Marie JonesThe Apple I, with a processor thousands of times slower than an iPad, was one of only 200 models ever made, and was sold at Christie’s together with its original packaging and a signed letter from Steve Jobs, current CEO of Apple Inc and one of Apple Computer’s co-founders. Ironically, many of the patrons who attended the auction, studied the sale catalogue using mobile technology such as Apple’s iPads and iPhones.
At its launch in 1976, the Apple I was the only personal computer to come with a fully assembled motherboard and cost US $666.66. The computer went up for sale alongside other technological innovations such as the German code-making machine, the Enigma, as well as the works of Alan Turing, the British mathematician credited to be one of the founders of modern computing.
The auctioned Apple I was sold over the phone to an Italian businessman, Marco Boglione. According to the Guardian newspaper, his brother Francesco Boglione, attended the auction in person, and said his brother’s purchase was a testament to his love of computers. Boglione said the Apple 1 would probably be returned to working condition to join a collection of Apple Computers.
Steve Wozniak, who added an autographed letter to the lot, was also present at the auction.