Early release of Microsoft's Applesoft BASIC on cassette tape-1977

The following artifact at the DigiBarn really tantalized us when it was found in a box of donated Apple II software cassette tapes. What this seems to be is a very, very early release of BASIC for the Apple II from Microsoft.

The face of the cassette symbolically represents the beginning of the relationship between Apple and Microsoft: you start with an early Apple cassette label (probably from when Apple was headquartered at Bandley Drive in Cupertino) with a stamped label "APPLESOFT BASIC" affixed overtop and on the surface of a sticker that reads "(c) MICROSOFT(tm) 1977, ALBUQUERQUE NEW MEXICO".

We sent the scan of this artifact to Paul Allen's personal archivist and they have forwarded this on to the Microsoft Museum for analysis.

Could this tape have been personally made by Paul Allen? How significant is this artifact? If you have any information about this artifact and its story please contact us.

Click for enlarged view of this cassette