The former RCA Laboratory in central New Jersey, now called the David Sarnoff Center, maintained for many years a collection of RCA artifacts and records from decades of research, called the "David Sarnoff Library". That included some artifacts of the RCA COSMAC 1802 processor, developed there as part of RCA's CMOS product line.
In 2009, the library, archives and records were moved and dispursed: to The College of New Jersey, to the Hagley Museum and Library, and to InfoAge. This Web page describes that transition and the status of access to those materials, particularly the artifacts at TCNJ (which is near my home). My interest in these is a consequence of my interests in the RCA COSMAC 1802 microprocessor and the 1802-based Membership Card of Lee Hart. This document last updated April 10 2013. - Herb Johnson
"When was the COSMAC 1802 produced?" Actually, the COSMAC microprocessor began as the 1801, a two-chip set, in 1974-75. The 1802 as a single-chip became available in 1975-76. See this Web page of mine for some dates for the COSMAC microprocessor 1801 and 1802.
Many Web sites provide a history of RCA's COSMAC product line of CMOS logic chips and microprocessors. Here's a few links:
Decode Systems private RCA 1802 product collection
Cosmac Elf Web site article on Joseph Weisbecker
As noted in the introduction above, the former RCA research facility became the David Sarnoff Center and housed a collection of RCA artifacts known as "The David Sarnoff Library" That collection's Web site was at davidsarnoff.org until 2013, after the collection was disbursed. As of July 2011, the site refered to the move of the Library and archives to the Hagley and to TCNJ, with generic links to their respective Web sites.
In December 2009, I contacted the director of the David Sarnoff Library and had a pleasant email exchange. Dr. Alexander B. Magoun, the Curator and Executive Director, told me that the Library's collections contained the Princeton site's technical reports and engineering memos, some photos, an incomplete and uncatalogued collection of RCA Solid-State Division reports, some press releases, manuals, some lab notebooks of participants, interviews with B.J. Call and Joyce and Jean Weisbecker, and most substantially the papers of Joe Weisbecker (the developer of the 1802) as donated by the Weisbecker family. These would go to the Hagley, he said. They would likely complete a catalog of the collection.
Specific to the 1802, he added that a ceramic 1802 was on exhibit, and confirmed the Sarnoff's exhibits were to go to the College of New Jersey for display there. He noted from his prior work that "the missing part of this story is Andy Dingwall's work in reducing Weisbecker's design to an actual chip. That took place in Somerville and Dingwall died earlier this decade."
Since the collection was dispursed, Dr. Magoun has taught courses and participated in events at TCNJ as related to David Sarnoff; he's published a number of books about, and given or attended discussions on, David Sarnoff and RCA history.
TCNJ acquired portions of the Sarnoff Library collection, including many of the Library's technical artifacts, in late Oct 2009. Plans were to house and display the collection in TCNJ's former library building, West Hall, in April 2011. That was delayed, apparently awaiting the hiring of a director for the collection and for funding. By July 2011, a director of the TCNJ Art Gallery was selected, who would also direct what was then called the Sarnoff Museum; subsequently it was called the Sarnoff Collection. The director, Emily Croll, is apparently a member of the Communications Studies Department at TCNJ. The Art Gallery is in the Art and Interactive Multimedia (AIMM) Building on the TCNJ campus. Emily Croll is listed on the TCNJ site as "Director, TCNJ Art Gallery & Sarnoff Collection".
A visit to TCNJ by me on July 12 2012, found a "Sarnoff Collection" space in the Roscoe West Hall building but nothing was installed or on exhibit. A few mounted, but unhung, architectural drawings of RCA Labs were in the space. The building's directory, and the TCNJ Campus Map, don't indicate the facility as of July 2012. There were no changes apparent, during site visits by me through March 2013.
However, at the 2013 Trenton Computer Festival, a table of Sarnoff artifacts was set up near the "vintage computing" exhibits of MARCH/Infoage. Ms. Croll and others staffed the table and answered questions. In my brief discussion with her, she suggested the Sarnoff Collection could be displayed late in 2013. She also directed me to the new TCNJ Web site for the Sarnoff Collection. It displays a number of the artifacts with some identifications. (During April 2013, however, I've had difficulty accessing this site.) As of April 2013, a review and further cataloging of the Collection is in progress.
- Herb Johnson
Since I live near the TCNJ campus, I'm aware of local coverage about TCNJ's involvement with part of the Sarnoff Library artifacts.
A "Trenton Times" newspaper article in late October 2009, discussed the status of the Sarnoff exhibit collection at The College. "Sarnoff museum may find home at TCNJ" by Meir Rinde for October 29, 2009,
was found at the nj.com Web site.
That Web site carries articles from the Trenton Times and the Star-Ledger, daily newspapers of central and north New Jersey. Contact reporter Meir Rinde via that Web site.
Extracts from that article are as follows. "The Sarnoff family and TCNJ have tentatively planned to move the exhibits to the campus's former library, which is undergoing renovations...The preservation effort won the enthusiastic support of NJ state Sen. Bill Baroni, R-Hamilton. ...The archives are being packed up into some 3,000 boxes that will go to the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, DE....[Library board member] Robert Bartolini said legal documents...are still being prepared. He said he expected the artifacts would be moved to storage at TCNJ by the end of the year, and the school building could be renovated and opened to visitors in three to six months.
TCNJ spokesman Matthew Golden reportedly said he could not confirm the move would happen,
but said the museum "would be a great addition to our campus." Bartolini said funds are available to pay for the move and renovations at TCNJ, but Magoun and Baroni said $100,000 or more is needed...[and local] firms may be interested in helping out."
