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Lot 44

STIBITZ, GEORGE ROBERT. 1904-1995.
Relay Computers. Washington, D.C.: National Defense Research Council, February 1945.

4 December 2019, 13:00 EST
New York

Sold for US$1,785 inc. premium

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STIBITZ, GEORGE ROBERT. 1904-1995.

Relay Computers. Washington, D.C.: National Defense Research Council, February 1945.
4to (275 x 209 mm). Black cloth. Front wrapper, distribution list and introduction leaf in photocopy.
Provenance: Christie's The Origins of Cyberspace, February 23, 2005. Lot 188.

LIMITED, RESTRICTED EDITION, one of 137 examples used for presentation before the Applied Mathematics Panel of the National Defense Research Council. Bell Labs employee George Stibitz, in 1937, decided to use telephone relays to build one of the world's first digital computers. It performed simple mathematical calculations using Boolean algebra. The answer to the problem was displayed through flashlight bulbs. Hook & Norman Origins of Cyberspace 910.

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