Drawn

In this charming series of drawings by Glenn Keane from 1982, the creators at Atari imagine a device they called the “Intelligent Encyclopedia”.

“These drawings date from 1982 (thirty years ago). Alan Kay had just become the Chief Scientist at Atari and he asked me to work with him to continue the work I started at Encyclopedia Britannica on the idea of an Intelligent Encyclopedia. We came up with these scenarios of how the (future) encyclopedia might be used and commissioned Glenn Keane, a well-known Disney animator to render them. “

if:book: Back to the Future — In honor of Encyclopedia Britannica giving up its print edition