OG iPhone and iPad prototype fetch $25,000 at rare Apple and Steve Jobs-themed auction
A rare Polaroid photo of Steve Jobs fetched $12,500 in a recent auction of various Apple memorabilia, including some of its founder. The Polaroid is signed by Steve Jobs himself, too.
Organized by RR Auction, the Apple-focused sale ended up amassing a cumulative $983,096 in bought items, ranging from said signed photos to an OG Apple 1 computer!
This signed Steve Jobs photo was used as a temp employee badge | Image credit – RR Auction
That's right, an Apple 1 computer that started it all belonged to Dana Reddington, an Apple employee at the time, and went for the jaw-dropping $315,914 sum, about a third of the total that the RR Auction sale fetched.
The Apple-1 computer sold for the breathtaking sum was actually refurbished by Corey Cohen, an expert in the field, and is now fully operational, green monochrome screen and all.
Apart from the Polaroids of Steve Jobs and Tim Cook signed by Apple's CEOs themselves, the auction included three Polaroids depicting the main board of the first Apple 1 computer used to pitch it for its first big sale, which collectively sold for the princely $54,090.
Apple 1 computer sales pitch photos | Image credit – RR Auction
Needless to say, there weren't all that many phone and tablet devices sold at the auction, since those are a comparatively new phenomenon in Apple's phenomenal history, but there are some precious pieces.
This OG iPhone sold for more than $25,000. | Image credit – RR Auction
An OG iPhone from 2007 sold for more than $25,000 sealed in its original packaging, for instance, while one of the first iPad prototype tablets went for $24,996.
All in all, it was a fascinating auction that could truly be considered a walk through Apple's storied history of ups and downs and sideways development that made it the juggernaut it is now.
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