Albert Einstein (1879-1955) - photo 1

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Lot 332
15.12.2023 11:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 100
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1109134
Lot 332 | Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Estimate value
£ 1 000 – 1 500
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Three typed letters with signatures excised to Cornelius Lanczos, Old Lyme, CT, and Princeton, 23 September 1935, 24 January and 14 February 1938
In German. Together 3½ pages, including approx. 10 scientific terms added in autograph; letter of 1935 with excision 27 x 88mm, affecting four lines of text; letter of 24 January 1938 with excision 76 x 95mm, letter of 14 February 1938 with excision 27 x 46mm, in neither case affecting text of letter; with a letter by Einstein with facsimile signature, 11 December 1946, on behalf of the Committee of Atomic Scientists; and copies of Einstein's correspondence with Lanczos, and related matter. Provenance: Sotheby's, 26 November 1980, lot 158.

Einstein identifies himself as 'someone who seeks the only reliable source of truth in mathematical simplicity'. In September 1935, Einstein repeats a criticism of Lanczos for having published an article in a German paper, but tempers his words with affection ('frank speaking is something one only does en famille'). He moves on to scientific discussion about the 'centrally symmetrical electrostatic case', concluding 'I rest with the painfully acquired conviction that it is impossible to trace the electromagnetic field back to gravity in any way'. In January 1938 he responds warmly to a lecture about him by Lanczos, characterising himself as 'someone who seeks the only reliable source of truth in mathematical simplicity', and restates his continuing belief in a unified field theory of gravitation and electricity. The letter of 14 February 1938 engages in detail with a manuscript by Lanczos, admitting 'I myself have a fear of equations of the fourth order which I have never yet managed to overcome ... I have struggled with this basic problem of electricity for more than 20 years now and have become completely discouraged'.
Artist:Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
Place of origin:Germany, Switzerland, USA
Auction house category:Medicine & science
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
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