Application signed by Steve Jobs is being auctioned off – CNET

Before Steve Jobs was dominating the tech industry, he was just a regular guy looking for a job.

After dropping out of Reed College only six months after enrolling for the 1972 fall semester, he stuck around campus for a year and a half to audit courses on calligraphy, dance and Shakespeare

In 1973, he filled out a job application for an unspecified position, which is now being auctioned off by RR Auction. The company says it’s estimated to be worth more than $50,000.

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The application includes some misspellings and other interesting details. 

RR Auction

Despite being filled out by a man who revolutionized the tech industry, the application isn’t as put-together as one might expect. Under address, Jobs writes “reed college” (lowercase). His major, “english, lit,” also isn’t capitalized. When asked about access to transportation, he writes “possible, but not probable.”

What’s less surprising is that he notes he has skills with computers and calculators. And under “Special Abilities,” he writes “electronics tech or design engineer. digital.-from Bay near Hewitt-Packard.” Yes, Hewlett-Packard is misspelled. 

“It breathes more life into him and his memory,” said Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction.

A Mac OS X technical manual signed by Jobs in 2001 is also being auctioned, as well as a newspaper clipping from 2008 featuring Jobs speaking at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Those items are expected to be worth more than $25,000 and $15,000, respectively.

In September, a magazine signed by Jobs sold for over $50,000. An Apple-1 computer valued at $700,000 was also auctioned off. Some of his personal items, including bathrobes electric razors, also went up for bidding. His leather jacket sold for $22,400.

The application currently up for bidding was first auctioned off by Bonhams for $18,750 in December.

“I believe that person bought that and understands that he got a great deal,” Livingston said. “You just don’t see anything like that. It’s a pretty rare piece.” 

Livingston said the pieces are authenticated through consultations with handwriting experts, both in-house and with third parties.

“We’ve never had three Steve Jobs in one auction,” he said.

The auction launches March 8 and ends March 15. 

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