Now that I have installed a variant of Linux on my old computer, I could handle the format of the file on this tape.

The label says it is from 1983 and it is in TAR format.  This format is still a mainstay on Linux computers.  In this case, it is not a problem of software, but of hardware.  I wonder if there are still any mag tape readers for this kind of  tape. I also wonder if all the magnetized bits have faded into randomness.

If you are wondering who Elsie was, she was my μVax computer in my office at Digital Equipment Corporation.