Paul Allen’s treasure trove raises more than $10 million for charity
Sep 11, 2024, 3:50 PM | Updated: 3:53 pm
Among Paul Allen' possessions are a sculpture called Quantum Clous XI by Antony Gormley and an Apple-1 personal computer from Steve Jobs' office. (Photo courtesy of Christies.com)
(Photo courtesy of Christies.com)
Rare computing artifacts, space-related objects, art and letters from the collection of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen fetched over $10 million at a live auction on Tuesday.
The auction, titled “Pushing Boundaries: Ingenuity from the Paul G. Allen Collection,” was conducted by Christie’s of New York and featured 36 items, according to GeekWire.
Highlights included a signed letter from Albert Einstein to President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the scientific discovery leading to the atomic bomb ($3,922,000), an Apple-1 computer that originally sat in Steve Jobs’ office ($945,000), the original pitchbook for the TV documentary series “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau” ($37,800) and a Pac-Man arcade game from 1980 ($10,710).
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More than 100 additional items are currently available in two online sales ending Thursday. “Firsts: The History of Computing” features items previously displayed at Living Computers: Museum + Labs in Seattle, which Allen founded and which closed in June. “Over the Horizon: Art of the Future from the Paul G. Allen Collection” includes 20th-century paintings and drawings focused on futuristic visions, particularly interplanetary travel.
Other items included:
- A four-rotor Enigma Machine from 1941 ($718,200).
- An abstract sculpture by Antony Gormley, “Quantum Cloud XI” ($579,600).
- A first-class luncheon menu from the Titanic’s final lunch before it sank ($340,200).
- Xerox Alto II XM computer ($252,000).
- An archive of letters from Louis Leakey, Jane Goodall, and Dian Fossey on their primatology work in the 1950s and 1960s, including Goodall’s early research, pictures, casts of discoveries, and chimpanzee tools collected by Goodall ($40,320).
Proceeds from all sales will go to charitable causes, in line with Allen’s wishes. Since his death in 2018, numerous items and properties have been sold.
Paul Allen’s art: Sells for $1.6 billion
Christie’s stated that Tuesday’s sale illustrated “the story of science and technology from pre-history to the present day” and reflected Allen’s “most personal passions,” highlighting the rapid pace of technological innovation.
Christie’s previously collaborated with Allen’s estate for a November 2022 auction of 155 pieces from his art collection, which raised a record $1.62 billion, making it the most successful single-owner fine art auction ever.
Since Allen’s death in 2018, his estate, led by his sister Jody Allen, has been divesting various projects and investments, including Seattle’s Cinerama movie theater, the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Wash., Vulcan Productions, Stratolaunch, the superyacht Octopus and other assets.
Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.
