Albert Einstein’s personal letters go up for auction
He may have been one of the greatest scientists of all time but poignant letters have revealed Albert Einstein’s personal struggles in love, life and work.
Intimate notes written by the theoretical physicist detail his heartbreak as his first marriage broke down, his estrangement from his children and his journey to discovering groundbreaking theories.
The treasure trove of letters also shed light on Einstein’s humour as he jokes about quantum physics, getting old and being Jewish.
The collection is set to go under the hammer at Christie’s in London, with estimated sales prices ranging from several hundred pounds to £150,000.
Albert Einstein, pictured here with his wife Elsa, made personal revelations through the series of letters
The letters written to his friend and collaborator Michele Besso are set to go under the hammer
In the 56 letters written to his friend and collaborator Michele Besso, the scientist pokes fun at his colleagues in Berlin, complains about being shown off ‘like a prize bullock’ on a tour of the United States and being bored in a League of Nations meeting.
They also chart his marriage to first wife Mileva Marić and subsequent second marriage to his first cousin, Elsa Löwenthal.
In one letter written shortly after his wedding the scientist discusses a paper he has submitted despite being unwell.
Einstein discusses how he is ‘getting closer to God’.
Another is a moving letter penned to Besso’s family after his death in March 1955 and just weeks before Einstein’s own death at the age of 76.
Einstein (left) also penned a moving letter after the death of Michele Besso (right) in March 1955 and weeks before his own death at the age of 76
The lot will go under the hammer at the Valuable Books and Manuscripts sale on 12 July 2017 at Christie’s in London
The Theoretical Physicist is photographed here in Zurich, Switzerland, 1911, with his first wife, Mileva Marić
Einstein later began an affair with his cousin, Elsa Löwenthal (pictured), whom he went on to marry
Thomas Venning, Head of Books and Manuscripts at Christie’s in London, said: ‘Cataloguing the letters from Albert Einstein to his closest friend, Michele Besso, was a roller-coaster ride: intellectually exhilarating, funny, endearing — and with an unexpected conclusion.
‘Working through these 56 letters was almost like getting to know Einstein himself.
‘What’s more, this was a particularly attractive side of him, the side that his closest friend saw over 50 years.
‘The most striking parts of his personality? His humility, his absolute love of what he did — at one point, he says, ‘I would not want to go on living if I didn’t have my work’ — and his ability, through that extraordinary mind, to see the universe in a perspective that is beyond the rest of us.’
The lot will go under the hammer at the Valuable Books and Manuscripts sale on 12 July 2017 at Christie’s in London, with some letters being sold online.
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