AN ENGELBART MOUSE AND CHORDED KEYSET - photo 1
AN ENGELBART MOUSE AND CHORDED KEYSET - photo 2
AN ENGELBART MOUSE AND CHORDED KEYSET - photo 3
AN ENGELBART MOUSE AND CHORDED KEYSET - photo 4
AN ENGELBART MOUSE AND CHORDED KEYSET - photo 5

AN ENGELBART MOUSE AND CHORDED KEYSET

Lot 29
10.09.2024 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
$ 30 240
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
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ID 1279158
Lot 29 | AN ENGELBART MOUSE AND CHORDED KEYSET
Estimate value
$ 10 000 – 15 000
AN ENGELBART MOUSE AND CHORDED KEYSET
CYBERNEX, 1968
Serial number M026
Production version of Engelbart mouse, the three button mouse with metal wheels and braided cord with 9 pin connector, with a Cybernex coding keyset.

Landmark innovations in human-computer interaction.

The Engelbart mouse and chorded keyset, invented by Douglas Engelbart and his team at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in the 1960s. These devices were central to Engelbart's vision of augmenting human intellect through interactive computing, significantly influencing the evolution of personal computing and user interface design.

The mouse, conceived in 1963 and patented in 1967, featured two perpendicular wheels for moving a cursor on a screen, offering a more natural interaction method than the keyboard. Concurrently, the chorded keyset, a 5-key device (permitting 21 key-press combinations), enabled rapid input of commands and text using key combinations, reducing cognitive load and improving interaction efficiency.

Both these devices were premiered at the famous ‘Mother of All Demos’ in 1968, where Engelbart debuted and demonstrated the practical applications of the mouse and keyset in a networked environment, highlighting capabilities such as hypertext, real-time collaborative editing, and video conferencing. The demo underscored their potential to revolutionize human-computer interaction and offered a glimpse into a new age of progression, where the power of computer design and products could advance business and personal development.

The mouse became a standard input device, shaping graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and influencing personal computing. Its adoption by Xerox PARC in the 1970s and later by Apple with the Macintosh in 1984 solidified its role in computing. Although the chorded keyset did not achieve widespread adoption, its influences remain relevant in specialized fields such as accessibility and ergonomics – the keyset remarkably allowing the user to continue to use mouse and keyset in tandem. Indeed, ultimately, these inventions transformed both the practical and conceptual aspects of computing, demonstrating how technology can augment human intellect and efficiency.
Mouse: 3 in. (7.6 cm.) high, 2 ¾ (7 cm.) wide, 4 in. (10.2 cm.) deep
Keyset: 1 ¼ in. (3.2 cm.) high, 5 in. (12.7 cm.) wide, 5 ½ in. (14 cm.) deep




Further details

This lot is subject to additional disclaimers. Please carefully review Section E(2), subsection (m) “Vintage Computers and Machines”.
Auction house category:All other types of objects, Instruments
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
10.09.2024 – 10.09.2024
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
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