Historic Computer Images
This photo collection is one portion of my collection of
History of Computing Information documents (seminal reports, 200+ pages online).
Here is a collection of high resolution 400 dpi scans made by
Mike Muuss
for his
Computer History
archive.
All of them were scanned on a Canon CLC-500 color scanner/printer.
See below for full information on
Use and Publication Rights.
See below for details on the
five different file types available.
Historical Drawings, Online
Various
drawings
from the ENIAC manuals and other historical documents.
All stored losslessly in GIF format in 4 sizes
(full 400dpi size, 1280x1024, 640x480, 96x96).
comp-tree.png
6601x3822
"The Computer Tree", from
Electronic Computers Within the Ordnance Corps
, by Karl Kempf.
"U.S. Army Diagram".
Ancient Images, Online
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first_four.jpg, 640x480;
first_four.png
3793x3009
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"U.S. Army Photo", number 163-12-62.
Left: Patsy Simmers, holding ENIAC board
Next: Mrs. Gail Taylor, holding EDVAC board
Next: Mrs. Milly Beck, holding ORDVAC board
Right: Mrs. Norma Stec, holding BRLESC-I board
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bell-relay1.gif, 640x480;
bell-relay1.png
3695x2885
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"U.S. Army Photo" A51244, with caption
"Bell Relay Computer, showing racks in which the computing, storing
and controlling relays are mounted.",
from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
An old soldering iron is visible on the desk in the lower left.
Building 328, room 27, near the back.
Background: ?
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eniac1.gif, 640x480;
eniac1.png
1340x1024
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"U.S. Army Photo", from K. Kempf, "Historical Monograph: Electronic Computers Within the Ordnance Corps"
The ENIAC, in BRL building 328.
Left: Glen Beck
Right: ?
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eniac2.gif, 640x480;
eniac2.png
3832x3003
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"U.S. Army Photo", from 8x10 transparency, courtesy Harold Breaux.
The classic shot of the ENIAC while still at the Moore School.
Soldier at foreground function table: CPL Irwin Goldstine.
Woman behind card punch equipment: ?
Woman at background function table: ?
Man in background: ?
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eniac3.gif, 640x480;
eniac3.png
1239x1024
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"U.S. Army Photo", from M. Weik, "The ENIAC Story"
A technician changes a tube.
Caption reads "Replacing a bad tube meant checking among
ENIAC's 19,000 possibilities."
Center: ?
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eniac4.gif, 640x480;
eniac4.png
3758x2448
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Two women wiring the right side of the ENIAC with a new program,
in the "pre- von Neumann" days.
"U.S. Army Photo" from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
Standing: Ester Gerston
Crouching: ?Gloria Gorden
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eniac5.gif, 640x480;
eniac5.png
3704x2969
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Photo of left side of ENIAC as installed in BRL Bldg 328.
The white cabinet in the rear is the core memory, a late addition.
"U.S. Army Photo" from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
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eniac6.gif, 640x480;
eniac6.png
3758x2448
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Harry Huskey holding a wire of the ENIAC.
"U.S. Army Photo" from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
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eniac7.gif, 640x480;
eniac7.png
3735x2460
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Two women operating the ENIAC's main control panel while
the machine was still located at the Moore School.
"U.S. Army Photo" from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
Left: Betty Jennings (Mrs. Bryant)
Right: Frances Bilas (Mrs. Spence)
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eniac8.gif, 640x480;
eniac8.png
3799x3007
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Photograph of President Truman standing in front of the ENIAC.
"U.S. Army Photo" from the archives of ARL/SLAD/BVLD,
preserved by Mike Danish and Beth Ward.
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eniac9.gif, 640x480;
eniac9.png
2797x2822
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Photograph of right side of the ENIAC as seen from the center of
the machine, taken in BRL Bldg 328.
"U.S. Army Photo" from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
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eniac10.gif, 640x480;
eniac10.png
3660x2625
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Photograph of right side of the ENIAC as seen from the entrance
to the machine, taken in BRL Bldg 328.
"U.S. Army Photo" from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
The sign on the enclosure in the foreground reads
"KEEP OUT: Doors to be opened ONLY by ENIAC engineering personnel".
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eniac11.gif, 640x480;
eniac11.png
3725x2940
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"U.S. Army Photo" entitled "ENIAC OFFICIALS",
from the archives of Mrs. Kay Gillon.
