'Origins Of Cyberspace' to be auctioned by Christie's

Christie’s New York auction house is offering more than 200 papers from the early days of computing. The collection spans the seminal work of England’s Charles Babbage up to, and including, papers concerning the origins of the Internet. About the only missing items are Bill Gates’ baby pictures.

A sketch and description of Babbage’s "analytical machine" is expected to fetch between $20,000 and $30,000, according to Christie’s. Although Babbage never finished building his wood and metal contraption after years of effort, his mid-19th century analytical engine contained the fundamental concepts of the automated electronic computer that took the world by storm more than 100 years later.

Read the complete story . (TechWeb)