19 février 2005 05:02
The Origins of Cyberspace auction at Christie's
Isabelle Hontebeyrie
On Feb 23, Christie's will auction 1411 items in about 250 lots of rare documents and technical relics.
Lots on offer include an early version of a data storage disc dating from 1951, weighing 5.5 pounds which could only hold about the equivalent of one paragraph of text.
Also on offer is a 1946 business plan for a company to design and build a "multi-purpose rapid computing machine of moderate cost."
According to Reuters, "Pre-sale estimates for the lots range from around $200 to $70,000 and the total for the collection adds up to between $800,000 and $1.2 million. At the sale on Feb. 23, buyers will have an opportunity first to bid for the entire collection as a whole and only if it does not reach an unspecified reserve will the lots be sold separately and the collection split up."
More information on the auction can be found on Christie's website or on History of science.
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| Photo: © Christie's |
Lot description: Reel of half-inch wide nickel-coated bronze tape for use in the UNIVAC I. 204 mm. in diameter. "UNIVAC" stenciled on one side of the tape's metal housing. N.d. [ca. 1951]. UNIVAC I used metal magnetic tape as its standard bulk data storage medium. "These tapes were capable of recording data at 128 characters per inch and had an input/output speed of 128,000 characters per second" (Williams 1985, 365). The above reel in its housing weighs 5.5 pounds (2.49 kilograms).
Categorie(s)/Catégorie(s):
Tech and Web
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