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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchChristie’s September 10, 2024 live auction of Paul G. Allen artifacts realized $10,253,500, with every lot sold. The top results were a signed 1939 Einstein letter associated with the warning about Nazi Germany’s nuclear ambitions ($3,922,000), a Cray-1 supercomputer ($1,020,600) and an Apple-1 linked to Steve Jobs’ desk ($945,000). Two online sales that closed two days later brought the complete three-part Gen One: Innovations from the Paul G. Allen Collection program to $16,816,840.
What the $10 million headline actually covered
The $10 million figure refers to Pushing Boundaries: Ingenuity from the Paul G. Allen Collection, Christie’s New York live sale on September 10, 2024. Christie’s reported that all lots sold, both by lot count and by value. The live auction contained nearly 40 objects spanning scientific achievement, space exploration, computing, cryptography, popular culture and historical documents. The results and sale overview are available from Christie’s live-sale results and its lot listings.
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It was not the final total for Allen-related Christie’s sales. The wider Gen One program also included two online auctions that closed September 12:
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems| Sale | Result | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Pushing Boundaries | $10,253,500 | Live, September 10, 2024 |
| Firsts: The History of Computing | $3,635,982 | Online |
| Over the Horizon: Art of the Future | $2,927,358 | Online |
| Complete program | $16,816,840 | Three sales |
Christie’s published the combined result at its Gen One totals announcement.
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Why the Einstein letter sold for $3.922 million
The live sale’s highest-priced lot was a signed version of correspondence dated August 2, 1939, involving Albert Einstein and physicist Leo Szilard. The letter warned President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the possibility that Nazi Germany could develop an atomic weapon. It sold for $3,922,000, which Christie’s described as an auction record for an Einstein letter.
A crucial provenance distinction is often lost in shorthand coverage: Allen’s item was the signed, unsent version. A different, longer version was delivered to Roosevelt and is held by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library. The auctioned document therefore should not be called the exact physical letter Roosevelt received, nor described as single-handedly causing the Manhattan Project. Its importance lies in its place in the Einstein-Szilard intervention that brought the nuclear threat to Roosevelt’s attention. Christie’s provides the historical background in its atomic-age account and Gen One history article.
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The result was below the published $4 million–$6 million estimate, even though Christie’s said 80% of the live lots sold for more than twice their low estimates. That contrast matters: a strong auction overall does not mean every headline object exceeds its estimate.
The Cray-1 and Apple-1 results
Cray-1 supercomputer: $1,020,600
Designed by Seymour Cray, the Cray-1 represents the emergence of high-performance scientific computing. It sold for $1,020,600, nearly seven times its $150,000 low estimate and far above the $250,000 high estimate. Christie’s said the machine set an auction record for any computer at that time. Its appeal was broader than Microsoft history: rarity, an unmistakable sculptural design, scientific importance and the reputation of Cray and supercomputing all contributed to its collector interest.
Apple-1 from Steve Jobs’ desk: $945,000
The Apple-1 was described by Christie’s as the company’s official computer that had sat on Steve Jobs’ desk and been personally worked on by the Apple co-founder. Introduced in 1976 as a kit, the early computer generally lacked a conventional case. Christie’s said fewer than 100 of the original 200 were known to exist, a scarcity statement that should be understood as Christie’s description rather than a definitive independent census. The lot sold for $945,000, above its $500,000–$800,000 estimate, and Christie’s called it an Apple-1 auction record at the time. More background appears in Christie’s computing-collection article.
Other notable live-sale results
| Lot | Price realized | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|
| Four-rotor Enigma machine | $718,200 | Cryptography and World War II history |
| Antony Gormley, Quantum Cloud XI | $579,600 | Mathematics, physics and the human form |
| Titanic first-class luncheon menu | $340,200 | Maritime-history artifact; Christie’s called it a menu auction record |
| Apollo 8 pilot’s logbook | $277,200 | Documentation of the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon |
| Primatology archive involving Louis Leakey, Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey | $40,320 | Field research and conservation history |
| Jacques Cousteau documentary pitchbook | $37,800 | Television and ocean-exploration history |
| Pac-Man arcade game | $10,710 | Gaming and popular-computing culture |
These figures come from Christie’s results release and catalogue listings.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The online history-of-computing sale
Firsts: The History of Computing realized $3,635,982, which Christie’s described as the highest total for a history-of-computing auction. Notable results included:
- Apple Lisa 1: $882,000
- Apple-1: $352,800
- CDC 6500 supercomputer: $252,000
- DEC PDP-10 KI10 mainframe: $189,000
- Micral-N: $126,000
- Kenbak computer: $119,700
- Univac Mercury Delay Line Memory: $107,100
- NeXTcube: $21,420
Christie’s said the Lisa 1 result set a record for that model and the PDP-10 result a record for a DEC system. The two Apple-1 prices refer to different lots: the $945,000 Steve Jobs-associated machine was in the live sale, while the $352,800 Apple-1 was in the online computing sale.
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What happened to Living Computers: Museum + Labs?
Many of the computing artifacts had previously been displayed at Living Computers: Museum + Labs in Seattle, founded by Allen in 2012. The museum permanently closed in June 2024, and some former displays subsequently appeared in the Christie’s auctions. The available reporting does not establish that every museum item was sold through this program.
The closure creates a preservation tension. Auctioning individual machines can place rare hardware with collectors who may conserve it, but dispersal also makes it less likely that visitors will encounter a working, coherent history-of-computing collection in one place. Seattle reaction and the museum context were reported by GeekWire and Fox 13 Seattle.
Where the proceeds were intended to go
The Allen estate said proceeds from the sales would support charitable causes, consistent with Paul Allen’s wishes. That statement comes from the estate; the auction results do not identify individual recipients, buyer identities or the eventual public destinations of the objects.
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Why the sale matters beyond Microsoft
Allen’s computing interests made Microsoft and Seattle an obvious frame for the story, but the lots represented a much wider history of innovation: nuclear-age science, supercomputing, early personal computers, cryptography, lunar exploration, oceanography, conservation research, art and arcade culture. The complete $16.816 million result reflects demand for that broad historical range, while the $10.2535 million live result explains the original “$10 million” headline.
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