TESLA, Nikola (1856-1943) - photo 1
TESLA, Nikola (1856-1943) - photo 2

TESLA, Nikola (1856-1943)

Lot 190
14.12.2022 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 35 280
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 870821
Lot 190 | TESLA, Nikola (1856-1943)
Estimate value
£ 20 000 – 30 000
TESLA, Nikola (1856-1943)

Light and other High Frequency Phenomena. A lecture delivered before the National Electric Light Association at its Sixteenth Convention, held at St. Louis, MO, February 28th, March 1st and 2d, 1893. [New York: James Kempster Printing Company for the National Electric Light Association, 1893].

First edition, extremely rare offprint, inscribed by Tesla to the great American astronomer George Ellery Hale. In this famous lecture, Tesla made the first ever public demonstration of radio communication. It was by virtue of this lecture that Tesla was recognized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as discovering radio: ‘In a lecture-demonstration given in St. Louis […] – two years before Marconi’s first experiments – Tesla also predicted wireless communication; the apparatus that he employed contained all the elements of spark and continuous wave that were incorporated into radio’. The present lot is a separately-paginated offprint from the Proceedings of the National Electric Light Association. RBH/ABPC record no other copy of this offprint, nor any other book or pamphlet inscribed by Tesla.



The recipient of this offprint, George Ellery Hale (1868-1938), was an American astronomer and correspondent of Albert Einstein, best known for his discovery of magnetic fields in sunspots, and as the key figure in the planning or construction of several world-leading telescopes. He also played a key role in developing the California Institute of Technology into a leading research university. Tesla and Hale met on at least one occasion. In a letter to Hale of June 4, 1908, Tesla wrote: ‘I have greatly regretted that since our meeting at Chicago years ago, we have never been able to get again together. Your work interests me very much, and I am heartily in sympathy with you’. It is probable that this meeting was on the occasion of the World’s Fair, held May-October 1893 in Chicago, at which Tesla also gave a demonstration of his wireless experiments.



Octavo (238 x 159mm). Text illustrations throughout. Original printed wrappers (spine with some wear and chipping at ends, front wrapper detached); preserved in a custom box. Provenance: George Ellery Hale (1868-1938; inscribed by Tesla on front wrapper ‘Compliments of the Author’; Hale’s signature and ink stamp of the Kenwood Astrophysical Observatory in Chicago, of which Hale was director, also on front wrapper).





Special notice


No VAT on hammer price or buyer's premium.
Auction house category:Medicine & science, Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
10.12.2022 – 13.12.2022
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.