The Free Software Foundation (FSF) turns 40 this year and, as part of the celebrations, is holding a virtual memorabilia auction that will include the original drawing of the iconic GNU head.

The bidding will start as a virtual silent auction on March 17 and run through March 21, with more auction items revealed each day, and will culminate in an virtual live auction on March 23, 2025, 14:00 to 17:00 EDT.

The headline item in the auction (at least from what's been revealed so far) is the original drawing by Etienne Suvasa of a GNU's head. This became the blueprint for the iconic GNU logo that is ubiquitous in the free software world.

Other items in the list of memorabilia for sale include some rare and historic hardware, such as a "terminus-est" microcomputer, and an Amiga 3000UX that was used in the FSF's old office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the early days of GNU. At that point, these machines were capable of running a GNU-like operating system.

Another item in the list for the auction is the Internet Hall of Fame medal awarded to founder Richard Stallman. The FSF says that:

"when Stallman was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame, it was the ultimate recognition of free software's immense impact on the development and advancement of the Internet. This medal is definitely worthy of joining a fine historical collection!"

FSF is also auctioning the Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility, which was awarded to the free software movement itself and given to the FSF in 1999 "in appreciation for their deep commitment to the socially responsible use of computing technology".

The auction items will also include several more historic awards, more original GNU artwork, and a "legendary" katana that became a lighthearted weapon in the fight for computer user freedom.

In addition, the organizers of the auction are promising a range of "iconic plush animals that have been greeting visitors in the lobby of the FSF office for years". No details are available so far on what soft toys this refers to, but Richard Stallman has auctioned toy gnus in the past.

More Information

Registration Form For FSF Auction

Related Articles

Latest FSF Updates To Software Licenses

FSF - Free JavaScript Campaign - Too Far?

Richard Stallman Announces C Reference 

GNU At 40 Celebrations

To be informed about new articles on I Programmer, sign up for our weekly newsletter, subscribe to the RSS feed and follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin.

Comments

Make a Comment or View Existing Comments Using Disqus

or email your comment to: comments@i-programmer.info