Title
Punched card wreathCatalog Number
102667304Type
Physical objectDescription
This wreath, created using computer punched cards in the 1960s, suggests how widespread punched cards were at the time. IBM defined the “IBM Card” in 1928 for its mechanical office equipment. Ironically, given that computers were supposed to reduce paper, the use of punched cards proliferated throughout the 1960s and ‘70s as it became the main input medium for computers as well. Cards were made by the billions until rendered obsolete by online input methods in the mid-1970s.This wreath was made by Camille Bounds on her kitchen table circa 1964-5 to raise funds for her husband’s college tuition at the Northrop Institute of Technology. She showed samples and took orders outside the Alpha Beta grocery store at 209 Arbor Vista, Inglewood, California. Priced at $7.00 each (equivalent to about $60 in 2022), customers were offered a choice of red, blue, or gold ball decorations. Mr. Bounds graduated successfully and received an Assistantship to Caltech in Pasadena, California in 1965.
Date
1960-1969Manufacturer
Bounds, CamilleDimensions
4 x 24 x 24 in.Category
Ephemera/otherCredit
Gift of Camille BoundsLot Number
X3612.2007