Computer that helped launch the Apple empire at auction

A vintage Apple computer signed by company co-founder Steve Wozniak is being sold at auction.

The Apple-1 set in motion the company that in June became the first publicly traded business to close a trading day with a $3 trillion market value, according to RR Auction in Boston. The computer has been restored to a fully operational state and comes with a custom-built case with a built-in keyboard, the agency said.

"It's an incredibly rare commodity," said Tim Bajarin, chairman of Creative Strategies, a technology research firm with deep knowledge of the industry. "You can trace the growth of the PC industry to the Apple-1."

The computer, which originally sold for about $666, is expected to sell for about $200,000 at an auction that runs through Aug. 24. An Apple-1 prototype sold last year for nearly $700,000.

"Before this, the idea of having a personal computer was totally outrageous," Bajarin said.

About 200 were manufactured in Steve Jobs' garage in Los Altos, California, in 1976 and 1977 and about 175 of them were sold, RR's Executive Vice President Bobby Livingston said.

"It is the legendary computer that launched Apple," he said.

Jobs approached Paul Terrell, owner of The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California, and he agreed to buy 50 Apple-1 computers, but only if they were fully assembled, according to RR Auction. The Apple-1 thus became one of the first personal computers that did not require soldering by the purchaser, RR said, although it did not come with a power supply, case, keyboard or monitor.

It was followed by the introduction of the Apple-2 in 1977, which revolutionized the personal computing industry.

The Apple-1 up for auction was signed "Woz" by Wozniak at an event at Bryant...