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Lot Essay
Presentation from Steve Jobs to a tech‑minded teenager, written in the year of Apple’s IPO—a landmark event that helped introduce unprecedented levels of venture capital into Silicon Valley and set a new standard for the emerging personal‑computing industry.
This manual belonged to Julian Brewer, son of entrepreneur Mike Brewer, the first major distributor of Apple computers in the United Kingdom. In 1979, Brewer founded Microsense Computers, which rapidly established a network of more than 400 Apple dealers. Apple acquired Microsense in 1981 to form Apple Computer (UK) Ltd., appointing Brewer as its Managing Director.
Julian later recalled:
“I was sitting in my bedroom writing games on my Apple II when Dad called me down to meet some guests. To my amazement it was Steve Jobs and Mike Markkula. I had the manual with me and only later understood how rare it was for Jobs to sign anything—let alone write an inscription like this. He got on well with Dad, so I feel the inscription was made with care.”
Fewer than 200 units of the Apple‑1 were produced in 1976. Mike Markkula almost immediately recognized the promise in that tiny production run; his early investment and guidance helped propel Apple from niche hobby shops into global retail markets. The Apple II reached a truly widespread audience—more than half a million units sold (including the Apple II Plus) had sold by 1980.
Not only is this a rare and unusually personal and early inscription by Jobs, but the sentiment he expressed was strikingly prescient: an entire generation growing up with personal computers would indeed go on to reshape the technological landscape. Celebrated Gen‑X figures—Larry Page, Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Susan Wojcicki, Marissa Mayer, Satya Nadella, and others—would come to redefine entire industries.
Julian remembered meeting Jobs once more:
“I’d accompanied Dad on a visit to Apple in California. I’d just bought an Apple II game called Temple of Apshai and couldn’t wait to get it home to the UK. Dad took me to an office where Steve was sitting with his sandals on his desk. I couldn’t believe my luck when he let me load the game on an Apple II and play it! Fun was always part of Dad’s work. Once he demonstrated an Apple II to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, after having Apple program it to play ‘The Sailor’s Hornpipe,’ one of the Prince’s favorite tunes. At the time, it would have been quite astonishing.
Growing up with machines like the Apple II helped form not just future tech leaders but an entire generation whose early familiarity with personal computing reshaped how they learned, worked, and imagined the future.
This manual belonged to Julian Brewer, son of entrepreneur Mike Brewer, the first major distributor of Apple computers in the United Kingdom. In 1979, Brewer founded Microsense Computers, which rapidly established a network of more than 400 Apple dealers. Apple acquired Microsense in 1981 to form Apple Computer (UK) Ltd., appointing Brewer as its Managing Director.
Julian later recalled:
“I was sitting in my bedroom writing games on my Apple II when Dad called me down to meet some guests. To my amazement it was Steve Jobs and Mike Markkula. I had the manual with me and only later understood how rare it was for Jobs to sign anything—let alone write an inscription like this. He got on well with Dad, so I feel the inscription was made with care.”
Fewer than 200 units of the Apple‑1 were produced in 1976. Mike Markkula almost immediately recognized the promise in that tiny production run; his early investment and guidance helped propel Apple from niche hobby shops into global retail markets. The Apple II reached a truly widespread audience—more than half a million units sold (including the Apple II Plus) had sold by 1980.
Not only is this a rare and unusually personal and early inscription by Jobs, but the sentiment he expressed was strikingly prescient: an entire generation growing up with personal computers would indeed go on to reshape the technological landscape. Celebrated Gen‑X figures—Larry Page, Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Susan Wojcicki, Marissa Mayer, Satya Nadella, and others—would come to redefine entire industries.
Julian remembered meeting Jobs once more:
“I’d accompanied Dad on a visit to Apple in California. I’d just bought an Apple II game called Temple of Apshai and couldn’t wait to get it home to the UK. Dad took me to an office where Steve was sitting with his sandals on his desk. I couldn’t believe my luck when he let me load the game on an Apple II and play it! Fun was always part of Dad’s work. Once he demonstrated an Apple II to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, after having Apple program it to play ‘The Sailor’s Hornpipe,’ one of the Prince’s favorite tunes. At the time, it would have been quite astonishing.
Growing up with machines like the Apple II helped form not just future tech leaders but an entire generation whose early familiarity with personal computing reshaped how they learned, worked, and imagined the future.