Vintage computer brochures channel your inner nerd

Ever found yourself unable to concentrate and needing a bit of inspiration? Here’s the ticket.

Click over to the Computer History Museum Web site where a great exhibit — Selling the Computer Revolution — posts a brilliant collection of computer brochures spanning the 1950s through the 1980s.

While this might be targeted to the nerds among us (you know who you are), it just radiates admiration for the “high-tech” of the day, and perhaps reveals more about the cultural landscape of the times than is comfortable.

While the 250 items featured are just a small part of the museum’s vast collection, these art works mark a huge technical transition over a roughly 25-year span.

EAI 640 Digital Computing System, 1966

Choose to view according to company name (from Apple to Zilog), decade (1950s through 1980s), application (education, graphics, military and more) or categories (from calculators to personal computers to super computers). You can also view everything or search for something specific. Each brochure has been digitally reproduced and can be downloaded as a high resolution PDF file.

I’m especially fond of the brochures that feature people using the products. But there are a huge number of graphical depictions as well, that are an eye-popping view of the past.

➤ Computer History Museum (via Present & Correct)