A Macintosh computer used by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs went up for auction this week, with sellers estimating its value at $300,000.
The Macintosh SE, which failed to find a buyer at Tuesday’s auction, launched in 1987 and its hard drive shows it was used by Jobs for weekly tasks like recruiting, travel planning, Access your own virtual Rolodex, type documents and schedule meetings. , including a missed meeting with King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, according to a description from auction firm Bonhams.
Jobs, who passed away in 2011, is best known for co-founding Apple Inc. and then become the face of the company.
An earlier auction this summer saw a buyer purchase an authenticated Apple-1 computer prototype used by Jobs in 1976 for nearly $700,000.
The computer up for auction this week was used by Jobs between 1987 and 1993, when it was given to its current owner. Jobs’ daughter Lisa, who once had an Apple computer named after her, may have also used this particular computer in the early ’90s while visiting her father, according to Bonhams.
Jobs’ old computer is part of the History of Science and Technology auction, organized by Bonhams, featuring physical artifacts of the technology as well as documents relating to important moments or individuals in the history of technology.
The auction is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, but while some products have been marked as sold on the site, others, including the Macintosh SE, have yet to find a buyer. It is unknown when these pieces may be auctioned again.
Among the things for sale were a 1909 letter written by Nikola Tesla, which sold for $24,225, and the Apple II, one of the first personal computers made by Apple, for $35,655.
According to Bonhams, the Macintosh SE was used by Jobs during a “critical” moment in Jobs’ technology development – the time he left Apple.
Before receiving a standing ovation at the presentations for the latest iPhone model, he was actually forced out of the company amid a power struggle with the company’s board.
After parting ways with Apple in 1985, Jobs founded his own startup called NeXT. At this new company, he used the Macintosh SE for his personal computer for many years, even after NeXT began manufacturing its own computers.
While the Macintosh SE looks boxy and classic to the modern eye, it was exciting technology at the time.
It was moved from the original NeXT office in Palo Alto, California to Redwood City, California, and was still on Jobs’ desk when the current owner started working with him in 1993.
The auction listed the computer at between $200,000 and $300,000. It includes a 20MB hard drive, an additional backup drive, a keyboard and a mouse.
The hard drive includes traces of Jobs’ life and duties at the time, including the suggestion that his daughter occasionally used the computer. The Bonhams description states that the InterMail system was registered under the name Lisa and that Microsoft Word was registered for that computer in 1992 under the name Lisa/Life.
According to the auction listing, the last assignment this particular computer was used for was a marketing project overseen by Jobs in 1994 before it was offered for sale to its current owner.
NeXT was acquired by Apple in 1997, bringing Jobs back to the company. By 2000, Jobs was officially the CEO of Apple.
Many other items in the auction are related to Jobs, including a business card from when he worked at NeXT (sold for US$4,080) and a collection of personal items from the office at NeXT, including several magazines and videotape highlights of a 1990 presentation by Jobs (sold for $5,100).
