A 19-year-old handwritten letter from Steve Jobs is auctioned starting at $300,000

The letter is dated February 23, 1974, just one day before Steve Jobs’ 19th birthday and more than two years before he and Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple. Bonhams described it as the first handwritten letter from Steve Jobs to be sold at auction.

Jobs began the letter by replying to some of Brown’s earlier correspondence, writing in lowercase: “I’ve read your letter many times/I don’t know what to say. Many mornings have come and gone/people come and go/I fell in love and I cried many times/somehow, even though, underneath it all hasn’t changed – you understand?”.

Brown and Jobs attended Homestead High School together in Cupertino, California, where Apple is now headquartered. The two friends remained in touch throughout their lives until Jobs’ death in 2011, according to Brown’s LinkedIn profile.

In the letter, Jobs confided in Brown that he was saving money for a trip to India. Said and done, Jobs spent seven months in India later that year, seeking spiritual enlightenment, before returning to Silicon Valley with a shaven head monk-style.

Around the same time, Jobs began meditating and experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs. The Apple co-founder later told biographer Walter Isaacson that psychedelics “reinforced my sense of what’s important – creating great things instead of making money, getting things back on track.” history and human consciousness as much as possible”.

Copy of Steve Jobs’s letter. Photo: Bonhams

Of course, Jobs “will” make a lot of money. When he died in 2011, Jobs had an estimated net worth of $8.3 billion. Today, Apple’s market value is close to $2.5 trillion.

Jobs ended his letter to Brown by saying, “I’ll end by saying I don’t even know where to begin.” Jobs then signed his name with the phrase “shanti” which means “peace” in Sanskrit, before signing his name at the bottom of the page.

Adam Stackhouse, Bonhams’ director of science and technology business history, said in a statement last week: “This letter gives us an insight into the spiritual transformation of one of the founders. the world’s greatest creator and entrepreneur”.

None of Jobs’ signed letters have appeared in previous auctions.