Lanyard (black, red, white logotype, c. 1990)

This lanyard is black with a red wooden bead accent. Its style appears to place it in the 1990s. This lanyard was acquired from the estate of a former Apple Education employee and was likely used in the 1990s at education events.

The cord of the lanyard features a white Apple logotype in Apple Garamond, Apple’s corporate font used between 1984 and 2003. The manufacturer is shown on a white tag printed with he name KOOCHY gear.

I have found similarly designed items by this manufacturer on eBay branded with other company logos. Although the company is no longer active, it now appears to be associated with the company PROMOVISION, specializing in custom lanyards.

I also have a similar version of this lanyard in my collection without the manufacturer tag.

Source: PROMOVISION

The Golden Apple Club ceramic tile (1992)

This white ceramic tile was acquired from the estate of a former Apple Education employee. It is printed with a negative-space white Apple logo on a shimmering, metallic gold circle with the words “THE GOLDEN APPLE CLUB,” also printed in metallic gold. The tile’s border is surrounded with dark-green-printed shamrocks and the words “Ireland ’92” in an Old English typeface.

I was able to find a few references to the “The Golden Apple Club” in my research. One source in the Online Archive of California in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford shows a listing in a collection archive titled, “Guide to the Apple Computer, Inc. Records M1007” (1998). The reference catalogs the item as “Vanity Press Items” with the entry: The Golden Apple Club: the best of the best., 1991. The complete record specifies that the university collection includes approximately 600 linear feet of items from 1977–1998 including: “organizational charts, annual reports, company directories, internal communications, engineering reports, design materials, press releases, manuals, public relations materials, human resource information, videotapes, audiotapes, software, hardware, and corporate memorabilia.”

A former Apple Regional Sales Manager on LinkedIn lists that he was a “Golden Apple Sales Award Winner” in 1998.

The long-running podcast RetroMacCast Episode 261 (October 21, 2012): “Frito Residue,” includes a reference to a 18K gold Golden Apple Club pin (selling for $1,049.99) and later included a conversation about the Golden Apple Club program. The podcast host discussed several Golden Apple Club items he had purchased in a kit, including a deck of cards, heavy-duty black plastic luggage tags, a neck pillow in a gray vinyl pouch, and a small portfolio—all with the Golden Apple Club logo. The “Club” was described as a program for sales representatives who had exceeded planned sales goals for a fiscal year. Reportedly, one of the “prizes” for Golden Apple Club members included a trip.

Based upon this information, this tile may have been received by a Golden Apple Club award winner on a trip to Ireland in 1992.

Perhaps worth noting, Apple has had facilities in Cork, Ireland, since 1980 and specifies that Cork “serves as Apple’s European headquarters, supporting customers across the continent and beyond.” There is no indication that this trip was to Cork, and this connection is pure speculation.

The tile measures 4.25 x 4.25 inches, 3/16-inch thick, and has a cork bottom.

Sources: Stanford, Apple, RetroMacCast

Apple Heartland Education Clock (c. 1995)

This LED clock features a transparent display with large LED-style numerals that display the time and a blinking separator of four stacked bars. It is constructed with a matte black metal frame with a black plastic base that contains the electronics, battery, and buttons to set the time on the back. The transparent LED screen has a green-gray tint.

The  front of the clock features the Apple logo in white on a black background, and a white panel reads “Heartland Education” printed in the Apple Garamond typeface in black, Apple’s corporate font that was used 1984–2003.

The clock runs on a 357 watch battery. It measures 4.375 inches tall, 3.75 inches wide, with a base measuring 2.375 inches deep, and the body just over 0.25 inch thick.

This clock was previously employee-owned and the date is approximate, based upon its design. The item is undated.

Think different. educator poster set (11 x 17 inches, 2000)

“Think different” was the slogan used by Apple in advertising 1997–2002, and is still used in some circumstances as of 2021. The “Think different” concept was created by advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day while working with Apple and Steve Jobs. “Think different” was used in its original concept in a TV commercial and in print/digital advertisements, and the “Think different” slogan was used as part of many TV commercials, print/digital ads, and on product packaging.

This advertising campaign was notable in that its original concept did not feature any Apple products. The original version began with a “manifesto” that began famously with “Here’s to the crazy ones.”

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them,
glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
While some may see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Think different.

During the commercial, voiced by Richard Dreyfuss, black-and-white footage of iconic personalities (Apple referred to them later as “Apple Geniuses”) served as visuals to accompany the voiceover of the manifesto. Personalities included Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham, Jim Henson, Pablo Picasso, and others.

The print and digital ads also did not feature Apple devices, just the Apple logo and the words “Think different.” One of the creative team who worked on the campaign described the print concept: “The rainbow-colored logo served as stark contrast to the black and white photography, and, to me, it seemed to make the ‘Think Different’ statement all the more bold.”

In 2000 this Think different poster set was provided to school leaders. The posters were 11 x 17 inches and arrived in a white box printed with the “Here’s to the crazy ones” manifesto. Each box contained three packs of posters sealed in plastic of 10 posters each.

