Through the looking glass: A key piece of Apple's origin story is returning to the auction block: the original 1976 partnership contract that created the Apple Computer Company will be auctioned at Christie's in January 2026. The three-page document, signed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, formalized their partnership in the California startup before Apple's transformation into a technology powerhouse.
Drafted on April 1, 1976, the foundational contract laid out the initial ownership split: Jobs and Wozniak would each hold 45 percent, while Wayne would receive a 10 percent stake.
The document's typewritten text and faded signatures are a tangible record of Apple's earliest days, created when personal computers were far from household staples. Wayne, who was nearly 20 years older than the other co-founders, wrote the agreement on his IBM typewriter and even crafted Apple's first company logo, a pen-and-ink sketch featuring Isaac Newton beneath an apple tree.
The brief partnership, however, unraveled after just twelve days. Wayne, wary of the financial liability he faced as a co-founder, chose to withdraw from the company. His exit is memorialized in an amendment to the contract, in which Jobs and Wozniak compensated him with $800 in exchange for his share and early efforts, a payout worth around $2,300 at the time and just over $4,500 in today's dollars.
Had Wayne retained his 10 percent stake, it would now be worth an astronomical sum based on Apple's present market cap. The original contract itself carries an estimated auction value of $2 million to $4 million.
Items tied to Apple's origins have commanded remarkable prices at auction in recent years, underscoring both collector enthusiasm and the legendary status of the company's founders. Steve Jobs's personal Birkenstock sandals set a new high for tech memorabilia, selling for more than $200,000 in 2022.
Other Apple items, including a first-generation iPhone in its original box and a Jobs business card have repeatedly exceeded pre-auction estimates, cementing their status as sought-after artifacts for tech collectors and investors.
Set for sale at Christie's Rockefeller Center headquarters, the Apple partnership papers are part of the ambitious "We the People: America at 250" auction. This major event will spotlight significant documents, artworks, and furniture representing the story of the United States over the past two and a half centuries.
The inclusion of these early Apple documents highlights the company's influence far beyond consumer electronics – a testament to how a modest agreement, inked by three men in their 20s and 30s, helped shape the global information age.
Image credit: The Associated Press
The original 1976 contract that founded Apple is heading to auction
