Ralph H. Baer Papers
name: label: Donor
content: Baer, Ralph H., 1922-2014
topic: label: Topic
content: Books
label: Topic
content: Firearms
label: Topic
content: Games
label: Topic
content: Litigation
label: Topic
content: Inventions -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Machine guns
label: Topic
content: World War, 1939-1945
label: Topic
content: Weapons
label: Topic
content: Video games
label: Topic
content: Toys -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Television -- History
label: Topic
content: Rifles
label: Topic
content: Pistols
label: Topic
content: Military intelligence
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Ralph H. Baer in 2003.
creator: label: Donor
content: Baer, Ralph H., 1922-2014
setName: label: See more items in
content: Ralph H. Baer Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: Ralph H. Baer was a German-born ordnance specialist, inventor, and engineer. He was a pioneer of early videogame technology. The papers include autobiographical materials; firearms notes, manuscripts, and photographs; and videogame and television engineering notes, diagrams, schematics, and video documentation.
accruals: label: Accruals
content: Additional materials were donated by Ralph H. Baer in 2006 and 2008, by Larry Mauksch in 2008, and by Mark Baer in 2016.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Ralph H. Baer (1922-2014) was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1938. A graduate of the National Radio Institute (1940), Baer worked as a radio technician in the New York City area, servicing all types of home and auto radios. During World War II, Baer served in the United States Army, one year stateside, and two years in Europe. He was assigned to Military Intelligence and became an expert on military small arms. Baer returned to the United States with eighteen tons of foreign small arms for use in exhibits at Aberdeen, Maryland; Springfield, Massachusetts Armory; and Ft. Riley, Kansas.

After the war, Baer attended the American Television Institute of Technology in Chicago, graduating with a BS in television engineering. In 1949, Baer joined a small electro medical equipment firm, Wappler, Inc., as their chief engineer. He designed and built surgical cutting machines, epilators, and low frequency pulse generating muscle-toning equipment. In 1951, Baer moved to Loral Electronics of Bronx, New York as a senior engineer, designing power line carrier signaling equipment for IBM. During 1952-1956, Baer worked at Transitron, Inc., in New York City as a chief engineer and later as vice president. In 1956, Baer joined Sanders Associates in Nashua, New Hampshire building airborne radar components. He became manager of the Electronic Design Department at Sanders and eventually Division Manager and Chief Engineer for Equipment Design. Baer retired in 1987.

At Sanders in 1966, Baer began an independent project experimenting with ways for consumers to interact with standard home television sets. Development of interactive TV Game (TVG) ideas became a company-supported project continued by Baer and assisted by William H. Harrison and William T. Rusch (download the TV Game chronology prepared by Ralph Baer in 2006). By mid-1967, ping pong videogames were played inside Sanders, patent disclosures were applied for, and hardware was designed. Baer and his associates called the devices they were developing "boxes" and numbered the various versions one through seven. In 1971, Magnavox became Sanders Associates's first videogame licensee. Between 1972 and 1975, Magnavox produced and sold over 700,000 units of Odyssey, a set of games played on its television receivers. Atari became a licensee in 1976 after the first of many lawsuits won by Sanders in pursuit of patent infringements.

During his tenure at Sanders and thereafter, Baer was a prolific inventor. His creations included many electronic toys and games and other consumer electronic products. Among the better known products based on Baer's work are Milton Bradley's Simon, Galoob's Smarty Bear Video, and Kenner's Laser Command. In 2004 President George W. Bush awarded Baer the National Medal of Technology.

Baer married Dena Whinston in 1952 and they had three children, James, Mark, and Nancy.  Ralph Baer died on December 6, 2014, at the age of 92.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 16 Cubic feet (45 boxes and 1 oversize folder)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1943 - 2015
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Working in consultation with Ralph Baer from 2002-2005, David Winter provided important assistance in the discovery, identification, and organization of additional videogame history documentation relating to Ralph H. Baer, held at the Chicago law firm of Leydig, Voit & Mayer.  
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0854
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Audiotapes
label: Type
content: Audiocassettes
label: Type
content: Cd-roms
label: Type
content: Diagrams
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Videotapes
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Oral history
label: Type
content: Notes
label: Type
content: Manuals
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into 12 series.

