Telegraph message, printed in Morse code, transcribed and signed by Samuel F. B. Morse. This message was transmitted from Baltimore, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., over the nation's first long-distance telegraph line.
In 1843, Congress allocated $30,000 for Morse (1791-1872) to build an electric telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore. Morse and his partner, Alfred Vail (1807-1859), completed the forty-mile line in May 1844. For the first transmissions, they used a quotation from the Bible, Numbers 23:23: "What hath God wrought," suggested by Annie G. Ellsworth (1826-1900), daughter of Patent Commissioner Henry L. Ellsworth (1791-1858) who was present at the event on 24 May. Morse, in the Capitol, sent the message to Vail at the B&O Railroad's Pratt Street Station in Baltimore. Vail then sent a return message confirming the message he had received.
The original message transmitted by Morse from Washington to Baltimore, dated 24 May 1844, is in the collections of the Library of Congress. The original confirmation message from Vail to Morse is in the collections of the Connecticut Historical Society.
This tape, dated 25 May, is a personal souvenir transmitted by Vail in Baltimore to Morse in Washington the day following the inaugural transmissions. The handwriting on the tape is that of Morse himself. Found in Morse’s papers after his death the tape was donated to the Smithsonian in 1900 by his son Edward, where it has been displayed in many exhibitions.
Pronto Systems, Inc. introduced its Pronto Series 16 microcomputer in 1983. It represented the high end of business computing of its era. The Pronto pioneered innovative design features, including a tilting and swiveling monitor, a small foot print, a streamlined and adjustable keyboard, and an expandable cord that allowed the processor to be stored as much as six feet away from the monitor. These features won a 1983 design award from Industrial Design Magazine. The computer offered the first tower system—a design that later became common in the industry. This index number covers the tower.
Inside, the Pronto 16 was a powerful machine designed for the full range of business applications. It had a 16-bit Intel 80186 microprocessor. It was shipped with MS-DOS 2.0. It had 128 KB of RAM, which could be expanded to 1 MB. The standard hard drive was 5.6 MB, and it was removable. The computer had dual 800 KB floppy drives (5 ¼"), dual serial ports, one parallel port, and a high-resolution monochrome monitor. Users could buy a color monitor as an option. The base price was $3,000.
Over 1,000 systems were sold from 1983 to 1987. The company had to file for bankruptcy when the stock market crashed while the company was in the process of going public through an Initial Public Offering.
The donors of this example of the Pronto 16 were both associated with the firm that made it. Henry Gasbarro was founder, executive vice president, and chief technology officer of Pronto. He created the company in 1982. Skip Hansen, vice president of engineering, was responsible for the hardware design, software,and the high-resolution graphics capability that the system had.
See the other parts of acquisition 2001.0255 as well as 2001.3082.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for sidesticks with several tapering sections, and grooves or steps to guide the quoins on their path; the invention was granted patent number 145574.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a casting printers’ lead; it was granted patent number 155609. Molten lead was rolled out to thickness between two flexible steel belts, then cut into strips, trimmed, and planed smooth.
Data General was primarily a mini-computer company. But in 1984, it introduced the Data General/One (DG-1), a breakthrough personal computer laptop. The Data General/One weighed nine pounds, ran MS-DOS, had dual 3 ½" diskettes, a 79-key full stroke keyboard, 128 KB to 512 KB of RAM, and a monochrome LCD screen. It ran on a CMOS 80C88 processor. Unlike other "luggable" computers of the era, the DG-1 was light enough to carry on travel, but also powerful enough to emulate a desktop.
The DG-1 enjoyed only mediocre success. Its 3 ½" diskettes were slightly ahead of their time, and much popular software was not available in 3 ½" format. Adding to the problem, software copyright protection made copying into the 3 ½" format difficult. In addition, the DG-1 base price was relatively high at $2,895, and the real cost tended to be even higher, because users generally needed both more RAM and an external 5 ¼" drive to run disks from their desktop machines.
This example is a Model No. 2203 with serial number Q0026418.
The carrying case for the Data General/One (1995.0069.02) is divided into two sections. One contains the laptop-sized computer and a part for the floppy drive. the other contains:
1. two power cords
2. a modem cable
3. three 3 1/2" diskettes in a plastic fox. The diskettes all have a paper label that reads: Data General. One has no further marks. A second is marked: DATA GENERAL/ONE PERSONAL SYSTEM (/) MS-DOS REV 2.11 (/) DATA GENERAL CORPORATION (/) 1984 (/) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (/) MICROSOFT CORPORATION (/) 1981 1982 1983 (/) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. A third is marked: DATA GENERAL / ONE PERSONAL SYSTEM (/) HOW TO USE YOUR DATA GENERAL/ONE. It is copyrighted 1984
4. a spiral-bound Data General One Owner's Manual, Dated September, 1984. The manual contains a loose sheet and a sheet and an owner's manual for the carrying case.
