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Steve Job’s iconic ‘middle finger to IBM’ leather jacket up for sale

Steve Jobs "middle finger to IBM" dark brown leather jacket was made by Wilkes Bashford. It has a black shearling collar and white shearling lining.

Published on: Aug 5, 2024, 12:52:16 IST
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The clothing items once worn by famous personalities have always fascinated the public. These garments, imbued with a sense of star power, often command a hefty price when put up for sale. A recent list of such items being auctioned includes a Jacket that belonged to Steve Jobs. Is the leather jacket only famous because the Apple co-founder wore it? No, it is more interesting that he once took a picture while wearing it in front of the IBM building. In the famous photo, he also shows his middle finger.

The image shows the iconic brown leather jacket Steve Jobs wore while showing the middle finger to IBM. (Andy Hertzfeld, RR Auction)
The image shows the iconic brown leather jacket Steve Jobs wore while showing the middle finger to IBM. (Andy Hertzfeld, RR Auction)

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“Steve Jobs's bomber jacket, worn in the iconic 1983 'middle finger to IBM' photo,” auction house RR Auction wrote as they posted the listing for the item on their website. According to the site, there have been 10 bids for the jacket, and the price went up to $23,000. The next bidding will open on August 22.

About the jacket:

“Steve Jobs's personally-owned and worn dark brown leather bomber jacket, made by Wilkes Bashford of San Francisco, famously seen in an iconic 1983 photograph of Jobs flipping the bird to an IBM sign in New York City. The zip-up jacket features a black shearling collar, white shearling lining, and two snap-down pouch pockets on the front. In fine condition, with general wear from use,” the auction house wrote.

The iconic picture:

The picture surfaced years after it was clicked. It became viral when Andy Hertzfeld, a member of the original Macintosh development team, shared it online in 2011.

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“In December 1983, a few weeks before the Mac launch, we made a quick trip to New York City to meet with Newsweek, who was considering doing a cover story on the Mac. The photo was taken spontaneously as we walked around Manhattan by Jean Pigozzi, a wild French jet setter who was hanging out with us at the time,” Hertzfeld recalled about when the photo was taken.

  • Trisha Sengupta
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Trisha Sengupta

    Trisha Sengupta is a Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over six years of digital newsroom experience. Specialising in high-engagement storytelling, she blends viral trends with traditional journalism to cover the intersection of technology, finance, and human emotion. Her reporting spans real estate and personal finance struggles in hubs like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the NRI experience, and corporate shifts like tech layoffs. Trisha also frequently tracks global figures and writes human interest stories. Offline, Trisha is an avid reader, history enthusiast and solo traveler. She balances her journalism career with family life while actively integrating AI tools into her modern storytelling approach.Read More