment. Sanders licensed the "Brown Box" to Magnavox, which released the system as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1967-1968
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
maker
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.04
catalog number
2006.0102.04
accession number
2006.0102
Paper certificate issued by the Data Processing Management Association to George W. Abbott for successfully completing the requirements for the Certificate in Data Processing. The issue date is September 4, 1962. The certificate is printed on pale yellow marbled paper.
Description
Paper certificate issued by the Data Processing Management Association to George W. Abbott for successfully completing the requirements for the Certificate in Data Processing. The issue date is September 4, 1962. The certificate is printed on pale yellow marbled paper. It has a round certificate seal in the lower left corner and is mounted on heavy card stock.
This certificate was awarded to the donor, who, according to press releases issued in 1977, was the first person in the world to receive the certificate. A black and white photograph of the donor is included. An alphabetic listing (typed paper list) of all the recipients of this certificate with their certificate number is bound together in a red report folder.
The list of recipients includes the name Stanley Kovy. Mr. Kovy joined the Smithsonian staff in 1967 as the Manager of Fiscal and Business Applications before becoming Deputy Director then Director of the Information Systems Division. He is listed as receiving certificate #620052.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1962-09-04
ID Number
1977.1047.01
accession number
1977.1047
catalog number
1977.1047.01
This toy gun proves that target-shooting games were part of video game history from the very beginning.This lightgun was used to play the Target Practice game on the “Brown Box,” a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system.
Description
This toy gun proves that target-shooting games were part of video game history from the very beginning.
This lightgun was used to play the Target Practice game on the “Brown Box,” a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system. Magnavox licensed the Brown Box and released the system as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. The lightgun and four target games were later sold as a separate expansion package.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1967-1968
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.06
catalog number
2006.0102.06
accession number
2006.0102
This illustrated document introduces the basic concepts of the operating system for the IBM/360. It has IBM file number S360-36 and IBM form number C28-6535-0.Currently not on view
Description
This illustrated document introduces the basic concepts of the operating system for the IBM/360. It has IBM file number S360-36 and IBM form number C28-6535-0.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
maker
IBM
ID Number
1994.3128.13
catalog number
1994.3128.13
nonaccession number
1994.3128
What do you do after you invent the video game? Try to make it better!While preparing their video game system prototype, the “Brown Box” to be presented to potential investors, Ralph Baer and his colleague Bill Harrison created TV Game Unit #8.
Description
What do you do after you invent the video game? Try to make it better!
While preparing their video game system prototype, the “Brown Box” to be presented to potential investors, Ralph Baer and his colleague Bill Harrison created TV Game Unit #8. They wanted to demonstrate a more advanced technology that would allow the user’s paddle to determine, in the direction and speed of the game ball, when the two would collide. This would allow for games such as baseball and more realistic hockey game play.
This TV Game Unit #8 interfaced with the "Brown Box," but proved too expensive to pursue in these early stages. Since it was not going to be shown to investors just yet, it was never covered with brown wood grain self-adhesive vinyl to match the "Brown Box." A few years later, this technology was key when Baer and his colleagues started to design and build arcade games.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1968
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.07
catalog number
2006.0102.07
accession number
2006.0102
This photographic print shows an updated version of the family tree of computers first distributed by the National Science Foundation in the late 1950s. For a version of the first design, see the image in Bell and Newell.This example belonged to Margaret Fox.Reference:C.
Description
This photographic print shows an updated version of the family tree of computers first distributed by the National Science Foundation in the late 1950s. For a version of the first design, see the image in Bell and Newell.
This example belonged to Margaret Fox.
Reference:
C. Gordon Bell and A. Newell, Computer Structures: Readings and Examples, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971, 39.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1963
maker
National Science Foundation
ID Number
2013.3034.20
catalog number
2013.3034.20
nonaccession number
2013.3034
From this assemblage of metal, wires and glass tubes, the future of video games would be built.In 1966, while working for Sanders Associates Inc., engineer Ralph Baer began to look into new ways to use television, focusing specifically on interactive games.
