Auction of the Week: Steve Jobs’s Apple-1 Computer from Paul Allen Collection Sells for Nearly $1 Million

Among other highlights were a Cray-1 supercomputer that sold for over $1 million. Released in the late 1970s by trailblazing computer engineer Seymour Cray, the Cray-1, rendered in red with alternating yellow panels, broke new ground in the world of computers for being able to model everything from weather patterns to nuclear reactions. It was the first time the Cray-1 had come to auction. It sold for $1,020,600 nearly seven times its low estimate of $150,000 and set the record for any computer sold at auction.

The third highest price of the sale was an Apple-1 computer from the desk of Steve Jobs, which surpassed its high estimate to sell for $945,000, setting the record for an Apple-1 computer at auction. Allen’s eclectic taste can be seen in objects like a lunch menu from the Titanic, which sold for $340,000 — high above a pre-sale estimate of $50,000. Also on offer were an archive of letters from Jane Goodall, Louis Leakey y Dian Fossey about his work on primates in the 1950s and 1960s, which sold for $40,320.

“It has been a privilege and an honor to once again work with the Estate of Paul G. Allen in offering this singular collection of objects and artifacts that pay tribute to the history of scientific achievement and technological ingenuity,” Marc Porter, Chairman of Christie’s Americas said in a statement. “The sales were demonstrative of Christie’s unique ability to reach global audiences through both live and online sale formats, with deep bidding on an array of categories ranging from vintage computers to space memorabilia.”

The estate will generously be donating its proceeds to philanthropy.