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Bristow (Steve) papers
M1887  
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Collection Overview
 
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Description
The collection consists of business papers such as reports, legal & patent documents, and sales & trade show material; notebooks; service manuals & user guides; schematics; advertisements;, articles and photographs. Most of the papers concern Bristow's career at Atari.
Background
Steve Bristow (1950-2015) was a video game pioneer known especially for his work on arcade games at Atari. Bristow was born in California and lived there his entire life. In 1971, while studying at University of California-Berkeley and interning at Ampex under the supervision of Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, Bristow worked on circuitry for Computer Space, the first commercially sold coin-operated video game. After Ampex decided not to pursue the video game market, Bushnell left for Nutting Associates, and Bristow followed in March 1972, creating a two-person version of Computer Space with his wife, among other games. Around this time the Bristows also maintained and collected money from arcade machines in Berkeley as a sideline.
Extent
12.25 Linear Feet (23 boxes)
Restrictions
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
Availability
The materials are open for research use. Audio-visual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.