Albert Einstein’s letters open for bidding June 3
Albert Einstein will be represented during Profiles in History’s June 3 auction, as 25 lots of documents and memorabilia associated with Einstein, including letters to family, are set for sale.
LOS ANGELES — A compilation of seldom-seen and intimate letters from Albert Einstein are set to be auctioned at Profiles in History during the June 3 Historical Document Auction. This is one of the largest collections of Einstein letters to ever be offered at auction.
The selection encompasses 25 lots of documents and memorabilia, featuring personal handwritten
letters from Einstein to his family including sons Hans Albert Einstein and Edouard Einstein, and his ex-wife Mileva Marić. In addition to revealing his innermost thoughts (and theories) on the Atomic Bomb, Relativity Theory, God and religion, and the McCarthy hearings, in one highly notable letter Einstein states he will “not be returning to Germany, perhaps never again…” once Hitler reached power.
Leading the collection are two significant letters regarding Einstein’s thoughts on God and religion. The first letter in English of July 1945, to Mr. Guy H. Raner Jr. states: “From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist … It is always misleading to use anthropomorphical concepts in dealing with these outside of the human sphere – childish analogies.”
Einstein was raised by secular Jewish parents and, by his own description, he was an agnostic, an atheist and religious. His vocabulary, however, was ecclesiastical, and his pursuit of discovery, reverential. Presale estimates for these various letters range from $15,000 to more than $30,000.
Additional key documents to be offered include:
• Einstein’s autographed letter to his son, Eduard, signed in German, giving his opinion on Sigmund Freud, after his son receives the psychoanalyst’s lectures from Vienna. ($15,000+)
• Einstein’s autographed letter signed in German in 1920 to his family “My loved ones,” giving stern financial and professional advice to his family while complaining about supporting their reckless choices with his income. ($8,000+)
• Signed Einstein autographed letter written to his son Hans, about his enthusiasm for science and mathematics, promising to send him pretty problems to solve. ($8,000+)
• Autographed poem which begins “It is the art of life….” ($4,000+)
For more information, visit www.profilesinhistory.com or call 310-859-7701.
