Apple ll Manual, inscribed and signed by Steve Jobs
Subject
Steve Jobs
(American, 1955 - 2011)
Maker
Apple Computer, Inc.
Date1980
ClassificationsHistory
DimensionsOverall: 8 1/2 x 6 in. (21.6 x 15.2 cm)
DescriptionApple II manual, inscribed and signed by Steve Jobs in 1980. A spiral-bound Apple II Reference Manual, 196 pages, signed and inscribed opposite the Table of Contents in blue ink by Jobs: "Julian, Your generation is the first to grow up with computers. Go change the world! steven jobs, 1980" and by Apple's angel investor and second CEO, "Mike Markkula, 1980." At the time they signed, Jobs and Markkula were in the UK to promote Apple; cultivating it from Cupertino start-up to global phenomenon. Whereas the Apple I was primarily for hobbyists, with less than 200 units made, the Apple II truly "changed the world" by giving around 6 million homes and businesses their first taste of personal computing. Apple II's revenues supported Apple's successful floatation, the biggest tech IPO of the time.
The manual itself details the technical architecture and operation of the Apple II and even features a fold-out schematic of the computer's main logic board.
"Julian" was a teenager at the time, son of entrepreneur Mike Brewer who had negotiated exclusive distribution rights for Apple products in the UK and later became the first Managing Director of Apple Computer (UK) Ltd. Julian recalls, "I was sitting in my bedroom writing games on my Apple II when Dad called me down to meet some guests. To my amazement it was Steve Jobs and Mike Markkula. I had the manual with me and only later understood how rare it was for Jobs to sign anything, let alone to write an inscription like this. He got on well with Dad, so I feel the inscription was made with care."
Like Jobs, Mike Brewer had a keen technological and entrepreneurial mind. Born 17 years before Jobs, Brewer worked as an electrical engineer for the Ministry of Defence, for the BBC, and for J Lyons on the world's first business computer, the room-filling LEO I in 1959. He turned entrepreneur in 1964 when he co-founded Data Efficiency Ltd, which sold to Micro Business Systems plc in 1984. In 1979, he founded Microsense Computers Ltd which established a network of over 400 Apple dealers. Microsense was bought by Apple in 1981, becoming Apple Computer (UK) Ltd with Brewer as Managing Director.
The Apple II's success in the UK was thanks in part to a strong campaign in the national press, from which Julian has shared with us a number of impactful marketing pieces from his collection and in which Mike Brewer is pictured on a photoshoot with Patrick Lichfield.
Julian wrote game reviews for Apple User magazine before going on to read Computing Science at Imperial College London and then to work for IBM. After completing an MBA at Wharton, Julian set up several successful small businesses including a software venture whose games were distributed with JVC video cameras.
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs (1955-2011) was a pioneering figure in the computing world. Working with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Jobs helped innovate the design of technology.
Apple’s early desktop computers, such as the Apple I, Apple II, and Macintosh brought computing to a retail-based market.
Jobs later earned notoriety for his work on Apple’s groundbreaking devices of the 2000s. The iPod, iPhone, and other Apple portable devices revolutionized the way people interacted with technology. The Apple aesthetic can be traced back to Jobs.
Jobs’s entrepreneurial legacy has been upheld, as Apple continues to develop groundbreaking technology more than a decade after his passing.