Description
From this assemblage of metal, wires and glass tubes, the future of video games would be built.
In 1966, while working for Sanders Associates Inc., engineer Ralph Baer began to look into new ways to use television, focusing specifically on interactive games. In 1967, he created the first of several video game test units. Called TVG#1 or TV Game Unit #1, this device, when used with an alignment generator, produced a dot on the television screen that could be manually controlled by the user. Now that he was able to interact with the television, Baer could design increasingly sophisticated interfaces and programs.
TV Game Unit #1 was designed by Baer and built with the assistance of Bob Tremblay, a technician who worked with Baer at Saunders. Though transistors were available, Baer, who had received his bachelor’s in television engineering, choose to use the familiar and proven technology of vacuum tubes for this early test unit.
Like all the Ralph Baer prototypes, TV Game Unit #1 was used as evidence in many patent infringement cases. It still bears many of the court exhibit labels left over from these trials, as may be seen from the photograph.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1966
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.01
accession number
2006.0102
catalog number
2006.0102.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
maker
Remington Rand Univac
ID Number
2014.3039.01
nonaccession number
2014.3039
catalog number
2014.3039.01
Introduced in 1959, the Xerox 914 plain paper copier revolutionized the document-copying industry. The culmination of inventor Chester Carlson's work on the xerographic process, the 914 was fast and economical.
Description
Introduced in 1959, the Xerox 914 plain paper copier revolutionized the document-copying industry. The culmination of inventor Chester Carlson's work on the xerographic process, the 914 was fast and economical. One of the most successful Xerox products ever, a 914 model could make 100,000 copies per month. In 1985, the Smithsonian received this machine, number 517 off the assembly line. It weighs 648 pounds and measures 42" high x 46" wide x 45" deep.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1960
maker
Haloid Xerox Corporation
ID Number
1985.0669.01
catalog number
1985.0669.01
accession number
1985.0669
catalog number
85.669.01
This illustrated manual describes the basic operation of the PDP-8 minicomputer. It has DEC form number F-85.Currently not on view
Description
This illustrated manual describes the basic operation of the PDP-8 minicomputer. It has DEC form number F-85.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966
maker
Digital Equipment Corporation
ID Number
1994.3128.16
catalog number
1994.3128.16
nonaccession number
1994.3128
This prototype handheld electronic calculator was built in the Semiconductor Research and Development Laboratory at Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas, by a team led by Jack Kilby (1923–2005), co-inventor of the integrated circuit.
Description
This prototype handheld electronic calculator was built in the Semiconductor Research and Development Laboratory at Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas, by a team led by Jack Kilby (1923–2005), co-inventor of the integrated circuit. By the mid-1960s, TI was building microchips for industrial and military applications. The company president, Pat Haggerty, sought a consumer product that would use chips, just as earlier TI transistors had found wide use in transistor radios. Haggerty proposed a variety of possible products, and Kilby and his colleagues settled on making a small electronic calculator. TI had given an earlier development program the code name Project MIT. The calculator work, also confidential, was dubbed Project Cal Tech.
Machines that performed basic arithmetic had sold from the mid-19th century, for use in business and government. Desktop electronic calculators with vacuum tubes sold from 1961, and with transistors from 1964. Kilby envisioned something much smaller that would be roughly the size of a book. This required a smaller keyboard, a new form of display, a portable power supply, and a new memory and central processor. Kilby assigned design of the keyboard to James Van Tassel, and gave work on the memory and processor to Jerry Merryman. He took responsibility for the output and power supply himself.
By September 1967 Kilby, Merryman, and Van Tassel had made enough progress to apply for a patent. The submitted a revised patent in May 1971 and a further revision in December 1972. This final application received U.S. Patent No. 3,819,921 on June 25, 1974.
The prototype resembles the “miniature electronic calculator” shown in the patent drawings. It has a metal case painted black and an array of seventeen keys and a zero bar. In addition to nine digit keys, there are keys for a decimal point, four arithmetic functions, clear (C), error (E), and print (P). The on/off switch is at the back right and a thermal printer with a thin strip of paper at the back left. The power supply plugs into the back of the calculator and into the wall.
