Two of world's first desktop computers found during London house clearance

The found the computers buried under several boxes during a house clearance

Two of the world’s first desktop computers have been found during a London house clearance. The Q1, launched in 1972, paved the way for computing as we know it today.

Two of only three surviving models known in the world were found buried under several boxes during a house clearance in London by waste firm Just Clear.

Staff at the company, which tries to salvage and reuse as many items as possible, had no idea what they had found but put them aside until they could do more research. When internet searches failed to shed any light on their origin, Just Clear founder Brendan O’Shea decided to consult a computer expert.

He was shocked when he was told that the model was the world’s very first fully-integrated desktop computer powered by a single chip microprocessor.

Launched with the intel 8008 processor in December 1972, the model looked more like a typewriter, but the creation of the Q1 marked an important milestone in computing history.

The series was marketed as a well-built, high-quality unit with a unique industrial design and featured a neon-orange plasma display. The first true microcomputer was manufactured by the Q1 Corporation in the United States and only a few were imported into Britain at the time.

Now the two Q1 computers have gone on public display as part of a technology exhibition at Kingston University in South West London. Mr O’Shea said: “Our teams find all sorts of things while clearing houses on a daily basis, some with historical significance, but never did I imagine that we’d find something so important to the field of technology and the history of computing.

“Occasionally, we encounter items deemed important enough to preserve and archive for the future in an auction sale or, in this case, an exhibition. I’m told that these models are extremely rare, so to find a pair of them is beyond exciting.

“The computers were buried under a hoard of boxes and initially we just thought they were two nice pieces of 1970s computing history that perhaps we would have data-wiped if not suitable for reuse and sent to our E-waste stream.

“However, after consulting our advisors and conducting research over time, we realised we had, in fact uncovered two ultra-rare items, of which there are only three known in existence in the world today.”

He added: “We are so honoured to be able to share these pieces of history with the public and contribute to the celebration of vintage computing.”

Exhibition co-creator Paul Neve, of Kingston University’s Computer Science Department, said: “There would be no PCs, no Macs, no Apple or Android phones without the Q1 Corporation.

“The early pioneers in the 1970’s and 1980’s laid the foundation for today’s ‘everything’ device – the modern computer, which is so ubiquitous in everyday life. We rely on computers for our work, communication, productivity and entertainment, but without the early trailblazers none of this would exist.”

The exhibition features 60 different computers and gaming machines including Atari, Sinclair ZX81, ZX Spectrum, Sinclair QL, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Amstrad, Commodore and the Dragon 32.

The Q1 computers will either be offered for auction or sold privately after the free exhibition at the University’s Penrhyn Road campus in Kingston upon Thames concluded on Saturday (February 17).

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