Do YOU have one of these computers gathering dust in your attic? World’s largest collection of Apple devices will go up for auction this week – including an original Lisa I that’s expected to fetch $3,000
- A collection of over 500 Apple devices will go up for auction on Thursday
- It includes a 1986 Macintosh Plus computer and 1994 QuickTake 100 camera
- A 1983 Lisa I computer is estimated to sell for up to $3,000 (£2,400) alone
If you recognise any of these retro Apple computers, now may be a good time to have a rummage through your attic.
That’s because the set of over 500 devices is going up for auction on Thursday, and is expected to rake in thousands of dollars.
‘The Hanspeter Luzi Vintage Apple Archive’ is said to be one of the world’s most comprehensive collection of Apple computers and products ever offered.
It includes a rare 1983 Lisa I computer, which is currently estimated to sell for up to $3,000 (£2,400) alone.
All devices were collected by the late Hanspeter Luzi, a Swiss special educational needs teacher who used computers as part of his lessons.
A collection of over 500 Apple devices will go up for auction on Thursday. It includes a rare 1983 Lisa I computer (pictured) which is currently estimated to sell for up to $3,000 (£2,400)
All devices were collected by the late Hanspeter Luzi, a Swiss special educational needs teacher who used computers as part of his lessons. Pictured: An Apple 1985 ‘Lisa XL’ computer
WHAT IS BEING AUCTIONED?
1979-1982 Apple II Plus Computer
1979 Bell and Howell Apple II Plus Series Computer
1980 Apple III Computer
1981 Osborne OCC1 (Portable Computer)
1984 Macintosh (128K)
1983-1984 Apple IIE and IIC Joystick
1978-1983 Apple II Europlus Computer
1986 Apple Macintosh Plus computer including a keyboard and mouse
1986 Apple Macintosh SE computer including a keyboard and mouse
1989 Macintosh Portable
1991 PowerBook 100
1994 Apple QuickTake 100
1997 Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh
2001 iMac G3
MacADIOS 411
Mac N Frost
CH Products Joystick
APPLE 1979-1983 SummaGraphics MacTablet
Early Apple Motherboards
Apple 1983 Lisa Motherboard
Apple 1983 Lisa I Computer
1985 Dayna Communications MacCharlie Computer System
The Lisa I computer was the first ever PC to come with a mouse and the first to ever use icons instead of simple text.
It introduced features still common on computers today, such as overlapping windows, pull-down menus and the recycle bin.
Although it came with a bulky external hard disc that comes with 5MB of memory – about enough to store one song – the 1983 machine was state-of-the-art at the time.
It was the brainchild of Apple founder Steve Jobs who got the idea of the mouse and icons after seeing a prototype of a similar Xerox computer during a visit to its base in the Silicone Valley.
Xerox never put theirs into production unlike Apple, who sold approximately 10,000 first generation Lisas.
Apple said the name Lisa stood for Local Integrated System Architecture but Mr Jobs’ later revealed he named it after his first daughter Lisa, who was born in 1978.
Owners of the Lisa I were able to return theirs for a free upgrade to the Lisa II.
The recalled computers were destroyed and as a result it is estimated that only between 30 and 100 Lisa Is still exist today.
Other highlights of the auction include Lisa II and Lisa XL computers from 1984 and 1985 respectively, and could both sell for up to $1,200 (968) each
All gadgets up for auction at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, California, USA were built between 1977 and 2008, and prices start at $25 (£20).
Other iconic Apple computers available are the 1986 Apple Macintosh Plus computer with keyboard and mouse, and the 1977 Commodore International ‘PET 2001’ computer.
The latter, which has an integrated cassette tape deck, is expected to fetch up to $800 (£650).
Not all the items to go under the hammer are computers, as cameras, joysticks, motherboards, tablets and instruction manuals are also available.
A 1994 Apple QuickTake 100 camera is expected to fetch up to $300 (£240) and is described as ‘one of the first commercially successful digital camera lines’.
It had a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels – some way from the 48 million pixel camera on the iPhone 14 Pro.
Other items include a timeline of computer mouses spanning from 1998 to 2017, a ‘History of Apple’ poster and boxes of miscellaneous floppy disks.
All gadgets up for auction at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, California, USA were built between 1977 and 2008, and prices start at $25 (£20)
Not all the items to go under the hammer are computers, as cameras, joysticks, tablets and instruction manuals are also available. Pictured: Apple Newton personal digital assistant
Other items include a timeline of computer mouses spanning from 1998 to 2017, a ‘History of Apple’ poster and boxes of miscellaneous floppy disks. Pictured: A vintage Apple iMac mouse
It is thought that Mr Luzi gained his passion for computers and other gadgets when he volunteered as IT manager for several schools, setting them up with up-to-date equipment. Pictured: Vintage Apple software on floppy discs
THE APPLE LISA I
Features: First computer to come with a mouse, use icons instead of simple text, overlapping windows, pull-down menus and the recycle bin
Processor: 5MHz and one megabyte of RAM
Launch date: 1983
Creators: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
Cost: $10,000 in 1983 – The equivalent of $24,000 or £14,000 pounds today
Biggest customer: Nasa, which used the machine for project management
Auction estimate: £30,000 ($40,030)
Rarity: Between 30 and 100 left worldwide
It is thought that Mr Luzi gained his passion for computers and other gadgets when he volunteered as IT manager for several schools, setting them up with up-to-date equipment.
