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Steve Wozniak Schematics for Prototype Apple II Computer Sell for $630k at Auction, Apple-1 goes for $737k

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A set of schematics and programming instructions for a prototype version of the Apple II home computer recently sold for $630,272 from RR Auction, the company said today.

steve-wozniak-schematics-apple-ii.jpg

The documents were written by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and included five pages of circuit schematics and notes on sheets of graphic paper, a 12-page handwritten programming instruction guide with 28 steps, and six photocopied pages that were headed "Bus Sources," "System Timing," "Display," "Sync Timing & Adr. Gen," and "Timing," featuring several annotations.

Wozniak added notations, circuit changes, and programming notes to these pages as he hand-wired the Apple II prototype, and he confirmed their veracity prior to the auction.
Accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from Wozniak: "These documents, circa 1975, are my original Apple II prototype schematics and programming instructions. They are precious. On these work-in-progress diagrams, you can even see my breadboarding technique, where I'd go over drawn connections in red as I soldered the wires in. At the time, I favored using a purple felt tip pen for writing, so it's interesting to see these notes decades on. The prototype was hand-wired while I was still an engineer at Hewlett-Packard's Advanced Product Division, where I was involved in the design of hand-held calculators."
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Along with these notes, a functional Apple-1 computer was also sold off, fetching a price of $736,862. Apple-1 machines were the first computers created by Apple and were sold by Steve Jobs out of his parents' garage. There were only 175 Apple-1 computers created, and less of half of those are still in existence.

apple-1-auction-2020.jpg

Other items sold at the auction include a "Battleship" keyboard signed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak that went for $74,535 and a Steve Jobs-signed Monsters, Inc cue sheet that went for $12,501.

Article Link: Steve Wozniak Schematics for Prototype Apple II Computer Sell for $630k at Auction, Apple-1 goes for $737k
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/12/18/steve-wozniak-schematics-auction/
Did they at least scan this stuff in its entirety so it can be posted on archive.org for historical preservation?

Auctioning this stuff off to a private buyer who might not do that and have it stay in a personal collection unseen for years is irresponsible without scanning it first.
 
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I'm not jealous at all...seriously but it would be nice to have 800 grand laying around to spend on a computer.
 
Will someone more familiar with the legal ramifications of this explain to me how this is legal? Isn’t this confidential company information? Or is it more of a statutes of limitations thing where since it’s so old now it’s okay to be “leaked” to the public?
 
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torontotim said:
"The prototype was hand-wired while I was still an engineer at Hewlett-Packard's Advanced Product Division, where I was involved in the design of hand-held calculators."

Queue the lawsuits ;)
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Seriously. That seems like a major information drop. Hope he owned the IP he developed or licensed it.
 
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LeadingHeat said:
Will someone more familiar with the legal ramifications of this explain to me how this is legal? Isn’t this confidential company information? Or is it more of a statutes of limitations thing where since it’s so old now it’s okay to be “leaked” to the public?
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I am sure he cleared it with Apple's lawyers, but since Apple II is obsolete and there is no confidential information that could give any advantage to competitors I'd argue that it would be very difficult to stop such a move.
 
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The price of this type of stuff is so ridiculous. That is NOT going to be worth more than 630k in the future. So if it's not an investment, then I guess it's just something for rich superfans to hang on their wall
 
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LeadingHeat said:
Will someone more familiar with the legal ramifications of this explain to me how this is legal? Isn’t this confidential company information? Or is it more of a statutes of limitations thing where since it’s so old now it’s okay to be “leaked” to the public?
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It all depends on what the contract of employment says (if there was one back then) and the policies and procedures of the company at that time. In today's society such a thing is called the 'Company handbook' which outlines what an employee is allowed to do and not allowed to do. Such a handbook also stipulates the responsibilities of the employer.

I know when I moved from manufacturing to Engineering, there was a clause in my contract that stated anything I designed, made or produced whilst under company hours, such designs, documents, drawings and anything else built was the sole property of the company.

The question would now be, was Woz under similar restrictions when he and Job's formed the company. If there is nothing then the schematics are not protected and are Woz's property for him to do as he wishes BUT if there is company documentation back then that stipulates anything designed whilst an employee of Apple and done on during working hours is the property of the company, then the schematics are the property of Apple and can only be shown with Apple's authorisation.
 
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Designing in pen like a boss!


LeadingHeat said:
Will someone more familiar with the legal ramifications of this explain to me how this is legal? Isn’t this confidential company information? Or is it more of a statutes of limitations thing where since it’s so old now it’s okay to be “leaked” to the public?
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Woz says these are from ‘75. Apple wasn’t formed until ‘76. It’s possible the company acquired the final design, but probably not this earlier proto.
 
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