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[COMPUTER INDUSTRY]. MAUCHLEY, John and J. Presper ECKERT. A superb collection of rare documents relating to the development of the world's first commercial computer. Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp., 1947-1954.
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[COMPUTER INDUSTRY]. MAUCHLEY, John and J. Presper ECKERT. A superb collection of rare documents relating to the development of the world's first commercial computer. Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp., 1947-1954.
THE BIRTH OF THE COMPUTER INDUSTRY
This collection documents the earliest history of the design of the memory system and the programming of the UNIVAC, "the world's first commercially produced electronic digital computer" (Lee).
In 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School, John Mauchly (principal consultant) and J. Presper Eckert (principal engineer) completed the ENIAC, the world's first electronic digital computer. That year the two left the Moore School and "formed a partnership for the purpose of designing and marketing a Universal Automatic Computer, called UNIVAC. The machine was intended to be used for a variety of commercial applications. The Census Bureau, with the National Bureau of Standards as its agent, was the first organization to contract for a UNIVAC" (Lee, Computer Pioneers). On securing that landmark contract, they formed the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation in 1948. Eckert remained behind the scenes as chief engineer while Mauchly became president, focusing on programming and logic design and guiding the enterprise.
For three years Eckert-Mauchly developed the UNIVAC, refining the machine and its software. The problems of developing a viable commercial enterprise finally proved insurmountable for the small start-up company. Unable to finance their ambitious venture adequately, Mauchly and Eckert sold the company to Remington Rand in February 1950, and the two continued to work on the UNIVAC. Eventually Remington Rand (later known as Sperry Rand and now Unisys) sold 43 UNIVACs, making this successor to Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation the world's first large-scale computer company.
This collection of papers from the dawning of the age of the computer industry documents the development of the hardware and software of the revolutionary UNIVAC. The programming documents were printed primarily for in-house use in extremely small numbers, and very few copies have survived. The patents are likewise extremely rare in the market. For example, only one of these documents (item 4) is found in the Origins of Cyberspace collection, which included many of Eckert's own papers, while another (item 1) was present in that collection only in photocopy form. The collection includes:
1. Memory System. Inventors John W. Mauchly & John Presper Eckert Jr. Patent 2,629,827. Filed Oct. 31, 1947. Granted Feb. 24 1953. 20 pp, 9 plates. This unusually long patent contains a considerable amount of material concerning the nature of computer memory, then in its infancy. It begins, "This invention relates to a memory system, and various elements thereof, the memory system being of a type into which information may be introduced electrically and from which information may be secured electrically, the system being particularly designed for association with other devices into machines for the carrying out of computational or other logical procedures." This is the ORIGINAL PATENT FOR THE FAMOUS MERCURY ACOUSTIC DELAY-LINE MEMORY SYSTEM, "the first device to gain widespread acceptance as a reliable computer memory system. It was used in a number of first-generation computers, including UNIVAC I" (Origins of Cyberspace 1191, describing a photocopy of this patent, from the Eckert papers-- evidently Eckert did not retain an original).
2. UNIVAC Questions and Answers. [Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp.], August 3, 1948. 1 p. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled [with following item]. After the military computers ENIAC and EDVAC, both developed by Mauchly and Eckert, the UNIVAC is considered one of the world's first stored program computers, the world's first general-purpose computer, and the first commercial computer.
3. BINAC Questions and Answers. [Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp.], August 3, 1948. 2 pp. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled [with above item]. The BINAC (for Binary Automatic Computer), built by Eckert-Mauchly for Northrup Aircraft for a classified missile guidance application, was never used for its intended purpose, but its development served as training ground for the mathematicians and engineers then developing the UNIVAC I.
4. Questions and Answers on Bureau of Standards Binary Computer. [Philadelphia:] Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, July 19, 1948. 5 pp. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled. The National Bureau of Standards, representing the Census Bureau, was Eckert-Mauchly's first client.
5. UNIVAC Instructions Code C-7. Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp., 1948. 8 pp plus 1 diagrammatic sheet. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled. This and the following sets of Instructions Code are the users manuals for using the Univac.
6. UNIVAC Instructions Code C-10. Stamped "SECOND DRAFT." Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp., June 10, 1949. 5 pp. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled. The C-10 code was the greatest achievement of software pioneer Betty Holberton, one of the famed six first computer programmers (then known as "computers"). For the UNIVAC Holberton invented the first computer keyboard. Her C-10 revolutionized computing by allowing the computer to be operated by keyboarded commands rather than by dials and switches.
7. UNIVAC Instructions Code C-10. Second Draft [re-revised]. Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp., October 19, 1949. 5 pp. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled.
8. UNIVAC Instruction [sic] Code C-10. [Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp.], January 27, 1950. 15 pp. 4to. Carbon typescript with one direct typewriter ribbon addition, stapled. Just days after the date of this document, Eckert-Mauchly was sold to Remington Rand. This carbon typescript, on U.S. government paper (federal eagle watermark), was evidently prepared for distribution among government users of the UNIVAC and likely represents one of the very earliest computer user manuals extant. Computing pioneer Grace Hopper called C-10 "the basis for most codes since . . . the foundation of every instruction code since."
