Landmark Apple I Computer at Auction
Poster: SySAdmin
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 3:07:01 AM
Landmark Apple I Computer at Auction
COLOGNE, Germany, October 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
- Cross reference: Picture is available at epa european pressphoto agency
(http://www.epa.eu) and http://www.presseportal.de/pm/107018 -
It was a classic rags-to-riches story. Two college dropouts from California who
founded the world's highest-valued company. Steve Jobs was introduced to Steve Wozniak in
1969 and 'Woz' and Jobs became friends while working for Hewlett-Packard in 1970.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121023/568255 )
By 1976, Wozniak was refining his own computer design. The Altair 8800 had just made
the cover of Popular Electronics and Jobs quickly realised the potential of his friend's
invention. Apple Inc. was established in April 1976 and the first order of 50 computers
was assembled in the Jobs' family garage and delivered to the Byte Shop for $500 per unit.
Apple I was the first ready-made personal computer. Admittedly, the buyer still had to
provide the keyboard and monitor, but as Wozniak explained to enthusiasts at the Homebrew
Computer Club in July 1976, his design allowed the user to work on a "human-typable
keyboard instead of a stupid, cryptic front panel with a bunch of lights and switches".
Of the 200 Apple I computers ever produced, just 43 have survived, and of these only
six are in working order ("Apple 1 Registry", by Mike Willegal). One was sold for a record
$374,500 in June 2012 in New York, a second one of the six is being offered now by Auction
Team Breker in Germany on 24 November 2012.
The Cologne-based auctioneer has been holding record-breaking sales of "Science and
Technology" for 25 years. According to founder Uwe Breker, this is the first fully working
Apple I offered publically in Europe, and the only example with the original period
peripherals - transformer, Sony monitor and Datanetics ASCII keyboard - to have appeared
so far. He comments "There is a long-established market for antique 'Scientific
Instruments', whereas technology from the dawn of the computer age is attracting a great
new generation of collectors."
See http://www.breker.com for details of the auction and
http://www.youtube.com/AuctionTeamBreker for the 7-minute demo-video of the Apple I in
action.
In addition to the media attention around Apple products (especially the early ones),
two motion pictures about the life of Steve Jobs have been announced for the end of the
year, one of which (by Sony Pictures) stars Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs.
Contact: Uwe H. Breker, Auction@Breker.com, Tel. +49(0)2236-3843420
Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121023/568255
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121023/568255
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Auction Team Breker
COLOGNE, Germany, October 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
- Cross reference: Picture is available at epa european pressphoto agency
(http://www.epa.eu) and http://www.presseportal.de/pm/107018 -
It was a classic rags-to-riches story. Two college dropouts from California who
founded the world's highest-valued company. Steve Jobs was introduced to Steve Wozniak in
1969 and 'Woz' and Jobs became friends while working for Hewlett-Packard in 1970.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121023/568255 )
By 1976, Wozniak was refining his own computer design. The Altair 8800 had just made
the cover of Popular Electronics and Jobs quickly realised the potential of his friend's
invention. Apple Inc. was established in April 1976 and the first order of 50 computers
was assembled in the Jobs' family garage and delivered to the Byte Shop for $500 per unit.
Apple I was the first ready-made personal computer. Admittedly, the buyer still had to
provide the keyboard and monitor, but as Wozniak explained to enthusiasts at the Homebrew
Computer Club in July 1976, his design allowed the user to work on a "human-typable
keyboard instead of a stupid, cryptic front panel with a bunch of lights and switches".
Of the 200 Apple I computers ever produced, just 43 have survived, and of these only
six are in working order ("Apple 1 Registry", by Mike Willegal). One was sold for a record
$374,500 in June 2012 in New York, a second one of the six is being offered now by Auction
Team Breker in Germany on 24 November 2012.
The Cologne-based auctioneer has been holding record-breaking sales of "Science and
Technology" for 25 years. According to founder Uwe Breker, this is the first fully working
Apple I offered publically in Europe, and the only example with the original period
peripherals - transformer, Sony monitor and Datanetics ASCII keyboard - to have appeared
so far. He comments "There is a long-established market for antique 'Scientific
Instruments', whereas technology from the dawn of the computer age is attracting a great
new generation of collectors."
See http://www.breker.com for details of the auction and
http://www.youtube.com/AuctionTeamBreker for the 7-minute demo-video of the Apple I in
action.
In addition to the media attention around Apple products (especially the early ones),
two motion pictures about the life of Steve Jobs have been announced for the end of the
year, one of which (by Sony Pictures) stars Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs.
Contact: Uwe H. Breker, Auction@Breker.com, Tel. +49(0)2236-3843420
Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121023/568255
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121023/568255
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Auction Team Breker