The Henry Ford, keeper of many of technology’s most important artifacts1 has recently acquired the first project between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak:
Created to make free illegal phone calls, Blue Boxes were the first joint business venture between the two innovators, three years before the founding of Apple Computer Inc. in 1976. The new acquisition joins The Henry Ford’s collection, which also includes an original 1976 Apple I Computer. The Blue Box was purchased at Bonhams’ History of Science and Technology Sale.
“The Blue Box, an early invention of Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs gives us insight into two innovators who went on to change the world,” said Patricia Mooradian, president and CEO of The Henry Ford. “At the time when this device was created, they were just young adults who had an unbridled passion for learning how things worked, and making things for their own use. This artifact speaks to ingenuity, curiosity and resourcefulness and fits perfectly within The Henry Ford’s Archive of American Innovation.”
This is very cool, as the blue box was an important step in the formation of Apple.