Magazine begrudgingly signed by Steve Jobs sells for big bucks [Updated]

By

Steve Jobs magazine
Jobs rarely signed autographs. Apparently he didn't want to sign this one.
Photo: Nate D. Sanders Auctions

Like Steve Jobs? Have approximately $11,000 as a starting bid to pick up some memorabilia to prove as much? Then you could be in the market for a Jobs-autographed October 1989 copy of Fortune magazine autographed by the Apple co-founder.

The magazine, which was signed for one of Jobs’ former chauffeur drivers, is going up for auction this week. And it comes complete with a story of Jobs being, well, Jobs.

Update July 31, 2020: The copy of Fortune that Steve Jobs reluctantly signed for his chauffeur sold for $16,638 on Thursday, significantly above the minimum bid.

According to the auction listing, the magazine was signed for Terry, one of several drivers for Jobs “for several years.” He had already been working for the tech CEO for this period before asking Jobs to autograph the magazine for him. However, Jobs supposedly called the limo company afterward to complain about the autograph request. (Although Jobs did evidently sign the magazine in question.)

The magazine comes with a letter of authentication and Terry’s, err, first year performance review for the limousine company. The auction will end Thursday, July 30 at 5pm Pacific.

1989 in the life of Steve Jobs

1989 was a pretty seismic year in the career of Steve Jobs. By this point, Jobs had already been out of Apple for around four years. He was just getting NeXT up and running, the company he hoped to usher in the second phase of Jobs’ career. (In the end, NeXT was a mixed blessing for Jobs: Its innovative computers failed to sell, but the company was eventually bought by Apple — which meant Jobs re-joining the business.)

Steve Jobs mania is not quite at the levels that it was following his death in 2011. At that time, Jobs and Apple memorabilia had a sudden big spike in demand. Things have cooled off a bit since then. However, Jobs was a reluctant autograph signer, which makes auctions like this somewhat rare.

Do you have any great Steve Jobs or Apple memorabilia in your collection? Is there one item you’d love to own given the chance? Let us know in the comments below.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.