Computers, Information and Society, Division of (NMAH, SI). Search this
Former owner:
Computers, Information and Society, Division of (NMAH, SI). Search this
Extent:
43.5 Cubic feet (158 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Interviews
Oral history
Sound recordings
Transcripts
Videotapes
Date:
1969-1973, 1977
Summary:
The Computer Oral History Collection (1969-1973, 1977), was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 with the main objective to collect, document, house, and make available for research source material surrounding the development of the computer.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of approximately 43.5 cubic feet of material documenting the development of the computer.
ABC -- Atanasoff-Berry Computer
ACE -- Automatic Computing Engine
ACM -- Association for Computing Machinery
ALGOL -- ALGOLrithmic Language
ALWAC -- Axel Wenner-Gren Automatic Computer
ARPA -- Advanced Research Projects Agency
BACAIC -- Boeing Airplane Company Algebraic Interpretative Computing System
BARK -- Binar Automatisk Rela Kalkylator
BINAC -- Binary Automatic Computer
BIZMAC -- Business Machine
BMEW -- Ballistic Missile Early Warning (System)
BUIC -- Back-up Interceptor Control
CADAC -- Cambridge Digital Automatic Computer
CALDIC -- California Digital Computer
CEC -- Consolidated Electrodynamics Corporation
CEIR -- Council for Economic and Industry Research
COBOL -- Common Business-Oriented Language
CODASYL -- Conference on Data Systems Languages
CONAC -- Continental Automatic Command
COMTRAN -- Commercial Translator
CPC -- Card Programmed Calculator
CRC -- Computer Response Corporation
DARPA -- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Series 4: John Vincent Atanasoff's Materials, 1927-1968
Series 5: Audio Tapes, 1967-1974, 1977
Series 6: Video Tapes, 1968-1972
Biographical / Historical:
The Computer Oral History Collection (1969-1973, 1977), was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 with the main objective to collect, document, house, and make available for research source material surrounding the development of the computer. The project collected taped oral interviews with individuals who figured prominently in developing or advancing the computer field and supplemental written documentation--working papers, reports, drawings, and photographs. The AFIPS provided the "seed" money to support the project and to aid the Smithsonian with its expenditures. Interviews were conducted by I.B. Cohen, A. Dettinger, Bonnie Kaplan, Elizabeth Luebbert, William Luebbert, Robina Mapstone, Richard Mertz, Uta Merzbach, and Henry Tropp. In some instances, the audio tapes and/or transcripts are not "formal" interviews, but rather moderated panel discussions/meetings, or lectures delivered by interviewees.
Related Materials:
The Archives Center contains several "computer" related collections:
American National Standards Institute, 1969-1979
Association for Computing Machinery Collection, 1958-1978 (Washington, D.C., Chapter)
N.W. Ayer Advertsing Agency Records, 1889-1972
Paul Armer Collection, 1949-1970
Robert G. Chamberlain Numerical Control Collection, 1954-1984
J. Childs Numerical Control Collection, 1952-1970
Computer Standards Collection, 1958-1978
Computer World Smithsonian Awards Collection, 1989-2001
Data Processing Digest Collection, 1955-1974
Max Holland Machine Tool Industry Collection, c. 1941-1990
Grace Murray Hopper Collection, 1944-1965
Information Age Exhibition Records, 1979-1990
Institute for Advanced Study Computer Project Records, 1950-1957
Instrument Society of America Collection, 1911-1969
Odex I Walking Robot Collection, 1973-1986
Jacob Rabinow Papers, 1910-1917; 1947-1990
Terry M. Sachs Collection, 1965-1969
Scientists and Inventors Portrait File, c. 1950-1980
Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Records, 1956-1992
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, c. 1754-1965
Whirlwind I Computer Collection, 1945-1959
B.H. Worsley, 1946-1959
Within the National Museum of American History there are other related collections that may be found in the Division of Medicine and Science. These collections contain both artifacts and documents. Artifacts include: digital computing machines, automatic digital computers and electronic calculators, logic devices, card and tape processors, slide rules, integrators and integraphs, harmonic analyzers and synthesizers, differential analyzers, other analog computing devices, space measurement and representation, time measurement, and combination space and time measurement. Documentation includes the Electronic Computers History Collection and the Mathematical Devices History Collection. Photographs and video materials can also be found. The Smithsonian Institution Archives contains administrative documentation regarding the Computer History Project.
