From 1993 until 1997, Apple’s rainbow logo smiled down from the east-facing side of Infinite Loop’s Building 3 as drivers sped north on Highway 280.

Now these Styrofoam and fiberglass signs are treated like fine art being peddled by one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious auctioneers.

Two rainbow Apple logos from the company’s original offices will be put up for auction next month at Bonhams and even though they come with some wear and tear, these Apple logos will cost you more than all your previous Apple purchases combined.

The second charity auction to offer a sit-down with Tim Cook has closed, and $330K has been raised by the winning bid for the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights.

The winner, who’s identity has not been disclosed, will get to have lunch with Cook at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. Another perk was added by Cook before the auction closed, but even that failed to garner as much interest as the previous auction.

Remember that original Apple Lisa computer you’ve got in the basement, boxed next to your old VHS player and Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots toys? It may be time to dust it off and take it an auction house.

That’s based on the news that a Lisa 1 (a.k.a. Apple’s first computer to come with a graphical interface and a mouse) is expected to fetch $42,000 when it goes under the hammer in Germany late next month.

A 1978 legal agreement between Steve Jobs and future mining tycoon billionaire Robert Friedland has fetched $40,000 at auction. The eight-page legal document set up an investment business, and carries the signatures of both men.

“In 30 years of business we have only offered one other Jobs item — a signature,” RR Auction Vice President Bobby Livingston noted in a statement. “[T]his document, incredibly substantial and significant in its connection to a major figure in his life, is of the utmost rarity.”

Now here’s one for the record books – a special one-of-a-kind Product (RED) Mac Pro, created jointly by Jony Ive and Marc Newson, sold at Sotheby’s on Saturday for $977,000! The upper six figure bid makes the (RED) Mac Pro the most expensive desktop computer ever built or sold.

On Saturday Cult of Mac reported that a working Apple 1 failed to sell at auction in Germany, a notable result in the growing market for vintage Apple collectibles. It turns out that result was premature: the Apple 1 did sell for €246,000 ($330,000), after bidding on the item had closed.

UPDATE: Cult of Mac has learned that the Apple 1 did sell after the auction closed. Read more here.
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Markets rise and markets fall – that’s true for stocks, real estate, tulips, etc. That’s also true with vintage computers – though even in a down market there’s still some money to be made.

At an auction in Germany held on Saturday November 16, a working Apple 1 – from the first batch of 50 units made – did not receive any bids. Nor did a restored Lisa 1, with dual Twiggy floppy disk drives. But a prototype Twiggy Mac, one of only two known working units, sold for €25,000 ($33,725), quite possibly the highest price ever paid for a vintage Macintosh.

Apple Design Genius, Jony Ive and famed designer Marc Newson have teamed up to create a one-of-a-kind collection of items to be auctioned off for Bono’s Project (RED). Not only have the pair collected a number of objects for the auction that are fantastic in their own right, but they’ve also teamed up to create some truly lustworthy products like the gorgeous Leica M, a super-minimalist aluminum desk and this $60k red Mac Pro.

The auction is set to take place on November 23rd and even though mere mortals like us can only dream of having enough cash to drop 70 large on a “Zvezda” Soviet Cosmonaut Suit – all in the good name of fighting AIDS and Tuberculosis of course – Sotheby’s has published a video of Jony and Marc discussing why they chose the items in their collection.

Short answer, via Jony: “The criteria that we both had was that we both just wanted to own each one really badly.”

Here’s the video:

Auctions for rare Apple equipment have attracted a lot of attention the past few years, with prices for the Apple 1 going as high as an astounding $671,000! Another Apple 1 is going up for auction in Germany next month on November 16, but in addition a very different rare Apple item will be on the same auction block. One of only two known working Twiggy Macs in the world is going up for sale.

Twiggy Macs were prototype versions of the original Macintosh and used a proprietary 5.25-inch floppy disk drive, instead of the 3.5-inch disk which ultimately shipped with the system in 1984. All Twiggy prototypes were ordered destroyed by Steve Jobs – and long thought lost – but the last couple of years have seen an eventful rediscovery of this piece of Macintosh history. Now one can be yours – if the price is right.

As part of their upcoming charity auction for Project Red, Jony Ive and Marc Newson announced that they’ve created a one of a kind, red Mac Pro as part of their auction for Bono’s Project (RED).

The red Mac Pro is estimated to sell for $45,000-$60,000 dollars and will be included in a lot of items to be auctioned off at Southeby’s on Nov. 23rd to fight AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Jony and Marc collaborated on curating a list of items for the auction, as well as co-designing many products themselves, such as a custom Leica M, gold EarPods, and this aluminum desk.

A listing of the items in the auction block can be viewed on Sotheby’s site. Here are some more pics of the red Mac Pro: