JF Ptak Science Books // Blog Bookstore

Information and Communication Theory, 1951

Colin Cherry.  "A History of the Theory of Communication", offprint, Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, vol 98, part III, No. 35, September 1951, pp 383-393.  Original wrappers.  Signed "With Compliments, Colin Cherry".    Very good copy. 

With:

_____.  "The Communication of Information." New York:  American Scientist,  1951.  Pp 640-666  Good or better condition.  Separated/removed section--but signed. This is Cherry's very significant paper on information theory (sub-titled "An Historical Review") is simply a gathering of removed papers from The American Scientist magazine, but it is *signed* by Cherry "with compliments", and as such, is very uncommon. Cherry, along with Claude SHannon and Denis Gabor was one of the great intelelctual founders of information theory.

And with: 

J.R. Pierce, "Communication Theory", an offprint from Physics Today, vol 4, No 5, May 1951, pp 6-12. 

The three: $300 SOLD

The World's Smallest Electric Brain, 1950

Edmund C. Berkeley. "World's Smallest Electric Brain", in Hugo Gernsback's Radio Electronics, October 1950.  We offer the entire issue, in the original wrappers.  Very good copy, nice and bright.  SOLD

 

A Chess-Playing Machine, 1950

Shannon,  Claude E. "A Chess-Playing Machine." New York:  Scientific American,  1950.  1st edition.  Volume 182, No. 2, February 1950  This is an article in the February issue of the great Scientific American occupying pp 48-52. Original printed wrappers.  This is a nice, bright copy of the magazine, though there is some separation at the edges of the spine/wrappers.  $225

This is the first (and popular) appearance of Shannon's technical paper (which would appear a month later in the Philosophical Magazine).   This is the earliest appearance of an attempt to understand the necessities of a computer for playing a game of chess.

“Since the mid-1940s, scientists had aimed to create a thinking machine, an apparatus that could compete with or even surpass the human brain in logical operations, pattern recognition, problem solving and even language. Chess was found to be a useful testing ground because of its combination of simple rules and mind-bending complexity… Shannon was fascinated by chess’ potential in the pursuit of what he called ‘mechanized thinking.’ But he became convinced that computer chess and other AI pursuits should not be modeled on human thought… Computers, at least as they were understood then, could calculate very quickly, following programmed instructions. This particular strength—and limitation—of computers suggested a different route for AI, a new sort of quasi-intelligence based on mathematical computation. Chess would be a central proving ground for this new type of intelligence. Theoretically, at least, the game could be fully converted into one long mathematical formula” --Shenk, 201, 211.

The First Personal Computer (?)--"Simon", 1950

BERKELEY, E.C. (1950). "Simple Simon" in Scientific American No. 183, November 1950, pp. 40-43.  Very nice copy, original paper wrappers.  $135

Early Popular Publication of Weaver's Mathematical Theory of COmmunication

Warren Weaver.  "The Mathematics of Communication", in Scientific American, July 1949, pp 11-15 in the issue of pp 1-62.  Original printed wrappers. Very nice copy, with a little tearing of the front top-quarter of the hinge and some chipping at the edges.  $225

This is Weaver's very successful popularization of Claude Shannon's great paper ("A Mathematical Theory of Communication") which was published about a year earlier in the July and October issues of the Bell System Technical Journal.

Rudolf Sesing writes in  "60 years “A Mathematical Theory of Communication”, Towards a “Fuzzy Information Theory”:

"When 60 years ago Shannon established “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” nobody could know the consequences for science and technology in the second half of the century.Shannon published his article in two parts in the July and October 1948 editions of the Bell System Technical Journal. However, it is very probable that this article wouldn’t have become famous without the help of Weaver, whose popular text “The Mathematics of communication” re-interpreted Shannon’s work for broader scientific audiences. Weaver’s “preface” and Shannon’s article were published together in the book The Mathematical Theory of Communication (1949) that represents the beginning of the then so-called “Information theory”. However, in his “introduction” Weaver went over and above Shannon ́s mathematical theory mentioning not only the technical but also the semantic and influential problems of communication. This classification is very similar to the foundations of the Theory of Signs (1938) that was established by Morris. This paper deals with the connectivity between this Information theory and the Theory of Fuzzy sets and systems that appeared in the first half of the 1950s.Then the paper focuses to the non-technical but philosophical aspects of information theory and it advocates a fuzzy information theory that has to be appropriate to cover the concept of information– particularly with regard to the philosophical aspects"

Computing Papers: ENIAC, Bell, 1948+1949

A selection of  five papers from 1948 and 1949 on computing and computer science. All are monthly issues, removed from the larger bound volumes, with their front wrappers (only).  The group: $500

1) Robert Tumbleson, "calculating Machines.  January, 1948.  Pp 6- 12

• "The automatic electronic computer is the result of years of evolution in the field of calculating machines. At present the field is developing so rapidly that a machine may become obsolete between the time it is designed and the date of its completion. Applications for high-speed calculators are increasing rapidly as the characteristics of the machines become more well known." From IEEE Explore
  

2) J.G. Brainerd & T.K. Sharpless. "The ENIAC."  Article occupying pp 163-172 of the February 1948 issue of Electrical Engineering.  Lovely copy, one old ownership stamp at top right. 

 

 

The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, b. 1943-45) was, basically, the world’s first operational, high-speed digital computer, and the father of the computer industry.  What we see to the left  is the floor plan for the computer-with-no-monitor—I know to most people working today with a computer that the idea of a “floor plan” for anything that is not in a dark place at NSA is not easily conceivable.  The 30-ton, 18,000 tube, 125 KHz ENIAC’s space was about 1800 square feet, where it was able to add about 5000 numbers/second, which was vastly faster than anything else in existence. It operated with 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors, 5 million hand-soldered joints and 6,000 manual switches. It was a magnificent achievement.