Provenance:
The Computer Oral History Collection was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 and was concluded in 1973. This collection was transferred to the Archives Center in approximately 1986 from the Division of Information, Technology & Society, formerly known as the Division of Electricity.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Reference copies do not exist for all of the audio. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Original audio tapes are stored offsite. Contact repository for details.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Online transcripts for select oral history interviews were made possible by the Morton I. Bernstein Fund and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
The papers of New York art collector and philanthropist, Joseph F. McCrindle, measure 5.3 linear feet and date from 1877-2013. The collection documents McCrindle's art collecting, art donations, philanthropy, family affairs, and personal estate. Found are extensive art inventories, sales receipts, gift and loan documentation, and photographs of artwork. The papers also include Joseph McCrindle's estate records and wills, family papers, records from the Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation, correspondence with museums and galleries, and photographs of McCrindle and family members.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York art collector and philanthropist, Joseph F. McCrindle, measure 5.3 linear feet and date from 1877-2013. The collection documents McCrindle's art collecting, art donations, philanthropy, family affairs, and personal estate. Found are extensive art inventories, sales receipts, gift and loan documentation, and photographs of artwork. The papers also include Joseph McCrindle's estate records and wills, family papers, records from the Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation, correspondence with museums and galleries, and photographs of McCrindle and family members.
Biographical and family materials include McCrindle's obituary, copies of printed programs from his memorial service, and legal documents dealing with his will. There are papers dealing with his grandparents, Joseph Fuller Feder and Edith Mosler Feder, his mother, Odette Feder Moffett, and blueprints and paperwork for his grandfather's yacht, the M.Y. Kihna.
Materials from the Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation include the certificate of incorporation for the Henfield Foundation, change of name documentation to rename it the Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation, by-laws for the organization, waiver notices for special called meetings, minutes for annual and special meetings, financial statements, and gift lists.
McCrindle corresponded heavily with various museums and galleries. Also found are letters from family, friends, and colleagues, such as Michael Levey, Brian Sewell, and Pinckney Benedict. Legal correspondence concerns McCrindle's estate. Sympathy and condolences are addressed to John Rowe on the occasion of Joseph McCrindle's death.
Personal business records concern McCrindle's art collection, sales, bequests, and his estate. The art collection is documented in extensive art inventories and lists, most of which is found in two large dismantled notebooks. Sales receipts are also found for McCrindles purchases as early as 1942. There are artwork appraisals, and documentation of McCrindle's gifts and loans of artwork to museums and galleries. There are early receipts and invoices for rare books, decorative items, antiques, and artwork purchases by Joseph and Edith Feder, McCrindle's grandparents.
Printed material includes a copy of the text, Old Master Drawings from the Collection of Joseph F. McCrindle, donor reports, exhibition catalogs, clippings, assorted bulletins and newsletters, and programs from live performances.
Loose photographs are of Joseph McCrindle, from early childhood through adulthood. There are also photographs of his family, including his grandparents, Joseph and Edith Feder, his mother, Odette Feder Moffett, and his half brother, Antoine DuBourg. There are photo albums containing images of McCrindle as a child; of his mother as a child; family and travel photographs; and photographs taken during cruises on the family yacht, M.Y. Kihna. Three of the albums are dedicated to Kihna travels.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series:
Series 1: Biographical and Family Material, 1913-2008 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1, OV 9)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1946-2012 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Personal Business Records, circa 1919-2010 (2.0 linear feet; Box 1-3)
Series 4: Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation Records, 1958-2012 (0.3 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1899-2013 (0.4 linear feet; Box 4)
Series 6: Photographic Material, 1877-2006 (1.8 linear feet; Box 4-6)
Biographical / Historical:
Lifelong resident of New York City, Joseph Feder McCrindle (1923-2008) was a collector, art patron, publisher, and philanthropist. He founded the Transatlantic Review and The Henfield Foundation.
Born to John Ronald McCrindle and Odette Feder McCrindle on March 27, 1923, Joseph McCrindle was exposed to art appreciation at an early age. After his parents were divorced in 1924 and his mother remarried in 1928, he was raised primarily by his grandparents, Joseph F. Feder and Edith Mosler Feder. Summers were spent abroad in Europe, courtesy of the family yacht, where he developed his knowledge of art history and studied foreign languages.
