COMSPACE CT-650 | COMSPACE CORPORATION, CIRCA 1967

COMSPACE CT-650
Comspace Corporation, circa 1967

An original Comspace CT-650 digital personal computer trainer divided into 6 labeled sections (Core Memory, Program Drum, Input Unit, Arithmetic Unit, Control Unit, and Output Unit) metal face-plates with metal toggle switches, multicolored lights, and bakelite dials, program drum in metal and paper, the whole with wooden body (54 inches long by 22 inches deep). In very fine condition, and complete with original protective plastic cover.

AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE CT-650, ONE OF THE EARLIEST DIGITAL PERSONAL COMPUTERS.

Developed by Irving Becker, the CT-650 was one of the earliest digital personal computers ever made, and some make the argument that it was in fact the first. The CT-650 was one of many educational items developed by Becker, hence the very clear labeling of the various sections of the computer, and the clarity of its functions. It is sometimes called the "paperclip computer" due to the fact that the basis for the design came from the 1967 book by Alcosser, Phillips, and Wolk, How to Build a Working Digital Computer, which described how one could build a computer out of household items such as tin-cans and paperclips. While it is sometimes called a "paperclip computer", there is nothing home-made about the CT-650, which was a high-quality, professionally built machine. A very small number of the machines were sold (at a price of $1,000), and only 3 examples are known to be in private hands, including the present example.

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