Apple-1 Registry, Apple-1 computers and Apple research

An overview of my Apple-1 work, including the Apple-1 Registry, my own Apple-1 computers, and my research into early Apple history, serial numbers, and provenance.
Since 2017, one of my original Apple-1 computers has been on loan to the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany.

Apple-1 Registry

Visit the Apple-1 Registry.

My original Apple-1 computers

My website The Apple-1 is dedicated to my original, fully functional Apple-1 computers. It contains detailed information, photographs and videos. Introduced in 1976, the iconic Apple-1 was the very first product offered by Apple in the year the company was founded.

A list of exhibitions featuring my Apple-1 computers is here.

A short introduction to my collection of original Apple-1 computers:
I own several original Apple-1 including the one and only manually soldered (not wave-soldered) Apple-1. The collection also includes many original manuals and the famous so-called wooden Byte Shop case.
Note: The Scardino Apple-1 is missing from the group photos. In some photos, the Dreike Apple-1 is also shown, although it is no longer in my collection. Retaking all photos would be too time consuming, especially since the Copson Apple-1 is on loan to the Deutsches Museum.

Yes, it is crazy to own so many original Apple-1s. I really wanted to buy my first Apple-1 because of its historical significance in the history of computers. It seemed like an impossible dream, but it became a reality in 2015. Shortly afterwards, another opportunity arose and a few more over the years. At the moment, there are actually an incredible eight original Apple-1s in my collection. These include the only known Apple-1 that was soldered by hand and an Apple-1 in the so-called wooden Byte Shop cases. The many researches and conversations led to numerous contacts and ultimately to me taking over and massively expanding the so-called Apple-1 Registry. This lists all the known Apple-1 computers and everything that surrounds them.

Personal contacts with contemporary witnesses such as Steve Wozniak, Daniel Kottke, Chris Espinosa, Bill Fernandez, Wendell Sander, Jerry Manock (to name but a few) helped enormously to record and preserve the history of this computer. In addition, there are the many contacts to the first owners of an Apple-1, to Steve Jobs' best childhood friend, etc.
I have been in contact with a large number of Apple-1 owners and have tried to obtain all available information and to archive and publish it for the future.

How it began

I bought my first Apple 1 on eBay in 2015. At the time, I could not believe that I had finally acquired this highly coveted and rare computer. The owner was Bob Luther, the author of the book The First Apple. I arranged with him to pick up the computer myself in Alexandria near Washington, DC. I remember the visit very well. We talked for a long time and later I was invited to the Luthers' home for Halloween and for the first time I experienced this American tradition of visiting neighbours.
Bob later told me about a collector, David G. Larsen, who runs a museum and owns the rarest computers and three original Apple 1s. I phoned him and he invited me to Floyd in Virginia. What a great coincidence, because I had rented a Mustang Convertible and wanted to go to the Blue Mountains anyway.
I spent the night at David's and in the evening he offered me his entire collection. Unfortunately, I was too slow and so Lonnie Mimms from Georgia bought everything except for two Apple-1s. I later bought one of these Apple-1s from David and we stayed in contact for many years afterwards.
My first Apple-1 has been on loan to the Deutsches Museum in Munich since 2018.
I bought my second Apple-1 at auction before David Larsen's Apple-1. At an auction in Germany in 2017, an Apple-1 was offered by an American. I went to this auction out of curiosity and to buy a rocket engine. So I had a bidding card. When the Apple-1 was offered, there was only a low starting bid and no further bids seemed to come in. When it said first, second, I raised my bidding card. The auction went on for what felt like an eternity and apparently no one got through on the phone or online, so I won the bid. I was immediately surrounded by reporters. That was the end of my “secret” collection. I then decided to talk more or less publicly about my collection and publish information, which ultimately led to many, many contacts and unique offers. At this auction I met another collector from Germany and another from Austria and we are still in contact today.

Over time, more Apple-1s were added and many of them have great memories associated with them.

I got my Apple-1 in the original Byte Shop case from a guy in the Bay Area through a woman from Italy who looked after an Italian's collection of vintage computers. A few years passed before I met the owner in the Bay Area through this mediation and we came to an agreement.