I have two of these education sets. The one pictured was shipped directly to a high school principal. One set has been removed from its shrink wrap, and two sets are still unopened. I have a second compete set still in shrink wrap and has no shipping label.

The set also includes three 8.5 x 11 sheets inside. One is a letter from Apple, and the other two sheets include a “key” naming each Think different portrait with an adjective and mini-biography of each person’s life. The set contains the following “Apple Geniuses:”

Albert Einstein: “Questioner”
Cesar Chavez: “Laborer”
Jane Goodall: “Observer”
Pablo Picasso: “Creator”
Amelia Earhart: “Aviator”
Miles Davis: “Improviser”
Jim Henson: “Muppeteer”
John Lennon & Yoko Ono: “Dreamers”
Dr. James Watson: “Code cracker”
Mahatma Gandhi: “Leader”

Sources: Wikipedia, Forbes, Apple (documentation included in this set)

Education Resource CD Winter 2000 (2000)

This Education Resource CD is dated Winter 2000. Its design features a rendition of the glossy 3D tabs on the apple.com website at the time. The toolbox image at the bottom of the CD matched the iTools design. iTools is a precursor to what has become Apple iCloud services.

Apple CD media (2002)

My collection of Apple CD and DVD media includes operating systems, applications, software collections that shipped with devices, promotional media, diagnostic tools, and educational content. In general, Apple-branded CD or DVD examples in original packaging have been presented separately, while single discs or collections of discs are presented chronologically.

Apple CDs from 2002 include:

  • Mac OS X v10.2 Install Disc 2 (Version 10.2, 2Z691-3705-A, 2002)
  • Getting Started with Mac OS X version 10.2 Self-Paced & Practice Files (691-4118-A, 2002)
  • AppleWorks 6 Education Version [Mac OS 8.1 or later (built for Mac OS X) and Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP, Version 6.2.4, 691-3659-A, 2002]
  • Software Bundle (603-2348-A, iBook Media, 2002)
  • iBook Mac OS 9 Install (Mac OS version 9.2.2, CD version 2.1, 691-3996-A, 2002)
  • Software Bundle (603-2787-A, iBook Media, 2002)
  • eMac OS X Install Disc 1 (Mac OS version 10.3.3, CD version 1.0, 2Z691-4926-A, 2002)
  • eMac OS X Software Restore 9 of 9 (Mac OS X applications, Classic support, CD version 1.0, 2Z691-4933-A, 2002)
  • Software Bundle (603-5097, eMac Media, 2002)
  • Getting Started with Mac OS X version 10.2, Self-Paced & Practice Files, Not for resale

Apple shipped CD bundles in cardboard envelope packages in 2002. Since each computer required a different number of CDs, various envelope sizes were used to accommodate the number of CDs. A white envelope with a light gray Apple logo is used in this example.

Apple CD and DVD media (2003)

My collection of Apple CD and DVD media includes operating systems, applications, software collections that shipped with devices, promotional media, diagnostic tools, and educational content. In general, Apple-branded CD or DVD examples in original packaging have been presented separately, while single discs or collections of discs are presented chronologically.

Apple CDs and DVDs from 2003 include:

  • iBook Mac OS X Install Disc 1 (Mac OS version 10.2.3, CD version 1.0, 2Z691-4282-A, 2003)
  • AppleWorks 6 Education Version (Mac OS X, Mac OS 8.1 or later, Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP, Version 6.2.7, 691-4415-A, 2003)
  • .Mac (Version 2.0, 0Z691-4421-A, 2003)
  • iTunes 4 Installer CD with QuickTime 6.2 (Built for Mac OS X v10.1.5 or later, 2003)
  • iTunes 3, iPhoto 2, iMovie 3, iDVD 3 Install DVD For systems with a SuperDrive (Version 1.0, 2Z691-4302-A, 2003)
  • iTunes 3, iPhoto 2, iMovie 3 Install CD For systems without a SuperDrive (Version 1.0, 2Z691-4301-A, 2003)
  • Keynote (Version 1.0, 691-4149-A, 2003)
  • Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Software (Built for Mac OS X v10.2.6 or later, Version 1.1, 2Z691-4661-A, 2003)
  • iMac Software Install and Restore (Mac OS version 10.2.3, DVD version 1.1, 691-4319-A, 2003)
  • AirPort Software Installation (unopened, CD Version 3.0.4, 691-4420-A)
  • Power Mac G4 Software Install and Restore (Mac OS version 10.2.3, DVD version 1.1, 691-4309-A, 2003)
  • Software Bundle (Power Mac G4, 603-2795, 2003)
  • Software Bundle (PowerBook G4 Media, 603-2714-A, 2003)
  • Mac OS X Xcode Tools Install Disc (Requires Mac OS X v10.3 or later, Version 1.0, 691-4591-A, 2003)

Previous software bundles were packaged in cardboard envelopes. In 2003 Apple changed to packaging software bundles in clear plastic packaging, shown here.