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Original 1978 Apple Computer Retail Sign With Iconic Rainbow Logo Being Auctioned Off

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Apr 12, 2001
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An original Apple Computer Inc. sign created around 1978 with Apple's well-known rainbow logo is set to be auctioned off later this week.

applecomputerincrainbowsign.jpg

Measuring in at four feet by five feet, the sign is said to be one of the earliest Apple retail signs and was displayed by an Apple authorized reseller who first learned about Apple after attending a 1976 computer conference.

The sign is yellowed and the description says there are "a few surface marks," but overall, the rainbow colors are said to be bright and in good condition. The sign will be auctioned by Nate D. Sanders Auctions on March 26, and the starting price is $20,000.

Article Link: Original 1978 Apple Computer Retail Sign With Iconic Rainbow Logo Being Auctioned Off
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/03/23/apple-computer-retail-sign/
I do wonder if that is a font or just done by a designer? That would make for an awesome font.

Also Apple needs to go back to the rainbow logo. It's way better than anything since.
 
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velocityg4 said:
I do wonder if that is a font or just done by a designer? That would make for an awesome font.

Also Apple needs to go back to the rainbow logo. It's way better than anything since.
Click to expand...

No thanks.

The logo, as you can see in earlier video of Apple Park today on the front page ... seems to represent more of a different meaning than what it originally meant. That can sort of alienate a few customers/users. I don't like to have a bright multi-coloured logon on my Mac or iPhone or iPad like what Google and Microsoft has always pushed. Heck even Microsoft (on the Surface lineup) is moving away from colours.

Not to mention it ads cost to letterhead, official correspondence documents, print ads etc as colour matching is a big deal for corporations.
 
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I think this original version looks fantastic! The Apple shape especially - it isn’t “overthunk” to be over-complex to make some marketing grad feel like their education is actually worth something... it’s just a simple design, with simple coloring that represented something “different” from status quo. That’s far more meaningful and far more valuable than conforming to so-called “professional design expectations.”
The old logo truly represents the pioneering spirit of Apple.
This sign will look passively fitting in the game room or office space of someone who has been very ‘financially’ successful.
 
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DeepIn2U said:
Not to mention it ads cost to letterhead, official correspondence documents, print ads etc as colour matching is a big deal for corporations.
Click to expand...

True, and not only that, if you remember the color logo insert in the cases, it would always look cheap because they had to paint 6 colors on a curved surface and they'd almost always get the registration wrong.
 
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$20,000 starting? It will probably exceed well above that, it’s a piece of history to what the company used to be from its inception, and somebody who appreciated the Steve Jobs era will find value in this.
 
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If I was rich I'd bid for this no problem!

I'll have to settle for my old magazine ads of Apple (the old timey country store style they once used).
 

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I used to have a big stack of stickers with that logo and type that I got back in 1993 or so from Apple's booth at a trade show. They might be worth a little cash now, if I still had them.
 
Still have the original rainbow decal from my Macintosh Portable from 1991. The computer is in the closet in its original carrying case.

Maybe I’ll put the decal in a tiny frame and auction it off ;)

EF39B41A-DC1F-48B2-9EE6-671D75BF924C.jpeg
 
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velocityg4 said:
I do wonder if that is a font or just done by a designer? That would make for an awesome font.

Also Apple needs to go back to the rainbow logo. It's way better than anything since.
Click to expand...
Came here to say basically the same thing. That's a stellar font.

As for the rainbow logo, seeing it takes me back to when I was kid in NorCal, where VW bugs and buses with rainbow Apple logo stickers and Grateful Dead decals on the rear window were ubiquitous.
 
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I've got some of the old display plastic POS inserts from Circuit City. I wonder how much they would be worth. I imagine they are kinda rare. I also have a custom banner created for a conference that Apple cancelled out on at the last minute. It was made by a kite company in my home town. I saw it and wanted to buy it, but the owner said that he kept it up to tell the story about how Apple stiffed him for making it, saying they refused to pay him for it. Somehow, my GF at the time got him to part with it, as I got it for my birthday that year. Pretty cool, I have to say...

Oh, and an original Apple t-shirt. It's a little 'pre-worn' though... I don't know why they don't do more stuff like Microsoft does with their 'company store'. *shrug*
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oceanwest said:
I wonder how much this is worth.

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WOW! I can't imagine... 😍
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torontotim said:
Still have the original rainbow decal from my Macintosh Portable from 1991. The computer is in the closet in its original carrying case.

Maybe I’ll put the decal in a tiny frame and auction it off ;)

View attachment 900921
Click to expand...

I had a whole sheet of Next stickers. They got ruined moving. *sad*
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MacRumors said:


An original Apple Computer Inc. sign created around 1978 with Apple's well-known rainbow logo is set to be auctioned off later this week.

applecomputerincrainbowsign.jpg

Measuring in at four feet by five feet, the sign is said to be one of the earliest Apple retail signs and was displayed by an Apple authorized reseller who first learned about Apple after attending a 1976 computer conference.

The sign is yellowed and the description says there are "a few surface marks," but overall, the rainbow colors are said to be bright and in good condition. The sign will be auctioned by Nate D. Sanders Auctions on March 26, and the starting price is $20,000.

Article Link: Original 1978 Apple Computer Retail Sign With Iconic Rainbow Logo Being Auctioned Off
Click to expand...

It's still at $20,000. Ends Thursday 5p pacific.
 
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