Starting Price of $20,000: First Edition of "Toy Story" Signed by Jobs to be Auctioned
According to media reports, Nate D. Sanders Auctions recently announced that it will hold a special auction in Los Angeles on April 30th, featuring an extremely rare Steve Jobs artifact with a starting price of $20,000, targeting seasoned high-end Apple fans and film memorabilia collectors.
The core item of this auction is a first edition of "Toy Story: The Art and Making of an Animated Film," complete with original signatures from Steve Jobs and John Lasseter.
The signatures of these two key figures closely link the financial support and creative leadership during a critical moment in Pixar's history. The book also comes with an original "Toy Story" promotional brochure housed in a red leather case.
Looking back at Pixar's development, February 1986 was a significant milestone. Jobs acquired Pixar Animation Studios for $10 million – $5 million paid to George Lucas for the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm, and another $5 million as operating capital after leaving Apple, renaming the division Pixar with the ambition of building an independent animation studio.
However, Pixar's development wasn't smooth sailing for the next nine years. The company struggled to establish a sustainable business model, with Jobs continuously investing in the loss-making company and personally covering monthly cash deficits.
He is estimated to have cumulatively invested up to $50 million to keep Pixar operating. During this period, he also attempted to sell the company to Microsoft, Paul Allen, Hallmark, and Larry Ellison, among others. Jobs later admitted that if he had known the full cost, he might not have acquired Pixar – the studio was once on the verge of bankruptcy.
The turning point came in November 1995. The accompanying book was published on November 9th, "Toy Story" premiered on November 22nd as the world's first fully computer-animated feature film, and Pixar's initial public offering (IPO) was completed on November 29th.
Defying bankers' objections, Jobs insisted on setting the IPO price at $22 per share. The stock opened at $47, peaked at $49.50 during the day, and closed at $39. The offering raised approximately $140 million, with Jobs holding about 80% of the shares, valued at approximately $1.2 billion. This decade-long gamble ultimately made him a billionaire.