In the Beginning: HP Origins

Share this piece of history

Long before Hewlett-Packard was a Fortune 500 company with operations throughout the globe, it was the brainchild of two twenty-somethings doing the best they could with what they had. The company’s humble origins and its early years of operation, when Bill and Dave were still finding their way in the world but shared a vision for how they wanted to do business, would be formative for the powerhouse that Hewlett-Packard eventually became.

Hewlett-Packard's first patent, for Bill Hewlett's oscillator, granted on January 6, 1942.
Hewlett-Packard’s First Patent
Exterior photo of the house at 367 Addison Avenue that would become the first home for Hewlett-Packard, taken in 1939.
Addison Avenue: Initial Home Office
Front-facing photo of the HP 200A oscillator, Hewlett-Packard's first product.
HP’s First Product: The 200A
Dave Packard posing beside a car in 1936.
Dave Packard Before Hewlett-Packard
Notes from a meeting between Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard on August 23, 1937.
The Creation of Hewlett-Packard
Headshot of Bill Hewlett circa 1939.
Bill Hewlett Before Hewlett-Packard
Photo of Lucile Salter Packard with a cat in her lap and Dave Packard sitting next to her.
Lucile Salter Packard
Photo of Helen Perry at work (typing with headset on) with Dave Packard working in the background.
HP’s First Female Employee
Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett working at a workbench.
An Early Benchmark at Addison Avenue
Exterior photo of the garage at 367 Addison Avenue taken in 1939.
Addison Avenue: The Garage
Photo of the Isaac Mizrahi smartwatch including a deeply textured dial.
Dialing in an Early Victory: HP 205A
A side/front view of the 200B oscillator custom designed for Walt Disney Company for use in the audio production of Fantasia.
A Deal with Disney: HP 200B Oscillator
Dave Packard as a young man posing beside a car.
Fred Terman: Father of Silicon Valley
The HP 200A audio oscillator prototype developed by Bill Hewlett at Stanford.
The HP 200A: From Prototype to Product
Schematic for a bowling alley foul indicator from 1940.
Bill and Dave Search for Their Niche
From left to right: Bill Hewlett, Flora Hewlett, Lucile Packard and Dave Packard.
Photo of the Hewletts and the Packards
Addison Avenue: Perfect Opportunity
Three lightbulbs like the ones that Bill Hewlett may have used as a variable resistor.
The Lightbulb that Lit the Way to HP
Photo of Vic Carson working at a workbench.
Vic Carson: HP’s First Lab Employee
Schematic for the HP 200A audio oscillator.
Schematic for Success: The HP200A
The front face of the HP 300A harmonic wave analyzer.
Making Waves in the Industry: HP 300A
A photo from 1940 showing the use of open spaces where employees could see each other but have their own individual space.
The Way We Work: Open Spaces at HP
Front face of the HP 400A vacuum tube voltmeter.
A Jolt to the Line: HP 400A Voltmeter
Bill Hewlett working with an audio signal generator.
Making Noise: HP Audio Signal Generator
The HP 320 AR distortion analyzer.
Expanding the Catalog: HP 320AR
Schematic for Porter-Hewlett Packard Temperature Control.
Porter’s Part: HP’s Earliest Products