Apple II Manual Signed by Steve Jobs Sells for $787,483

An Apple II manual signed by Steve Jobs and Mike Markkula sold for $787,484 at auction this month after garnering 46 bids.

steve jobs signed apple ii manual
The 196 page manual was addressed to Julian Brewer, the son of Michael Brewer. Michael Brewer negotiated distribution rights for Apple in the UK in 1979, and the manual had a personal message inside. "Julian, your generation is the first to grow up with computers. Go change the world! Steven Jobs, 1980," read Jobs' note.

Julian recalls, "I was sitting in my bedroom writing games on my Apple II when Dad called me down to meet some guests. To my amazement it was Steve Jobs and Mike Markkula. I had the manual with me and only later understood how rare it was for Jobs to sign anything, let alone to write an inscription like this. He got on well with Dad, so I feel the inscription was made with care."

RR Auctions, the site that sold the Apple II manual, also auctioned off other Steve Jobs memorabilia that fetched high prices. A Steve Jobs' letter that said "I'm afraid I don't sign autographs" sold for $479,939, and a NeXTSTEP software package sold for $210,325.

apple 1 computer
A functional Apple-1 computer previously owned by Roger Wagner fetched $464,876, which is less than some prior Apple-1 computers have sold for. A signed 128K Macintosh Motherboard sold for $132,049, and an Apple Lisa Computer sold for $94,949.

steve jobs bomber jacket
A copy of Macworld #1 that was signed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak sold for $201,021, and a leather bomber jacket that was worn by Jobs in the 1983 "middle finger to IBM" photo sold for $66,466.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
New MacBook Pros Launching Tomorrow With These 4 New Features 2

M5 MacBook Models to Use New Compact Camera Module in 2025

Wednesday July 17, 2024 2:58 am PDT by
Apple in 2025 will take on a new compact camera module (CCM) supplier for future MacBook models powered by its next-generation M5 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest investor note on unny-opticals-2025-business-momentum-to-benefit-509819818c2a">Medium, Kuo said Apple will turn to Sunny Optical for the CCM in its M5 MacBooks. The Chinese optical lens company...

Top Rated Comments

Agent OrangeZ Avatar
38 months ago

Super rich people making silly purchases for fun. The equivalent of me buying an old Transformer on eBay for $20.
I remember a couple of years ago, I stopped into a grocery store and they had tomatoes and avocados on sale really cheap. So I bought some... and there is this seasoning salt that I really like... that I can only ever get there for some reason... but the bottle is like $3.99. A customer who was also in the tomato, and avocado area made conversation with me about how good the price was on them that day. I mentioned the seasoning salt to him and how I liked eating sliced tomatoes and avocados as a snack with some sprinkled on them. He saw the $3.99 price tag and said "Oh no! I can't afford to pay that much for salt!"

It really put things into perspective. How $4 is too much for some people to spend on a little treat.

I dunno why... but your post made me think about that.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nwcs Avatar
38 months ago
Super rich people making silly purchases for fun. The equivalent of me buying an old Transformer on eBay for $20.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Psychicbob Avatar
38 months ago
I couldn’t afford an Apple computer in the early 80s so I got a ZX Spectrum instead. I didn’t change the world but I did git gud at Jetset Willy ?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TGM85 Avatar
38 months ago
Wow, Steve Jobs is for sure a hero of the modern world, but paying $66,000 for an old leather jacket because Jobs wore it in a silly picture? That's ridiculous.

I'm going to lift the paving stones outside the old Apple HQ at Infinite Loop and charge $10,000 each for them. After all, Steve Jobs walked on them every day for years.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dc2006ster Avatar
38 months ago
Love the jacket. I drive a small 2 seater Mazda and have thought a jacket like this would be cool but might possibly make me look like a right wanker.

I miss those manuals. I often feel that I am not using my Mac and its OS to its maximum potential because I do not have a manual that shows me all of its features and capabilities. I know there is a ton of published books and online stuff but I still miss those manuals.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
laz232 Avatar
38 months ago
I like this story about the signed manual - it's nice - Simpler times...
:)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)