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Science & Technology at Auction

n 2014, one of the remaining operational Apple-1
computers, built in 1976 in Steve Jobs’ Palo Alto
Igarage by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, sold for
$905,000 in New York at Bonhams auction house.
The Apple-1 computer is the first pre-assembled
personal computer to come to market, heralding the dawn
of the personal computer revolution.
Approximately 200 units were eventually made, but
this example is thought to be one of the first batch of 50.
This computer has the PCB manufacturer unidentified on
the front copper layer of the board.
Only 63 surviving authentic Apple-1s are listed in
One of the first 50 Apple-1 Computer Mike Willegas’s Apple 1 Registry as of January 2014. Bonhams was informed by
built by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak Mr. Willegas that this example will be added to the registry shortly. Of the 63, only
zapped the hammer at $905,000 in 2014. 15 are documented as having been successfully operated since 2000.

his rare rock, classified as NWA 11789 and
unofficially called “The Moon Puzzle,” is comprised
Tof six fragments that fit together like a puzzle and
form a mass weighing about 5.5 kg or 12 pounds.
The meteorite has a partial fusion crust visible on one
side and is considered the largest known, complete
lunar puzzle. It is “perhaps, the most significant example of our nearest celestial neighbor
ever offered for sale in the history of meteorite science” the auction item description
read. The black-brown partial fusion crust is caused by the heat generated as the
meteorite descended through earth’s atmosphere. The large pieces also show thumb
printing. Internally, the breccia is fragmented, with white clasts of feldspar set in a
black ground mass.
“The winning bid came from a representative working with the Tam Chuc Pagoda
Complex, located in Ha Nam Province, Vietnam,” said Bobby Livingston, executive VP
at RR Auction, in a news release. “We are extremely happy and thrilled that this A lunar meteorite discovered in a Northwest African
magnificent lunar meteorite will be proudly displayed at this beautiful facility – and this desert in 2017 sold at auction for $612,500
‘Moon Puzzle’ will certainly inspire students of science for generations to come.” at the Boston-based RR Auctions

his glass celestial globe by John Cowley is the earliest glass celestial globe
known, estimated to have been made between
T1730 and 1740.The only known glass celestial
globes to predate this one are both lost and the nearest
extant, dated 1739, is in the Science Museum London.
The prolate form of this present example conforms
with the early date, since the making of a large glass
sphere would have been perfected by trial and error,
each example being produced at great expense. The
original (probably wooden) base does not survive, and
along with some replaced gores, the marble stand was
probably added when the globe came to Portugal in
Glass celestial globe made by John Cowley
sold for $217,165 at Christie’s the 19th century.

26 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles