Steve Jobs’ childhood items hit the auction block

Steve Jobs’ childhood ephemera has hit the auction block, revealing an almost unsettlingly intimate window into the Apple co-founder’s early life.

RRAuction is currently hosting its Steve Jobs & the Computer Revolution: The Apple 50th Anniversary Auction. The auction is poised to be a big score for Apple collectors — but not for the usual reasons.

We’re no strangers to Apple auctions. They come up pretty regularly, and the items encased are pretty much what you’d expect.

For as allegedly rare as they are, you see a fair amount of Apple-1 computers land on the auction block. You’ll find sealed original iPhones pop up at least once a year.

And it doesn’t stop at Apple products, either. We’ve seen Apple-branded sneakers show up a few times, a pair of rainbow sunglasses, and just about anything that Steve Jobs has written his name on.

This auction, however, isn’t that. This is partly because, as Wired points out, it’s largely an offloading of Jobs’ personal items by his stepbrother, John Chovanec.

Sure, the auction contains multiple checks signed by Jobs, a handful of business cards, and even a Wells Fargo bank statement. There’s an autographed “In Technology” newsletter bearing Jobs’ name.

But there is also his childhood desk from the “Apple Garage” property. There is a collection of six 8-Tracks that includes five Bob Dylan tapes and one Joan Baez tape.

You could, should you be so inclined, place a bid on a collection of twelve of Jobs’ personally-owned bow ties. RRAuction notes that the bow ties have been “retrieved from his boyhood bedroom closet.”

When Wired asked Chovanec if he felt squeamish about offering up such personal items, his answer was simple:

“I’m not queasy about this. Steve didn’t want any of this stuff, ” he notes, pointing out how his stepbrother was famously unsentimental. “My kids didn’t want anything.”

“It’s just sitting here gathering dust and I want other people to enjoy it. It’s the 50th anniversary of Apple, and there are collectors out there who would really appreciate those types of things.

If you’re uncomfortable with owning something so personal, you could swing entirely in the other direction.

This auction includes several computer components, including a “Steve Jobs’s Personally-Owned Apple-1 Computer Ribbon Cable.” There’s also a heat sink you can buy, as well as a box of random assorted parts.

If nothing else, it’s interesting — and somewhat amusing — to look through the auction page and see what all has been brought to the block. And I’m sure there’s someone out there who plans on taking home Steve Jobs’ personally owned, hand-annotated Volkswagen repair manuals.