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. 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. Other artifacts range from personal computers to ENIAC, the Altair, and the Osborne 1. 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
"Computers & Business Machines - Overview" showing 275 items.
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Ethernet Prototype Circuit Board
- Description
- This Ethernet board is a prototype developed by Robert Metcalf in 1973 while at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Metcalf based his idea for the Ethernet on the ALOHAnet, a packet-switching wireless radio network developed by Norman Abramson, Frank Kuo, and Richard Binder at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. The ALOHAnet sent computer data communication between the university's campuses on several islands. Metcalf improved upon ALOHAnet's design and created the "Alto ALOHA Network," a network of computers hard-wired together by cables that he soon called the Ethernet. In 1985, the Ethernet became the
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) standard for connecting personal computers via a Local Area Network (LAN). Today, LANs often use WiFi, or Wireless Fidelity, a way of connecting computers without wires.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1973
- developer
- Metcalf, Robert
- maker
- Xerox Corporation
- ID Number
- 1992.0566.01
- catalog number
- 1992.0566.01
- accession number
- 1992.0566
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Microsoft Windows NT OS/2 Design Workbook
- Description
- This binder contains the original design specifications for OS/2 NT, an operating system designed by Microsoft that eventually became Windows NT. In the late 1980s, Microsoft's 16-bit operating system, Windows, gained popularity, prompting IBM and Microsoft to end their OS/2 development partnership. Although Windows 3.0 proved to be successful, Microsoft wished to continue developing a 32-bit operating system completely unrelated to IBM's OS/2 architecture. To head the redesign project, Microsoft hired David Cutler and others away from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Unlike Windows 3.x and its successor, Windows 95, NT's technology provided better network support, making it the preferred Windows environment for businesses. These two product lines continued development as separate entities until they were merged with the release of Windows XP in 2001.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1989
- creator
- Microsoft Corporation
- team leader
- Cutler, David N.
- maker
- Microsoft Corporation
- ID Number
- 2001.3014.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3014
- catalog number
- 2001.3014.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Apple II Microcomputer, "Black Apple"
- Description
- This Black Apple, model number A2S1048B, was a version of the Apple II Plus made by Apple Computer, Inc. and sold only to educational institutions by Bell & Howell, at that time a company specializing in audiovisual equipment. It earned the nicknames "Black Apple" and "Darth Vader" because its case was black instead of the usual beige color of the Apple II Plus. To make the computer more versatile, Bell & Howell added audio and video slots onto the Apple II Plus and also made it UL-compliant. By allowing Bell & Howell to sell their modified product, Apple was able to succeed in the educational market.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1980s
- maker
- Bell & Howell
- Apple Computer
- ID Number
- 2002.0153.01
- accession number
- 2002.0153
- catalog number
- 2002.0153.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Model of an IBM System 360 Computer
- Description
- In 1964 IBM Corporation announced a new family of room-sized computers, the IBM 360 System. It included several models of differing cost and capabilities. These embraced a full circle of computer applications, from business data processing to sophisticated science and engineering; hence the name 360. To sell the new product, IBM salesmen used scale models like this one. It shows the smallest IBM 360 System, the 30. Depending on the components selected, it rented for between $2,700 and $20,000 per month. More powerful versions of the System/360 rented for around $115,000 per month.
- Components include the central processing unit with control panel (attached is a desk with the printer-keyboard), a disc storage unit, three forms of tape drive, a disk storage drive, and a printer with paper. Most systems also would have included a card punch and a card reader. Each room-sized computer had its own staff who prepared programs on punched cards or magnetic tape, entered them into computers, maintained the circuitry, and delivered results. If an organization acquired one of the machines, most employees would never see it.
- The IBM 360 proved a highly successful product worldwide. This model was used by Timothy J. Bergin first in teaching computer science and then in exhibits at American University.
- References:
- IBM, IBM System / 360 Installation Manual - Physical Planning.
- E. W. Pugh, L. R. Johnson and J. H. Palmer, IBM's 360 and Early 370 Systems, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1991.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1964
- date received
- 2013
- maker
- IBM
- ID Number
- 2013.0129.02
- accession number
- 2013.0129
- catalog number
- 2013.0129.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Magnetic Tape Station for the RCA 501 Computer
- Description
- This transistorized unit was used to read, write, and erase binary characters on mylar-based magnetic tape for entry into the RCA 501 computer. The central rack assembly has components for reading, writing, and erasing magnetic tape. These include a tape transport mechanism, amplifiers, control circuits, and a power supply. This example has a single tape reel.
- The rack assembly fits into a specially built cabinet, from which it could be removed. In this instance the cabinet is painted blue-gray and white. Each RCA 501 computer had at least 6 tape stations. Depending on the components selected, the entire computer system rented for $11,700 to $20,445 per month. Should a business choose to buy the system, the list price of one magnetic tape station alone was $25,000 – $30,000. This is over twice the price of a typical American single family house at the time.
- The tape station is marked on the inside at the center toward the top: R58111. It is marked on the inside of the lower portion of the cabinet: RCA (/) MI SER 1515 (/) RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA. A plaque attached to the right side of the cabinet is marked : UNIVAC SPERRY RAND (/) SERIES 70. The form of the Sperry Rand trademark on the plaque was, according to trademark records, first used in commerce in 1967.
- References:
- "Tape Station," RCA 501 Electronic Data Processing System, Catalog EDP 581, Camden, N.J.: Radio Corporation of America, 1958.
- Martin H. Weik, "A Third Survey of Domestic Electronic Digital Computing Systems," Aberdeen Proving Ground: Ballistics Research Laboratories, March, 1961, pp. 778-803.
