Before the Computer fully explores the data processing industry in the
United States from its nineteenth-century inception down to the period
when the computer became its primary tool. As James Cortada describes
what was once called the "office appliance industry," he challenges our
view of the digital computer as a revolutionary technology. Cortada
interprets reliance on computers as a development within an important
segment of the American economy that was earlier represented largely by
such instruments as typewriters, tabulating machines, adding machines,
and calculators. He also describes how many of the practices of the
office appliance industry evolved into those of the computer world.
Drawing on previously unavailable industry archives, the author adds to
our understanding of IBM's early history and offers short corporate
histories of firms that include NCR, Burroughs, and Remington Rand.
Focusing on the United States but also including comparative material on
Europe and Asia, Before the Computer will be a unique source of
knowledge about the companies that built office equipment and their
enormous impact on economic life.
Originally published in 1993.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand
technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from
the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions
preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting
them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the
Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich
scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by
Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
