Pen-Based Computing History Museum
2026 / Wanted for the collection
LALooking to acquire

What we're
still hunting.

The collection has specific gaps — certain machines, software releases, and manuals we keep watching for. If any of this is sitting in your closet, garage, or filing cabinet, we would love to hear from you.

Collection focus
1987-2007
Top priority
One-of-a-kind items
Always interested in
Everything including duplicates
Start with
An email

What we're
hunting.

Specific gaps in the collection Beyond general donations, these are the items we're actively trying to track down. The list updates as holdings grow.

PenPoint hardware

GO Corp., EO, NCR, and IBM tablets.

EO Personal Communicator 440/880, GRiDPad, NCR 3125/3130, IBM ThinkPad 360P/730T. Working or not — even a stripped chassis or a single keycap from a dock has reference value.

Early stylus prototypes

Pre-release units, engineering samples, dev boards.

Anything that never shipped or shipped in single-digit quantities. Engineering badges, internal serial numbers, and provenance notes are as valuable as the hardware itself.

Software & install media

Original PenPoint releases, SDK kits, third-party apps.

Sealed boxes, dev SDKs, beta floppies, conference giveaway CDs. Source code or build trees from any pen-era project, including unfinished ports.

Marketing & ephemera

Internal memos, training videos, trade-show booths.

Datasheets, sales-training tapes, COMDEX badges, Comdex/PC Expo demo scripts, executive correspondence. The stuff that usually gets tossed in office moves.

Engineer & founder interviews

Firsthand accounts from the people who built it.

GO Corp., Momenta, Slate, EO, Pen Computing Magazine, the early Microsoft and Apple pen teams, and more.

Photographs & video

Team photos, lab shots, internal demos.

Unpublished engineering photos, Hi8/VHS demo tapes, internal video newsletters.

How to
help.

Three steps, no pressure You don't have to part with anything to be helpful — a photo and a story is often enough.

01

Reach out

Email john@jerney.com describing what you have. A brief description is all we need. We love chatting and reminiscing.

02

We discuss details

We interested in everything related to pen computing and early wireless, even if it duplicated something in our collection.

03

Acquire, credit, and document

We look forward to sharing information about your donation with the world. Donors and lenders are credited unless you ask to stay anonymous.

Pen-Based Computing History Museum is an independent online archive, not a registered nonprofit. We pay fair market value when we can, but a lot of the most important material comes in through trades, loans, or simple generosity. Either way, ask first — we'd rather pass than see something important sit in a closet for another decade.