LIVE AUCTION IN BEVERLY HILLS AND ONLINE AT JULIEN’S LIVE THURSDAY, MARCH 30TH
Beverly Hills, California – (February 23rd, 2023) – Julien’s Auctions, the auction house to the stars, unveiled today “The Apples,” a historic auction event featuring “The Hanspeter Luzi Vintage Apple Archive,” one of the world’s most comprehensive collection of Apple computers and products ever offered. More than 500 computers and Apple products spanning over forty-five years will be offered for the first time at auction Thursday, March 30th, 2023 at Julien’s Auctions Gallery in Beverly Hills and online on JULIEN’S LIVE.COM. |
From his parents’ Los Altos, California garage in 1976, Steve Jobs hatched the beginnings of the Apple computer and for the next 35 years, changed the world with his technological achievements and famous innovations. With the development of the Apple 1 and Apple II with co-founder Steve Wozniak, the company created the first mass produced and popular personal computers that began a cultural shift for how society communicates, works, learns and spends their leisure time. Following its incorporation on January 3rd, 1977, the Apple II became one of the first computers with practical applications in the business world and dominated the computer market both for hobbyists and business professionals. |
The introduction of the Macintosh in 1984, (called Mac for short), played a critical role in the trajectory of personal computers, and also helped to develop desktop publishing as a way for more workplaces to incorporate computers for their employees. In a demonstration of the significance of the Macintosh 128K on January 24th, 1984, Apple unveiled its famous 1.5 million-dollar commercial directed by Ridley Scott titled “1984.” |
In 1991, the company’s Apple PowerBook became the basis for the modern laptop, causing a major shift in how the average buyer interacted with the technology with its convenient keyboard, trackball, and sleek, efficient design. Other important models invented in this time included the Macintosh Classic, the Macintosh IIsi, and the Macintosh LC. |
In July 1997, Jobs became the interim CEO of Apple where under his leadership yielded Apple’s boldest offerings that propelled the company to even greater heights with the release of the iMac in 1998 and the release of the iBook in 1999, which led to over one million units sold in each product’s first half year. |
In the early years of the twenty-first century, Apple’s iPod, iPad, MacBook and other devices revolutionized the role of technology in daily life. The incorporation of Apple Stores in 2001 and the unveiling of the iTunes Music Store in 2003 further cemented the brand at the top of the tech industry and once again radically reconfigured the way consumers interacted with technology and media. In 2007, the first iPhone made an appearance during the Macworld Expo keynote, when Jobs famously reached into his jeans and pulled out the device. In its first decade, the iPhone would become a ubiquitous part of everyday life, with over 2.24 billion iPhone units sold to date and more than 1.5 billion active iPhone users worldwide using its features to capture photos, videos, send emails, texts, surf the internet, make phone calls and more. Additionally, the iPhone has created billion-dollar industries such as ride sharing and mobile banking apps that use its technologies. |
Offered for the first time at auction will be the entire contents of “The Hanspeter Luzi Vintage Apple Archive” that features over 500 computers and Apple products amassed by renowned Apple collector, Hanspeter Luzi. Luzi, a remedial teacher for children with special needs from St. Gallen, Switzerland, was an educational pioneer who developed several educational games and teaching aids for the special needs of his students which included the use of computers. A historian and advocate of his region of Eastern Switzerland, Luzi was also among many things, an outdoors adventurer, hot air balloon pilot, musician and avid of collector of vintage sewing machines, as he was inspired by St. Gallen’s legacy as the textile capital of Europe. His sewing machine collection was bought by a German textile industrialist and formed the foundation of today’s sewing machine museum – Sammlung Albrecht Mey in Germany. His new found passion for collecting then turned to Apple computers as a result of volunteering as the IT manager for several schools and equipping their computer rooms with the appropriate devices. He used the many changes of equipment caused by technical developments to buy the old equipment from the schools. With over 25 years of Apple collecting, Luzi acquired a broad technical knowledge in the handling of hardware, but also in the application of computer programs, a knowledge that he incorporated into two companies he founded with friends, where he worked doing the graphics work. One of the projects was the “Sportmanager”, a manual for the organization of sports events by sports clubs which was then distributed by the Swiss Olympic Committee to more than 35,000 such clubs. Before his untimely passing in 2015 due to a fatal mountain accident, Luzi was near completion of a book of unknown routes and passes of the most beautiful places in his beloved Eastern Switzerland. |
The Luzi family wishes to offer this collection of Apple devices produced from 1977 to 2008 to the public for the first time. In 2022, Julien’s made headlines in their sale of Steve Jobs’ Birkenstock Arizona Sandals with NFT that sold for $218,750, a world record for highest-selling price for a pair of sandals sold at auction. |
“Julien’s Auctions is honored to present The Hanspeter Luzi Vintage Apple Archive and its extraordinary collection of Apple products which helped to shape one of the biggest brands in the world, through their tremendous innovations and technological advancements,” said Martin Nolan, Chief Executive Officer/CFO of Julien’s Auctions. |
Highlights of this auction include: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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JULIEN’S AUCTIONS PUBLIC EXHIBITION & AUCTION LOCATION
Julien’s Auctions PUBLIC EXHIBITION Exhibition: Monday, March 27th, 2023 – Thursday, March 30th, 2023 JULIEN’S AUCTIONS LIVE ONLINE AUCTIONS “The Apples” Thursday, March 30th, 2023 Julien’s Auctions now accepts payments with cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, DAI, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin and USD Coin. |
REGISTER TO BID |
Registration is required to bid in this online auction and can be done in person at the exhibition, or online before the sale at the JuliensAuctions.com Registration page to bid by phone, proxy or in person, or online at JuliensLive.com to bid live online, or by calling (310) 836-1818. For inquiries, please email [email protected] or call 310-836-1818. |
PLACING BIDS |
There are four ways to bid in this sale:
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ABOUT JULIEN’S AUCTIONS |
Julien’s Auctions is the auction house to the stars. Collaborating with the famous and the exclusive, Julien’s Auctions produces high profile auctions in the film, music, sports and art markets. Julien’s Auctions has received international recognition for its unique and innovative auction events, which attract thousands of collectors, investors, fans and enthusiasts from around the world. Julien’s Auctions specializes in sales of iconic artifacts and notable collections including Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Lady Gaga, Banksy, Cher, Michael Jackson, U2, Barbra Streisand, Les Paul, Neil Young, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Hugh Hefner and many more.
In 2016, Julien’s Auctions received its second placement in the Guinness Book of World Records for the sale of the world’s most expensive dress ever sold at auction, The Marilyn Monroe “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress which sold for $4.8 million. Julien’s Auctions achieved placement in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2009 for the sale of Michael Jackson’s white glove, which sold for $480,000 making it the most expensive glove ever sold at auction. In 2020, Julien’s Auctions received its third Guinness Book of World Record placement for the sale of Kurt Cobain’s “MTV Unplugged” 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic-electric guitar, which sold for $6 million making it the world’s most expensive guitar ever sold at auction. In 2022, Julien’s Auctions sold the world’s second most expensive guitar ever sold at auction in the sale of Kurt Cobain’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video 1969 Fender Mustang electric guitar, which sold for $4.5 million. Based in Los Angeles, Julien’s Auctions has a global presence bringing their auctions and exhibitions to targeted destinations worldwide including London, New York, Las Vegas, Japan and China. Live auctions are presented for bidders on-site and online via live streaming video and mobile technology. For more information on Julien’s Auctions, go to www.juliensauctions.com. Connect with Julien’s Auctions at |