Another special occasion was the purchase of an Apple 1, which Steve Jobs personally gave to his former best childhood friend together with another Apple 1. The two boys travelled through the Bay Area in a white and green VW bus and I had the pleasure of being picked up from Los Angeles airport by this childhood friend. Later I also bought his second Apple-1. He became very ill, I visited him and fortunately he was able to fight the illness successfully.

The acquisition of the Burr Apple-1 in 2019 was a particularly fond memory. Initially, contact was exclusively by email and telephone. The owner was the owner of Computerland and he was also looking for someone who would appreciate the history and the computer. The computer was sent to me and it was not until 2 years later that I was able to meet the couple in person. And again a very nice contact.

The most moving story of an Apple-1 purchase, however, was undoubtedly the so-called Scardino Apple-1. I was asked to add an Apple-1 to the Apple-1 Registry. It was an heirloom from the father to his children and an appraisal was needed. The family was very nice and sympathetic and during a Zoom call I offered to do the appraisal for free. A few months passed and then the family asked me if I would be interested in the Apple-1. And how! This Apple-1 has a fabulous history and is the only manually soldered Apple-1 known to date. All the others were produced by machine using the so-called wave-soldering process. An Apple-1 like this is not for collectors who want a shiny computer that looks like it came off the factory production line, but only for enthusiasts who appreciate the great history. It was the ninth Apple-1 in my collection.

Lucky circumstances

Fortunately, in 2018 I was able to take over the Apple-1 Registry, a directory of all known Apple-1s from Mike Willegal, and expand it considerably.

The passion for collecting and the extremely time-consuming and labour-intensive maintenance of the Apple-1 led to great new contacts and lots of interesting encounters and conversations over the years.
I met Steve Wozniak, Daniel Kottke, Chris Espinosa, Dr Wendell Sander, professors from Stanford, visited Apple Park in Cuppertino, spoke to Paul Terrell, Ron Wayne and so many other contemporary witnesses. Funny and interesting was the entcounter with John Drape aka Cap'n Crunch who I met while visiting Daniel Kottke.
Not to forget Jamis MacNiven, the owner of the famous Buck's of Woodside restaurant. This place is considered the birthplace of many Silicon Valley tech companies.
And many others...

Apple-1 research

Over the time I did quite a lot of research. So much was unknown, forgotten, falsch wiedergegeben, spekulativ. Es war wahrlich nicht einfach, hinter viele Geheimnisse zu kommen. Aber am Ende hat sich der Aufwand gelohnt und ein klein wenig mehr der bemerkenswerten Geschichte des Apple-1 konnte bewahrt werden.

Serial numbers on some Apple-1 computers (short version see below).

The remarkable story of the only existing hand-soldered Apple-1

The Apple-1 prototype 'Apple Computer A'

About the wooden Byte Shop cases

The first 12 Apple-1s in Europe and a letter from Steve Jobs

Apple-1 serial number research

On February 10, 2022, I had the honour of publishing the results of two forensic examinations of the handwritten serial numbers on several original Apple-1 computers from the first batch. The findings confirmed that the handwriting belonged to Steve Jobs. It is another lasting legacy of Steve Jobs. The full story is available here.

PSA provided a certificate of authenticity. It is even possible to validate the authentication online.

Sharing my passion for vintage computers

One of my original Apple-1 computers is on loan to the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, where it is on public display. The handover took place on 14 November 2017, with the Zuse 4 in the background. This is exactly where Steve Jobs personally handed over a Macintosh to the museum in 1985. It is on permanent public display in the Microelectronics Department.

I provided another Apple-1 free of charge for an art exhibition at the ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany, from July 2018 to February 2019. Additionally, I loaned another Apple-1 to an art exhibition at the ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany, from July 2018 to February 2019.

In 2019, I travelled to the Bay Area in California with two of my original Apple-1 computers. Both were exhibited at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.

More information about exhibitions of my Apple-1 can be found here. It would be a pleasure to share more, and I am open to inquiries.

Confidential contact

If you have information about an Apple-1 computer, related documentation, photographs or provenance information, or if you know of a historically important Apple-related item, please contact me. Messages, photographs and provenance details are treated confidentially.