The Apple Computer Company Partnership Agreement, which established Apple as a partnership between Jobs, Woz and Ron Wayne and was signed by all three co-founders, went for an incredible $1.35 million dollars at a Sotheby’s auction yesterday.  Once you add in all the various fees attached to the sale, the final cost weighs in at a hefty $1.6 million.  Expected to fetch as much as $150,000 in Tuesday’s auction, the three-page typewritten document was made obsolete when the new Apple Computer Co., was officially created on January 3, 1977 and bought out the nine month old partnership.  Wayne kept the document and later sold it to a collectible documents dealer who then sold it to a private collector in the late 1990s.

This should put to rest any doubt about the increasing hunger for early Apple II collectibles, especially through legitimate auction houses.

Then again, it’s still possible to get lucky and find a gem like this for a steal at an estate auction or thrift store.

The June 2011 episode of Open Apple, the only co-hosted Apple II podcast, is now available. This month, Mike and Ken chat with Brian Wiser about VCF East, Apple II magazines, museums, Ron Wayne, and Ultima.

Find the episode on the Open Apple Web site or in iTunes.