Incredible haul of rare items from the ‘Apple Revolution’ makes $1.6MILLION at auction: Signed Steve Jobs 1983 business card sells for $181K and prototype 1977 Apple-1 demo signed by Steve Wozniak goes for $323,000

Steve Jobs remains one of the most iconic figures in the world of technology to this day, 13 years after his death at the age of 56. 

When Jobs founded Apple Inc. in 1976 alongside Steve Wozniak, they quickly turned the company into a technology world leader. It was Jobs’ vision that brought the world the Mac, the iPod and the iPhone. 

It’s thanks to this legacy that Jobs’ signature, and all manner of memorabilia associated with his life continue to be valued so high by collectors.  

Last week, an incredible auction of rare items from the ‘Apple Revolution’ made over a staggering $1.6million – with a signed Steve Jobs business card from 1983 selling for $181,000.

The vintage collection of Apple memorabilia that shaped some of the most popular technology seen on shelves today was sold through Boston based RR Auction.

With 120 items up for grabs, the Steve Jobs Apple Computer Revolution auction highlighted the history and evolvement of the brand – which today is worth $2.66trillion.

Apple and technology enthusiasts were offered the opportunity of a lifetime to get their hands on items ranging from an original Apple mouse prototype to a sealed first generation iPhone.

Named after the Luke Dormehl book ‘The Apple Revolution: The Real Story of How Steve Jobs and the Crazy Ones Took Over the World’ the auction made a mind-blowing total of $1,612,854.

One of the most expensive items sold for $323,789 was an Apple-1 computer signed by Wozniak.

The demo piece is fully functioning, and was sold complete with all the components and accessories required for operation, according to RR Auction.

The fascinating history of the item reveals the computer was originally used as a demonstration system at the Data Domain computer store in Columbus, Indiana, in 1977, before being given to the original owner in 1978.

The computer was also accompanied by a lengthy, detailed provenance statement from the original owner, whose early exposure to computing with this Apple-1 laid the foundation for a career in software development and hardware research and design.

In a less technical sale, a signed Steve Jobs business card from 1983 sold for $181,183.

 Featuring the iconic multi-color Apple ‘byte’ logo, the off-white card was listed as ‘extremely rare, perfectly graded Steve Jobs-signed Apple Computer business card from circa 1983’.

According to the auction house, this particular item was extremely sought after as less than five Jobs-signed Apple Computer business cards—from any period—have successfully passed PSA/DNA authentication.

Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction, said: ‘The sale of the Steve Jobs-signed Apple business card for over $180,000 sets a new standard in autographed business cards. 

‘It’s a testament to the enduring legacy of Jobs and the profound impact of Apple on our modern world.’ 

Also sold within the auction was a prototype mouse – the Douglas Engelbart: Three-Button ‘Mark II’ Hawley X063X Mouse.

The item was personally gifted by computer visionary Douglas Engelbart to his friend and colleague, Bill Daul, who was a member of Engelbart’s pioneering research team at Stanford Research Institute.

The rectangular mouse, measuring 2″ x 3.25″ x 1″, features three black buttons to the top, and a clear product label from The Mouse House (Berkeley, California) to the underside. 

The mouse retains its original wire with a serial port connection, and was sold for $1,880 ‘in fine condition’, with missing coating to the wire.

A sealed first generation iPhone also made the auction – selling for an eye-watering sum of $147,286.

The nostalgic 4GB phone came in a factory-sealed box, featuring a life-size image of the iPhone with twelve icons on the screen, indicating that it is from the earliest production (2007); a 13th icon, for iTunes, came later in the year.

The 4GB iPhone is the rarest of all original iPhones, as it was discontinued by Apple on September 5, 2007, just over two months after the pioneering product’s debut.

A glossy 14 x 11 photo of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in their early Apple days, signed in blue felt tip by company co-founders Wozniak and Ron Wayne, sold for $250 to a lucky buyer.

Wayne signed over his embossed personal seal and added ‘Ronald G. Wayne, Co-Founder, Apple Computer Co., 1976.’ to the image.

Sold in fine condition, with a couple of small scratches, the piece also features an authenticity label in the lower right corner. 

Apple auctions are big money.  

In 2023, an early Apple computer sold for more than $223,000. 

The Apple-1 was restored to a fully operational state and came with a custom case with a built-in keyboard, according to RR Auction.

About 200 were manufactured in Apple co-founder Jobs’ garage in Los Altos, California, in 1976 and 1977 and helped launch the company. 

Originally sold for $666, it was expected to sell for about $200,000, RR said.

The Apple-1 was signed Woz by Wozniak at an event at Bryant University in 2017.

It was acquired used by the person who sold it in 1980 at a computer hobbyist show in Framingham, Massachusetts, and was used throughout the 1980s. 

It was brought to an operational state earlier this year by Apple expert Corey Cohen, the auction house said.

In 2018, a pre-Apple job application that Jobs filled out in 1973 sold for over $50,000. In 2022, a pair of his sandals sold for $281,0000.