DEC PDP-8 - Gizmo
The DEC PDP-8 made computing personal before personal computers existed. Launched in 1965, it was the first mass-produced minicomputer - small enough to fit on a desk, cheap enough for universities and labs to actually afford one. It sold over 50,000 units and kickstarted Digital Equipment Corporation's rise to become the second-largest computer company in the world.
This illustration captures the PDP-8's distinctive front panel - that grid of switches and blinking lights that let operators toggle programs directly into memory, one bit at a time. It's a machine from an era when using a computer meant truly understanding what a computer was doing.
From the Gizmo collection - a series of prints adapted from Simon Tyler's forthcoming book Gizmo: The Retro-Tech We Loved and Lost, published by Laurence King in May 2026.
Produced as an open-edition print on 250gsm archival matte paper, with crisp detail and rich colour faithful to the original illustration. A piece of computing history for your wall.
Gizmo Series
Gizmo gathers illustrations adapted from and inspired by founder Simon Tyler's forthcoming book Gizmo: Retro-tech We Loved and Lost, published by Laurence King in May 2026.
The series is a visual archaeology of consumer electronics - the machines that shaped how we listened, watched, played, and worked from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Synthesizers that invented entire genres. Cameras that democratised photography. Computers that launched industries from bedroom desks. Boomboxes that soundtracked city blocks. Each one arrived as the future and departed as nostalgia, often within a single decade.
Every illustration begins with extensive photographic research - sourcing original imagery of each machine in its best light - and builds toward a clean, considered portrait that honours the object's design intent. The aim is not retro sentimentality but honest observation: what made these machines distinctive, how they looked when they were new, and why their forms still resonate.
Printed with the same archival care as our other series, Gizmo turns industrial design history into crisp, enduring graphic art.
Printing & Materials
Our Gizmo series is produced in collaboration with specialist fine-art printing partners using museum-grade 250 gsm archival giclée paper.
Each print is made to order with exceptional precision and colour accuracy, using pigment-based inks for long-term stability and rich tonal depth.
Prints are carefully rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in rigid cardboard tubes to ensure they arrive in perfect condition, ready for framing.
All materials and processes are chosen for their longevity, texture, and fidelity to the original artwork, reflecting our commitment to quality and craft.