Rare Steve Jobs Apple Artifacts and Bow Ties Head to Auction
▼ Summary
– John Chovanec, a stepbrother of Steve Jobs, is auctioning a collection of personal items from Jobs’s childhood bedroom.
– The collection includes notebooks, Atari work, music tapes, magazines, an annotated horoscope, and personal items like bow ties and a car manual.
– The auction’s star item is Apple’s first-ever check, dated March 16, 1976, signed by Jobs and Steve Wozniak and made out to a circuit-board designer.
– The $500 check was paid from funds raised by selling Jobs’s VW bus and Wozniak’s calculator, predating Apple’s formal partnership agreement.
– This first check is expected to fetch around $500,000, far more than a later check sold in 2023 for over $135,000.
A remarkable collection of personal artifacts belonging to the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is heading to auction, offering an intimate glimpse into his formative years and the very beginnings of his legendary company. The items come from the estate of John Chovanec, whose mother married Jobs’ father, Paul, in 1990. While not particularly close, Chovanec recalls a friendly relationship with his stepbrother, including a memorable tour of Jobs’ childhood bedroom in the now-famous Los Altos garage house. From that room, Chovanec inherited a trove of memorabilia now being sold through RR Auction.
The personal collection is astonishing in its scope and detail. It features Jobs’ original desk, its drawers still packed with notebooks from Reed College and technical work he completed for Atari during the mid-1970s. Music played a significant role, evidenced by the inclusion of Bob Dylan 8-track tapes and a single Joan Baez tape that Jobs reportedly listened to constantly. Further items paint a picture of a young, intellectually curious individual: his annotated computer-generated horoscope, a well-used copy of “How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive,” and a full dozen bow ties he wore during his high school years. The lot also includes an early Apple poster that once hung in the family home and a document Jobs signed concerning the sale of his father’s 1984 Ford Ranger pickup truck.
These pieces form part of a larger auction, but the undeniable headline is a historic financial document. The star lot is the very first check ever issued by Apple Computer Inc., dated March 16, 1976. This check, made out for $500 to circuit-board designer Howard Cantin and cosigned by both Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, predates the official partnership agreement that would formally establish the company 18 days later. In a past interview, Cantin recalled that Jobs offered him stock in the nascent company, but he opted for immediate cash payment instead. The funds for this check famously came from the sale of Jobs’ Volkswagen bus and Wozniak’s HP calculator. Given that a later check, numbered #2 and written just three days after, sold for over $135,000 last year, auctioneers anticipate this inaugural financial instrument could fetch close to $500,000, a testament to its unparalleled place in Silicon Valley history.
(Source: Wired)