An inscription on the front of the calculator reads: THE FIRST CAL TECH (/) PRESENTED TO P. E. HAGGERTY (/) MARCH 29, 1967.
Depressing a button on the front edge of the machine releases the cover and reveals an intricate “integrated circuit array” (to use the terminology of the patent description) and three chips. The array contained four integrated circuits, each the size of a wafer usually made with several chips on it.
Further refinement of the Cal Tech led to the commercial Pocketronic calculator, introduced by Canon in Japan in 1970 and in the United States in 1971. Texas Instruments began selling calculators under its own name in 1972.
References:
Kathy B. Hamrick, “The History of the Hand-Held Electronic Calculator,” American Mathematical Monthly, 102, October 1996, pp. 633–639.
Jack Kilby, Oral History with Arthur L. Norberg, June 21, 1984, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. A transcript is available online. Accessed June 18, 2015.
T. R. Reid, The Chip: How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985.
Jeffrey Zygmont, Microchip: An Idea, Its Genesis, and the Revolution It Created, Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 2003.
date made
1967
maker
Texas Instruments
ID Number
CI.336000
catalog number
336000
accession number
319050
This black and white photograph shows William English using an On-Line System (NLS) terminal. In the image, taken at SRI about 1969, English, dressed in a suit, sits with his right hand on a mouse and left hand on a five-finger keyset looking at a terminal.
Description
This black and white photograph shows William English using an On-Line System (NLS) terminal. In the image, taken at SRI about 1969, English, dressed in a suit, sits with his right hand on a mouse and left hand on a five-finger keyset looking at a terminal. Another terminal is on the right.
Location
Currently not on view
photograph taken
ca 1969
date made (print)
2014
maker of the print
SRI International
ID Number
2015.3073.07
catalog number
2015.3073.07
nonaccession number
2015.3073
This is one of the first successful printouts of a program written in the computer programming language COBOL. After COBOL was proposed and described in 1959, programmers at Remington Rand Univac and at RCA wrote compilers that translated COBOL commands into machine language.
Description
This is one of the first successful printouts of a program written in the computer programming language COBOL. After COBOL was proposed and described in 1959, programmers at Remington Rand Univac and at RCA wrote compilers that translated COBOL commands into machine language. They also wrote test programs to demonstrate the language. Like later COBOL programs , this one was divided into four sections.
The first identified the program and gave the name of the programmer. The second section, called the environment division, presented information about the specific machine used, such as the computer model, and locations to be used for different files. The third, or procedure, division was independent of the computer. It gave a series of statements about what the machine was to do. Although commands resemble ordinary English, the words used had very specific definitions and equations could be written using mathematical symbols. Finally, the data division defined the information to be processed. This data was entered so that it could be used in several programs, as in later database management systems. Successfully compiling a program produced a printout with each of these sections, as well as a listing of the desired results.
This printout of the first successful COBOL compilation at RCA relates to inventory control. One page is marked in ink: Good output – 8/17/60 (/) (isn’t it beautiful) (/) not really [the not really is crossed out] (/) well almost.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1960
maker
RCA Corporation
ID Number
2010.3050.1
catalog number
2010.3050.1
nonaccession number
2010.3050
This circular device was an aid to programming the UNIVAC solid-state computer. It consists of a paper disc with equal divisions running from 1 to 200 near the edge, and a clear plastic rotating disc that are pivoted together at the center.
Description
This circular device was an aid to programming the UNIVAC solid-state computer. It consists of a paper disc with equal divisions running from 1 to 200 near the edge, and a clear plastic rotating disc that are pivoted together at the center. The upper disc is marked in red with two perpendicular diameters. The solid state computer had a magnetic storage drum on which locations were specified numerically. The latency calculator allowed programmers to write code for the machine to make the most efficient possible use of the drum memory. The back of the instrument gives a list of instruction codes and corresponding word times. Recieved in bag. Reference: Sperry Rand Corporation, Programming: Simple Transition to Electronic Processing UNIVAC Solid-State 80, 18-26.
