Apple artifacts in Christie's online auction (pictures)
From an Apple 1 signed by Woz to a 20th anniversary Mac, this collection traces the company's early pre-iOS creations.
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Just weeks after a working Apple 1 sold at a European auction for more than $600,000, Christie's is holding an online auction made up of 10 lots of "iconic technology from the 20th century," largely Apple products including this Apple 1 motherboard that comes with a manual and schematic signed by the designer, one Mr. Steve Wozniak.
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Translucent Macintosh SE
The Macintosh SE from the 1980s isn't rare, but the translucent case on this particular one is. Christie's says it may have been custom-manufactured by Apple to check for airflow in the unit.
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The 20th anniversary Mac
Only 12,000 units of the special 20th anniversary Mac are said to have been produced. Introduced in 1997, the machine shows the attention to detail and design that has since become the hallmark of Apple, particularly after the return of Steve Jobs to the company in the mid-1990s. This lot is valued at between $2,000 and $3,000.
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Prototype Apple IIGS
The Apple IIGS succeeded the IIe and IIc in 1986, bringing more power, higher screen resolution (640x200), and expandable memory in case 8MB isn't enough. This lot is an example of an upgrade kit, although production units came with a "IIGS" replacement badge for the original //e logo.
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Hard-core old-school software
Who would think those old 5.25-inch floppies would ever be worth anything at auction? Well, any piece of groundbreaking hardware is only as useful as the software it runs. This lot includes original disks for Visicalc and EasyWriter for the Apple II, valued at as much as $300.
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'More portable' Apple IIc
The Apple IIc was designed to be the more portable version of the bulkier Apple IIe. It weighed in at only 7.5 pounds (without monitor), but was a commercial disappointment, which is always a recipe for becoming a collector's item. This one is expected to fetch as much as $9,000 at auction.
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Prototype portable Macintosh
The first truly portable Macintosh wasn't quite a laptop, but it was the first Mac to send e-mail in space (from the space shuttle in 1991). This prototype could sell for as much as $3,000.
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The Apple IIe
Along with the Commodore 64, the Apple IIe introduced a generation of schoolchildren, including this journalist, to a world of computing. More of a nostalgia piece than a rarity, this lot is valued at up to $500.
