Month: February 2023

A rare Apple Lisa desktop computer is among the over 500 retro Apple computers and gadgets being sold by Julien’s Auctions on March 30th. | Image: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

The entirety of one of the most comprehensive collections of retro Apple computers and gadgets released between 1977 and 2008 is about to go on sale. As seen via PetaPixel, the “Hanspeter Luzi Vintage Apple Archive” will be available via auction in California next month and contains over 500 classic Apple products spanning almost half a century, collected over the decades by the late Swiss teacher and entrepreneur Hanspeter Luzi.
“The Apples” collection is being auctioned live and online by Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills on March 30th, with an exhibition to view the products running from March 27th through March 30th.

Explore the “The Apples,” a spectacular collection of more than 500 computers and Apple products spanning over forty years. The auction will take place Thursday, March 30th, 2023 at Julien’s Auctions Gallery in Beverly Hills and online on Julien’s Live.#apple #appleauction pic.twitter.com/GDYmxrRek5— Julien’s Auctions (@JuliensAuctions) February 23, 2023

Some of the items are notably rare — such as a 1983 Lisa I computer, estimated to sell between $10,000 and $20,000. The Lisa I computer is a highly desirable item for Apple collectors; it’s one of the first personal computers to offer a graphical user interface and was famously a commercial flop that sold approximately just 10,000 units. Very few models have survived, though Julien’s Auctions doesn’t note if this particular unit is still operational. Other products within the collection are more affordable, including a 1986 Apple Macintosh Plus computer complete with keyboard and mouse, currently estimated between $300 and $500 and a special 2001 “Blue Dalmatian” edition of the now iconic iMac G3 for $200–$300.
Besides computers, other gadgets like joysticks, cameras, and graphics tablets are also up for grabs
Alongside computers, the collection also contains some other interesting Apple gadgets. A 1994 Apple QuickTake 100 camera is expected to fetch between $200 and $300, which Julien’s Auctions describes as “one of the first commercially successful digital camera lines” before it was discontinued in 1997. The camera was capable of a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels and 24-bit color. There’s also a 1983–1984 Apple Joystick for the Apple IIE or IIC computer systems available housed in its original packaging and — my personal favorite — an original Summagraphics MacTablet from 1979–1983, one of the earliest commercially available graphics tablets.
Some retro Apple gadgets and memorabilia have sold for significant sums at auction in recent weeks, with an unopened original iPhone selling for almost $40,000 at auction back in October last year. Just last week, another immaculate 16-year-old iPhone sold for over $63,000, over 100 times its 2007 launch price of $599. And those figures hardly touch the almost $220,000 price fetched by Steve Jobs’ raggedy old Birkenstock sandals last November. Safe to say, the retro tech will probably smell better even if those vintage computer systems do take up more room on your shelves.

A rare Apple Lisa desktop computer is among the over 500 retro Apple computers and gadgets being sold by Julien’s Auctions on March 30th. | Image: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

The entirety of one of the most comprehensive collections of retro Apple computers and gadgets released between 1977 and 2008 is about to go on sale. As seen via PetaPixel, the “Hanspeter Luzi Vintage Apple Archive” will be available via auction in California next month and contains over 500 classic Apple products spanning almost half a century, collected over the decades by the late Swiss teacher and entrepreneur Hanspeter Luzi.

“The Apples” collection is being auctioned live and online by Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills on March 30th, with an exhibition to view the products running from March 27th through March 30th.

Some of the items are notably rare — such as a 1983 Lisa I computer, estimated to sell between $10,000 and $20,000. The Lisa I computer is a highly desirable item for Apple collectors; it’s one of the first personal computers to offer a graphical user interface and was famously a commercial flop that sold approximately just 10,000 units. Very few models have survived, though Julien’s Auctions doesn’t note if this particular unit is still operational. Other products within the collection are more affordable, including a 1986 Apple Macintosh Plus computer complete with keyboard and mouse, currently estimated between $300 and $500 and a special 2001 “Blue Dalmatian” edition of the now iconic iMac G3 for $200–$300.

Alongside computers, the collection also contains some other interesting Apple gadgets. A 1994 Apple QuickTake 100 camera is expected to fetch between $200 and $300, which Julien’s Auctions describes as “one of the first commercially successful digital camera lines” before it was discontinued in 1997. The camera was capable of a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels and 24-bit color. There’s also a 1983–1984 Apple Joystick for the Apple IIE or IIC computer systems available housed in its original packaging and — my personal favorite — an original Summagraphics MacTablet from 1979–1983, one of the earliest commercially available graphics tablets.

Some retro Apple gadgets and memorabilia have sold for significant sums at auction in recent weeks, with an unopened original iPhone selling for almost $40,000 at auction back in October last year. Just last week, another immaculate 16-year-old iPhone sold for over $63,000, over 100 times its 2007 launch price of $599. And those figures hardly touch the almost $220,000 price fetched by Steve Jobs’ raggedy old Birkenstock sandals last November. Safe to say, the retro tech will probably smell better even if those vintage computer systems do take up more room on your shelves.

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