After garnering 46 bids, an Apple II manual signed by Steve Jobs and Mike Markkula sold for $787,484 at auction this month.
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.
MacDailyNews Take: The leather jacket worn by Jobs in the famous 1983 “middle finger to IBM” photo sold for $66,466.
Wonder how much a Tim Cook signed Mac Pro manual will go for one day? Oh yeah… there are no more manuals and Tim Cook has nothing to do with designing the computers Apple makes, and he probably doesn’t sign anything anyway because he’s just another interchangeable, corporate robot.
Nick,
I think you missed a very important point. When was the last time Apple provided a comprehensive manual? Often if I can’t find the answer online I have to bumble (and bungle) my way through Pages in the hope of being able to get what I want out of the app. I so miss ClarisWorks and the user guide that came with it.