Left to Right: J. Presper Eckert, Jr., Chief Engineer;
Professor J. G. Brainerd, Supervisor;
Sam Feltman, Chief Engineer for Ballistics, Ordnance Department;
Captain H. H. Goldstine, Liaison Officer;
Dr. J. W. Mauchly, Consulting Engineer;
Dean Harold Pender, Moore School of Electrical Engineering,
University of Pennsylvania;
General G. M. Barnes,
Chief of the Ordnance Research and Development Service;
Colonel Paul N. Gillon, Chief,
Research Branch of the Army Ordnance Research and Development Service.
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edvac1.gif, 640x480;
edvac1.png
1093x1024
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"U.S. Army Photo" of the EDVAC,
from K. Kempf, "Historical Monograph: Electronic Computers Within the Ordnance Corps"
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edvac2.gif, 640x480;
edvac2.png
2925x3795
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"U.S. Army Photo" of the EDVAC as installed in BRL Bldg 328,
from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
Man at the console: ?
Man at the paper tape machine: Richard Bianco
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ordvac1.gif, 640x480;
ordvac1.png
1248x1024.bw
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"U.S. Army Photo", from K. Kempf, "Historical Monograph: Electronic Computers Within the Ordnance Corps"
Right: ?
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ordvac2.gif, 640x480;
ordvac2.png
2970x2870
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"U.S. Army Photo" A76795 dated 12-March-1952
of ORDVAC installed in BRL Bldg 328,
from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
Note ruler block on the floor, for scale.
(Also note that the nameplate says "ORDVAC: ? of the University
of Illinois, Ballistic Research Laboratory, ???, U. S. Army, 1951")
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brlesc1.gif, 640x480;
brlesc1.png
1290x1024
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"U.S. Army Photo", from K. Kempf, "Historical Monograph: Electronic Computers Within the Ordnance Corps"
Console of BRLESC-I computer, front view.
Left: Gail Purdham/Beck/Taylor (Mrs. Don Taylor)
Right: Loyd Campbell
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brlescI2.gif, 640x480;
brlescI2.png
3825x3020.png
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"U.S. Army Photo"
Console of BRLESC-I computer, side view,
from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
At the console: Lou Moeller
By the door: Horace Burkintere
Note the ENIAC photograph hanging on the side of the BRLESC.
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brlescI3.gif, 640x480;
brlescI3.png
3040x3805
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"U.S. Army Photo"
Console of BRLESC-I computer, rear view,
(during the recording of a television program for OGMS-TV)
from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
At the console: ?
Man in dark suit: ?
Main in light suit: ?
Cameraman: ?
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brlescII1.gif, 640x480;
brlescII1.png
3825x3000
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"U.S. Army Photo"
Console of BRLESC-II computer, front view,
from the archives of the ARL Technical Library.
At the console: Alexander V. Kurian
Note high-speed card reader in foreground,
high-speed line printer behind CPU.
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gillon-n-goldstine.gif, 640x480;
gillon-n-goldstine.png
1018x1280
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"U.S. Army Photo" taken March 1962,
from the archives of Mrs. Kay Gillon.
Left: COL Paul Gillon,
Center: COL Herman H. Goldstine,
Right: GEN ?.
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barnes-n-gillon.gif, 640x480;
barnes-n-gillon.png
1263x1024
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"U.S. Army Photo",
from the archives of Mrs. Kay Gillon.
Left: GEN Barnes,
Right: COL Paul Gillon.
More Recent Images, Online
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cray2.jpg, 640x480;
cray2.png
678x1024
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Photo courtesy of Cray Research
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fiber.jpg, 640x480;
fiber.png
690x1024
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The fiber-optic patch-bays in BRL Bldg 328, Rm 27 in 1985.
Photo courtesy of Michael John Muuss
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gould.jpg, 640x480;
gould.png
1156x1024
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Photo courtesy of Gould
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hep1.gif, 640x480;
hep1.png
1036x1024
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U.S. Army Photo, courtesy of APG News.
Clint Frank holding processor board of Denelcor HEP H-1000 computer.
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hep2.gif, 640x480;
hep2.png
980x640
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Photo of BRL's machine, courtesy of Denelcor
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pdp11,70.jpg, 640x480;
pdp11,70.png
3821x3025
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U.S. Army Photo, courtesy of Michael John Muuss
PDP-11/70, Vector General display of XM-1 tank
Left: Michael John Muuss, operating Vector General
Right: Earl Weaver, inspecting printout of XM-1 design
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sun3+3d.jpg, 640x480;
sun3+3d.png
1611x1024
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Photo courtesy of Michael John Muuss
A Sun-2/50 and a SGI 3030 workstation on Mike's desk, ca. 1985.
