Someone did, in fact, buy the Steve Jobs 8th-grade science fair project for roughly the same price as a brand-new midsize sedan.
Earlier in August, I'd reported on yet another Steve Jobs-based auction. These seem to be happening with increased frequency, and I suspect it has something to do with Jobs' stepbrother, John Chovanec, cleaning out the family home.
Among the usual collection of computer parts, Apple-1 units, and some sealed first-generation iPhones, there were more personal effects. One, of course, being Jobs' 8th grade science project, which sold for $34,375.
The Apple logo sun catcher, which was my personal favorite, commanded a respectable $4,365.
The biggest ticket item of the auction was an Apple-1 dubbed the "Neumark" Apple-1. It featured a unique Smith-Corona Typewriter case and sold for nearly a half million dollars, coming in at $499,363 by auction's end.
A "stealth iPod" development prototype nearly doubled its $50,000 estimate, bringing in $91,479 by the time the auction ended.
Other notable items included:
- A Steve Jobs signed-business card - final price: $156,658
- Apple Lisa with "Twiggy" drives - final price: $89,356
- A Steve Jobs-signed fan letter - final price: $33,945
- Random computer components found in the "Apple Garage" - final price: $27,188
- Steve Jobs's personally owned portrait - final price: $16,079
Whoever wound up with the lot of vintage employee apparel got a deal, though. It sold for $875, below the $1,000 estimate.
Unsurprisingly, the Twitter flotsam largely came in barely above the estimates.
