Sotheby's To Auction Original, Working Apple 1 Computer

Apple-1 computer

My wife owns a Mac 512K, complete with a cassette tutorial that includes musical background by Bill Evans. Now, my bride is a deeply committed Apple user, but she's not an engineer. And she's anything but a nerd. She's also not a collector of vintage computers. However, there is a growing crowd that's interested in original issue computers. Will they pay top dollar for scarce, historic items? They're starting to do so.

In the coming days, Sotheby's will auction off a rare, bootable original Apple-1 computer. According to a Mercury News article about the event, the auction is expected to draw some deep pocketed collectors. Their entry into the realm of computer collection is a relatively new, expensive development.

Mechanical devices always seem to find a following. When I was in high school, my best friend collected phonographs, old recordings, and musical instruments. All three categories didn't simply sit on a shelf: he actively played and used what he bartered for or bought outright. To have witnessed my friend's delight on obtaining a rare phonograph remains a sweet memory.

Hopefully, the Apple-1 will find a new home and an appreciative owner who won't purchase the computer simply, and coarsely, for its supposed "investment value."

PS. Sotheby's auctioned the Apple-1 for the "hammer price" of $310,000; the actual payment price was higher, as the auction house's fee and taxes needed to be added to the purchase price. According to the Mercury News feature on the sale, one computer collector asserted the auction price "'takes us across a boundary line to where you have to start looking at these things as art pieces, like Monets.'"