The Vintage Mac Museum is a labor of love by Oakbog
Apple Macintosh & iOS Consulting Services

Is the Vintage Mac Museum a real museum?

Yes, but it’s not (yet) on public display. The Vintage Mac Museum is a working private collection located in my home. It started as a hobby and has since become part of my consulting business. The items in the collection are all functioning machines, loaded with period hardware and software.

Who is behind this effort?

My name is Adam Rosen. I am a vintage Mac collector in the Boston, MA, US area, and an Apple Certified Macintosh consultant doing business under the name Oakbog. I’ve been using Macs for nearly three decades and counting!

How did the Museum get started?

The Vintage Mac Museum got started in 2001 while I was playing around with the newly-released Mac OS X. I realized I’d been a Macintosh user since the Mac Plus but had never used the original System Software. I wondered just how much of the Mac’s later features were contained in that primal core? After a bit of searching online I downloaded some early Mac system disk images and was off and running

Old 68k Macs were easy to come by, so I decided to assemble a representative (non-comprehensive) collection of best of breed or otherwise notable models running period applications and versions of the Mac System Software – the best of the Macintosh at any given time. Soon the models began multiplying, friends donated old machines and I assembled a nice little history of the 68k era. As time progressed, that history expanded into the PowerPC era – and into more rooms of my house. The Intel transition in 2005 made logical boundary point, and thus the VMM became a pre-Intel Macintosh collection.

I’m beginning to realize the boundary may shift again, when the Intel Mac era comes to its eventual end. I may need a bigger house…

Can I Visit the Museum?

Visits to the Mac Museum are available by appointment. There are no public display hours as the collection is located in a private residence. However I am contacted from time to time by other Macheads or computer collectors and am happy to show off the goods if circumstances permit. If you’re going to be in the Boston, MA area, please contact me for a tour.

What kind of Services do you provide?

Though my company Oakbog, the Vintage Mac Museum provides old Mac file transfer and conversions for legacy data recovery. I can read your old floppy, Zip and Syquest disks, open MacWrite, MS Word or other old files, and convert them to modern formats. The Museum also provides customized research into old Mac hardware, software or operating behavior for academic or legal research purposes. If you are in need of screenshots, reproductions or consultations on vintage Macintosh behavior please contact me.

How Much is my Old Mac Worth?

Apple made a lot of Macs. For most systems, sentimental values tend to be higher than resale prices. Truly rare items and prototypes can command hundreds to thousands of dollars. Due to a high volume of requests the Vintage Mac Museum is unable to offer estimates on old Mac equipment values. Please refer to the following articles for more information:

Vintage Apple Computer Market Guide – a good compilation of recent eBay prices on select Mac models
How Much Is My Old Mac Worth? – various methods to determine the value of vintage Mac systems

Can I Donate or Sell my Mac to the Vintage Mac Museum?

Old Macs are special, personal. There was always something notable about being a Mac user, and it seems cruel to just dispose of the carcass. By definition collectors have an interest in giving good homes to old Macs, and I’ve acquired more than half of my systems for my collection in this fashion.

If you are interested in sending your Mac to the Vintage Mac Museum, please contact me and specify if you are looking to donate or sell the item, and what price you’re asking if applicable. I don’t tend to pay much for unsolicited items, but am willing to cover shipping costs if I can use the gear. The Mac Museum does not typically pay market rate for old Macs.

For other suggestions on what to do with your old system, see Finding a New Home for Your Old Mac.

Where can I find More Info on Vintage Macs?

Please see the Apple Links page in the Resources section of this website.

Where can I find Old Mac Software?

Please see the Mac Software page in the Resources section of this website.

Who designed this website and the Vintage Mac Museum logo?

The 2013 VMM site expansion, logo design and WordPress conversion were done in collaboration with Chelsea O’Brien at Tech Diva Media. I highly recommend the talents of Chelsea and her team for your web design, SEO and internet marketing needs!

A warm thanks to the following Cult of Mac members for their contributions to the Museum:

Alchemy Creative Systems, David Allred, Peter Andrews, Jeff Berg, Matt Bergeron, Max Buxton, Cathy Capozzi, John Chapin, Karen Chenausky, Bill & John Cockayne, John Conides, David Craig, Scott Custen, Henry Dane, Lisa Datri, Mark David, Joan Desmond, Robin Dumas, Andy Espo, Scott Evans, Nick Fader, Finish Editorial, FPAC Gallery, Tamora Gooding, Dan Hutchinson, Indresano Photography, Leander Kahney, Joanne Kaliontzis, Low End Mac, Terry Lockhart, Rich Martin, Bill T Miller, Chelsea O’Brien, David Odegard, Dr. Will Pitts, Henry Plain, Jason Scott, Norma Shulman, Soundtrack Boston, Tech Superpowers, Louise Vogel, Wil-Spec, Matthew Woods, the MIT Flea, and craigslist sellers everywhere!