About this Item
Copyright 1979 by International Business Machines. Rare first and only printing. Giant folio 9 1/4" x 13 1/4" design. Apparently, this impressive volume was distributed at the DPD Systems Engineering Symposium in April of 1979. DPD is/was the Data Processing Division of IBM. White textured pulp like boards, cursive-like cover quote, black spine titles, light shelf wear. From cover: "The day shall not be up, so soon as I, to try the fair adventure of tomorrow". Heavy stock coated pages, fine. Bind fine; hinges intact. Profusely illustrated with classical, modern and contemporary popular art, culture and designs. Three-page fold-out chart for past and present advancement and projections for humanity and technology. Side-bars and snippets of note throughout allow for entertaining incorporation. Intriguing and revelatory volume from the DPD Systems Engineering Symposium in April, 1979 published by IBM. History of technology, computing and a look into the things to come. Human-like handwritten notes, illustration and profuse color and b&w imagery throughout. Retains original matching slipcase with white pulp-like finish, moderate shelf wear, discoloration. Finally, an intriguing pre-printed yellow note signed in faux cursive is set-in: "You have helped to shape the present, and done that superbly well. As for the future. it couldn't be in better hands. 'Mike'". An homage to the creativity and accomplishments of humanity throughout history; presented as an optimistic projection of the human merger with technology. This book represents the social conditioning of smiling futurists. All from an easily understood and digestible perspective of the late 1970's with personal computers on the horizon for all to afford and enjoy. This from the efficient and no-nonsense progenitor international business machines. Suffuse with all the cheer and compassion of a robot assembly line of automatons numbering the individuals into order. Contents: "Herbert George Wells - The infinite-horizon.; Introduction - The future ain't what it used to be; The courage of their predictions; Greatest daydreamer of them all; Futurism, from the beginning.; An Englishman possessed - by computers; Three prophets of science fiction; The new shape of sci-fi; New tools of futurism; The business of dreaming; Prognosticators: A scorecard; Never! Well, maybe never; Brave new words; What's next?; Bibliography; A future by design; and, Acknowledgments". Front and back endpapers feature the patterned names of the 'giants' of civilization. Cloaked in a slightly off-white bold capitalized Roman font over the white endpapers. Names such as Westinghouse, Graham Bell, Karl Marx, Malthus, Newton, Kant, Sanger, Columbus, Galileo, Rachel Carson, Jefferson, Einstein, Freud, Pasteur, and Salk to name a few on the list. Essentially, those that shaped a version of history preparing the path for a trans-formed humanity. Printed in the U.S.A. Insured post. Size: Folio - over 12" - 15" tall. Seller Inventory # 020980
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