A Humorous Look At The History of Computers

The Institute for Official Cheer, whose tag line is “misrepresenting the past since 1997”, has produced a humorous pictorial review of computer marketing photos from days gone by. The photo review, Compu-Promo, depicts computers of all sizes and shapes, from “small inscrutable things to giant wonderful machines the size of industrial refrigeration units.” Visitors to the site will find that back in the old days, the time of IBM and Uniblab, “a picture of a computer required a wide-angle lens. And a woman in a thigh-high skirt.”

Nine examples of computer promotional photography sent to newspapers in the 60s and 70s are included. Each photo is accompanied by “humorous recollections” of these machines from site visitors. Of course, your idea of what is humorous prose may vary from ours. But, there’s no doubt that the vintage photos capture the essence of computer marketing in the past.

From 1964, “James Pyle and his Assistant Nonna Wells,” says the cutline.

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