Items related to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs have fetched high prices at auctions, but this time it appears that a slightly unusual item has been sold. The work he created for a school project when he was in the 8th grade in the American school system (eighth grade, equivalent to the second year of junior high school in Japan) was purchased for approximately 5.5 million yen.
A number of Jobs-related goods that have existed so far
Among Jobs-related items, business cards and checks bearing his autograph are relatively common and command high prices. It is not uncommon for these items to sell for more than 7 million yen.
Among the Jobs-related goods sold at recent auctions, some unusual items include a high school yearbook. The album did not reach such a high price, and was sold for approximately $3,000 (approximately 480,000 yen).
Unlike the autographed business cards and checks, the item that was sold this time is a work that Jobs created himself when he was still a junior high school student. It seems to be a rare item because it allows you to know what the person who will co-found Apple in the future was interested in when he was a boy.
A work that imitates the museum that Mr. Jobs created when he was a second year middle school student.
When Mr. Jobs was in the second year of junior high school, he created a work to explain “what is a thyristor (silicon-controlled rectifier)” as a science class assignment, and it was sold at RR Auction in the US. The winning bid was a whopping $34,375, which is approximately 5.5 million yen in Japanese yen.
The piece is created in the style of a mini-museum and also includes a booklet that explains the thyristor in detail.
A thyristor is a semiconductor element that can control current. Slightly different from transistors that run computers, they play a role similar to “switches for heavy lifting,” and are used to control large motors and welding machines.
Considering that Mr. Jobs chose these electronic components as a subject when he was in the second year of junior high school and compiled them into works in the form of mini-museums, it can be seen that he had a strong interest in electronic technology itself from that time.
The source is curious, but it is said to be in the personal collection of Mr. Jobs’ half-brother. When Mr. Jobs once helped organize his father’s belongings, he refused to take back many of his personal items, including his childhood bedroom and the items in his family’s garage.
These items have remained until now, and one of them appears to have been put up for auction.
Jobs is famous for not graduating from college.
When you think of Mr. Jobs and school, many people may think of his legendary speech.
Although he once attended university, he doubted the idea of paying a high tuition fee to obtain a diploma, and after dropping out, he freely participated in classes that interested him, he said in a speech at the graduation ceremony of a famous American university.
Looking at the works that were auctioned this time, it is clear that long before Mr. Jobs chose this lifestyle, he had an attitude of delving into themes that interested him. The fact that he chose thyristors as a subject in his second year of junior high school and compiled them into works gives us a sense of the origins of the person who would go on to leave a huge mark on the computer industry.
Perhaps the most memorable phrase that Mr. Jobs said in his speech was “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” This phrase, which can also be translated as “Don’t forget your hunger, stay stupid,” symbolizes his attitude of always pursuing his interests.
The fact that the work he created when he was a junior high school student was sold for a high price of approximately 5.5 million yen can be said to show that there is a high level of interest not only in Mr. Jobs’ achievements, but also in his origins and growth process.
Photo: RR Auction (1), (2)
Source: iPhone Mania
