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Table of contents
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Abstract
Engineering Research Associates (ERA) origins can be traced to the classified World War II-era Navy project to break the German secret codes by using electronic data processing. After the war, ERA became a private sector company that did pioneering work in computer development. In 1952 it was purchased by Remington Rand. The records include the correspondence of ERA's founding engineers including William Norris and Arnold Cohen. Also included is business and technical correspondence, legal records, patents, and oral histories.
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SERIES I. William Norris Papers
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Subseries 1. Administrative Records
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Engineering Department Memoranda,
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1953-1954
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Box 1: 1 |
Engineering Department Memoranda,
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1955-1957
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Folder 2 |
Operations Division, Technical Memoranda,
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March 1950 - June 1951
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Folder 3 |
Operations Division, Technical Memoranda,
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1952-1953
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Folder 4 |
Operations Division, Technical Memoranda,
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1953-1954
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Folder 5 |
Research Division, minutes and correspondence,
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1956-1959
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Folder 6 |
New York Central Railroad - computerized reservation system,
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1954
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Folder 7 |
William Norris, General Correspondence,
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1950-1953
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Box 2: 1 |
William Norris, General Correspondence,
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1954-1955
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Folder 2 |
William Norris, General Correspondence,
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1956-1957
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Folder 3 |
Departmental / Committee / Divisional Correspondence & Records
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Administrative Committee - Remington Rand,
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Dec. 1955 - May 1956
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Folder 4 |
Eckert-Mauchly Division Correspondence,
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1955-1957
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Folder 4a |
Engineering Committee minutes,
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1952-1959
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Folder 5 |
Engineering Committee minutes,
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1956
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Folder 6 |
Engineering Division, General Correspondence,
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1954
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Folder 7 |
Financial Planning and Control,
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1956
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Folder 8 |
Form Committee,
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1956
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Folder 9 |
Information Science Division,
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1956
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Folder 10 |
Legal Division,
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1953-1956
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Folder 11 |
Management Meeting minutes,
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1957
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Folder 12 |
Manufacturing Division,
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1953-1957
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Folder 13 |
Military Engineering Division, Remington Rand
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Folder 14 |
Management Policies - Administrative Procedures,
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1947-1956
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Folder 15-16 |
Norwalk Laboratory - Employment, Salaries, Classifications,
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1956-1957
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Folder 17 |
Patent Department,
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1958
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Folder 18 |
Plant Locations,
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1957
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Folder 19 |
Product Planning Committee,
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1956-1957
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Folder 20-22 |
UNIVAC Division Monthly Progress reports
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Folder 23 |
Subseries 2. General Correspondence
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A
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Accounting Systems Electronic (Port Authority, NY)
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Folder 24 |
Advertising, Sales, Promotion
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Folder 25 |
Air Force, 1103 Computer,
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1953
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Folder 26 |
Airport - time utilization - magnetic storage drum,
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1949
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Folder 27 |
Airline Flight Plan Storage System,
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1951
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Folder 28 |
Airline Reservation System,
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1949
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Folder 29 |
Association for Computing Machinery,
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1947-1948
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Folder 30 | ||
(includes proceedings of first meeting, Aberdeen, MD, 1947) |
Atomic Energy Commission re High Speed Digital Computers,
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1956
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Folder 31 |
Auerbach Corporation,
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1965
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Folder 32 |
B-C
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Box 3 |
Binary Computer Coding,
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1948
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Folder 1 |
Bureau of Ships (Directory)
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Folder 2 |
Charactron Rapromatic,
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1956
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Folder 2a |
Cohen, Arnold,
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1956-1960
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Folder 3 |
Competitors,
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1953-1957
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Folder 3a |
Competitors,
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1956
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Folder 3b |
Competitors, IBM,
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1953-1955
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Folder 4 |
Competitors - IBM,
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1955
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Folder 5 |
Competitors - IBM,
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1957
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Folder 6 |
Competitors - Logistics Research
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Folder 7 |
Computing Centers,
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1952-1956
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Folder 8 |
Computing Centers,
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1956
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Folder 9 |
Computing Center (Arlington, VA)
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Folder 10 |
Contributions
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Folder 11 |
Customer Contacts - UNIVAC I
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Folder 12-15 |
Customer Correspondence (general),
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1955-1957
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Folder 16-18 |
Customer Correspondence “A”,
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1952
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Folder 19 |
Customer Correspondence “B”,
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1954-1956
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Folder 19a |
Customer Correspondence “N”,
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1952-1957
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Folder 20 |
Customer Correspondence “T”,
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1953-1956
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Folder 21 |
Customer Correspondence “U”,
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1953-1955
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Folder 22 |
Customer Correspondence “V”,
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1953-1955
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Folder 23 |