5. six miscellaneous documents on the computer in an envelope marked: Limited Warranty and Service Booklet
This patent model demonstrates an invention for quoins whose two sides were opened or closed by wedges governed by a central double-threaded screw; the invention was granted patent number 139351.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a combination of quoins and sidesticks which was granted patent number 218518. The quoins swiveled on the ends of wide screws that turned into the sides of the metal sidesticks. A guage in the center of each sidestick told the compositor how far the quoin could be extended.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a small, self-inking clockwork press that printed from curved stereotype plates; the invention was granted patent number 71103.
In the early 1980s, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was the second largest computer company in the United States, following IBM, and was the leading producer of minicomputers. DEC had missed the initial development of personal computers, but decided to enter the market with a 16 bit machine. In 1982, it introduced the DEC Rainbow 100, for a price of $2,500.
The Rainbow 100 had both a Z-80 and an Intel 8088 microprocessor that ran at 4 MHz. It had 64 KB or RAM and 24 KB of ROM and had two built in floppy drives that could accommodate 400 KB single-sided quad density disks. It had three operating systems: MS-DOS, CP/M-86, and CP/M. Users made a selection by a menu at boot time. This portion - CPU - sat on a floor stand. For the monitor, see 1994.0078.01.2. For the keyboard, see 1994.0078.01.3. For related documentation, see 1994.3022.
The Rainbow could be used for word processing, spreadsheets, and games, although it had a monochrome screen. In addition to operating as a stand-alone computer, the Rainbow worked effectively as a VT-100 or VT-220 terminal emulator on larger machines, such as DEC's minicomputers. Although the Rainbow was a powerful and effective personal computer, it was not fully compatible with IBM systems, and eventually was overshadowed and undersold by IBM clones.
According to the donor, Steve Lubar, writing at the time he gave the machine to the museum, "purchased the Rainbow 100 in 1984, through my wife, Lisa Thoerle,who was then an employee of Digital Equipment Corporation.There was a large employee discount, perhaps almost 50%,(if I remember right!) which made the machine affordable,and close in price to more common PCs.
At the time,I was employed as a historian in the Department of
History of Science and Technology,working on the Engines of Change exhibition and a variety of scholarly papers. I used the Rainbow for word processing mostly, using WordStar software,and as a VT-100 terminal, using the built-in emulation, to call bulletin boards. I always used the machine in its CP/M mode, mostly because I found
that the only software I had for the MS-DOS mode(an early version of WordPerfect) was dreadful. Lisa used the machine a bit; she had a
C compiler,but found the machine too slow to use to do any serious
work. (She was used to VAXs and PDP-11s).
I used the Rainbow until 1988 or 1989,when I purchased a
Macintosh SE.The Rainbow,it was clear by that point, was a
technological deadend,too expensive to upgrade,and too
idiosyncratic to take advantage of the ever-cheaper prices on
hardware upgrades then available for IBM-standard PCs."
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a pneumatic sheet-feed apparatus consisting of a suction bar and pins to separate and lift the sheets; the invention was granted patent number 160721.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for printers' furniture which was granted patent number 141450. Furniture of a single length was used, and each piece was slotted horizontally from each end to near the middle, so that the side and end pieces could be fitted through each other.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a small self-inking card press which was granted patent number 17405. A traveling frame carried the inking and impression rollers across the fixed type bed and ink plate.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type-cutting machine which was granted patent number 31333. The patent details a machine for sawing type from a solid block of letters by first cutting a strip of letters from the block, then notching the strip, and finally cutting apart the letters. The block could be cast by Smith's patent of 1859.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for sidesticks composed of two parts that fitted together, tongue in groove, in such a way that the full length of the stick always pressed on the type, no matter how far the two parts were pulled out. The invention was granted patent number 115136.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for an apparatus to receive and stack sheets as they came from a press, or cut and pile printed sheets from a web. The invention was granted patent number 25068.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a sheet delivery apparatus which was granted patent number 227599. The patent describes an improved sheet-collecting cylinder and pasting apparatus.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a sheet-feed apparatus which was granted patent number 143740. The patent is for a pneumatic feeder adaptable to sheets of different sizes, as well as sheets for printing on both sides.
This patent model demonstrates an invention for adjustable feed gauges for platen presses, to take paper and cards of various sizes. The invention was granted patent number 162207. (James Turner was from Montreal, Canada.)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a flatbed printing press; the invention was granted patent number 173295. The patent describes improvements to the movement of the bed, the sheet fly, and the inking table of cylinder presses.