3) Winston Kock and R.L. Wallace, March 1949, "The Coaxial COmputer", pp 222-223

4) Warren S. McCulloch, "The Brain as a Computer", pp 492-497, June 1949.

5) E.G. Andrews, "The Bell Computer, Model VI", September 1949, pp 751-756.

• "Controlled from remote stations, this new digital computer of the relay type reduces punched-tape instructions to a minimum. With novel control features similar to those used in recent automatic dial-telephone developments, this “upper-class” computer possesses six “intelligence levels.” Subordinate levels are capable of solving problems such as complex-number multiplication without special guidance." IEEE Explore

The Hagelin Cryptographers, an Analysis.

The Hagelin Cryptographers, an Analysis. Stamped  CONFIDENTIAL;  printed in New York:  Ericsson Telephone,  1942.      19 leaves.     Very good condition.       

Mimeographed sheets, stapled.  11x8, 19pp. Offset, typed document. Stamped "Accessions Division, Nov 11, 1942, Library of Congress". With an accompanying cover letter with the rubber stamp of Ericsson Telephone, Sales Corp, NYC., and dated July 3, 1942.  RARE.  $1500

This is a general report on the origin, development and status of the Hagelin "cryptographers"-a word used here to describe the physical machines (rather than the people working on codes). Sections in the document include "Models Built at Express Demand of the French Authorities", "Evolution of Hand Cryptographer Type C-362", "Hagelin Cryptographer Models" (BC-38 and C-362), "Methods of Operation", "Superiority of Hagelin Cryptographers over Competing Makes", and others, including a final section "How to Sell Cryptographers". There is a mention of the "Enigma" machine on page 14, which is limited to mentioning that it is not sold outside of Germany. Although the Swiss firm founded by Boris Hagelin has manufactured, and continues to manufacture, many kinds of cipher machines, the words "Hagelin machine" will normally inspire thoughts of their unique lug and pin based machines.

THe Most Important Menu in the History of Computer Science? (1954)

The Most Important Menu in the History of Computer Science?

John von Neuman and the NORC, 1954

"There is no mystery about these machines[computers]. The mystery is how the human brain has been able to develop them. These devices are merely small tools which men have devised to help them do a better job."--Thomas J. Watson, chairman of the board of IBM, 1954

ITEM:  Luncheon Menu, NORC Dedication, 1954. 4pp, ribbon ties.  Presents speaker names and such, and does NOT contain the text of any speeches.  This is a fantastic piece of computer ephemera.  RARE.  $750.

Here is something that one doesn't get to say very often:  this is perhaps the most important menu in the history of computing¹. And if there's another menu out there of the same or greater significance, then I offer that this is perhaps the most important menu tassle in the history of computation--that seems safer.

In the history of odd bits of historic computeriana ephemera, this tassle joins the ranks of other one-percenters, like this:  the world's first portable computer had a gun rack.  This was hardly a laptop though it was portable, and very well lived up to its Herman Melville-inspired acronym:  MOBIDIC.

Grace Murray Hopper's Copy

Maurice Wilks, David J. Wheeler, Stanly Gill.  The Preparation of Programs for an Electronic Digital Computer, with Special Reference to the EDSAC and the use of a library of Subroutines.  Tomash Publishers, Los Angeles, 1982.  xxxi, (10), 167pp.  Very fine copy.  reprint of the 1951 classic.

This is Grace Murray Hopper's copy, with a signed presentation to her from Martin Campbell-Kelly (University of Warwick), who provided the new introduction for this edition.  $250

Among the Earliest Diagrams for a transistorized Computer Ca. 1950/1

Foundations for the First All-transistor Computer, 1950-1951

Felker, J.H.  Catalog of Digital Computer Designs.  [No place of publication and no date.]  I suspect that this is a Bell Laboratories (Whippany, New Jersey), publication which was printed in 1950/1951. [On dating this item:  I’m thinking that this paper was released before his other two papers in late 1951 as they are not referenced in the notes section.  Also there is no reference in the paper to an actual delivery date of the transistors, which Bell and Western Electric announced would be available “several months after” the first transistor conference in 1951.  Also the transistor pulse amplifier which Felker requires in his conclusions section seems to have been not available until 1953.]

 11x8 ½ inches.  18 pages of text, 18 leaves of diagrams and schematics.  All text and drawings are printed on one side of the page, only.  This seems to be offset-printed.  It also seems to be made for restricted circulation.  Very Good condition.  $3000 

This is Felker’s OUTSTANDING orientation on constructing a transistorized computer.* He states in the second paragraph “this computer design philosophy was followed in the design of the National Bureau of Standards Computer SEAC. It is believed that the approach that will result in a vacuum-tubeless computer at the earliest date is to follow the SEAC example in so far as the use of germanium diode logic circuits is concerned, but replacing the vacuum tube amplifiers with transistor amplifiers.”  He states further:  “Since the transistor itself has voltage and current relationships quite similar to a germanium diode it is expected that the diodes in a transistor computer will operate in a more natural environment…and will exhibit…longer life and more reliable operation.”

As a matter of fact all of the block diagrams in the illustration section are for “an all-semiconductor computer”.  Essentially these are among the earliest printed diagrams for a transistorized computer—and Felker would be the leader of the Bell team that constructed the world’s first all-transistor computer, the TRADIC, in 1955.