Customer Correspondence “W”,
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1953-1956
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Folder 24 |
C-H
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Box 4 |
Customer Correspondence “B” UNIVAC I
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Folder 1 |
Customer Correspondence “M” UNIVAC I
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Folder 2 |
Customer Correspondence “I” UNIVAC I
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Folder 3 |
Customer Correspondence “S” UNIVAC I
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Folder 4 |
Customer Correspondence “T” UNIVAC I
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Folder 5 |
Customer Correspondence “U” UNIVAC I
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Folder 6 |
Customer Correspondence “W” UNIVAC I
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Folder 7 |
Customer Correspondence “B” UNIVAC II
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Folder 8 |
Customer Correspondence “M” UNIVAC II
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Folder 9 |
Customer Correspondence “N” UNIVAC II
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Folder 10 |
Customer Correspondence “O” UNIVAC II
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Folder 11 |
Customer Correspondence “R” UNIVAC II
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Folder 12 |
Customer Correspondence “S” UNIVAC II
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Folder 13 |
Customer Correspondence “T” UNIVAC II
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Folder 14 |
Cunningham, W.R. re employment,
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1956
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Folder 15 |
Defence Marketing Project MAC,
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1963
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Folder 16 |
Delchamps, H.J. (vita)
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Folder 17 |
Demonstration Calculator,
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1956
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Folder 18 |
Disc File
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Folder 18a |
Digital Communications
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Folder 19 |
Document Handling Equipment
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Folder 19a |
Dunn & Bradstreet credit report
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Folder 19b |
Dumex, Arnold (consultant)
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Folder 19c |
Eckert-Mauchly salary information
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Folder 21 |
Eckert-Mauchly requisitions
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Folder 21a |
EDVAC Display
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Folder 22 |
80-90 Column Equipment
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Folder 22a |
Engineering Tuition Policy
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Folder 23 |
ERA “Home Office Presentation”,
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1953
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Folder 24 |
ERA 1101 & 1103 Computers,
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1952-1953
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Folder 25 |
ERA 1103 and its competitors,
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1954
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Folder 26 |
ERA 1103 and its competitors,
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1954-1955
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Folder 27 |
ERA and its competitors,
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1955
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Folder 28 |
ERA 1103 A Program Schedule Review Meeting minutes,
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1956
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Folder 29 |
ERA Annual Reports,
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1948, 1949, 1950
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Folder 30 |
ERA Financial Statements,
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1951, 1952
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Folder 31 |
Error Prevention System - License Agreement,
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1955-1957
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Folder 32 |
F
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Fry, Thornton (consultant)
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Folder 33 |
Ferracators Production of Magnetic Cores,
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1957
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Folder 33a |
Ford Instrument Company,
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1956
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Folder 34 |
Forecast of Operations UNIVAC Division,
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1957-1961
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Folder 35 |
409 Computer,
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1953-1957
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Folder 36 |
G
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GEMAC Calculator,
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1956
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Folder 37 |
General Standard Practice - Personnel Policy,
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1957
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Folder 38 |
Gutterman, Robert (consultant)
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Folder 39 |
Hardenbergh, Robert
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Folder 40 |
High Speed Sorter,
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1956
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Folder 41 |
High Speed Writing and Selective Altering of Digital Information of Magnetic Surfaces, (Bureau of Ships)
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1950
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Folder 42 |
High Speed Printer,
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1953-1954
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Folder 43 |
H-M
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Box 5 |
Hooper, Admiral Grace,
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1953-1954
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Folder 1 |
IBM-Sperry Licensing Agreement,
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1956
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Folder 2-3 |
IBM Sponsored Design of Magnetic Drum Calculator,
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1949-1953
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Folder 4 |
Input/Output Media,
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1947
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Folder 5 |
Industrial Relations,
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1953-1954
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Folder 6-8 |
International Telemeter Corp.,
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1954-1955
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Folder 9 |
Laboratory Administration,
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1951-1956
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Folder 10-12 |
Laminar Drum Development,
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1956
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Folder 13 |
LARC computer
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1955-1957
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Folder 14 |
Licensing Agreements,
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1956
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Folder 15 |
Magnetic Core Program,
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1953-1957
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Folder 16 |
Magnetic Delay Lines
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Folder 17 |
Magnetic Drum Calculator, report
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1950
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Folder 18 |
Magnetic Drum Calculator (project E 46 Technical Memoranda),
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1950
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Folder 19 |
Magnetic Drum Historical Record at ERA,
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1954
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Folder 20 |
Magnetic Drum Storage for Digital Information Processing Systems,
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1949
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Folder 21 |
Magnetic Drum Technique for Telegraph Storage Relay,
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1949
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Folder 22 |
Magnetic Heads
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Folder 23 |
Magnetic Records (Arnold Cohen),
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1947
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Folder 24 |
Magnetic Storage Drum Memory (includes National Bureau of Standards Report),
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1948
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Folder 25 |
Magnetic Storage for Digital Information Processing Systems,
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1949
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Folder 26 |
Magnetic Storage Systems,
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1953-1954
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Folder 27 |
Magnetic Storage Unit Characteristics,
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1949
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Folder 28 |
Magnetic Switch Blocks,
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n.d.
