Once again, RR Auctions is holding an auction where very special “second hand” items can be purchased. Much of it comes from the collection of John Chovanec, whose name is probably not familiar to many people – even though he is someone close to Steve Jobs. In 1990, Paul Jobs (his adoptive father) and Marilyn Chovanec married, and John was born from their marriage. Steve Jobs and John are said to have been on friendly terms – and even colleagues at Apple since 2005. At the aforementioned auction, he is now putting up for sale numerous items that come from Steve’s childhood bedroom and his father’s garage. Cables, housing, VW manual, tapes and handwritten code
While the “computer cable owned by Steve Jobs” or the processor cooler he used may not be particularly spectacular, other interesting finds can be made. For example, there is one of those legendary wooden cases that housed the Apple I’s hardware. The auction also includes the VW repair manual with handwritten notes, 8-track tapes with music by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, the desk from the well-known garage and the horoscope program for Atari written down on paper.
Business card, MacWorld – and flying
The organizer is once again expecting high bids for a business card with greetings from Jobs ($40,000) and a signed copy of MacWorld Issue 1 ($100,000). The Apple Lisa with two Twiggy drives shouldn’t be available cheaply for collectors either (60,000 dollars). It’s cheaper to stock up on used clothes from Jobs ($2,000) – although you won’t get any of the iconic black sweaters, just flies from his closet in your old teenage room.
The Apple I, but as a prototype
The most valuable collector’s item is once again an Apple I, more precisely the board. What makes an already special item even more desirable is its status as the “oldest known fiberglass prototype”. That board was used for tests before the first 50 market-ready devices were presented to the Byte Shop.
