Bonhams auction house gives you the chance to own a machine that changed life as we know it forever. This Apple Macintosh Prototype is one of the earliest computers ever released by the company. Before Apple became one of the world’s most recognized brands, Jef Raskin designed this personal computer in 1983 in Cupertino, CA, where the company would go on to build its sprawling corporate headquarters. At the time, it was made to be a low-cost personal computer, utilizing a 16/32-bit Motorola 68000 microprocessor along with a 5 ¼ inch “Twiggy” disk drive. The Macintosh prototype used the same microprocessor as Lisa, another PC being developed but with a much higher price tag. Raskin’s innovative design and his mission to create an affordable PC was enough to lure Steve Jobs off the Lisa project and into Apple, marking the beginning of a new era in computing.
The prototype procured by Bonhams was owned by the CEO and president of Encore Systems. This version is an extremely rare edition, pre-existing those which incorporated a Sony 3 ½ inch disk drive. It was exhibited at Mac’s 30th Anniversary Celebration by Apple before being sold by Bonhams for $105,075 at auction in December of 2019.