A time capsule from the dawn of university computing — untouched since the 1970s.
This is an original working documentation binder from the Science & Mathematics Teaching Center at the University of Wyoming, Laramie — department-stamped throughout — from the era when UW ran Xerox Sigma 5 and Sigma 7 mainframes on campus.
Not reprints, not scans:
the actual binder that sat next to a live time-sharing terminal, complete with one-of-a-kind institutional documents and even handwritten period BASIC code.
Xerox Data Systems built Sigma mainframes for less than a decade (1969–1975) before exiting the computer business entirely, making surviving Sigma documentation genuinely scarce — and university-provenance examples with original ephemera almost never surface.
What's inside:
Xerox BASIC — Sigma 5-9 Computers, Language and Operations Reference Manual (pub. 90 15 46F) with the iconic blue repeating-XEROX-logo cover
XDS Sigma 5/7 Batch Time-Sharing Monitor (BTM) User's Guide
Xerox Control Program-Five (CP-V) Time-Sharing User's Guide (pub. 90 16 92D, June 1973) with the February 1974 Publication Revision Sheets filed in — CP-V was the flagship Sigma operating system
University of Wyoming Faculty Senate Computer Center Advisory Committee Annual Report, 1974-75 — original typed institutional document detailing system usage, resource allocations, the Colorado State University cooperative agreement, and Wyoming high schools joining the time-sharing network.
Likely one of a kind.
SMTC computer-generated arithmetic quiz handouts — original locally produced documents describing one of the earliest computer-assisted instruction (CAI) programs, where teachers used the mainframe to generate randomized diagnostic math quizzes
Handwritten pencil BASIC program draft — an authentic period artifact: someone at the center working out a Sigma BASIC file I/O program (DIM, MAT READ, OPEN, PRINT, DATA statements) by hand on the back of a quiz sheet. A human fingerprint from 50 years ago.
Additional papers and documents as shown
Condition: Housed in the original blue cloth 3-ring binder; front cover lettering has faded to mostly illegible. Pages show age toning, rust at staples, and honest handling wear from real daily use in a university computing center. Sold as-is, as-found — photos are part of the description, please review carefully.
Perfect for collectors of vintage mainframe computing, Xerox/XDS/SDS history, time-sharing and early operating systems, computer-assisted instruction/ed-tech history, or University of Wyoming memorabilia.
When this one's gone, there isn't another.
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