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vax780.gif, 640x480;
vax780.png
1592x1024
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Photo courtesy of Digital Equipment Corporation
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xmp.jpg, 640x480;
xmp.png
2347x1578
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Photo of BRL's Cray XMP48 courtesy of Michael John Muuss
Right: Phil Dykstra
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A nice photo of the Cray YMP was taken by Paul Shambroom
Do You Know Who These People Are?
If you know the names of any of the unknown people in these photos,
or if you know more about the specifics of when or where these photos
were taken, please send mail to
< eniac@arl.army.mil >.
There are five subdirectories available:
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png/
-
The original 400dpi scans, in PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format.
This is probably the easiest way for you to obtain the
full-size 400 dpi images.
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pix/
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The original 400dpi scans, in BRL-CADŽ format, either:
8-bit grey scale (.bw) or 24-bit RGB (.pix) formats.
(See
directions on how to load these into Adobe PhotoShop).
Some of these files are quite large.
These images have not been gamma corrected.
Directions on how to
load .pix and .bw files into Adobe PhotoShop
are provided. It's easy to include the high-quality 400dpi
digital images from the pix/ directory into your documents!
For details on these formats, see the
BRL-CADŽ pix(5)
documentation.
The
BRL-CADŽ Package
is available in source code form at no cost, should you need it.
Local ARL-APG users who wish to make hard copy of these files should use
pixprint.sh filename -t l -g scan
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small/
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This directory contains GIF encodings of reduced, icon-sized versions of
the images.
No image is larger than 96 by 96 pixels.
All of them have been gamma corrected for you, to preserve the maximum
amount of image detail before encoding.
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gif/
-
This directory contains GIF encodings of 75dpi medium-sized versions of the images.
No image is larger than 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels high.
All of them have been gamma corrected for you, to preserve the maximum
amount of image detail before encoding.
(pix-mid-n-smallgif.sh)
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jpeg/
-
This directory contains JPEG encodings of 75dpi medium-sized versions of the images,
made using a quality factor of 90% (which is quite good).
These files tend to be 1/2 to 1/3 the file of their GIF counterparts.
No image is larger than 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels high.
All of them have been gamma corrected for you, to preserve the maximum
amount of image detail before encoding.
It is recommended that if you want a copy of the image to store on your
own system that you either
(a) download the image into your Web browser and then use the
File // Save As.. menus,
or (b) retrieve it from our anonymous FTP server, using
commands something like this:
ftp ftp.arl.army.mil
anonymous Give this as your USERNAME
user@host Give your E-mail address as the PASSWORD
binary
cd historic-computers/small
get eniac2.gif
quit
You should also feel free to include references to these images in your
own HTML documents. In that case, use a URL like this:
http://ftp.arl.army.mil/ftp/historic-computers/small/eniac2.gif
Here is a sample HTML reference for an inline display of the
icon-sized image which will retrieve the 640x480 version when selected:
< a href="http://ftp.arl.army.mil/ftp/historic-computers/jpeg/eniac2.jpg" >
< img src="http://ftp.arl.army.mil/ftp/historic-computers/small/eniac2.gif" >
< /a >
It looks like this:
You are welcome to have your HTML documents directly reference our images
on our server, without needing to ask our permission.
If you wish to make a copy of an image onto your
own server, or if you wish to use an image in a CD-ROM or a print medium,
please refer to the information below.
For all photos marked "Courtesy of Michael John Muuss",
you are granted a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable
license and right to use that photo, without fee, provided that
credit is given to the photographer with each use.
All photos marked "U. S. Army Photo" are in the public domain,
and may be used without fee, provided that each use is marked
"U. S. Army Photo".
All diagrams marked "U. S. Army Diagram" are in the public domain,
and may be used without fee, provided that each use is marked
"U. S. Army Diagram".
All other photos are property of their respective owners and may not
be reprinted without permission. Sorry.
If you make use of these photos, a brief E-mail note to
<eniac@arl.army.mil>
to that effect
would be appreciated, for our publication/citation records.
When you mention where the images came from, please give this URL:
http://ftp.arl.army.mil/~mike/comphist/
Directions on how to
load .pix and .bw files into Adobe PhotoShop
are provided. It's easy to include the high-quality 400dpi
digital images from the pix/ directory into your documents!
Even easier is to use the .png format images.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Harold Breaux for the loan of many of the photographs
which I scanned.
Thanks to the staff of the ARL Technical Library
for opening the vault in Bldg 311 and permitting me access to the BRL
archives. I found many valuable documents and photographs there,
some of which I believe to be the only surviving copies.
Kudos to the past and present
librarians for preserving two whole stacks full of
historical information from the ravages of military inspectors
who rarely seem to appreciate the value of "old books".
Mike Muuss
<ftp@arl.army.mil>
UP