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From the personal collection of Roger Wagner, an early pioneer in personal computing—a scarce Apple II Plus computer (Model No. A2S1048B, Serial No. A2S3-008866), popularly known as the 'Darth Vader' or 'Black Apple' model due to its distinctive dark case, produced for Bell & Howell under a special license to be sold in educational markets. The computer has seven cards installed, including a WildCard backup interface, Disk II interface card, Apparat Personality Module, Videx, CCP Disk Interface Card, Grappler printer interface card, and a Quad Card by Moose Head, Inc. The top case bears a co-branded label: "Made exclusively for Bell & Howell by Apple Computer, Inc." The system boots up and is in fine cosmetic condition, with a few scuffs and scratches to the black finish, and a contemporary Apple logo sticker applied to the right of the keyboard. Accompanied by an original Apple box for a Bell & Howell Apple II, marked with a different serial number: "B&H P/N 078402 16K Plus."
The Bell & Howell Apple II is quite scarce and sought-after by collectors, given its eye-catching color—introduced in 1979, this was the only black computer manufactured by Apple until the release of the Macintosh TV in 1993. Modifications made for the Bell & Howell unit allowed it to be UL-certified—a safety necessity for sales to some school districts.
