First Apple Macintosh Plus, given to Gene Roddenberry
Profiles in History, which auctioned Forry Ackerman’s stuff earlier this year, will soon be taking bids on another item with fan appeal — a computer (serial number F4200NUM0001), given by Apple Computer, Inc. to Gene Roddenberry. It comes with a letter of authentication from Roddenberry’s son.
Some of you remember, I’m sure, that when the Macintosh Plus came on the market in 1986 it boasted an awesome 1 megabyte of RAM (upgradeable to 4Mb), supported the double-sided floppy disk format, and was the first Mac with a SCSI port for fast data transfer to and from an external hard drive.
The reason you remember is that you are still paying off the credit card you smoked to buy your own Mac Plus.
The full text of the press release follows the jump.
Update 09/18/2009: The publicist for Profiles in History forwarded a corrected press release after it was pointed out that the computer couldn’t have been the first Mac Plus. The replacement text now appears after the jump. He explains: “Firstly, this Macintosh was, indeed, presented to Gene Roddenberry by Apple. There is no doubt about this. The conflict between the photo and the serial number is as follows. This computer, given by Apple to Mr. Roddenberry, is an early production Macintosh 128 (#776), which was then upgraded by Apple for Gene to a Macintosh Plus-thus the model number / serial number / panel that “belongs to” a Macintosh Plus. The 0001 led us to mistakenly believe that it was the first one off the line.”
For Immediate Release
PROFILES IN HISTORY TO OFFER EARLY PRODUCTION MACINTOSH 128 COMPUTER GIVEN TO
GENE RODDENBERRY BY APPLE COMPUTER
Iconic Technological Artifact Will Be Part of Their Huge October 8-9, 2009 Auction
Calabasas, CA, September 17, 2009 – Profiles in History, the world’s leading auctioneer of Hollywood memorabilia, will be offering an early production Macintosh 128 computer, given to Gene Roddenberry by Apple Computer, Inc. This computer was subsequently upgraded to a Macintosh Plus by Apple for Mr. Roddenberry and signifies the wonderful association between the visionary computer designer/manufacturer and legendary Star Trek creator, and is a stellar example of the powerful synergy between technology and entertainment. This amazing artifact, which is accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from Gene Roddenberry’s son, Rod, will be a special addition to Profiles in History’s October 8-9, 2009 auction of Hollywood memorabilia. It has an estimated sale price of $800-$1200. Worldwide bidding begins at 12:00 PM (noon) both days and can be placed either in person, via mail, phone, fax or live on the Internet at:
http://www.icollector.com/Hollywood-Auction-37_a5736.
“This is the personification of life imitating art. Gene Roddenberry’s vision inspired countless people to pursue careers in science and aerospace. This milestone computer, given to Gene by Apple’s innovators, is a symbol of this synergy,” said Joe Maddalena, president of Profiles in History.
Already announced as part of the same auction are Michael Jackson’s iconic illuminating white glove that he wore on the Victory tour as well as the original cover art from The Jacksons “Victory” album.
For more information about Profiles in History and to download a complete catalog of items that will be available, please visit HYPERLINK “http://www.profilesinhistory.com/” \o “http://www.profilesinhistory.com/”www.profilesinhistory.com.
About Profiles in History:
Founded in 1985 by Joseph Maddalena, Profiles in History is the world’s leading auctioneer of Hollywood memorabilia. Profiles in History has held some of the most prestigious and successful auctions of Hollywood memorabilia. Their auctions include costumes, props and set pieces from both vintage and contemporary film, television, and rock ‘n roll. Profiles in History’s location in Calabasas Hills, CA- virtually a stone’s throw away from every major Hollywood studio – ensures a constant flow of fantastic and rare artifacts. With an extensive network of dealers, collectors, and public & private institutions, they are proud to play an important role in the preservation of motion picture history.
Prior Profiles in History Hollywood auctions highlights include the “Cowardly Lion” costume from The Wizard of Oz ($805,000); a full-scale model T-800 Endoskeleton from Terminator 2: Judgment Day ($488,750); a T.I.E. Fighter filming miniature from Star Wars ($402,500); a King Kong six-sheet movie poster ($345,000); the Command Chair from the “U.S.S. Enterprise” ($304,750); Harrison Ford’s hero blaster from Blade Runner ($258,750); the original “Robot” from Lost in Space ($264,500); Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber ($240,000); a Frankenstein one-sheet movie poster ($212,400); the Black Beauty car from The Green Hornet ($192,000); George Reeves’ Superman costume from The Adventures of Superman ($126,500); the H.R. Giger designed Alien creature suit from Alien ($126,500); a full-scale T-Rex head from Jurassic Park ($126,500), the Leaping Alien Warrior figure from Aliens ($126,500), Christopher Reeve’s ‘Superman’ costume from Superman: The Movie ($115,000), C-3PO’s helmet ($120,000), The Wizard of Oz ‘Winkie’ Guard Costume ($115,000); a “Ming the Merciless” cape from Flash Gordon ($115,000) and the Hydraulic screen-used Velociraptor from The Lost World: Jurassic Park II ($115,000).
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Press Contact:
Marc Kruskol
MJK Public Relations
HYPERLINK “mailto:[email protected]”[email protected] or (818) 997-0534
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Of course, one can purchase old 680×0-processor Macs from the Plus up through the IIfx for $25-$75 if you don’t have to have a keyboard that Gene’s fingers touched — although they may not have touched it very much.
Most of the photos I’ve seen of Gene in his office show him holding the microphone of a dictation recorder or sitting at the keyboard of an IBM Selectric typewriter, and while I don’t have it in front of me to double-check, if I remember correctly, Susan Sackett’s autobiography says in terms of technology he never got beyond a late ’70s-model dedicated word processing machine as he was comfortable with it, and it would have taken away from his writing time to learn how to use new equipment.
I’ll forward this to her and see if she wants to comment.
Gene was indeed given an early Mac. I remember well the day it arrived. I hated the “mouse thing” that came with it. How could you type and then have to take your hands off the keyboard and use this gadget? 🙂 Well, it proved to be the prototype for today’s P.C.s — an idea which was subsequently “borrowed” by Microsoft and is today used by, well, everyone.
Gene used this a little, but later bought a P.C. — I think it was an AT&T brand. (This was much after the Lexoriter, which he got in 1980.) The AT&T had a 20 megabyte onboard hard drive — quite the novelty in its day. Eventually, he upgraded from this to an even larger hard drive computer, and gave me the AT&T, which I owned for a few years back in the late ’80, early ’90s. (Obviously, I no longer have this, although I wish I did, for the money it might bring at auction. Who knew?)
Thank you for the correction, Susan.