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Folder 29 |
Magnetic Tape Program,
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1957
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Folder 30 |
Magnetic Tape (technical memoranda),
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1956
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Folder 31 |
M-P
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Box 6 |
Maintenance Electronic Services, Inc.,
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1957
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Folder 1 |
Management Training
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Folder 2 |
Mass Storage,
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1955-1957
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Folder 3 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MAC memoranda,
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1963-1964
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Folder 4-5 |
MITHRA Laboratory (Norwalk, CT),
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1957
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Folder 6 |
Medium Speed Printer,
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1956
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Folder 7 |
Mid Continent Engineering,
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1954
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Folder 8 |
Midwest Research Institute,
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1957
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Folder 9 |
Military Systems Engineering Facility,
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1957
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Folder 10 |
Minnesota Electronics Company,
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1955
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Folder 11 |
Minnesota Club
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Folder 12 |
Minnesota Nuclear Operations Group,
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1956
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Folder 13 |
Missile Rocket Survey (J.G. Miles),
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1957
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Folder 14 |
National Bureau of Standards Proposal to Build a digital computer,
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1948
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Folder 15 |
National Bureau of Standards Report and Contract,
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1948
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Folder 16 |
National Industrial Conference Board
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Folder 17 |
Ore Car Weighing
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Folder 18 |
Organization Charts
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Folder 19 |
Overhead
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Folder 20 |
Over time
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Folder 21 |
Personnel Recruitment
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Folder 22 |
Point of Sale Recorder and Tape to Card Converter
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Folder 23 |
Plant Operations
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Folder 24 |
Powers SAMAS Accounting Machine Ltd.
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Folder 25 |
Product Planning - digital computers
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Folder 26 |
Print Circuit Laboratory,
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1955-1957
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Folder 27 |
Printing Punch
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Folder 28 |
Prints (records of)
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Folder 29 |
Progress Reports - Task Order I,
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1947
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Folder 30 |
Pulseo Transformers
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Folder 31 |
Product Design Dept.
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Folder 32 |
Product Development Committee
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Folder 33 |
Product R & D File
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Folder 34 |
Project Planning and Cost Controls
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Folder 35 |
Publications Department
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Folder 36 |
Punched Card Product Planning
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Folder 37 |
Punched Card System Board
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Folder 38 |
Purchasing
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Folder 39 |
R-S
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Box 7 |
Radio Electronics Manufacturing Association - International News,
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1956
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Folder 1-2 |
Raytheon Nomad Project
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Folder 3 |
READ PUNCH UNIT,
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1954-1956
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Folder 4 |
Record Storage
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Folder 5 |
Requisitions
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Folder 6-7 |
Research & Development (general)
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Folder 8 |
Roberts, A.E. (consultant agreement)
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Folder 9 |
Rotary Club
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Folder 10 |
Sales,
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1950-1953
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Folder 11 |
Sales,
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1954-1955
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Folder 12 |
Sales,
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1956-1957
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Folder 13 |
Sales Coordinating Committee - INIVAC Division,
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1955
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Folder 14 |
Sales Promotion,
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1953-1957
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Folder 15 |
Sales Promotion,
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1957
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Folder 16 |
Sales Reports,
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1957
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Folder 17-18 |
Sales and Related Technical Correspondence,
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1955
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Folder 19 |
Sales and Technical Correspondence,
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1956
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Folder 20 |
Security
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Folder 21 |
Sears Roebuck & Company - Armour County Equipment
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Folder 22 |
Selective Alteration of
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Folder 23-24 |
Sperry Corporation,
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1955
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Folder 25 |
Sperry Corporation,
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1956-1957
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Folder 26 |
S-Z
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Box 8 |
Sperry Rand
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Folder 1 |
Storage Problems in Digital Computers - Seminar,
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1947
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Folder 2 |
Systems Planning Status Report
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Folder 3 |
Teleregister Corporation (Collins Radio)
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Folder 4 |
Toll Collection
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Folder 5-7 |
Traffic Engineering
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Folder 8 |
Tuscon facility
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Folder 9 |
UNIVAC
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Folder 10-12 |
UNIVAC Costs
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Folder 13 |
UNIVAC - ERA Sales
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Folder 14 |
UNIVAC Sales reports,
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1951-1957
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Folder 15 |
UNIVAC 1101
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Folder 16 |
UNIVAC 1103
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Folder 17 |
UNIVAC II Sales Prospects
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Folder 18-19 |
UNIVAC Management
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Folder 20 |
Project Whirlwind Harvard Computational Laboratory
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Folder 21 |
Zenith Radio Corp.
