A working Apple-1 computer starred in Christie’s sale of books and Americana in New York yesterday afternoon.
It sold for $355,500.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were essentially hobbyists when they set up Apple Computer Inc. in a Palo Alto garage in 1976.
The Apple-1 was the first computer to feature an assembled motherboard
The Apple-1, the first computer sold with an assembled motherboard, was the result of their early efforts.
It was designed by Wozniak, with Jobs stumping up some of the original funds and handling the marketing.
The computer debuted at the Homebrew Computer Club in 1976, where it received a rapturous reception.
Jobs and Wozniak built 200, of which around 50 are known to have survived.
Of these, only eight are in working condition.
Part of the reason for the Apple-1’s rarity is that the much improved Apple-II (the first consumer PC) came out less than a year later.
Apple-1 buyers were given the opportunity to upgrade for free.
Today the Apple-1 is seen as representing the first step in the company’s domination of the tech industry.
The original marketing states: “Since the Apple comes fully assembled, tested & burned-in and has a complete power supply on-board, initial set-up is essentially ‘hassle-free’ and you can be running within minutes”.
The company continues to push that same ease of use in its latest products. It’s one of the main reasons behind the company’s enormous success.
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