9. Signal Cycling Device. Inventors John Presper Eckert Jr & Albert A. Auerbach. Patent 2,687,473. Filed Apr. 13, 1950. Granted Aug. 24 1954. 9 pp, 5 plates. This and the following five patents all concern early developments in UNIVAC memory hardware (see item 1 above).
10. Signal Responsive Network. Inventors John W. Mauchly & John Presper Eckert Jr. Patent 2,673,293. Filed Oct. 21, 1950. Granted Mar. 23, 1954. 11 pp, 4 plates.
11. Signal Responsive Apparatus. Inventors John W. Mauchly & John Presper Eckert Jr. Patent 2,600,744. Filed Oct. 21, 1950. Granted June 17, 1952. 11 pp, 4 plates.
12. Signal Responsive Device. Inventors John W. Mauchly & John Presper Eckert Jr. Patent 2,646,501. Filed Oct. 21, 1950. Granted July 21, 1953. 7 pp, 2 plates.
13. Signal Processing Apparatus. Inventors John W. Mauchly & John Presper Eckert Jr. Patent 2,655,598. Filed Oct. 21, 1950. Granted Oct. 13, 1953. 5 pp, 1 plates.
14. UNIVAC Short Code. Philadelphia: Remington Rand Inc. Eckert-Mauchly Division, October 24, 1952. (iii), 23 pp. 4to. Black-on-white reverse photostat in Remington Rand maroon binder. The preface notes that "In 1949 the Short Code was originally suggested by Dr. John W. Mauchly. His suggestion was, in effect, to have a program which would accept algebraic equations as ordinarily written, which program would perform the indicated operations." At this time the very few computer programs written had been coded by hand in machine language. Mauchly conceived of the Short Code as a way to speed up programming dramatically. "It was John's special genius to have anticipated a problem and method of solution long before the need was commonly felt" (William Schmitt, "The UNIVAC Short Code," Annals of the History of Computing, Vol. 10, 1988). THE FIRST HIGH-LEVEL PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE, THIS IS THE FIRST INTERPRETED LANGUAGE AND THE FIRST ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE. William Schmitt, the original Short Code programmer, observes that no copies of the first version of the Short Code (1949) are known. Schmitt identified A. B. Tonik's own copy of his revised version of 1952 as "appear[ing] to be the only copy surviving" -- this is the second. In Origins of Cyberspace, Norman therefore describes his 1955 revision as the "earliest obtainable" form. But as Origins describes Eckert's own papers and Schmitt had access to Mauchly's personal papers at Penn, it appears that this is the second known copy of the 1952 form is the earliest edition known. (14)
THE BIRTH OF THE COMPUTER INDUSTRY
This collection documents the earliest history of the design of the memory system and the programming of the UNIVAC, "the world's first commercially produced electronic digital computer" (Lee).
In 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School, John Mauchly (principal consultant) and J. Presper Eckert (principal engineer) completed the ENIAC, the world's first electronic digital computer. That year the two left the Moore School and "formed a partnership for the purpose of designing and marketing a Universal Automatic Computer, called UNIVAC. The machine was intended to be used for a variety of commercial applications. The Census Bureau, with the National Bureau of Standards as its agent, was the first organization to contract for a UNIVAC" (Lee, Computer Pioneers). On securing that landmark contract, they formed the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation in 1948. Eckert remained behind the scenes as chief engineer while Mauchly became president, focusing on programming and logic design and guiding the enterprise.
For three years Eckert-Mauchly developed the UNIVAC, refining the machine and its software. The problems of developing a viable commercial enterprise finally proved insurmountable for the small start-up company. Unable to finance their ambitious venture adequately, Mauchly and Eckert sold the company to Remington Rand in February 1950, and the two continued to work on the UNIVAC. Eventually Remington Rand (later known as Sperry Rand and now Unisys) sold 43 UNIVACs, making this successor to Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation the world's first large-scale computer company.
This collection of papers from the dawning of the age of the computer industry documents the development of the hardware and software of the revolutionary UNIVAC. The programming documents were printed primarily for in-house use in extremely small numbers, and very few copies have survived. The patents are likewise extremely rare in the market. For example, only one of these documents (item 4) is found in the Origins of Cyberspace collection, which included many of Eckert's own papers, while another (item 1) was present in that collection only in photocopy form. The collection includes:
1. Memory System. Inventors John W. Mauchly & John Presper Eckert Jr. Patent 2,629,827. Filed Oct. 31, 1947. Granted Feb. 24 1953. 20 pp, 9 plates. This unusually long patent contains a considerable amount of material concerning the nature of computer memory, then in its infancy. It begins, "This invention relates to a memory system, and various elements thereof, the memory system being of a type into which information may be introduced electrically and from which information may be secured electrically, the system being particularly designed for association with other devices into machines for the carrying out of computational or other logical procedures." This is the ORIGINAL PATENT FOR THE FAMOUS MERCURY ACOUSTIC DELAY-LINE MEMORY SYSTEM, "the first device to gain widespread acceptance as a reliable computer memory system. It was used in a number of first-generation computers, including UNIVAC I" (Origins of Cyberspace 1191, describing a photocopy of this patent, from the Eckert papers-- evidently Eckert did not retain an original).