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Folder 22 |
Remington Rand,
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1952-1957
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Box 8 a |
Republic Steel presentation,
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1956
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SERIES II. Arnold Cohen Papers
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General Files
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Box 9 |
ERA Product Descriptions
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Folder 1 |
Facilities and Personnel - St. Paul, Minnesota
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Folder 2 |
Film Memory (MIT Lincoln Laboratory Project),
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1961-1963
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Folder 3 |
International Conference on Information Processing,
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1958
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Folder 4 |
LARC Computer System - General Description
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Folder 5 |
Lawrence Livermore - University of California Radiation Laboratory - LARC Computer,
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1959-1960
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Folder 6 |
Lawrence Livermore Radiation Laboratory - Hyper Computer
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Folder 7 |
Magnetic Film Memory
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Folder 8 |
Magnetic Storage,
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1957-1959
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Folder 9 |
Memory Systems (Magnetic Tape Handler),
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1960
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Folder 10 |
Mount Pocono Conference on Logical Design,
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1960
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Folder 11 |
Peripheral Equipment,
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1960
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Folder 12 |
Peripheral Subsystems,
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1966
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Folder 13 |
Princeton Meeting - Commercial Engineering,
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January, 1966
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Folder 14 |
Project 274,000 Systems Development,
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1957
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Folder 15 |
Project 9080 - Character Representation,
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1955
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Folder 16 |
Thin Film Manufacture,
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1963
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Folder 17 |
“X” type Military Computer
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Folder 18 |
“XU” 72 Computer System,
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1959
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Folder 19 |
Files - re: Development of Magnetic Storage
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General File, Project B-3001 (includes preliminary proposal to Office of Naval Research “Computing Machine Investigation” 1946),
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1946-1959
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Folder 20 |
Office of Naval Research, Bread Board Computer, (Tompkins)
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1947
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Folder 21 |
Arnold Cohen's Trip Report MIT Servomechanisms Laboratory,
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1947
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Folder 22 |
Acoustic Delay Lines (project 3001) Naval Research Laboratories,
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1945
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Folder 23 |
Basic System Design Task Order 13,
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1947-1950
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Folder 24 |
Basic Toggles and Gates,
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1948
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Folder 25 |
High Speed Computing Devices (McGraw Hill)
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Folder 26 |
“Magnetic Drum Storage for Digital Information Processing Systems” paper by Arnold Cohen
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Folder 27 |
“Development in Methods of Electrostatic Storage” report to the Bureau of Ships,
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1949
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Folder 28 |
“49-Position Translator Switch” report to the Bureau of Ships,
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1948
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Folder 29 |
Addresses on a Computer Drum,
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n.d.
