Apple and Tech History: For Sale

Image via RR Auction

Woz and Jobs Autographs Go on Auction

22 JULY 2022 - More Apple history is hitting the auction block. Apple Insider has word of documents signed by the Cupertino-company’s two Steves - those would be Jobs and Wozniak. The piece says “They're being included in a new ‘Apple, Jobs, and Computer Hardware’ lot,” headed to auction, soon.

Bidding on the Jobs document starts at $1,000. Bidding on the Woz doc starts at $200. That may seem rude, but it likely has a bit to do with scarcity. Steve Jobs signatures are known to be fairly rare. Conversely, I’ve seen Wozniak sign his name, and I’ve only seen Wozniak once. Still, his signature on a business doc could be worth a quatloo or two.

Theirs are not the only signatures in the lot. The piece says:

Some of the [tech] pioneers whose signatures are represented include Bill Gates, Esther Dyson, Pixar cofounder Alvy Ray Smith, former Apple CEO John Sculley, and former Apple design team member Bill Atkinson.

Lots of other tech memorabilia as well. Run by RR Auction, bidding begins today (Friday 22 July). The auction ends on Thursday 18 August.

Pre Apple-1 Apple-1 Up for Auction

You’re not going to believe this but there is an early Apple-1 computer going on sale that I actually find interesting. Yes - I tend to make fun of such auctions when they happen. I mean, how many times a year can you say “this ultra-rare machine is going on sale” before you stop believing in their rarity?

But this one highlighted by Cult of Mac is really rare. One point of interest - it does not work. Because it was a prototype. According to RR Auction, which is running this sale as well:

The board’s present condition lends some insight into Jobs’s judgment of it: he saw the prototype not as something to be enshrined, but as something to be repurposed… Several of the ICs have been plucked from their sockets, as have the microprocessor and other components, presumably for use on early production Apple-1 Computers.

Which brings us to another interesting point: This is not an Apple-1. According to the Cult, “Text on the left side of the board reads ‘Apple Computer A’ while production model units are labeled ‘Apple Computer 1.’” The piece says this machine is the prototype Jobs demo’d for The Byte Shop. “That lead to a deal that launched Apple on its path to success.”

Bidding on the machine currently stands at just under $130,000. Expect it to climb a bit. That sale also ends on Thursday 18 August.