Compare 2005.0271.01. Date based on date of documents 2015.3097.03 and 2015.3097.04.
According to Kirk Lubbes, who programmed the Univac Solid State Computer:
"The SS90 had a drum memory, i.e. memory was not random accessible. One had slow memory and fast memory. The slow memory had only a single read/write head per track on the drum and fast memory had four read/write heads spaced at 90 degrees, so therefore the drum had to rotate a full revolution to access a memory word in slow memory and only a quarter turn to access fast memory.
The trick in programming the SS90 was to have the instruction and its operand accessible at an optimal time so that the instruction could access its operand without waiting for the drum very far. As one started a program, this was not much a problem. The programmer new how much time that a given instruction would take to execute and the speed of the drum. Therefore, he calculated the position of the next instruction, based these two parameters. The minimum latency calculator was a mechanical device to help in this calculation. The problem was that as the programmer progressed, collisions occurred, i.e. the optimal location of an instruction or an operand was already taken by a previous instruction or operand. Since the drum was arranged in bands and the read/write heads were at the same location on each band, if one had a collision, you could put the necessary instruction or operand in a parallel band at the same position. This worked the bands all filled up.
The basic approach was to get a program working using the best latency that you could. Then the programmer would go back and start rearranging instructions and operand locations to achieve minimum latency. In those early times, machine time was expensive and memory severely limited. So it was important that production programs were efficient."
Reference:
Nonccession file 2015.3097.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
maker
Remington Rand Univac
ID Number
2015.3097.01
nonaccession number
2015.3097
catalog number
2015.3097.01
This black and white photograph shows a light pen, one of the candidates for interaction between a computer user and a computer tested at SRI.The original image dates from about 1965.Reference:William K. English, Douglas C. Engelbart, and Melvyn L.
Description
This black and white photograph shows a light pen, one of the candidates for interaction between a computer user and a computer tested at SRI.
The original image dates from about 1965.
Reference:
William K. English, Douglas C. Engelbart, and Melvyn L. Berman, “Display-Selection Techniques for Text Manipulation,” IEEE Transactions on Human Factors in Electronics, March 1967, Vol. HFE-8, No. 1, pp. 5-15. This image was published as figure 5.
Location
Currently not on view
photograph taken
1965
date made (print)
2014
maker of the print
SRI International
ID Number
2015.3073.13
catalog number
2015.3073.13
nonaccession number
2015.3073
This small leaflet gives a list of operations performed by the PDP 8 minicomputer with corresponding mneumonics, codes, and cycles. It has DEC form number 5372.Currently not on view
Description
This small leaflet gives a list of operations performed by the PDP 8 minicomputer with corresponding mneumonics, codes, and cycles. It has DEC form number 5372.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
maker
Digital Equipment Corporation
ID Number
1994.3128.14
catalog number
1994.3128.14
nonaccession number
1994.3128
This black and white portrait photograph shows Douglas Engelbart, wearing a suit with a tie and looking at the camera. It was taken at SRI.Currently not on view
Description
This black and white portrait photograph shows Douglas Engelbart, wearing a suit with a tie and looking at the camera. It was taken at SRI.
Location
Currently not on view
portrait taken
ca 1966
date made (print)
2014
depicted (sitter)
Engelbart, Douglas
maker of the print
SRI International
ID Number
2015.3073.03
catalog number
2015.3073.03
nonaccession number
2015.3073
These folded punched paper tapes are n a plastic tray with eight compartments. The tapes are marked as follows:1. in compartment A - PDP, 2C, and DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION PROGRAMMED DATA PROCESSOR.
