COMPENDIUM CATALOGUE 1974 (PRE THE APPLE COMPUTER)

REVOLUTION OR EVOLUTION?

Gregory Ket prepared and published the Compendium Catalogue in 1974, two years prior to the arrival of the Apple computer. He painstakingly typed the text on his IBM Selectric typewriter. Then he would cut and paste his work on layout sheets along with resized photocopies of excerpts and images from books and catalogues. He never stopped researching.

His dedication to the idea that people could be better informed via the printed word was keenly expressed in his work. 

“We are gods and might well get good at it. So far remotely done power and glory – as via government, big business, formal education, church – has succeeded to point where gross defects obscure actual gains. In response to this dilemma and to these gains a realm of intimate, personal power is developing – power of the individual to conduct his own education, find his own inspiration, shape his own environment, and share his adventure with whoever is interested …” Stewart Brand in The Whole Earth Catalogue

The Counterculture of the early 70’s saw the manifestation of a desire among many young people in the US and Europe, to pursue a simpler and more self-sustaining lifestyle. The first of the four Whole Earth Catalogues were published each year from 1968 to 1972.

THE APPLE COMPUTER

This is a facsimile edition. The Arrival of the Apple Computer in 1976 dramatically changed how printed material was produced so that this catalogue is doubly significant; an example of how we communicated as well as the titles of the books we were all reading . Hope you enjoy it!

The Compendium Catalogue is available as a paperback or ebook from Amazon.