McCrindle attended the St. Paul's School in Manhattan, followed by Harvard University, graduating in 1944. During World War II, McCrindle served with the Office of Strategic Services in London, where he attained the rank of first lieutenant. He went on to receive a law degree from Yale University in 1948.
After working briefly in the publishing world, McCrindle became a literary agent. In 1959, he started the Transatlantic Review, a London-based literary journal. He remained in place as editor and publisher until the company closed in 1977.
The Henfield Foundation, now known as the Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation, was established by McCrindle in 1958 to provide grants to organizations focused on the development of art, music, and social justice.
Joseph McCrindle was a notable art collector and donated and loaned many works of art to museums and galleries. McCrindle amassed 2,500 old master drawings in his lifetime, in addition to Italian baroque paintings, 19th-century drawings, British artwork, and more . Some examples of gifts and loans documented in the McCrindle papers include an extended a loan of John Singer Sargent's Landscape With Two Women in Foreground to the Yale Center for British Art in 1982, Salvator Rosa's The Torment of Tityus to the Museum and Art Gallery of Stanford University in 1992, and Luca Giordano's Saint Barnabas to the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco in 2002.
Joseph McCrindle died on July 11, 2008. His collection was bequeathed to a number of institutions across the nation, such as the Brooklyn Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Related Materials:
The bulk of Joseph F. McCrindle's papers are housed at Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Provenance:
The Joseph F. McCrindle papers were donated in 2012-2013 by Joseph F. McCrindle via John Rowe, president and CEO of the Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Philanthropists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Blueprints
Photographs
Citation:
Joseph F. McCrindle Papers, 1877-2013. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation provided funding for the processing and digitization of the collection.
Computers, Information and Society, Division of (NMAH, SI). Search this
Container:
Box 4 (Series 1), Folder 12
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
7/9/1970
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Reference copies do not exist for all of the audio. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Original audio tapes are stored offsite. Contact repository for details.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Online transcripts for select oral history interviews were made possible by the Morton I. Bernstein Fund and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
Computers, Information and Society, Division of (NMAH, SI). Search this
Container:
Box 5 (Series 1), Folder 7
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
5/27/1969
Scope and Contents:
This online transcript was made possible by the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Reference copies do not exist for all of the audio. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Original audio tapes are stored offsite. Contact repository for details.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Online transcripts for select oral history interviews were made possible by the Morton I. Bernstein Fund and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
Computers, Information and Society, Division of (NMAH, SI). Search this
Container:
Box 6 (Series 1), Folder 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
3/8/1973
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Reference copies do not exist for all of the audio. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Original audio tapes are stored offsite. Contact repository for details.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Online transcripts for select oral history interviews were made possible by the Morton I. Bernstein Fund and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
Computers, Information and Society, Division of (NMAH, SI). Search this
Container:
Box 7 (Series 1), Folder 7
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
6/25/1973
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Reference copies do not exist for all of the audio. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Original audio tapes are stored offsite. Contact repository for details.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Online transcripts for select oral history interviews were made possible by the Morton I. Bernstein Fund and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
Reference copies do not exist for all of the audio. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Original audio tapes are stored offsite. Contact repository for details.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Online transcripts for select oral history interviews were made possible by the Morton I. Bernstein Fund and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
Reference copies do not exist for all of the audio. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Original audio tapes are stored offsite. Contact repository for details.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Online transcripts for select oral history interviews were made possible by the Morton I. Bernstein Fund and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
Computers, Information and Society, Division of (NMAH, SI). Search this
Container:
Box 8 (Series 1), Folder 5
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
8/15/1972
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Reference copies do not exist for all of the audio. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Original audio tapes are stored offsite. Contact repository for details.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Online transcripts for select oral history interviews were made possible by the Morton I. Bernstein Fund and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
Computers, Information and Society, Division of (NMAH, SI). Search this
Container:
Box 8 (Series 1), Folder 9
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
6/7/1973
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Reference copies do not exist for all of the audio. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Original audio tapes are stored offsite. Contact repository for details.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Online transcripts for select oral history interviews were made possible by the Morton I. Bernstein Fund and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
Computers, Information and Society, Division of (NMAH, SI). Search this
Container:
Box 8 (Series 1), Folder 11
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
11/25/1970
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Reference copies do not exist for all of the audio. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Original audio tapes are stored offsite. Contact repository for details.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Online transcripts for select oral history interviews were made possible by the Morton I. Bernstein Fund and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