Series 1: Autobiographical Documents, 1962-2006

Subseries 1.1: Manuscript, book and other documents, 1962-2006

Subseries 1.2: Other Media: CDs, VHS videos, periodical, 1991, 2000-2003

Series 2: WW II Small Arms Documents, 1943-1953

Subseries 2.1: Correspondence, 1950-1953 

Subseries 2.2:  Writings and notes, 1943-1948

Subseries 2.3: Drawings and schematics, undated

Subseries 2.4: Manuals and encyclopedias, 1943

Subseries 2.5: Photographs, 1945

Series 3: Hans Otto Mauksch Materials, 1944-1964

Subseries 3.1: Personal background information, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1964

Subseries 3.2: Instructional materials, 1944-1946, undated

Subseries 3.3: Ft. Riley, Kansas, 1946, 1953

Series 4: TV Game Documents, 1966-1972

Subseries 4.1: Working notes, diagrams and schematics, 1966-1971

Subseries 4.2: Administrative documents, 1966-1972
   
Subseries 4.3: Notebooks, 1966-1968

Subseries 4.4: TV game development documentation, 1966-1968

 Series 5: Sanders Associates, Transitron, and Van Norman Industries, 1952-2003 

 Series 6: Product Development Documents, 1974-2015 

 Series 7: Product Guides and Technical Support, 1943-2011 

 Series 8: Legal and Patent Documents, 1966-2014 

 Series 9: Writings and Notes, 1946-1999 

 Series 10: Miscellaneous, 1961-2012 

 Series 11: Correspondence, 1983-2014 

 Series 12: Publicity and Awards, 1979-2015
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Series 2 processed by Alison L. Oswald, archivist, 2003; Series 3 processed by Tiffany Draut, 2008; Series 1 and 4 processed by Cory Bernat, March 2006; supervised by John Fleckner, archivist; Series 5-12 processed by Sara Wheeler, June 2017; supervised by Alison L. Oswald, archivist.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Select materials in Series 2 digitized in 2012; Series 4 digitized in 2006; and select materials from Series 6 were digitized in 2016.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Audiotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiocassettes
label: Genre/Form
content: CD-ROMs
label: Genre/Form
content: Diagrams
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings -- 1940-1950
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews -- 2000-2010
label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 1950-2000
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1940-1950
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Oral history -- 2000-2010
label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Manuals -- 1940-1950
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Ralph Baer Papers include autobiographical materials and an extended oral history interview. The Papers also include materials about military small arms created by Baer during his World War II service. The largest portion of the collection documents Baer's work on video games.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Ralph H. Baer Innovative Lives Presentation, August 15, 2009 (NMAH.AC.1179)

The presentation documents a moderated conversation about Baer's life and work. Baer reenacts, with his partner William Harrison, the first time he played "Odyssey," the first home video game for the consumer market, which he invented, and answers questions from the audience. Materials include original video (born digital), master videos, and reference videos.

Materials at Other Organizations

Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play at The Strong

Ralph H. Baer Papers, 1968-2010 inclusive; 1975-1998 bulk

The Ralph H. Baer papers are a compilation of correspondence, game designs, drawings, notes, reference materials, photographs, product descriptions, digital videos, schematics, electronic components, and manuals utilized by Ralph H. Baer throughout his lengthy career in the toy and game industry. The bulk of the materials are from 1975 through 1998. 

U.S. Ordnance Museum, Fort Lee, Virginia

Materials consist of data on foreign small arms brought back from Europe in 1946 by Ralph H. Baer. 

Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, New York

Holdings include set of seven recreations of "TV game" prototypes originally created between 1966 and 1969, donated by pioneering game developer Ralph Baer. One of Baer's game prototypes, known as the "Brown Box," was licensed by Magnavox and released in 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey, the world's first commercial home video game console.

University of Texas, Austin, Briscoe Center for American History

Ralph H. Baer "Brown Box" replica, 1952-1983, 2006-2012

The Ralph H. Baer "Brown Box" replica includes a fully-functional replica of Ralph Baer's "Brown Box," the prototype video game console that was used as the basis of the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. The collection also contains related research materials.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The Division of Medicine and Science holds artifacts related to this collection including early video game prototypes and TV Game products. 

TV Game Unit #1 (TVG#1); 1966; vacuum tube spot generator with Heathkit IG-62 Generator (See Accession 2006.0102.01)

Heathkit IG-62; used with TVG #1 (See Accession 2006.0102.02)

TV Game Unit #2 (TVG #2), aka the "Pump Unit," 1967; large aluminum chassis with wooden "pump" handle (See Accession 2006.0102.03)

TV Game Unit #7 (TVG#7), aka "Brown Box," 1967/1968; prototype for Magnavox Odyssey (See Accession 2006.0102.04)

Cardboard program cards for use with Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.05)

Lightgun, 1967/1968; game accessory for Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.06)

TV Game Unit #8, 1968; "de/dt" (velocity responsive) ballgame chassis for use with Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.07)

Magnavox Odyssey (Model ITL200) video game unit, 1972; with all accessories in the original carton (See Accession 2006.0102.08)

Milton-Bradley Company SIMON handheld microprocessor-control game, 1978 (See Accession 2006.0102.09)

Ideal Toy Company MANIAC microprocessor-control game, 1979, in original box with game instructions (See Accession 2006.0102.10)

Golf Game accessory, 1968; golf ball mounted on joystick handle for use with Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.11

"Brown Box" programming card, target shooting, 1967 (See Accession 2006.0102.12)