A 41-year-old Apple II computer manual signed by the late Apple founder Steve Jobs fetched a whopping $800,000 at an auction last week, and the buyer was Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.
RR Auctions, a firm based out of Boston, sold the 1980 manual for $787,484 on Thursday, according to CNN.
The computer’s 196-page manual, which was signed by Jobs and Apple’s early investor and the company’s second CEO, Mike Markkula, dates back to 1977, just three years after the computer was released.
‘Julian, your generation grew up with the first computers. Go change the world! Steven Jobs, 1980,’ wrote a 25-year-old Jobs.
The ‘Julian’ in question is Julian Brewer, the son of a former Apple product distributor in the United Kingdom. In a statement announcing the sale, RR Auctions said Jobs and Markkula signed Manuel during a promotional trip to the UK.
Image: Apple II manual signed by Steve Jobs from 1980 addressed to ‘Julian’
‘Julian, your generation grew up with the first computers. Go change the world! Steven Jobs, 1980 Read the ‘Jobs’ inscription
Image: A different angle of the signed Apple II reference book, which was sold at auction on Thursday
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer, Steve Jobs unveils the iCloud storage system at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 on June 6, 2011 in San Francisco, California.
“I was writing games on my Apple II in my bedroom when Dad called me to visit some guests,” Brewer said of getting the manuals as a kid.
‘To my surprise it was Steve Jobs and Mike Markkula. I had the manual and only later did I realize how rare it was for Jobs to sign anything, let alone write an inscription like this. He had a good friendship with Dad, so I think the inscription was carefully made.’
The Apple II proved to be an important product for the then struggling computer company, and became one of the first computers built for the consumer market.
Second-generation hardware also became a hit in the commercial sphere after VisiCalc, a computer spreadsheet for the Apple II, was coded in 1979.
RR Auctions said, ‘While the Apple I was primarily for hobbyists, with less than 200 units, the Apple II truly ‘changed the world’ by giving nearly 6 million homes and businesses their first taste of personal computing.
‘Apple II revenue supported Apple’s successful flotation, the largest tech IPO of the time.’
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay (pictured) was about to buy a signed manual for about $800,000
Image: Jobs decorating the cover of the opening issue of Macworld magazine, signed by the late Apple founder, was also put up for auction by RR Auctions and was purchased for $21,021.
The Apple II (pictured) proved to be a flagship product for the then struggling computer company, and in 1977 became one of the first computers built for the consumer market.
The company eventually went public, offering an IPO in December 1980—just three years after the release of the Apple II.
Meanwhile, the winning bidder revealed what the manual meant to him after paying nearly $1 million for it.
“When we think of the greatest, most innovative minds of the past two centuries, Steve Jobs is certainly one to join,” Irsay wrote in a statement to RR Auctions.
‘Jobs was a truly transformative figure who changed the way human beings think, do business and interact on a daily basis.’
The three most expensive auction items were an Apple II manual signed by Steve Jobs, a Jobs signed type letter that went for $479,939, and an Apple I computer that fetched $464,876.
According to the auction house’s website, the early 1984 issue of Macworld magazine, also signed by the late Apple founder, was put up for auction by RR Auctions and was bought for $201,021 after 33 bids.
Meanwhile, according to the news outlet, Jobs’ original business card went for $12,905, and his Next Bomber Jacket only went for $3,110.
Portrait of American businessmen and engineers Steve Jobs (left) and Steve Wozniak (pictured) co-founders of Apple Computer
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