Ted Nelson's Junk Mail Cartons

Theodor Holm Nelson (born June 17, 1937) is an American pioneer of information technology, philosopher, and sociologist. He coined the terms hypertext and hypermedia in 1963 and published them in 1965. According to a 1997 Forbes profile, Nelson "sees himself as a literary romantic, like a Cyrano de Bergerac, or 'the Orson Welles of software'.

I have downloaded numerous junk mail documents from his website, including:

* a Wisconsin cheese catalog;

* What TV repairs should cost;

* an American Motors catalog;

* Car or Coffin; Which One Do You Drive? (talks about safe driving; not about any particular make/model of car)

* Man's World Gallery of Gifts;

to name a few.

Throughout his long and varied career, pioneer and visionary Ted Nelson investigated technical possibilities of all kinds.  He checked reader service cards from magazines in a wide variety of industries, unleashing torrents of further information on products, services and academic research. 

Companies large and small, ranging from large names like IBM and Burroughs to short-lived startups, sent their brochures, catalogs and flyers -- mailings from aerospace, engineering, print/publishing and many examples of documentation from the early days of computing.

After looking, Dr. Nelson threw these in cartons, which have survived by accident.

These items are now being scanned in and presented for browsing at the Internet Archive. Whether for nostalgia, reference or research, this collection gives deep insight into the self-image and language of many companies, as well as the visual style of many long-lost aspects of the 20th century's industries.

To see the archive, click here.