APPLE COMPUTER INC. Apple II Programming & System Manuals (4 Vols.) – Applesoft, DOS, Reference, Language System (1979–80)

Cupertino, California: Apple Computer Inc., 1979–1980. Four volumes. Quarto. Original publisher’s illustrated wrappers, all spiral-bound as issued. All volumes in very good condition. General light wear, marking, and toning to covers; interiors clean and sound throughout. Spiral bindings firm. Folding schematic present and in good order.

Comprising:

Apple Language System: Installation and Operating Manual. pp. 38. With original errata sheets.
The Applesoft Tutorial. pp. 157.
Apple II Reference Manual. pp. 195. With large folding “Main Logic Board Schematic”.
Apple II: The DOS Manual. Disk Operating System. pp. 200.

A rare and highly desirable grouped set of early Apple II documentation, representing the core programming and operating environment of one of the most influential personal computers ever produced. Together, these manuals chart the rapid evolution of the Apple II from a hobbyist machine into a fully realised computing platform, encompassing programming (Applesoft BASIC and Pascal), system architecture, and disk-based operating systems.

The Applesoft Tutorial provides an accessible introduction to programming, reflecting Apple’s pioneering role in education, while the Language System Manual marks the important transition to structured programming through Pascal. The Reference Manual offers detailed insight into the machine’s internal architecture, including circuitry and memory organisation, and is notably complete with its folding schematic. The DOS Manual documents the introduction of disk-based storage, a transformative development that enabled more complex software and practical applications.

Sets of this nature were seldom preserved intact, as individual manuals were heavily used, separated, or discarded over time. The survival of a complete and coherent group, retaining key components such as errata sheets and folding schematics, is increasingly uncommon.

A compelling archive of early documentation from Apple Inc., issued during the formative years of the Apple II. These manuals illustrate the open, exploratory ethos of early personal computing, when users were encouraged not only to operate software but to understand programming and hardware at a fundamental level. The Apple II’s adoption in schools, universities, and businesses was driven in part by such documentation, which played a central role in introducing a generation to computing. Complete groups of manuals from this period are now scarce, particularly in original condition.

[WR Tech]