Unknown (Various Press Agencies)

This large archive of photos documents computer technology from the 1970s -1990s, with the bulk of the photos pertaining to the latter two decades.

The collection contains only a handful of photographs from the 1960s and 70s, but those included are all quite interesting. One of the earliest images, dated 1965, shows the new FLPA-200 from the pioneering Silicon Valley company Fairfield Semiconductor. Fairfield Semiconductor was the first manufacturer to introduce high-frequency silicon transistors and practical monolithic integrated circuits to the market. Another early image shows the American side of a US-Russian computer chess match. Artificial intelligence pioneer John McCarthy (seen in the photo) used an improved version of the Kotok program to play correspondence chess against a Soviet program developed at the Moscow Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics. A four-game match played over nine months was won 3-1 by the Soviet program. On the other side of things, one photo from 1968 shows a sculpture of a crashing wave made from computer parts.

The rest of the photos are evenly split between the 1980s and 1990s. These photos provide an interesting look at the burgeoning industry in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. There are a number of advertising images in the collection as well, showcasing the ease with which one can live life with the aid of the computer. A 1993 photograph depicts a woman and her young child shopping for groceries from the comfort of their own home, another shows a screen with a recipe for Garlic Lime Chicken from the “Micro Cookbook 4.0.” An amusing 1981 photo advertising the “new, affordable IBM personal computer,” shows children playing piano on their computer in their living room. The photo is accompanied by a caption that makes the bold claim that a personal computer, “can be as much fun in the home as it is useful in the office or at school.”

There are also display photos of the products themselves, including many long-lost computer brands such as Compaq, Amiga, and Pied Piper (advertised as “a tiny little computer that folds up into a briefcase-sized and shaped bundle of joy"). There are also photos offering various computer accessories, programs, and novelty items, such as a baroque cardboard frame meant to be placed around the screen of one’s personal computer.

Many photos relate to the computer as an education tool, such as a 1983 photograph of a teacher introducing her students to “Super Sally,” the class’s new TSR80 computer, or playing learning games such as “Spellcopter: The Action Spelling Game. Other photos show students in computer classes, learning typing and other skills. Also included are photos related to computer conventions like the CPM Computer show at the Moscone Center, and portraits of those in the industry such as Hewlett-Packard executive Bruce Spenner, shown in a 1992 photo holding up “the smallest disk drive.”