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Ink signature of Steve Jobs, “Let's change the world! steve jobs,” penned at the bottom of a typed letter from young German Apple enthusiast Alexander Zink dated March 25, 1984, one page, 7.25 x 11.75, rendered in alternating Apple Computer ‘rainbow’ colors and addressed to Steve Wozniak, requesting the autographs of Jobs, Wozniak, and other members of Apple Computer. In part: “My name is Alexander Zink, and I'm a 15-years old enthusiastic owner of your Apple II-Computer…As I'm very interested on the phantastic history of Apple and his inventors I would be delighted to possess your and Steve Jobs autograph.” The request was evidently circulated through Apple headquarters, resulting in an amazing assemblage of signatures from 15 Apple employees. In addition to Jobs, the letter is signed in pencil and various ink types by Steve Wozniak (“Keep up the good work, Alexander. Steve Wozniak (Woz)”), John Sculley, Bruce Horn, Caroline Rose, Joanna Hoffman, Hasmig Seropian, Christopher Espinosa, Jerome Coonen, Burrell Smith, Steve Capps, Hans Gerke, George Crow, David Egner, Susan Kare, and Larry Kenyon, with several adding inscriptions and sentiments in German. In fine condition.
Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from PSA, two small Apple Computer stickers that were included with the letter, a TLS from Michael Murray, director of marketing at the Macintosh Group, dated May 10, 1984, acknowledging receipt of Zink's correspondence to Wozniak and encouraging the young Apple enthusiast, and a signed provenance letter from Zink, who recounts creating the letter on a Hewlett-Packard flatbed plotter using Apple's signature rainbow colors and his surprise upon receiving it back covered with signatures from Jobs, Wozniak, and members of the Macintosh team.
Dated just two months after the Macintosh's historic debut on January 24, 1984, this letter captures Apple at a pivotal moment in its history. The celebrated ‘1984’ Super Bowl advertisement had aired just two months earlier, the Macintosh was attracting worldwide attention, and the small team responsible for its creation had suddenly become some of the most recognizable figures in the computer industry. Sent by a 15-year-old Apple enthusiast in West Germany and evidently circulated through Apple headquarters, the letter accumulated signatures from fifteen Apple employees whose work spanned nearly every aspect of the Macintosh project.
Steve Jobs, who drove the Macintosh project to completion; Steve Wozniak, whose Apple I and Apple II laid the company's foundation; and John Sculley, the chief executive recruited by Jobs to lead Apple through its next phase of growth, all signed the letter. Surrounding them are many of the individuals responsible for bringing the Macintosh to life: Susan Kare, designer of the Mac's pioneering icons, fonts, and visual language; Burrell Smith, architect of the Macintosh logic board; Joanna Hoffman, the Macintosh team's international marketing manager; Bruce Horn, creator of key Finder software components; Steve Capps, one of the principal developers of the Macintosh Finder and system software; Larry Kenyon, one of the principal Macintosh operating-system programmers; Jerome Coonen, a member of the Macintosh software team; Christopher Espinosa, one of Apple's earliest employees and software contributors; George Crow and David Egner, who designed the Macintosh analog board, including its power-supply and video circuitry; Caroline Rose, lead author of Inside Macintosh, the foundational documentation for Macintosh software developers; Hasmig Seropian, a member of the original Macintosh team and Steve Jobs's area associate; and Hans Gerke, an Apple employee involved with the Macintosh effort.
