Sold For: $375,000
*Includes Buyers Premium
Fantastic, well-preserved and fully functional 'Byte Shop'–style Apple-1 computer (also commonly known as the Apple I, or Apple Computer 1), complete with all components and accessories required for operation, highlighted by its rare original, heavily annotated operating manual.
The set includes:
• original Apple-1 board, marked with Byte Shop stock number “01-0052”
• original Apple Cassette Interface (ACI) board
• vintage, period-correct SWTPC keyboard, adapted for the Apple-1 and accompanied by its manual
• vintage, period-correct power supply, wired as described in the Apple-1 Operation Manual
• vintage, period-correct Sanyo monitor in a custom wooden case, with video cable
• unassembled Apple-1 expansion board by Electronic Systems
• original Apple-1 Operation Manual, extensively hand-annotated with notes including Steve Jobs’s phone extension
• original Apple-1 Cassette Interface manual
• original handwritten note by Daniel Kottke, c. 1978, about running Applesoft on the Apple-1
• a period Xerox copy of an Apple-1 BASIC manual
This Apple-1 computer was restored to operational condition in October 2019 by Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen, and a video of it running and functioning is available upon request. A comprehensive, technical condition report prepared by Cohen is available to qualified bidders; he evaluates the condition of the unit as 8.0/10 based on condition and originality. This computer is recorded as #91 in the Apple-1 Registry, listed as the 'Bayville' Apple-1.
Cohen observes the computer’s very good cosmetic condition, noting that many of the integrated circuits have unusually bright and clear labeling; further, the board does not have green coat peeling from the wave soldering process, a rarity among Apple-1 boards.
The Apple-1 system is enhanced by the inclusion of rare original documentation, highlighted by the Apple-1 Operation Manual, 12 pages, 8.5 x 11, featuring Apple's original logo on the front cover, designed by third Apple co-founder Ron Wayne and showing Isaac Newton thoughtfully seated beneath a tree, a shining apple dangling overhead. Interestingly, the cover is annotated in pencil with phone extensions of significant early Apple employees: “Ex. 255 Daniel Kottke, Ex. 320 Steve Job [sic],” as well as information about a potential upgrade deal: “$400 credit toward Apple II, 15% discount.” The impressive fold-out schematic of the Apple-1 computer has also been comprehensively annotated in pencil, with the names of Steve Wozniak and Wendell Sander written below.
Loosely laid into the manual is a handwritten note by Daniel Kottke, Apple Computer employee #12, circa December 1978. Kottke writes, in part: “Mike—it just occurred to me that you can’t possibly run Applesoft until you put more RAM on your board: you only have 8K and Applesoft alone is 10K—so it looks like you still have to wait for me to get that schematic together for the 16K RAM modification (for Apple-I). I’ll try to get to it in the next week or two.” This modification does not appear to have been completed, as the board is wired to support executing Apple BASIC on an 8K memory system.
The Apple-1 was originally conceived by Steve Jobs and Steve ‘Woz’ Wozniak as a bare circuit board to be sold as a kit and completed by electronics hobbyists, their initial market being Palo Alto’s Homebrew Computer Club. Seeking a larger audience, Jobs approached Paul Terrell, owner of The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California, one of the first personal computer stores in the world. Aiming to elevate the computer beyond the realm of the hobbyist, Terrell agreed to purchase 50 Apple-1 computers, but only if they were fully assembled. The Apple-1 thus became one of the first ‘personal’ computers which did not require soldering by the end user. All together, over a span of about ten months, Jobs and Wozniak produced about 200 Apple-1 computers and sold 175 of them. The Apple-1 is not only a marvel of early computing ingenuity, but the product that launched what is today one of the most valuable and successful companies in the world. This complete Apple-1 system, enhanced by the inclusion of its original documentation, is of the utmost quality.
