Hoping the advent of the atomic bomb would dampen "foolish nationalism" - photo 1

Hoping the advent of the atomic bomb would dampen "foolish nationalism"

Lot 115
27.01.2023 10:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
$ 20 160
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 887893
Lot 115 | Hoping the advent of the atomic bomb would dampen "foolish nationalism"
Estimate value
$ 3 000 – 5 000
EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955). Typed letter signed ("A. Einstein") to A[ndré] Bly, Princeton, 7 February 1946.

One page, 278 x 215mm on his blind embossed Mercer Street stationery.

"I hope that foolish nationalism will be dampened a little by the fear of the atomic bomb…" Einstein writes to Commander Bly, the "Commandant à la marine d'Etat" of Belgium, then living at Coq-sur-Mer where Albert Einstein spent much of the summer of 1933 at the Belgian coastal resort before departing for Europe for the last time to accept a post at the Institute for Advanced Study. Einstein expresses his joy that Bly had managed to get "settled in your beautiful country which has suffered so much during all those horrible years. Please accept my greetings to the 'Savoyarde' where I have spend an unforgettable summer in 1933." He expresses his hopes that Bly could "enjoy a real private life … [as a] benevolent spectator of the human tragi-comedy which, I am sorry to say, is by far not yet finished." He reports that he and Elsa have "become since well-established American citizens, living in our own house with a very nice garden behind it." He closes with his hope that "foolish" nationalism is in decline thanks to the advent of the atomic bomb, through "not enough of it is visible till now."
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
13.01.2023 – 27.01.2023
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
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