Rescue and restore the Aesthedes 1

We are doing this in English, because I want to reach as many people as we could.

TL;DR: We need money to transport the Aesthedes 1 from the University of Amsterdam to the HomeComputerMuseum, costing €1500.

The Aesthedes

Aesthedes is one of the first CAD-computers ever made. It's made from 1982 onward by Mr. Claessens who lived in Hilversum at the time. He wanted to create a computer that could be used by designers without knowledge of computers.

The result is the Aesthedes. Between 200 and 250 are produced. The Aesthedes was used to create the logo's of Heineken, Amstel, Remia, Marlboro. It was also used in automotive and we have proof it is used at Ford UK, Mercedes, Volvo and Volkswagen. Also 25 guilder was made by this computer, as well as all traffic signs in the Netherlands.

At this moment, only 7 are known to exist and only one is operational.

The HomeComputerMuseum

The HomeComputerMuseum received an Aesthedes 2 in 2018. By the end of 2020 the restoration started. At that moment, no information regarding this computer could be found on the Internet. No schematics, no pictures, no manuals, no videos. Only a small Wikipedia article mentioning Heineken and 25 guilders.

A big challenge for the museum. We got in contact with the University of Amsterdam who have one as well. Except, this is an Aesthedes 1 (and we have a 2). Since we had a problem with our harddisk, the original Aesthedes wasn't helpful. Also, about 14 years ago they had it working but lost all information about this.

Since 2020, the HomeComputerMuseum team managed to get the Aesthedes 2 in a working state. Thanks to social media, we managed to find former employees and users who shared their knowledge and remaining material. We are sharing as much information as we are allowed to by uploading to archive.org.

Impact today

The Aesthedes was of influence on how Photoshop, Illustrator and even Autocad is today. The massive keyboard the Aesthedes is using, is directly copied into CAD-software. Also the way the system was used, became the standard. Things like watermarks is essentially created thanks to Aesthedes.

Why the rescue and the crowdfunding?

The University of Amsterdam cannot keep the original Aesthedes. Since the HomeComputerMuseum is also collecting Dutch computers and have much information regarding the hard- and software of the Aesthedes, it makes sense that this computer should be transported to the HomeComputerMuseum. The transportation will cost €1500 .

In the museum scene, it is common that the receiving museum pays for transport (and insurance). €1500 is a lot of money, also for us. Therefor, we ask the community for help so we can transport this piece of Dutch heritage as well as restore it to a fully working system. We currently don't receive subsidy, but are financial stable. However, we cannot just spend €1500 without getting into trouble. That's why we ask for this.

What happens with the money?

The transport will cost €1500 (which is already discounted). The remaining will go into the insurance while transporting. All money above the €2000 will be used to buy showcases.

Wait? Showcases?

Yes. We need a nice showcase to display the Aesthedes material. One showcase costs €700. In all honesty, we can use even a few more. We have about 35 of them already, but all are full. We will get some really special items in soon, which need to be in a showcase. So, all extra money will be spend on that. Trust us, these are really special computers and as soon as we can say what these are, we will let it know on social media, discord and here.

Thank you for the consideration.