2. UNIVAC Questions and Answers. [Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp.], August 3, 1948. 1 p. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled [with following item]. After the military computers ENIAC and EDVAC, both developed by Mauchly and Eckert, the UNIVAC is considered one of the world's first stored program computers, the world's first general-purpose computer, and the first commercial computer.
3. BINAC Questions and Answers. [Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp.], August 3, 1948. 2 pp. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled [with above item]. The BINAC (for Binary Automatic Computer), built by Eckert-Mauchly for Northrup Aircraft for a classified missile guidance application, was never used for its intended purpose, but its development served as training ground for the mathematicians and engineers then developing the UNIVAC I.
4. Questions and Answers on Bureau of Standards Binary Computer. [Philadelphia:] Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, July 19, 1948. 5 pp. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled. The National Bureau of Standards, representing the Census Bureau, was Eckert-Mauchly's first client.
5. UNIVAC Instructions Code C-7. Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp., 1948. 8 pp plus 1 diagrammatic sheet. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled. This and the following sets of Instructions Code are the users manuals for using the Univac.
6. UNIVAC Instructions Code C-10. Stamped "SECOND DRAFT." Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp., June 10, 1949. 5 pp. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled. The C-10 code was the greatest achievement of software pioneer Betty Holberton, one of the famed six first computer programmers (then known as "computers"). For the UNIVAC Holberton invented the first computer keyboard. Her C-10 revolutionized computing by allowing the computer to be operated by keyboarded commands rather than by dials and switches.
7. UNIVAC Instructions Code C-10. Second Draft [re-revised]. Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp., October 19, 1949. 5 pp. 4to. Mimeographed typescript, stapled.
8. UNIVAC Instruction [sic] Code C-10. [Philadelphia: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp.], January 27, 1950. 15 pp. 4to. Carbon typescript with one direct typewriter ribbon addition, stapled. Just days after the date of this document, Eckert-Mauchly was sold to Remington Rand. This carbon typescript, on U.S. government paper (federal eagle watermark), was evidently prepared for distribution among government users of the UNIVAC and likely represents one of the very earliest computer user manuals extant. Computing pioneer Grace Hopper called C-10 "the basis for most codes since . . . the foundation of every instruction code since."
9. Signal Cycling Device. Inventors John Presper Eckert Jr & Albert A. Auerbach. Patent 2,687,473. Filed Apr. 13, 1950. Granted Aug. 24 1954. 9 pp, 5 plates. This and the following five patents all concern early developments in UNIVAC memory hardware (see item 1 above).
10. Signal Responsive Network. Inventors John W. Mauchly & John Presper Eckert Jr. Patent 2,673,293. Filed Oct. 21, 1950. Granted Mar. 23, 1954. 11 pp, 4 plates.
11. Signal Responsive Apparatus. Inventors John W. Mauchly & John Presper Eckert Jr. Patent 2,600,744. Filed Oct. 21, 1950. Granted June 17, 1952. 11 pp, 4 plates.
12. Signal Responsive Device. Inventors John W. Mauchly & John Presper Eckert Jr. Patent 2,646,501. Filed Oct. 21, 1950. Granted July 21, 1953. 7 pp, 2 plates.
13. Signal Processing Apparatus. Inventors John W. Mauchly & John Presper Eckert Jr. Patent 2,655,598. Filed Oct. 21, 1950. Granted Oct. 13, 1953. 5 pp, 1 plates.
14. UNIVAC Short Code. Philadelphia: Remington Rand Inc. Eckert-Mauchly Division, October 24, 1952. (iii), 23 pp. 4to. Black-on-white reverse photostat in Remington Rand maroon binder. The preface notes that "In 1949 the Short Code was originally suggested by Dr. John W. Mauchly. His suggestion was, in effect, to have a program which would accept algebraic equations as ordinarily written, which program would perform the indicated operations." At this time the very few computer programs written had been coded by hand in machine language. Mauchly conceived of the Short Code as a way to speed up programming dramatically. "It was John's special genius to have anticipated a problem and method of solution long before the need was commonly felt" (William Schmitt, "The UNIVAC Short Code," Annals of the History of Computing, Vol. 10, 1988). THE FIRST HIGH-LEVEL PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE, THIS IS THE FIRST INTERPRETED LANGUAGE AND THE FIRST ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE. William Schmitt, the original Short Code programmer, observes that no copies of the first version of the Short Code (1949) are known. Schmitt identified A. B. Tonik's own copy of his revised version of 1952 as "appear[ing] to be the only copy surviving" -- this is the second. In Origins of Cyberspace, Norman therefore describes his 1955 revision as the "earliest obtainable" form. But as Origins describes Eckert's own papers and Schmitt had access to Mauchly's personal papers at Penn, it appears that this is the second known copy of the 1952 form is the earliest edition known. (14)