THE FIRST APPLE COMPUTER LEADS ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS: NG THE MODERN WORLD OPEN FOR BIDDING BETWEEN 16-24 MAY
Christie’s is honoured to present collectors the opportunity to acquire a rare Apple-1 computer, the first personal computer ever made, during its online auction On the Shoulders of Giants: Making the Modern World, open for bidding between 16 and 24 May 2019. Produced in 1976 and still in working condition, this legendary item is known to have launched Apple Computer, the perennially pioneering company that defined and redefined its industry while changing the lives of its millions of customers. Number 10 on the online Apple-1 Registry and accompanied by a group of Apple related artefacts, including the first manual ever issued, the lot is estimated between £300,000 – £500,000 (illustrated above). Fifteen examples are extant in public collections, including in the Smithsonian Museum of Art, and in twelve other museums of technology or science worldwide. A recent example at auction includes one sold in First Bytes, a Christie’s online sale ($387,750; 24 June – 9 July 2013) – the present lot continues Christie’s history of offering the most significant historical lots to an international audience online. Destined to appeal to distinguished collectors and technology enthusiasts, this is an opportunity to collect what is perhaps one of the most pioneering digital innovations of our time.
Following the remarkable results achieved in December 2018, when the inaugural auction On the Shoulders of Giants realised £1,824,375, largely thanks to a collection from the estate of Stephen Hawking which was 100% sold, we are pleased to present part II of this sale concept. On the Shoulders of Giants: Making the Modern Worldpays tribute to the brilliant minds whose discoveries have shaped our understanding of the universe and revolutionised our world. The sale is inspired by Isaac Newton’s famous reflection, that ‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants’. Through letters, manuscripts, printed editions, it traces a path from Newton and Charles Darwin to some of the great 20th century theoretical physicists, including Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking. The sale also has a special emphasis on the history of computing, from the ‘Analytical Machine’ of Charles Babbage via the crucial theoretical insights of Alan Turing and culminating in the Apple 1 computer.
