Apple–1 goes to auction
Apple–1 expert Corey Cohen brings history up–to–date and in working order
A rare piece of tech history hits the market.
An extremely rar e fullyfunctional Apple–1 computer was up for auction in Boston on September 25. Mac|Life is going to press before the event, but it was expected to match or beat the previous record of $815,000 for an Apple–1, set in 2016. That’s because this particular one is in exceptional condition.
The Apple–1, designed by Steve “Woz” Wozniak and released in 1976, was the company’s first computer, and a milestone in the history of personal computing. Just 200 were built, of which around 175 were sold through The Byte Shop in Mt. View, CA. We spoke to Corey Cohen, the Apple–1 expert who restored and certified this one.
HOW RAR E IS THIS APPLE–1?
About 60 or so survive, but fewer than 15 of these are fully operational, and only a handful are in unmodified condition, like this one. That’s largely because, in the 1970s, if a computer didn’t do what you wanted it to do, you’d take a razor blade to the circuit board and rewire it, or add stuff. This particular board hasn’t had any of that. It really is very close to how it was right out of the garage of Steve Jobs’s house.
SO WAS IT LIKE THAT WHEN YOU GOT HOLD OF IT?
It was in astonishing condition. All the major parts and components are original. It was very minor work to restore it. I did remove the dust from 40 years in a closet. It was not vintage dust, from the Jobs garage.
IT REALLY IS A THING OF BEAUTY...
These very high–priced items are regarded like valuable works of art and a lot of them do wind up in a display case hanging on the wall. There are several in Silicon Valley, and I know of one in the UAE owned by a former Microsoft executive.
BUT THIS ONE COMES WITH ITS ORIGINAL POWER CABLE, A POWER SUPPLY, A VINTAGE MONITOR, AND EVEN A KEYBOARD...
It’s the original keyboard used by the current owner — in fact his name is etched into the back of the it. So anyone who wants to purchase it can plug it in and play a Star Trek game, checkers, chess — there are games for it, and that was one of the primary uses at the time.
WHAT’S THE APPEAL FOR YOU?
For me it’s not the monetary value. I’m just lucky that I get to play on these things. Vintage computing is becoming big, and not solely for nostalgia. There are people still writing software for the Apple–1, though they run it on an emulator, or games for the Commodore 64 and the ZX80. They like the simplicity. They like the constraints. The limitations challenge them to do something different.
HOW DO YOU THINK WOZ MET THE CHALLENGES OF THE TIME USING INNOVATIVE DESIGN?
Take the idea of mixing software and hardware together into a single integrated product, even that dates back to the Apple–1. I think Woz always had this challenge in his mind: ‘Can I do it for less?’. This helped to push himself creatively, resulting in ideas like using software to eliminate certain hardware.
It was unique, revolutionary. And these concepts carry over into the modern computers we use today. The iPhone changed a lot of things but if you trace back the idea of the modern phone, it all directly leads back to Woz and what he did with the Apple–1. If you think about it, a lot of our society today owes itself to the Apple–1. It led to a lot of things that have changed our lives.