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[ Retro GIF of the Week ] The Smithsonian’s Apple I

January 18th, 2013 by Benj Edwards

Apple I Smithsonian 1992 Retro GIFClick to see other views of this image: [ Original Size ] [ 2X Zoom ]

You’re looking at a photograph of an Apple I computer that currently resides in the collection of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. It was on display at one point, but I believe it is not being displayed at the moment (feel free to correct me on that).

I downloaded this 256-color GIF image from CompuServe back in 1994 (judging by the file date). I think it came from the Archive Photos forum, but I am not 100% sure about that. Either way, it’s a nice photo, and if you see it floating around the Internet, it’s likely because I first posted it on VC&G in 2006.

As you may know the Apple I (which was officially titled “Apple Computer 1” on the circuit board and “Apple-1” in its manual) did not ship with a case. The wooden enclosure you see here was created by early Apple employee Randy Wigginton’s father. It’s interesting how it presages the design of the Apple II enclosure to some extent.

[ Wondering what a GIF is? Read the introduction to this column. ]

Retro GIF of the Week Fact Box
Source File Name: APPLEI.GIF
Source File Date: August 20, 1994
Source File Format: GIF – 89a (non-interlaced)
Dimensions: 640 x 480 pixels
Color Depth
(bits per pixel):		 8-bit (256 color)
Origin Platform: Unknown
Derived From: Scanned photograph
Creation Date: 1992
Artist: Smithsonian Institute
If you know more about the origin of this image, please leave a comment.

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2013 at 3:37 pm and is filed under Computer History, Regular Features, Retro GIF of the Week, Vintage Computing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

2 Responses to “[ Retro GIF of the Week ] The Smithsonian’s Apple I”

  1. arlandi Says:
    January 23rd, 2013 at 4:38 am

    wow.. early steampunk case??? looks awesome. i wonder was this thing got very hot while running?

  2. Steve Headley Says:
    August 31st, 2019 at 8:18 pm

    The Apple 1 box was built in the wood shop at Homestead High School by Mathematics teacher Steve Headley. Chris Espinosa, Apple badge #8 brought the board to our computer lab and put together the parts to make the computer.

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