When we talk about the beginnings of Apple, we are not just talking about a startup that emerged from a humble garage, but about a pivotal moment that changed the course of technical history forever. Today, an exceptional opportunity arises for collectors of rare items, as Bonhams auction house prepares to offer one of the rarest computers in the world: a fully functional Apple-1, bearing the number 48 in the official Apple-1 registry, signed by co-founder Steve Wozniak, and accompanied by an extremely rare historical letter signed by Steve Jobs himself. Estimates suggest that this historic device could sell for as much as $800,000, or perhaps more, at the upcoming History of Science and Technology auction this October.
The story of the Hatfield device: Jobs’ letter and an upgrade rejected for $400
This computer is named the “Hatfield Apple-1” after its original owner, Fred Hatfield, a tech enthusiast and former employee at Computer Data Systems. The story begins when Hatfield bought the device in 1976, but later complained about the lack of software available for the Apple-1, which was normal for a device at the dawn of the tech revolution. Here lies the true magic of this piece; Hatfield received an official printed letter dated January 18, 1978, personally signed by Steve Jobs in his capacity at the time as “Vice President of Operations” for Apple Computer Inc., offering to trade his device for the newer Apple II generation equipped with 4KB of memory.
The ironic twist in the story is that Hatfield rejected Jobs’ offer! The reason? The offer required him to pay an additional $400 for the upgrade, which he considered a large sum at the time, so he decided to keep his old device in the closet. This rare paper correspondence is currently priceless, as it documents a golden era when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak managed everything themselves, from soldering and assembly to responding directly to customer complaints and providing technical support.
From a broken device to a legend worth nearly a million dollars
The device remained in Hatfield’s possession until 2013, when he sold it in a completely broken state for $40,000. The new buyer did not leave it as a silent piece of junk, but put in extraordinary engineering effort to repair it and replace the damaged components with original parts until it worked efficiently again. He later obtained Steve Wozniak’s direct signature on the motherboard and sold it at a public auction for $671,400. Today, the computer returns to the auction block still working with rare efficiency, making it one of fewer than 75 Apple-1 devices remaining in the world, and one of the very few that still pulse with life.
According to statements by Ian Ehling, Director of the Books and Manuscripts Department at Bonhams North America, this device represents the first pillar of the personal computing revolution. Combining the fact that it still works, Wozniak’s signature on the board, and its pairing with an original letter from Jobs makes it the most complete and significant copy ever brought to market in history. It will be available for public and private viewing in Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco, before settling in New York to accept bids between October 4 and 14.
Ahead-of-their-time specifications and other treasures in the auction
Jobs and Wozniak made only about 200 units of the Apple-1 computer in 1976. The device was originally just a bare circuit board that required hobbyists to assemble themselves, before Jobs succeeded in convincing The Byte Shop to buy 50 fully assembled devices to sell to the public for the curious price of $666.66. The computer relied on the famous 8-bit MOS Technology 6502 processor and featured a built-in video circuit that allowed it to be connected directly to a home TV via a standard video cable, saving users the cost of buying expensive computer monitors at the time, although the buyer still had to provide the keyboard, power supply, and external case.
The upcoming auction will not be limited to the Apple-1, but will include other rare collectibles that will make Apple fans drool, most notably the rare Apple Lisa 1 computer expected to fetch between $50,000 and $80,000, the famous Jolly Roger pirate flag designed by Susan Kare and flown by the original Macintosh development teams, a rare prototype of the Apple Paladin device with an estimated price of up to $60,000, in addition to a transparent plastic prototype of the pioneering Macintosh Portable.
Source:
Leave a Reply