Dec

2011

6:58am, EST

Jeff Chiu / AP

In this photo taken Oct. 25, 2011, a photo of an old keyboard is shown next to a letter written about Steve Jobs at Stanford's Green Library in Stanford, Calif. Historians and entrepreneurs who want to understand the rise of Apple Inc. and its founder Steve Jobs will find a treasure trove of clues in Stanford University's Silicon Valley Archives.

'This joker is going to be calling you': Archives offer a window into the early days of Apple

In the summer of 1976, a printer who had just met Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak jotted down an apologetic note to a colleague about the young entrepreneurs: "This joker [Jobs] is going to be calling you ... They are two guys, they build kits, operate out of a garage ... Told him we'd like to see what they've got ... Sounds flakey. Watch it!"

The letter forms part of Stanford University's Apple Collection, a treasure trove of documents, books, software, videotapes and marketing materials that were donated by Apple in 1997.

"Through this one collection you can trace out the evolution of the personal computer," Stanford historian Leslie Berlin told The Associated Press. "These sorts of documents are as close as you get to the unmediated story of what really happened." Read more.