He collected Apple products for over 25 years, and acquired a vast technical knowledge of hardware and software at the same time.
But it was not his first collection, as prior to this he acquired a vast number of sewing machines that he sold to a German textile industrialist.
This formed the foundation of the Albrecht Mey Collection at the Sewing Machine Museum in Albstadt, Germany.
Mr Luzi died in 2015 after a fatal mountain accident, and now his family are putting his impressive collection up for auction for the first time.
This is not the only significant sale of nostalgic Apple memorabilia in recent months, as a fully-functional Apple 1 computer went up for sale in December for $241,000 (£196,000).
Launched in 1976, the tech giant’s first ever product was sold as an assembled circuit board and lacked basic features such as a keyboard or monitor.
This particular machine had been hand-numbered by Mr Jobs himself.
In October, an unopened, first generation iPhone from 2007 was sold at an auction for more than 50 times its original price.
With a starting bid of $2,800 (£2,500), the 15-year-old device ended up fetching a whopping $39,000 (£34,700).
‘The Hanspeter Luzi Vintage Apple Archive’ is said to be one of the world’s most comprehensive collection of Apple computers and products ever offered. Pictured: An Apple 1989 ‘Macintosh Portable’ computer
Mr Luzi died in 2015 after a fatal mountain accident, and now his family are putting his impressive collection up for auction for the first time. Pictured: Vintage Apple computers
A 1994 Apple QuickTake 100 camera (pictured) is expected to fetch up to $300 (£240) and is described as ‘one of the first commercially successful digital camera lines’
But this was nothing compared to another first generation iPhone which went for some $63,356 (£51,341) at an auction last month – the most the device has ever sold for.
The first iPhone was introduced by Mr Jobs in January 2007 at MacWorld San Francisco, with the slogan ‘Apple reinvents the phone’.
That June, the 8 GB version was released to the public at $599 – or £269 at the time – and proved revolutionary in the development of smartphones.
It is not just the Apple gadgets raking in the big bucks, as in November a pair of old Birkenstock sandals used by Mr Jobs were auctioned for a massive $218,750 (£177,260).
The technologist popularised the idea of tech executives wearing the same basic outfit in public appearances.
He wore the sandals in the 1970s and 80s and saved from the trash by Mark Sheff, a chef who managed one of his properties in Albany, California, in the 1980s.
Julien’s Auctions, which is conducting the auction starting Friday, expects the worn sandals to fetch between $60,000 and $80,000
THE TRILLION DOLLAR RISE OF APPLE
1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1 1976 as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was built by Wozniak.
The first product was the Apple I.
1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, which was the first PC made for the mass market.
Steve Jobs unveils Apple Computer Corporation’s new Macintosh February 6, 1984 in California.
1981: Jobs became chairman.
1984: The Macintosh was introduced during an ad break for the Super Bowl and later officially unveiled during a launch event. It was discontinued a year later and Jobs left the firm.
1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first colour Mac.
1997: Apple announces it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal that involves Jobs returning to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took the role in 2000.
The then Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Steve Jobs, with the iPhone
2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X and the first-generation iPod.
The first iPod MP3 music player was released on October 23, 2001, at an event in Cupertino and was able to hold up to 1,000 songs.
2007: Apple unveils the iPhone.
2010: The first iPad was unveiled.
2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing the CEO title to Tim Cook. Jobs died in October from pancreatic cancer.
2014: Apple unveiled the Apple Watch. It also unveiled its first larger iPhones – the 6 and 6 Plus.
2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr Dre, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.
2016: Apple returned to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the firm is embroiled in a legal battle with the FBI, involving the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California with his wife. The court order was dropped on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.
2017: Apple introduces the iPhone X, which removes the home button to make way for a futuristic edge-to-edge screen design and a new FaceID system that uses advanced sensors and lasers to unlock phones with just the owner’s face.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks at an Apple event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
2018: In a first for the company, Apple introduces new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage and spend less time on their devices. The move was spawned by a strongly worded letter from shareholders that urged the firm to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among kids and teenagers.
2019: In January, Apple reports its first decline in revenues and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed steep declines in revenue from China.
2020: In March, Apple closes all its bricks and mortar retail stores outside of China in response to coronavirus.
2021: In an online virtual event in April CEO Tim Cook declared Apple’s goal of becoming carbon neutral for Earth Day. Later in the year the iPhone 13 was announced.
2022: In September the iPhone 14 was announced. One of the new features included a new sensor to detect if a user had been in a car crash as well as an improved camera system.
2023: So far this year Apple has brought back its ‘Home Pod’ after the first generation was discontinued. The ‘Home Pod’ can be seen as an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home as it is powered by voice commands.
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