A copy of Fortune magazine signed by Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs to one of his chauffeurs has sold at auction. The magazine cover that includes the Jobs autograph went for $16,638, or nearly 5,000 times its original cover price.
The magazine, Fortune’s 9 October 1989 issue, features Jobs on the cover and was published on the heels of the launch of his company, NeXT. The magazine is signed in black ink “To Terry, steve jobs” in a lower-case signature.
“I was one of Jobs’s chauffeur drivers for several years before I asked Jobs to sign this magazine,” says Terry — whose last name was not revealed — as part of his auction letter of authenticity. “Although Jobs subsequently called my limousine company to complain about the autograph request.”
The auction was for the magazine cover only, none of the inside pages of the issue were included. The cover is affixed to an autograph album page and is described to be in “near fine condition with a bold signature” by the auction house. A certificate of authenticity from James Spence Authentication, a letter of authenticity from “Terry” and his first-year performance review from the limousine company were also included.
The item was sold at a Thursday, July 30 auction held by Nate D. Saunders Auction. It had a reserve bid of $11,000 and three bids were made on the item. The cover was the only Apple-related item in an auction of a general collection of historical papers, photographs, and some objects.