Thirty years ago, a sledgehammer flew across our television screens during the Super Bowl, heralding the birth of the Apple Macintosh personal computer on January 24, 1984. Today, many of us will celebrate the Macintosh anniversary by shooting emails from our 5th generation Apple iPhones, editing family pictures with brilliant photo apps on our Apple iPads, and working furiously on our Apple MacBooks. The future is now.
So in the honor of the world that Jobs built, check out these retro Apple gifts that are perfect for those of us who still have a soft spot for that groundbreaking little Macintosh 128K.
Apple Macintosh startup icon print
This signed and numbered print by artist and designer Susan Kare would make a very special gift for your favorite design geek. This print comes with a 160-page signed art book featuring 80 of Susan Kare’s most famous icons created between 1983-2011. And for a truly unique Valentine’s Day gift for your sigOth, check out the icon dressed up in pink.
Retro Macintosh pencil holder
The Dutch Sevensheaven design studio has created the cutest pen and pencil holder I’ve seen in a long time, with the classic Apple Macintosh icon on sturdy soapstone. Seems appropriate that this retro icon would be holding tools that are slowly becoming retro icons themselves.
LEGO Classic Macintosh iPad holder
If you’ve got some time, and a whole bunch of white LEGO bricks, then you too can have the coolest iPad holder on the block. Oslo-based Jason Kinsella and Charlotte Bakken’s LEGO Classic 1984 Macintosh iPad holder may be the ultimate in DIY, but the finished product sure looks worth it.
Classic Macintosh Logo Pillow
You’ll want to cuddle up with this Apple Macintosh 8-bit logo pillow by CMP-favorite The Retro Inc. That little smiling icon always looked ready for a hug, didn’t it?
Padintosh hard-case cover
Your iPad can pay homage to its great-great-great grandparent with the Padintosh hard-case cover featuring the the original Apple Mac 128K design. Just keep in mind that this case is only compatible with the more “retro” iPad 2 and 3, and not the newest versions.
Retro Macintosh key chain pendant
Astrocat’s raw bronze key chain pendant is like a mini version of the original Mac. Way easier to carry around than a bronzed version of the original, don’t you think?
Retro Apple computer wall art
If you are an uber Apple fan, this artwork would look great hanging in an office, overseeing all the shiny newer Mac computers. It’s crafted out of painted recycled wood covered in clear epoxy by Oregon’s Pixel Party. We only wish it lit up.
Apple Macintosh Christmas Ornament
Whatever the season, you can still print out your own free papercraft Apple Macintosh ornament to hang from a desk lamp.
Retro Macintosh iPhone case
Carry a little bit of original Apple Macintosh styling with you everywhere with Ross Robinson’s clever iPhone case at Red Bubble. If you love irony, you can even get this case to fit your Samsung Galaxy S3 or S4–though there’s something a little sad about that.