Description
These folded punched paper tapes are n a plastic tray with eight compartments. The tapes are marked as follows:
1. in compartment A - PDP, 2C, and DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION PROGRAMMED DATA PROCESSOR. It has a (loose) label marked: Digital-1-8A-S-MG 6/63 (/) EXTENDED OPERATIONS AND MACROS. A second tape in this compartment is marked: PDP, 2C, and DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION PROGRAMMED DATA PROCESSOR. It has a (loose) label marked: Digital-1-25-U-MB 10/23/63 (/) MASTER TAPE DUPLICATOR
2. in compartment B - Friden Business Systems - Tape-Talk, X Good Space War. Also marked in punches: SPACEWAR 3.1 24 SEP 62 PT. 1
3, in compartment C - MACRO ASSEM. PARTS 1 & 2 (/) (with OPS AND MACROS) 27-5-68 - A second tape in the compartment is marked Octal Dump Routine
4. in compartment D - GOSSALS MAG. TAPE TEST (/) 1+2 D. FELTY - also marked 9-H - in punches, marked GOSSELS MAG TAPE TEST 1-2 - paper tape also marked in marker 9-H - A second tape in the compartment is marked GOSSELS' Mag Tape Test 1 & 2 Ray (/) 4/13/64
5. in compartment E - SNOWFLAKE SA-100
6. in compartment F - Magtape Routines H A F B 1-10. Also marked 18A
7. in compartment G - HAFB-PDP-1 TV 7 12 sept 66
8. in compartment H - 11A BINARY - also marked 17G
Hence there are a total of 11 tapes in the eight compartments. The side of the plastic holder has a tag that reads: TRAY 301. Draft cataloging describes the tapes as MAC-16 software tapes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1962-1968
maker
Digital Equipment Corporation
ID Number
1989.0521.04
catalog number
1989.0521.04
accession number
1989.0521
During 1959 the first plans for the computer language COBOL emerged as a result of meetings of several committees and subcommittees of programmers. These were not the work of a professional society, but of groups organized by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Description
During 1959 the first plans for the computer language COBOL emerged as a result of meetings of several committees and subcommittees of programmers. These were not the work of a professional society, but of groups organized by the U.S. Department of Defense. This letter invited Howard Bromberg of RCA to attend a subcommittee meeting held in Michigan. It represents only a small part of the organizational effort that went into COBOL.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1960
ID Number
2010.3050.3
catalog number
2010.3050.3
nonaccession number
2010.3050
A black binder containing Communication Instructions Operating Signals.
Description
A black binder containing Communication Instructions Operating Signals. From the book, "The purpose of this publication is to list operating signals and provide instructions for their use." A table of contents is included.
AUTODIN was the Department of Defense's first computerized message switching system and was implemented in stages in the 1960s. It contained a set of numerous AUTODIN Switching Centers around the world. AUTODIN faciliated the Department of Defense communications needs over the years.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1964-07
ID Number
2015.3091.04
catalog number
2015.3091.04
nonaccession number
2015.3091
This black and white photograph shows a computer console with the first mouse, as well as the CDC 160A computer with which it interacted. The image was taken at SRI June 1965.
Description
This black and white photograph shows a computer console with the first mouse, as well as the CDC 160A computer with which it interacted. The image was taken at SRI June 1965. The console with a keyboard and mouse are on the left side and the CDC 160A in the background.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
delete
photograph taken
1965
date made (print)
2014
maker of the print
SRI International
ID Number
2015.3073.05
catalog number
2015.3073.05
nonaccession number
2015.3073
This black and white photograph, taken at SRI in June 1965, shows a computer console with the first mouse. The console was linked to a CDC 160A computer. The console and keyboard are at the center, the mouse aon the right, and another device on the left.
Description
This black and white photograph, taken at SRI in June 1965, shows a computer console with the first mouse. The console was linked to a CDC 160A computer. The console and keyboard are at the center, the mouse aon the right, and another device on the left. Text appear on the console.
Location
Currently not on view
photograph taken
1965
date made (print)
2014
maker of the print
SRI International
ID Number
2015.3073.06
catalog number
2015.3073.06
nonaccession number
2015.3073

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