Steve Jobs had a foresight, but in 1980 he did not expect his autograph to bring in so much money. The Apple II manual that he signed with investor Mike Markola sold for at least $787,484 – converted into €67,3232.
The 196-page guide belongs to Julian Brewer, son of Michael Brewer. He negotiated distribution rights for Apple in the UK in 1979. My son put the piece up for auction and received 46 bids.
Personal text from Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs wrote a personal message inside the guide: “Julian, your generation is the first to grow up with computers. Go and change the world! Steven Jobs, 1980.” Julian remembers it well. “I was in my bedroom programming games on my Apple II. My dad called to ask if I wanted to meet some guests. To my surprise, it was Steve Jobs and Mike Markula.”
He continues, “I had the proof with me and asked Steve to sign it. I didn’t realize until later how rare it was for Jobs to draw anything, let alone write a personal script like that. Jobs became fine with my dad. I guess that’s the only reason behind Jobs’ desire to write such a personal letter.”
Valuable Apple Souvenirs
RR Auctions, the site that provides the Apple II manual SoldShe previously sold other Steve Jobs memorabilia at auction. These hands were also changed for very exorbitant prices. A letter from Steve Jobs, “I’m afraid I don’t sign autographs” sold for $479,939. The NeXTSTEP software package sold the auction site for $210,325. Many things from Apple’s early history bring in huge amounts of money today. Letters and other things related to the late Steve Jobs also change for big money.
A fully functional Apple-1 computer, formerly owned by Roger Wagner, brought in astronomical $464,876 in profits. If you think this is the top, you are wrong. This amount is less than what was paid for some other Apple-1 computers. Another huge amount of money had to be paid for the signed Macintosh 128K motherboard, which sold for $132,049. Even the Apple Lisa computer did just fine for $94,949.
IBM’s middle finger
The following two examples show that everything about Steve Jobs is worth gold. A copy of the first issue of the American magazine Macworld, signed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, sold for $201,021. The original leather jacket that Jobs wore in his 1983 photo “Middle Finger to IBM” fetched $66,466. Do you want to withdraw your wallet?
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Apple II manual, signed by Steve Jobs, produces tons