Apple II thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Design 1900 to Now, Room 76

Apple II

Apple II Computer
1977
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Apple II computer was the first personal computer to achieve significant commercial success upon its release in 1977. Designed for Apple by co-founder and hardware designer Steve Wozniak and product designer Jerry Manock in 1977, under the leadership of co-founder Steve Jobs, the Apple II signaled a significant shift in how computers were to be used in both domestic and office environments. The Apple II represents a significant moment within digital and product design and tells the story of the introduction of home computing, and the wider impact this shift had on society.

Launched at the April 1977 West Coast Computer Fair and released onto the market two months later in June, the Apple II was the first personal computer to achieve significant commercial success. Conceived by Wozniak as a self-contained computer system that allowed users to write and run programmes in the BASIC programming language, the Apple II sold for $1298 ($5,397.39 in 2018). Wozniak designed the computer’s internal electronics and circuitry and its outer hardware was designed by industrial designer Jerry Manock (who led on industrial design at Apple from 1977 to 1984). Steve Jobs oversaw the development of the product as a whole and took particular interest in ensuring the device was more aesthetically pleasing to consumers and thereby marketable - taking inspiration from products in the kitchen section, such as the CuisinArt, at American department store Macy's. At Jobs’s request the injection moulded casing was produced in Pantone colour 453, a light sandy beige. In total, around 5 million Apple II computers were sold until their discontinuation in 1993.

The Apple II is an important addition to the museum’s collection, and is a lead example of the convergence of work and home computing. Apple has had significant, widespread influence on the field of digital and product design since its inception in 1976 and this is reflected in our collections. The acquisition of the Apple II joins other objects in the V&A’s collection from the company including Apple Power Book from 1992, the iMac G3 from 1998, two versions of the iPhone (from 2007 and 2014), the iPod Nano from 2012 and the iPod Touch from 2010. The Apple II and accessories represents a significant addition to the story of Apple and personal computing in the late twentieth century at the V&A.

This acquisition package was purchased from US-based collector Dany de Grave, whose family have collected items from the history of Apple since its conception in 1976.

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read A history of digital design: Part 1 – Connectivity Vast in scope – referring to both design processes and products for which digital technology is an essential element – broad in geography and highly complex, digital design has proved hard to define since its first beginnings in the 1960s. How the V&A has come to study and collect this gro...

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleApple II (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Plastic (ABS acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) injection-moulded exterior with metal parts and electronic components.
Brief description
Apple II computer
Physical description
A personal computer unit made by Apple with a beige-yellow moulded plastic exterior cover and brown plastic underside. On top of the computer is a logo with the words 'Apple' in lower case with a small multi-coloured apple shaped icon to the left hand side. There is a brown plastic keyboard on the front of the unit with the letters in white.
Dimensions
  • Width: 38.1cm
  • Depth: 43.2cm
  • Height: 10.2cm
Gallery label
Subversive creativity ‘The Whole Earth Catalog’ is often considered a precursor to Google. Published between 1968 and 1972, it featured product reviews, DIY instructions and articles on self-sufficiency to aid a countercultural lifestyle. This search for alternatives, which grew out of the Bay Area community around San Francisco, also spurred Steve Wozniak, Jerry Mannock and Steve Jobs to create the Apple computer. Launched in 1977, the Apple II was a selfcontained system for use in the office and home. It was the first personal computer to achieve significant commercial success. Personal computer Apple II with disc drive and screen, 1976 (manufactured 1977) Designed by Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs and Jerry Manock Manufactured for Apple, USA Plastic casing and electronic components Museum nos. CD.42 to 44-2018
Summary
The Apple II computer was the first personal computer to achieve significant commercial success upon its release in 1977. Designed for Apple by co-founder and hardware designer Steve Wozniak and product designer Jerry Manock in 1977, under the leadership of co-founder Steve Jobs, the Apple II signaled a significant shift in how computers were to be used in both domestic and office environments. The Apple II represents a significant moment within digital and product design and tells the story of the introduction of home computing, and the wider impact this shift had on society.

Launched at the April 1977 West Coast Computer Fair and released onto the market two months later in June, the Apple II was the first personal computer to achieve significant commercial success. Conceived by Wozniak as a self-contained computer system that allowed users to write and run programmes in the BASIC programming language, the Apple II sold for $1298 ($5,397.39 in 2018). Wozniak designed the computer’s internal electronics and circuitry and its outer hardware was designed by industrial designer Jerry Manock (who led on industrial design at Apple from 1977 to 1984). Steve Jobs oversaw the development of the product as a whole and took particular interest in ensuring the device was more aesthetically pleasing to consumers and thereby marketable - taking inspiration from products in the kitchen section, such as the CuisinArt, at American department store Macy's. At Jobs’s request the injection moulded casing was produced in Pantone colour 453, a light sandy beige. In total, around 5 million Apple II computers were sold until their discontinuation in 1993.

The Apple II is an important addition to the museum’s collection, and is a lead example of the convergence of work and home computing. Apple has had significant, widespread influence on the field of digital and product design since its inception in 1976 and this is reflected in our collections. The acquisition of the Apple II joins other objects in the V&A’s collection from the company including Apple Power Book from 1992, the iMac G3 from 1998, two versions of the iPhone (from 2007 and 2014), the iPod Nano from 2012 and the iPod Touch from 2010. The Apple II and accessories represents a significant addition to the story of Apple and personal computing in the late twentieth century at the V&A.

This acquisition package was purchased from US-based collector Dany de Grave, whose family have collected items from the history of Apple since its conception in 1976.

Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
CD.42-2018

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Record createdSeptember 27, 2018
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