Apple’s First Computer Could Fetch More Than Half A Million Dollars At Auction
Image via John Moran
With Apple so often being associated with sleek, minimalist designs, it’s hard to picture its products as anything but. However, the Apple-1 computer is possibly the furthest thing from an iMac that one could envision.
The iconic company’s first product is, predictably, difficult to get, but one such piece will be going up for auction this week, and it’s expected to fetch around US$600,000.
According to auction house John Moran, it’s one of just 200 pieces that were tested and put together by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs in Jobs’ own home 45 years ago.
So yes, it’s a vintage tech collector’s dream.
Image via John Moran
At the time, 50 units of the computer were sold to ByteShop in California and drew disdain from the shop’s owner, Paul Terrell. He thought that the units would be ready to be plugged in and used by the buyer, and was disgruntled to see that wasn’t the case.
He did, however, accept Jobs’ explanation that he’d be able to make a profit by selling the computer with keyboards and other accessories from the shop.
This particular unit of the Apple-1 was purchased first by an electronics professor, who later sold it to a student when upgrading to the Apple II. This student has been the owner of it ever since.
Image via John Moran
The computer comes with a Panasonic video monitor, a copy of the Apple-1 basic manual and operations guide, an original programming manual, two Apple-1 software cassette tapes, three original video, power and cassette interface cables, and a bound copy of the professional authentication and condition report and a proof of life DVD.
Image via John Moran
Of course, there’s also the original Apple-1 NTI motherboard, marked with “Apple Computer 1 / Palo Alto , CA Copyright 1976.”
Image via John Moran
It has undergone an “extensive authentication, restoration, and evaluation process,” according to the auction house, and is one of six encased in Koa wood, which The Guardian reports has “since become rarer and more expensive.”
Image via John Moran
Phoned-in bids for this stunning item have already been received by John Moran, according to a statement provided to the East Bay Times.
“When you see certain items, you just know that they’re going to be showstoppers,” Nathan Martinez, advertising and marketing director at John Moran, tells the newspaper. “The Apple-1 is one of those.”
The starting bid for the Apple-1 is US$200,000, and it goes on sale Tuesday.
[via The Guardian, all images via John Moran]
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