Dag Spicer at the Computer History Museum writes .…. I also wanted to share with you a unique Cray artefact we have on permanent display in our Supercomputing gallery (with a Cray-1 (S/N 6), Cray-2, and Cray-3. It’s called, “lLttle Character” (1958) and the story I was told about it was that it was Seymour’s prototype to show he could build a reliable system using very small scale individual circuit boards — I believe the first commercial product to result was the 1604.
Here’s a little more information on it:
The “Little Character” was
a 6-bit prototype computer designed by Seymour Cray in 1958 to test modular packaging and logic techniques for Control Data Corporation (CDC). It was an early success that influenced the design of the 48-bit CDC 1604, showcasing the viability of using transistors in computer design.
- Purpose: The main goal was to demonstrate a modular approach to designing computers using transistors.
- Significance: The project helped show CDC that they could build reliable, high-performance computers with a few types of transistorized circuit boards, paving the way for the development of the CDC 1604.
- Technology: It was a 6-bit machine that used transistors, a key technological shift from the vacuum tubes of earlier computers.
- Impact: The “Little Character” was a successful proof-of-concept that convinced Control Data to adopt Cray’s modular and transistor-based design philosophy for future projects.
As seen in the CHM our exhibit, Revolution: The First 2,000 Years of Computing History:
Credit CHM 
Core store in CDC 1604
These pages from the CHM report about it’s reopening back 1984 where it had a special area dedicated to the work of Seymour Cray.
