--- title: Original CES: LIFE Photos from 1958 Gadget and Invention Show description: Before CES, there was the International Gadget an Invention Show, which saw the likes of self-rocking hammocks and flying sprinklers. canonical: https://time.com/3654180/ces-1958-gadget-photos/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-06T17:29:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:45:23.620Z og:title: See Photos From the International Gadget and Invention Show in 1958 og:description: Before CES, there was the International Gadget an Invention Show, which saw the likes of self-rocking hammocks and flying sprinklers. og:url: https://time.com/3654180/ces-1958-gadget-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e40bcf276b6c6b7/6987782d06f2c10eb3333351/150105-inventions-08.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1996 og:image:height: 1123 og:image:alt: Gadget Invention Show, 1958 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See Photos From the International Gadget and Invention Show in 1958 twitter:description: Before CES, there was the International Gadget an Invention Show, which saw the likes of self-rocking hammocks and flying sprinklers. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e40bcf276b6c6b7/6987782d06f2c10eb3333351/150105-inventions-08.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Original CES: See Crazy Photos from the 1958 Gadget Show > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 6, 2015 5:29 PM UTC  14-year-old inventor Donald Rich with "Robotron," a walking robot designed as a computer. 14-year-old inventor Donald Rich with "Robotron," a walking robot designed as a computer. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 6, 2015 5:29 PM UTC Since its inception in 1967, the [Consumer Electronics Show](http://time.com/3653602/ces-gadgets/) has witnessed the debut of such technological essentials as the VCR, the CD and the Xbox. But for every multinational company premiering the Next Big Thing at CES, there are countless lonely inventors, tinkering with gadgets that may never see the light beyond the walls of a run-down garage. An article in the [May 12, 1958 issue of LIFE](https://books.google.com/books?id=vFMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA2&dq=allan+grant+invention&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AbKqVPTBMtGcygSJ6YCoAw&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false) titled “Have Invention, Need Angel” featured a handful of these innovators, entrepreneurial enough to bring their inventions to that year’s International Gadget and Invention Show in New York. The show, according to the article, was “a sort of lonely hearts club where misunderstood inventors can meet with understanding investors and perhaps make a match.” In the photographs, shot by [Ralph Morse](http://time.com/3623776/ralph-morse-photographer-spotlight/), the creators demonstrate the creations they hope investors will deem worthy of their cash. And though, as the author writes, “their families often think they are crazy and sometimes they are,” a few of these Edison wannabes ended up with early versions of inventions that would later be produced en masse: an [automated card-dealer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErCftzSJLy4), an early version of the treadmill and a disposable umbrella (predecessor to that $5 piece of junk that goes from your hand to the trashcan within ten city blocks). But that lady drinking milk upside down should probably get up before all the blood rushes to her head. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Caption from LIFE. Disposable plastic umbrella to be sold by stores to customers stranded in sudden showers by the inventor Harry Heavner. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Frank Wirth spins device that deals four card hands at once. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Flying Sprinkler, here sailing over inventor, Benjamin Forman of Edison, N.J. uses propeller and jet action to lift hose and sprayer over lawn. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Remote smoker to be placed at the bedside is demonstrated by Anton Widrich of Eatontown, N.J. and his granddaughter, Helen. Base catches ashes. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Rocking hammock is set in motion with foot pressure by inventor, MacArthur Wardell Jr. It sways from head to toe rather than side to side. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  International Gadget and Invention Show, New York, 1958. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  International Gadget and Invention Show, New York, 1958. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  14-year-old inventor Donald Rich with "Robotron," a walking robot designed as a computer. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3654180/ces-1958-gadget-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3654180/ces-1958-gadget-photos/"},"headline":"The Original CES: See Crazy Photos from the 1958 Gadget Show","datePublished":"2015-01-06T17:29:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:45:23.620Z","description":"Reading upside down. The flying sprinkler. 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