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Folder 30 |
Proposed Binary Accumulator,
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1947
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Folder 31 |
Parallel Computer - National Bureau of Standards (30 and 36 digit),
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1948
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Folder 32 |
Magnetic Storage Drum prints
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Folder 33 |
Prints miscellaneous
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Folder 34 |
Wayne Conference on Automatic Computing Machinery (includes information on the Raytheon Digital Computer and the IBM Defense Calculator),
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1951
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Folder 35 |
Rutgers Conference - IBM Card Programmed Calculator, Arnold Cohen's notes,
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1950
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Folder 36 |
Magnetic Storage, Arnold Cohen's Publications,
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1949-1951
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Folder 37 |
Harvard University Computational Laboratory, Symposium on Large Scale Digital Calculating Machinery, (includes descriptive material distributed by the Moore School at the 1947 EDVAC display and memorandum for H.J. Volk “Sequence Controlled Calculators for the Prudential” 1946)
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1947
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Folder 38 |
Prudential Sequence Control Calculators, copies of 1946-1947 memoranda
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Folder 39 |
Technical Memoranda (ditto masters), includes Arnold Cohen and William Keye “Selective Alteration of Digital Data in Magnetic Drum”,
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1946-1952
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Folder 40 |
Arnold Cohen's IRE Paper re Single Alteration,
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1947
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Folder 41 |
Magnetic Drum History (includes photographs),
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1968
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Box 10: 1 |
Memoranda re magnetic drum patent,
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1958
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Folder 2 |
The Nature of Patent Rights and the Protection of Inventions (talk given by John W. Mailley of Cushman, Darby & Cushman. ERA's patent counsels.)
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Folder 3 |
Magnetic Drum Technology - background
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Folder 4 |
Miscellany - Honeywell v. Sperry Rand
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Folder 5 |
Patents general correspondence,
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1953-1964
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Folder 6 |
Patents
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Folder 7 |
Patent Policy Plan
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Folder 7a |
Report - Patent Survey - Product Recommendations
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Folder 7b |
Technical Report announcements,
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1950-1954
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Folder 8 |
Magnetic Drum Patents
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Folder 9 |
Technitrol v. Sperry Rand,
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1958-1961
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Folder 10-13 |
Research Reports - Arnold Cohen files
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Box 11 |
Bore Hole Camera (conical mirror),
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1950-1951
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Folder 1-2 |
Eclipse Pioneer - Bendix Aviation Corporation contract report,
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1948
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Folder 3 |
Electromagnetic Balance,
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1949
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Folder 4 |
Flight Instruments (pressure operated),
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1953
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Folder 5 |
Helical Scanner for Magnetic Factrol Records,
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1952
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Folder 6 |
High Frequency Loss Loops for Saturable Magnetic Cores,
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1950
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Folder 7 |
Magnetic Numerscope Printer,
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1949
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Folder 8 |
Microfilm Selector - general description,
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1947
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Folder 9 |
Microfilm Selector Equipment,
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1949
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Folder 10 |
Microfilm Selector - manufacturing manual
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Folder 11 |
Microfilm Selector - contract report
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Folder 12 |
Microfilm Rapid Selector Progress Reports,
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1947
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Folder 13-14 |
Ore Car Data Processing System,
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1951
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Folder 15 |
Self Recording Instruments,
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1949
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Folder 16 |
A Study leading to the design of a transistorized parallel digital computer,
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1954
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Folder 17 |
Taurus - Task 23 - Summary of objectives to equipment development,
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1951
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Folder 18 |
Toll vehicle classification equipment,
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1953
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Folder 19 |
Toridal Coil Winder,
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1953
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Folder 20 |
Transistor Group Progress Report,
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1955
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Folder 21 |
Invention disclosures,
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1950s and 1960s
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Box 12 |
Contract Administration - U.S. government contract file,
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1960s
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Product files - UNIVAC II, III, 418, 422, 494 and 1100 series
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Box 13 |
Product files - 1206, 1218, 1824, 1212, 1107, 1108, 1110, 1195, 1219, 1224, 1818, 1616, 1830, 1840, 9000, 9500, 1107
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Box 14 |
SERIES III. Legal Records
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Honeywell v. Sperry lawsuit
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Box 15 |
Sperry Rand v. Control Data
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Box 16-18 |
Technitrol v. Sperry Rand
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Box 19-20 |
SERIES IV. Oral History Interviews
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Box 21 |
Art Kotz
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Folder 1 |
Sidney Rubens
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Arnold Cohen
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Irv Wilking
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Dick Mullins
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Ray Miller
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Bern Eklund
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Lou Cramer
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Roger Moerke
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Earl La Bahn
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Jerry Behan
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Bill Jeffries
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Don Backstrom
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Jack Ross
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Rodger Gadner
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Genevieve Sederstrom
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Earl Case and Jack Kadrie
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Lorraine Kellner
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Wally Miner
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Keith Davidson
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Vince Albrecht
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George Johnson
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Oral Histories continued - edited versions
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Folder 2 |