Plans for an exhibit of some artifacts during the "2011 Trenton Computer Festival" at TCNJ in April 2011 never materialized. (I attended the event.) In spring 2011, there was a course on-campus by the former Sarnoff archivist Dr. Alexander B. Magoun (see below) where he discussed the history of Sarnoff and how its activities and technology impacted 20th century media. (I attended on a few occasions.)
By July 2011, the Times of Trenton reported that TCNJ hired a director, Emily Croll, as curator of the Sarnoff Collection and of the TCNJ Art Gallery. The TCNJ College of Engineering news release of Sept 2011 was "Sarnoff Library Artifacts Find a New Home".
As of July 2012 The TCNJ Communications Studies Web site had a Web page on the Sarnoff collection. The page content dated from November 2010 and described some of the artifacts acquired. But the plans it described did not occur up through 2012. The page was not available by 2013.
Through 2012 and up to March 2013, the Sarnoff Collection space at the TCNJ's Roscoe West Hall consisted of a small sign at a recently-built exhibit space, with some large unhung RCA site drawings. The building, the former TCNJ main library, has been under re-use and renovation since 2010.
But, for the 2013 Trenton Computer Festival held in early March, a table of Sarnoff artifacts was set up near the "vintage computing" exhibits of MARCH/Infoage. Ms. Croll and others staffed the table and answered questions. In my brief discussion with her, she suggested the Sarnoff Collection could be physically displayed late in 2013. And, there was now a TCNJ Web site for the Sarnoff Collection.
Also: in 2013 the IEEE Foundation awarded a grant to TCNJ, to develop a "Sarnoff Study Center" around the Collection. This was announced in a
January 21, 2013 press release on the TCNJ Web site for the Arts and Communications Department. The Center will be directed by Emily Croll and by "Dr. Benjamin Gross, consulting scholar for the Sarnoff Collection". Dr. Gross is a fellow at the
Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia, and has a Ph. D in History of Science based on RCA's LCD work.
- Herb Johnson
Hagley Museum and Library Web site says:"Hagley Museum
and Library, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, collects, preserves, and interprets
the unfolding history of American enterprise....".
The GPS address for Hagley's main entrance is 200 Hagley Rd, Wilmington, DE, 19807....."The Hagley
Library is located off Route 100 and Buck Road in Greenville, Delaware approximately 4 miles from
downtown Wilmington." Refer to their Web site for current information about their facility, hours, fees and collections - there ARE fees for some classes of use of their content.
A search of the Hagley Web site as of July 2012 for "Sarnoff library", produces dozens of entries, as Sarnoff had a long history in broadcasting. A Hagley report from April 2010 describes the aquisition of the former Sarnoff Library collection as follows: "The collection, totaling 2,000 linear feet, includes David Sarnoff’s personal library, a large vertical file of pamphlets and other publications, runs of scientific and trade journals, extensive photographic, film, and video coverage of Sarnoff’s life and works, and material on RCA’s and NBC’s iconic headquarters and broadcast studios in New York’s Rockefeller Center. In addition, the collection includes a large volume of laboratory notebooks and other purely technical materials, including the papers of television pioneer Vladimir Zworykin and other RCA research scientists". - end quote.
As of 2013, the site notes the "David Sarnoff Library" as one of 53 collections, but does not offer much on-line access to its contents or an index. Some "David Sarnoff" items can be found. I've not made a direct inquiry to the Hagley about the statuse of the Sarnoff Collection as of April 2013.
It was reported on the Sarnoff Library Web site, that recipents of the Collection included TCNJ, the Hagley, and InfoAge. Specifically, the "RCA Broadcast Division Manuals Collection" is being cataloged by InfoAge's NJARC. Also, select items were donated to the Camden County Historical Society.
The The Infoage facility near Wall, NJ, is a science museum and educational site, established at the former Camp Evans military research base. There are several groups housed there, each of which support something of technical or historic interest, and providing educational and archival resources. The vintage computer museum group is called MARCH, which maintains a collection of computing technology. There's also the New Jersey Antique Radio Club (NJARC) which maintains the "Radio Technology Museum" and a "National Broadcasters Hall of Fame ".
Posted by Dave Sica in the MARCH on-line discussion group hosted by Yahoo! called midatlanticretro, was his account "Re: interesting infoage day", on Wed Dec 23, 2009. He recounts how he helped the David Sarnoff Library with their move of their archives and artifacts. He confirms the division of most materials between Hagley and TCNJ. He relates some specific items and duplicates (and a lot of books) went "to InfoAge", that is to their various radio, broadcast and vintage computer groups. Some computer-related items went to MARCH. Only the most unsalvagable materials were discarded by Sarnoff; Dave retrieved some of those as well.
Not long after that report, MARCH President Evan Koblentz reported Jan 28, 2010 that a COSMAC Microtutor and a VIP, in their original but somewhat damaged packaging, were obtained from the Sarnoff collection via Dave. These have been on exhibit by MARCH at various times. I'm not aware of what Sarnoff artifacts have been exhibited by other groups at InfoAge. A portrait of Marconi (who operated a radio station at the Camp Evans site) was apparently recieved by Infoage. The MARCH Yahoo discussion group archive ahs additional correspondence about the Sarnoff collection pickup, and email from Joyce Weisbecker (Joseph's daughter) about her father's work; and her own work of writing early 1802 programs, sold to RCA.
- Herb Johnson
This page and edited content is copyright Herb Johnson (c) 2013. Copyright of other contents beyond brief quotes,
is held by those authors.
Contact Herb at www.retrotechnology.com, an email address is available on that page..
Events and reportage about the TCNJ Sarnoff Collection
Hagley Museum
InfoAge, MARCH, others
Contact information:
Herb Johnson
New Jersey, USA
To email @ me, see see my home Web page.
