Armstrong (Jim) collection of Apple material, 1976-1997, bulk Bulk, 1983-1997

Summary

Title:

Jim Armstrong collection of Apple material

Dates:

1976-1997, bulk Bulk, 1983-1997

Creators:

Armstrong, Jim, 1948-

Abstract:

The Jim Armstrong collection of Apple materials is made up of items Armstrong collected related to Apple Computer, Inc., where he worked in a variety of roles from 1983 to 1997. Included are manuals, internal Apple documents, periodicals and books, materials related to conferences, technical notes and reports, promotional items, product catalogs, directories, price lists, and specifications, all dating from 1976 to 1997. While the majority of items in the collection are related to Apple, a small amount of material from other companies can be found throughout the collection.

Extent:

12.92 Linear feet, 10 record cartons and 1 manuscript box

Language:

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], [Date], Jim Armstrong collection of Apple material, Lot X2768.2004, Box [#], Folder [#], Catalog [#], Computer History Museum.

Background

Scope and content:

The Jim Armstrong collection of Apple materials consists of records relating to Apple Computer, Inc. from 1976 to 1997, with the bulk of the collection being from 1983 to 1997 when Armstrong was an employee of Apple. The collection contains manuals, Apple administrative records, publications, conference proceedings, and promotional material that document Apple's early products and reception by the public. The Apple II, Lisa, Apple III, and the original 1984 Macintosh are all featured in the collection in various versions and stages of development. Armstrong worked for Apple primarily in sales and marketing and the collection reflects these roles.

Biographical / historical:

Jim Armstrong was born December 14, 1948 in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended college at Madison Area Technical College and received a BS in physics in 1968. After graduating, Armstrong worked for various companies, including Aurora Systems, Inc. as Vice President of sales. Starting in 1983, Armstrong started working for Apple as a Sales Support Engineer. In 1984 he was promoted to Competitive Analyst, and then in 1986 to Technology Evangelist. Finally, in 1994 Armstrong began his last position at Apple as Senior Support Engineer, which continued until 1997. Since leaving Apple, Armstrong has worked at Cisco Systems, Inc., Redstone Software, CompUSA, and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System in different sales and information technology-related roles.

Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer, Inc., was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976. Apple is now a multinational technology company that has designed, developed, and sold highly popular consumer electronics products, including the Macintosh line of computers, iPod media player, iPhone, and iPad tablet computer. Apple has also developed online services and consumer software, which include iCloud, the iTunes Store, Safari web browser, and OS X and iOS operating systems. In 2014, Apple became the first U.S. company to be valued at over $700 billion.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Jim Armstrong, 2003.

Processing information:

Collection processed by Bo Doub and Kim Hayden, August 2015.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 6 series:

Series 1, Manuals, 1978-1996

Series 2, Apple administrative records, 1979-1995

Series 3, Books, periodicals, and reports, 1978-1995

Series 4, Conference and workshop material, 1983-1997

Series 5, Catalogs and directories, 1976-1995

Series 6, Promotional material, 1976-1997

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Related material:

Apple corporate history collections, Stanford University, library.stanford.edu/areas/apple-computer-collections/apple-corporate-history-collections.

Separated material:

Hardware, software, ephemera, and media items were separated from the main collection. The hardware includes a PhoneNET Connector model PN-209, Apple model A9M0050 mouse, Apple Macintosh board with MacMEGABYTES memory card, Apple Talk interface, and Apple MIDI adaptor. The software includes Apple-related packaged items and close to 400 loose CD-ROMs, 3.5” disks, and 5.25” disks. The ephemera and media include Apple calendars, buttons, ticket stubs, invitations, stickers, business cards, notepads, zipper pouches, trivia cards, and an abacus. The media includes 16 instructional and informational audiotapes related to Apple and general computing, 7 audiotapes of the spring 1986 COMDEX conference, and close to 200 videotapes related to Apple and general computing. To view catalog records for the separated items please search CHM's online catalog at www.computerhistory.org/collections/search.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Apple II (Computer)
Apple III (Computer)
Lisa computer
Macintosh (Computer)

Names:

Apple Computer, Inc.
Armstrong, Jim, 1948-

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:

Finding aid prepared by Bo Doub, Kim Hayden, and Sara Chabino Lott.

Sponsor:

Processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant.

Date Prepared:

August 2015

Date Encoded:

This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2015-09-16T13:13-0700

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The Computer History Museum (CHM) can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any claims of the copyright holder. Requests for copying and permission to publish, quote, or reproduce any portion of the Computer History Museum's collection must be obtained jointly from both the copyright holder (if applicable) and the Computer History Museum.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], [Date], Jim Armstrong collection of Apple material, Lot X2768.2004, Box [#], Folder [#], Catalog [#], Computer History Museum.

Location of this collection:

Computer History Museum

1401 Shoreline Blvd.

Mountain View, CA 94043, US

Contact:

(650) 810-1010

research@computerhistory.org

Website