Before the Computer. IBM, NCR, Burroughs and Remington Rand and the industry they created, 1865-1956

Notes:

Written by a specialist in the history of computing and information processing, then 'an executive consultant with IBM Corp'. Mostly deals with the development of the data processing industry in the USA from its origins to the widespread application of the computer in the 1960s, but of relevance to industrial development and innovation in the UK . Structured in three parts: Part 1} 'Origins of a new industry, 1865-1920'; Part 2] 'An age of office machines, 1920-1941'; Part 3] 'World War II and the postwar office appliance industry, 1941-1956'. Part 1] 'From opportunities to typewriters'; 'Adding and calculating machines'; 'Hollerith and the development of punch card tabulation'; 'Cash registers and the National Cash Register Co'; 'Rudiments of an industry identified'; Part 2] 'Economic conditions and the role of standardisation'; 'Products, practices and prices'; 'Commercial and scientific applications of punched card machines'; 'International trade in punched card machines'; 'The great depression in the United States'; 'IBM and Powers / Remington Rand'; 'Other accounting machines and their uses'; 'Vendors, practices and results'; Part 3] 'Economics, government controls and applications'; 'The role of major vendors, 1939-1946'; 'Industry structure, vendors and practices, 1945-1956'; 'Business volumes; 'Conclusion - the roles of marketing, distribution and technology'