Howdy folks, I was perusing old copies of ;login: and came across a note about the BSTJ
UNIX issue in the August 1978 newsletter:
https://archive.org/details/login_august-1978
What I find particularly amusing is that all UNIX licensees at the time of that
publication allegedly were provided a copy free of charge. The text goes on to indicate
additional copies can be purchased for a measly $1.50.
Fast forward to today and I typically don't see this copy pop up on auction for less
than $100. Still, amazing how something was being just tossed out to anyone who wanted one
and now here 45 years later, it's a mad scramble to find the same. Then there's
this listing:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/134212722284?hash=item1f3fb39e6c:g:9VEAAOSw8HtjCp2…
$3000 dollars...quite shocking, although perhaps they're banking on the uniqueness of
that little sleeve, I've never seen one of those with a BSTJ issue before. Was that
some sort of packaging the issues were delivered in? It has the Bell Logo in the little
window on either side, so I want to believe it's original and not something someone
threw together after the fact.
In any case, I suspect part of the low pricing is due to Bell anti-trust stuff, as they
really moved on nickle and diming on documentation once they were legally able to. In any
case, I'm always shocked to see how much I paid for something in my archival efforts
and then I find a price sheet only to find out someone bought a book back in the day for
the cost of a burger and fries. While I'm pursuing documents for research
purposes...I may be inadvertently building myself quite the value store without even
meaning to...
- Matt G.