I am a collector of old or vintage computer and gaming systems, and a question I am often asked is “why?”
Sometimes I try to explain how the diversity, the ingenuity, and the pioneering feel of the computer industry from many years ago appeals to me. Sometimes I mention my fondness for the computers from my youth. Occasionally I answer the question with a question such as ‘why do people collect stamps?’
For some people, they have an attachment to a specific system. Others seek monetary gain from trading in said equipment. Yet others find entertainment (and sometimes frustration) in playing games, tinkering with, or restoring systems that they owned years before. Whatever the reason, there are many people interested in vintage computing equipment today and they are of all ages, and from all walks of life and areas of the world.
A couple of collectors I know personally tend to believe that the ‘golden age’ of collecting computers from the 1970s and 1980s is behind us, with equipment now less plentiful and the market distorted by online auctions. Though I can see their point, I like to think that it has just morphed a bit like any collections market does over time. There is still opportunity if one wants to look for it.
To clarify, I use the word ‘vintage’ informally, as a catchall to refer to something older that is perhaps considered collectable. I know that in some collecting circles vintage may denote a specific set of criteria or time frame, but I will use it as a term of convenience.
Just what constitutes a vintage computer? The guidelines are a little hazy on this point, but the general consensus one might find online in newsgroups, forums, and collector websites such as www.vintage.org, www.vintage-computer.com and www.old-computers.com is that any computer or video game system at least fifteen years old (preferably twenty or more) could perhaps be considered vintage or collectable. Age isn’t the only factor however — production runs/numbers, particularly good (or poor) models or versions are just a couple other things some collectors consider. Collectability based on age is a bit of a moving target, whether you are talking cars, computers, coins, or almost anything else. Every year that goes by means everything is one year older.
Opinions vary with the age of the collector as well. Someone in their seventies who worked with Univac or early IBM or PDP systems in the fifties and sixties may have a very different perspective on what constitutes vintage computers compared to a sixteen year old whose first exposure may have been in the mid 2000s. Personally for my purposes, I consider anything before 1990 generally to be vintage equipment, although the line is always shifting and there are many people now who seem to see any pre-pentium x86 systems as ‘ancient’. Maybe they are right.
An example of how this line can change is older x86 based systems from the late 1980s and early 1990s such as the 80286/80386/80486 processor based lines…ten to fifteen years ago you couldn’t give them away, and now people are using them as retro gaming systems to play their favorite DOS based games.
After deciding what you consider collectable computer equipment, you are inevitably led to the question — just what do you want to collect? Are there specific systems or companies you are interested in, specific periods of time, particular types of hardware? A very brief list of some of the better known systems and companies in North America from the 1970s and 1980s personal computer/video game system boom are as follows :
- Apple (such as the Apple II+, IIe, or IIc, early Macs)
- - Commodore (such as the Vic-20, the C-64, the PET line, or the C-128, Amiga systems)
- Atari (such as the Atari 400/800, or their game systems such as the 2600)
- - Tandy/Radio Shack (the TRS-80 line, the Color Computer line, or the Tandy PC systems)
- - Mattel Intellivision (the Intellivision I and II game systems)
- - Colecovision (game system)
- - Nintendo (Nintendo Entertainment system)
- - Sega (Sega Master system)
- - MITS Altair (Mid 1970s, some sold assembled, early ones sold as a kit to be assembled)
- - Texas Instruments (TI-99/4a model)
The above list barely scrapes the surface of companies, systems, and models available during those two decades. For exhaustive lists, some of the earlier links I have listed or a quick search using the term ‘vintage computer’ will yield a huge number of sites dedicated to all manner of vintage equipment and software.
In addition to choosing just what type or model of computer you wish to collect, you may want to consider another general set of goals to choose from :
- hardware (the systems and peripherals)
- - software (disks, tapes, cards, cartridges, and so on)
- books and manuals (programming, guides, instruction manuals, spec sheets)
Many collectors dabble in a bit of all three as they are all necessary if you are going to actively use your vintage systems or display ‘complete’ setups, but occasionally you meet someone who collects in only one specific area. Other factors that may determine what and how much you collect is money, physical storage space, and the patience of a significant other or family members (I personally have an extremely patient wife. And beautiful. And intelligent.)
As collectors, I think we have been extremely fortunate to be active in the last couple decades. With the rise of internet access and the WWW in many parts of the world to the level of what most people consider essential service, we have the world itself at our fingertips.
You will want to research your chosen interest in vintage computing, and the irony involved here is that our contemporary computer systems and internet infrastructure has combined to give the vintage systems new leases on life. Simply do a net search for your chosen item, system, or company and you will be greeted by more possibilities than you can possibly read through in a reasonable amount of time. User groups, collecting groups, software and information repositories, even modern implementations of old systems and new offshoot projects all exist for almost any vintage computer or game system you can name. You may easily be able to strike up an email or forum conversation with the fellow who programmed your favourite game for the system you had twenty years ago, or find a local festival and hear veteran computing experts talk about their experiences. Since the late 1990s, events like the Vintage Computer Festival have gone from local events with a few dozen people to multi-location international festivals that draw thousands of people. Check them out at http://vcfed.org/wp/ , or check their Wikipedia page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vintage_Computer_Festival for a general history of the events and organization.
If you have decided on what you want to collect and why, the next question of course is…where do you get it? Now comes the thrill of the hunt. In my next post, I will share what has worked for me over the years as far as where to look, what to consider, and how to conduct yourself when dealing with people.
Are you thinking of getting into collecting? If so, what are your thoughts on it, or questions you might have? If you already collect, what is your focus?
