Macintosh pirate flag reincarnated as art, for sale by original designer Susan Kare

More of an homage than a direct copy, the hand-painted reproductions harken back to Kare's original design that flew over Bandley 3, a building which housed the original Macintosh Divison on Apple's Cupertino, Calif., campus.

According to Andy Hertzfeld, one of Apple's first developers, the flag was inspired by a slogan coined by late cofounder Steve Jobs to inspire the Macintosh team. Jobs introduced three "Sayings from Chairman Jobs" during an off-site retreat in 1983:

"Real artists ship. It's better to be a pirate than join the navy. Mac in a book by 1986."

Drawing from Jobs' sayings, and to stand apart from other nondescript buildings on Apple's growing campus, Macintosh programmer Steve Capps suggested flying a flag.

A few days before we moved into the new building, Capps bought some black cloth and sewed it into a flag. He asked Susan Kare to paint a big skull and crossbones in white at the center. The final touch was the requisite eye-patch, rendered by a large, rainbow-colored Apple logo decal.

Kare's flags are hand-painted and come in 3-by-5 foot or 4-by-6 foot sizes priced at $1,900 and $2,500, respectively. The pieces are considered art and not intended for outdoor use.