The Gallery of Old Iron

These pages are more-or-less random technology tidbits from "Big-Iron" computers and computing equipment, mostly from IBM, and mostly from the 1940's through 1970's.

The lights behind many of the control panels in The Gallery of Old Iron are wired to simulate operation using modern microcontrollers. This is a great way to bring the computing past alive, particularly for operator consoles. The vast majority of mainframe computers of old were recycled for gold and paladium content -- leaving only artifacts such as consoles.

Most of the pictures in The Gallery of Old Iron are clickable to get larger versions. Explore!

The Gallery is a non-commercial, educational web site dedicated to nothing in particular except the enjoyment of old, big computers and getting the younger generations interested in both computing and the history of it.

We get lots of questions about using photos shown on The Gallery of Old Iron web site. In general, you are free to use photos for which The Gallery is the copyright owner. However, some photos are Copyright IBM and used here with permission. We are unable to give permission to use any photos whose copyright belongs to others. If in doubt, ask.

The Gallery of Old Iron is now searchable, thanks to Google Custom Search (beta -- so YMMV).

System 360/370 Operator Consoles
in The Gallery's Collection

System 360

System 370

More IBM Systems

The Way Back Computing Pages contain some of The Gallery's tidbits from the dawn of the computing era. Come on in and read about the Harvard Mark 1 (IBM ASCC), IBM Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator, and more.

More Interesting Stuff

Some Random Things Before You Leave the Gallery

References

There are many wonderful references for furthering reading or research. Many of these were consulted in constructing this site and a few of the authors have even sent us corrections. Thank you!

• "A Manual of Operation for the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator" (AKA Harvard Mark 1), Harvard University Press, 1946.
• "IBM Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator," 1948 marketing brochure.
• "IBM's Early Computers," Charles J. Bashe, Lyle R. Johnson, John H. Palmer, Emerson W. Pugh, MIT Press, 1986.
• "IBM's 360 and Early 370 Systems," Emerson W. Pugh, Lyle R. Johnson, John H. Palmer, MIT Press, 1991.
• "Memories that Shaped an Industry," Emerson W. Pugh, MIT Press, 1984.
• "Faster, Faster: A Simple Description fo a Giant Electronic Calculator and the Problems it Solves," W. J. Eckert, Rebecca Jones, McGraw-Hill, 1955.
• Many other references are listed in The Gallery's Historical Document Archive