EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955) - photo 1
EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955) - photo 2
EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955) - photo 3

EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955)

Lot 158
11.12.2024 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
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CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1349647
Lot 158 | EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955)
Estimate value
£ 10 000 – 15 000
EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955)
'Zur allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie. (Mit Nachtrag.)'. Offprint from: Sitzungsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.Gesamtsitzung vom 4. November. Sitzung der physikach-mathematischen Klasse vom 11. November. XLIV. XLVI. Berlin: 1915
Extremely rare first edition, author’s offprint issue, stating Einstein’s abandonment of the ‘Entwurf’ theory, and introducing a new version of general relativity; from the library of the pioneering theoretical physicist Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951). This work was of crucial importance in the development of the general theory of relativity, and was the first of a series of four groundbreaking papers Einstein presented to the Prussian Academy of Sciences on consecutive Thursdays in November 1915. These papers documented Einstein's final formulation of general relativity after years of intense work. In this first paper, Einstein stated that he had completely lost confidence in the equations from his previous work, and therefore was abandoning his earlier ‘Entwurf’ theory, which he had been working on since 1913. Instead, Einstein introduced a new version of general relativity ‘based on the postulate of covariance with respect to transformations with determinant 1’, thus marking a return to the principle of general covariance, which he had previously abandoned. It also marked Einstein's return to a mathematical strategy relying on Riemann and Ricci tensors with which he used to describe gravity. This paved the way for Einstein's subsequent papers, notably the one on 25 November (see lot 159) that presented the definitive field equations of general relativity.

Arnold Sommerfeld was a German theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to atomic and quantum physics. He extended Niels Bohr's atomic model by introducing elliptical orbits for electrons and proposed additional quantum numbers, including the azimuthal and magnetic quantum numbers. Sommerfeld also introduced the fine-structure constant, contributed to X-ray wave theory, and co-discovered the Sommerfeld-Wilson quantization rules. His seminal work ‘Atombau und Spektrallinien’ became a foundational text for the new generation of physicists developing atomic and quantum physics. Sommerfeld was an exceptional educator, mentoring 7 Nobel Prize winners and numerous other prominent physicists. Despite being nominated for the Nobel Prize a record 84 times, he never received the award. Nevertheless, he was honoured with several prestigious accolades, including the Lorentz Medal, the Max-Planck Medal, and the Oersted Medal, and was elected to numerous scientific academies worldwide. In 1918, Sommerfeld succeeded Einstein as chair of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, and in 1922 Einstein wrote to his successor: ‘What I especially admire about you is that you have, as it were, pounded out of the soil such a large number of young talents’ (A. Pais, ‘Subtle is the Lord...’: The Science and Life of Albert Einstein, 1982).

This author's offprint can be distinguished from the normal 'trade' edition by the statement 'Überreicht vom Verfasser' on the wrapper. Extremely rare: we have only been able to trace one other author's offprint at auction, Bonhams New York 4 May 2023, lot 61, $25,500 (RBH/ABSAA). BRL 74; Weil 75.

Octavo (253 x 178mm). Publisher's printed wrappers (faint vertical creasefold and further faint creasing to upper wrapper). Provenance: Arnold Sommerfeld (red chinagraph numbering and underlining on upper wrapper, pencil annotations to equations on p.782).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
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11.12.2024 – 11.12.2024
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