- U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Historical Census of Housing Tables Home Values. Available online.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1959 or later
- date made
- 1959
- maker
- RCA Corporation
- ID Number
- 1979.0418.06
- catalog number
- 1979.0418.06
- accession number
- 1979.0418
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Friden 5610 Computyper
- Description
- This Friden 5610 Computyper was manufactured by the Friden Division of the Singer Company around 1969. This machine is actually two-in-one, the Friden 5610 Computyper and the 2205 Flexowriter. The Flexowriter was also sold apart from the Friden 5610 as a teleprinter. The Flexowriter consists of an electric typewriter with paper tape reader and punch mechanism. The Flexowriter would produce a coded data tape that could be read by the Computyper to automate various business activities. The Computyper was marketed as a data processor for business use, automatically producing invoices, sales totals, product sales analysis, taxes, costs, profits, and special charges.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1979.0823.01
- catalog number
- 1979.0823.01
- accession number
- 1979.0823
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
New Franklin Typewriter
- Description
- This New Franklin typewriter was manufactured by the Franklin Typewriter Company of New York, New York around 1904. The design for the Franklin typewriter was patented by Wellington P. Kidder, receiving patent number 464,504 on December 8, 1891. The main feature of the Franklin typewriter is its series of radial type bars that carry multiple typefaces. The curved Franklin keyboard remains one of its most distinctive features.
- The Tilton Manufacturing Company of Boston, Massachusetts was originally assigned patents to both the Victor Index Typewriter (invented by Arthur Jacobs in 1889) and the Franklin typewriter (invented by Wellington Kidder in 1891). Eventually, both these typewriters were sold by their own companies, with the Victor Typewriter Company staying in Boston and the Franklin Typewriter Company moving to New York. The Franklin Typewriter Company began producing Franklin Typewriters in 1892, releasing numerous models before the company went bankrupt in 1904. The Victor Typewriter Company of Boston absorbed the interests of the Franklin Typewriter Company in 1907 and moved into its New York factory and offices at 812 and 814 Greenwich Street, producing its new visible frontstriking typewriter Victor No.1 that same year.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Franklin Typewriter Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0107.01
- accession number
- 1981.0107
- catalog number
- 1981.0107.01
- 81.0107.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
IBM Model C Executive Typewriter
- Description
- This IBM Model C Executive typewriter was manufactured by the IBM Company beginning in 1959. The Model C Executive was an electric typewriter that included previous IBM innovations such as proportional letter spacing, cushioned carriage return, electric ribbon rewind, changeable typebars, and multiple copy control as well as new features such as a decelerator mechanism for noise reduction, a new touch control system, and a carbon ribbon feed to achieve book-style printing.
- Originally founded in as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1911, IBM began its venture into typewriter manufacturing with the acquisition of the Electromatic Typewriter Company in 1933. In 1935 IBM produced its first electric typewriter, the Model 01, which IBM considered a commercial success. IBM continued producing typewriters throughout the 20th century until 1990.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1981.0109.01
- catalog number
- 1981.0109.01
- accession number
- 1981.0109
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Blickensderfer Model 8 Typewriter
- Description
- The Blickensderfer Model 8 typewriter was manufactured by the Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company of Stamford, Connecticut beginning in 1908. The Blickensderfer was advertised as having one quarter of the parts that other typewriters used, allowing for easier operation, maintenance, and repair. Other features include a tabulator and a scaled with slots for carriage stops. Blickensderfer typewriters also had a patented type action using their patented “type wheel,” a metal wheel containing all the characters which would rotate and strike the paper to create the inked mark. The type wheel allowed for easier type alignment, less jamming, and an easier way to change type fonts. The simplicity of the Blickensderfer made it portable, and this model had a wooden cover with a leather handle for easy carrying. While QWERTY keyboards could be ordered, by default most Blickensderfer typewriters eschewed the QWERTY keyboard in favor of a “Scientific” keyboard that put the most used letters “D, H, I, A, T, E, N, S, O, and R” on the bottom row nearest the space bar to minimize hand movement.
- George C. Blickensderfer founded the Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company in Stamford, Connecticut in 1893. The Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company produced nine different models of typewriters, including an electric typewriter, and operated until George Blickenderfer’s death in 1917. The company was reformed as the Blick Typewriter Company for a few years before the Blickensderfer patents and designs were sold and manufactured by a variety of different companies.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1981.0653.01
- accession number
- 1981.0653
- catalog number
- 1981.0653.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Woodstock "Electrite" Typewriter
- Description
- This Woodstock Electrite electric typewriter was manufactured by the Woodstock Typewriter Company of Chicago, Illinois around 1925. The Electrite was advertised as a typewriter that made “all typists experts.” The Electrite’s electric motor powered the strike mechanism and space bar, so that each key hit the paper with the same amount of force every time, resulting in uniform letters. In manual typewriters, a soft touch or mistype could result in printed text that was faint or hard to read.
- Like many typewriting companies, the Woodstock Typewriter Company went through several different corporate iterations. The Emerson Typewriter Company of Kittery, Maine began business in 1907, before it was purchased by the Sears, Roebuck, & Company of Chicago in 1910. Sears, Roebuck, & Company opened their typewriting company as the Roebuck Typewriter Company in Woodstock, Illinois, but soon sold their concern to the Woodstock Typewriter Company in 1914. The Woodstock Typewriter Company operated until 1950, when it was bought by R.C. Allen Business Machines.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1982.0201.03
- accession number
- 1982.0201
- catalog number
- 1982.0201.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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