Tekserve, the independent New York City shop, which specialised in Apple technology, closed on August 15 after almost 30 years in business. Now, their collection comes under the hammer on August 23 during an on-site sale of nearly 500 lots.
Lots include historic computers and Apple’s classic ‘Think Different’ posters, but the collection delves deeper into the history of technology and includes a vintage phone booth, several vending machines and a 1947 RCA Victor television.
Paying homage to history
Tekserve’s story will be all too familiar to many in the antiques trade: despite decades of history at its Chelsea location and a significant cult following, the repair and retail business eventually fell victim to rising rents and ever-increasing numbers of high-street competitors in the form of Apple Stores.
Co-founder Dick Demenus has emphasised that what Tekserve had that Apple stores lack is a sense of history. “I want to respect those who came before,” he said.
The most significant lots in the sale is a single lot comprised of the 35-piece Mac Museum once exhibited behind glass in the shop. The lots includes 20 years’ worth of models and is estimated between $12,000-14,000 (it does not include the 1976 Apple-I which in past years has consistently commanded six figure sums at auction).
The earliest model in the lot is the classic Macintosh 128K signed by Steve Wozniak. Made in 1984, the computer predates Tekserve’s opening by three years – and the opening of the first Apple Store by 17 years.
Tekserve opened in 1987. It's 500-lot collection is to go under the hammer on August 23 and will include items such as the Apple 'Think Different' posters shown high on the wall behind the desk.
The sum of its parts
For Demenus and his Tekserve partner David Lerner, the advent of the Mac was revolutionary with its intuitive interface. Still, it was only one step in the history of 20th century technology, which Demenus describes as “a chain leading up to the Macintosh computer, a singular amalgam of the mechanical, technological and fine arts”.
The breadth of collecting interest means that at auction the Mac computer collection is to be closely followed by a poster for the 1982 android thriller Blade Runner (est $200-500) and only shortly preceded by a 400-million-year-old fossil of a prehistoric starfish (est $900-2500).
For those on the lookout for most classic tech collectables these is a mid-century RCA 77-DX broadcast microphone to be sold with its stand (est 2000-4000) and a c. 1922 Burroughs adding machine with its stand and receipt tray (est $200-900).
