Big Claris Haul

[Scott Baret]

I just won two separate Claris auctions on eBay. One had MacDraw II but also looked to have some sort of Claris clip art collection bundled with it. The other was MacWrite II. Both were from the same seller, who had a lot of other old software listed as well (including several old Excels). The software came with all documentation.

I had wanted another MacDraw II for my 180c but figured I'd grab the MacWrite II while I was at it--I like using it when I'm multitasking and don't have enough RAM left to open Word.

 

[TheNixer]

I wondered where that MacDraw auction had gone...

You didn't buy from seller jmorand did you?

 

[Scott Baret]

It was a different seller. Did anyone bid on the boxed Excel 2.2 that ended today?

 

[Scott Baret]

UPDATE: I got the packages today and I was in for a very pleasant surprise...in addition to MacDraw II (in its original box) I got:

* Not one, but TWO copies of MacWrite II

* MacPaint 2.0

* The aforementioned Claris clip art collection

The clip art collection is called Claris ArtFiles and appears to be in MacDraw format. I'm going to try it out tonight. In all my years as a Mac user, I've never heard of this product--I'm guessing it was either some sort of tie-in with MacDraw or was a little-known clip art set that went under the radar (especially when companies like Dubl-Click and T/Maker were all the rage). I know it wasn't in the 1991-1992 Claris catalogs I've seen. The date on the manual is 1990.

There were no Claris catalogs included in this set. The software is definitely older--both MacWrites have the text-only Claris labels (the still-shrinkwrapped manuals are also old-style) and the MacDraw II disks, while labeled with the newer labels, are a set of four. I have a MacDraw II from 1992 with only three disks (things got moved around and I know the 1992 MacDraw isn't missing anything, as it was shrinkwrapped when I got it).

 

[tyrannis]

* Not one, but TWO copies of MacWrite II

Now you can install MacWrite II on TWO computers!

In all seriousness though, the Claris ArtFiles find is interesting to me as well. Does it look like the art is an in-house job, or does it appear to be something they just purchased and repackaged?

 

[Scott Baret]

In a nutshell: The manual and disks definitely look as though they were released at some point. Many of the clip art images are simply MacDraw versions of the images found in other Apple clip art products (i.e. Art Bits, HyperCard readymades). There are also several files of graph templates (including 3D graphs that look better than what current spreadsheet programs can produce). A few are new to me.

Details: There are two 800K floppies. Both are blue (like most 1989-1994 Claris floppies) and have white wraparound labels (like most pre-1991 Claris disks). On the front of both is a black and white photograph of a pair of scissors cutting a piece of paper. The words "ArtFiles Clip Art" are written at the base of the label, with the disk number (1 or 2) in a circle next to the writing. The Claris logo is in the upper left-hand corner (as it is on all Claris floppies). The part number on the disks is U90-365-013A. The font used for the "ArtFiles..." writing is the same font Claris used on all other products of this vintage. The copyright date is 1990.

A 17 page manual accompanies these disks. The manual is paperback, not overly large, and has drawings of a newsletter, slide, t-shirt, and mug on the front. All have a "Flight for Sight" logo on them. The manual is officially titled "Claris ArtFiles Clip Art Reference Guide", with a subtitle that reads "Includes printed examples of MacDraw II templates". On the inside cover are directions on how to access the images. The first page is a table of contents (contents are listed by disk number). Pages two and three give examples of where and how the images can be used. Pages four through sixteen show the images.

Page seventeen is what makes me believe this could have been some tie-in with MacDraw II. This talks about additional templates, namely borders, that can be found in the "Dictionaries & Templates" folder that comes with MacDraw II (on the main disks).

This is the fourth copy of MacDraw II I have opened (I have a fifth but am keeping it shrinkwrapped; it's identical to another one I own) and is the only one that this set of floppies has been inside. The other MacDraw IIs I have appear to be from late 1988-early 1989, late 1989, and late 1991-early 1992. I'm placing the date of this one sometime in late 1990-early 1991.

If anyone else out there has boxed MacDraw IIs, let me know if you got any tie-ins with your copies.