Steve Wozniak’s Toolbox
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An auction site in Maryland is offering Apple’s first business sign and a Steve Wozniak toolkit up for auction – and for a hefty price you can own them both.
The first item, Apple Computer’s first commercial sign, has a starting bid of $50,000. It was the first sign used by Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to promote their new startup at the time, Apple Computer Company.
Apple introduced it at the first trade shows it attended in 1976 and used it for years outside of its California headquarters. It features the company’s iconic rainbow logo and has the original weathered wooden frame.
The second item up for auction is Wozniak’s first Apple Computer toolbox, with a starting bid of $10,000. It bears his name on the top and was used during Apple’s formative years during the Apple I computer era.
Both items were previously in the possession of Mr. Thomas Liggett, Jr., who was hired by Apple as a ‘B’ facilities engineer in 1978, Apple Computer employee #114. Regarding the toolbox, he said that before he was hired, all engineers received a toolbox with their name on the lid.
The original Apple Computer commercial sign
He noticed that Wozniak’s toolkit was lying around for a while and took it after permission from the Apple co-founder.
For the sign, Liggett discovered a “fluorescent light box” in the building and learned that it was from the first trade show Jobs and Wozniak attended. Liggett says he was told to throw it away, but he asked and was granted permission to take it home.
The website hosting the auction, Alexander Historical Auctions, estimates a bidding range of $20,000 to $30,000 for the toolkit and a whopping $100,000 to $200,000 for the trade sign.
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