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 鈥淧ushing Boundaries: Ingenuity from the Paul G. Allen Collection,鈥� was conducted by Christie鈥檚 of New York and featured 36 items, according to
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鈥� office ($945,000), the original pitchbook for the TV documentary series 鈥淭he Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau鈥� ($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. 鈥淔irsts: The History of Computing鈥� features items previously displayed at Living Computers: Museum + Labs in Seattle, which Allen founded and which closed in June. 鈥淥ver the Horizon: Art of the Future from the Paul G. Allen Collection鈥� 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, 鈥淨uantum Cloud XI鈥� ($579,600).
- A first-class luncheon menu from the Titanic鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 wishes. Since his death in 2018, numerous items and properties have been sold.
Paul Allen’s art: Sells for $1.6 billion
Christie鈥檚 stated that Tuesday鈥檚 sale illustrated 鈥渢he story of science and technology from pre-history to the present day鈥� and reflected Allen鈥檚 鈥渕ost personal passions,鈥� highlighting the rapid pace of technological innovation.
Christie鈥檚 previously collaborated with Allen鈥檚 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鈥檚 death in 2018, his estate, led by his sister Jody Allen, has been divesting various projects and investments, including Seattle鈥檚 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, and email him here.听
