Thanking another Einstein for a pipe

Lot 10
16.07.2020 06:00UTC +00:00
Classic
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£ 13 750
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 369999
Lot 10 | Thanking another Einstein for a pipe
Estimate value
£ 6 000 – 9 000
Albert Einstein (1879-1955).

Autograph letter signed ('A. Einstein') to 'Herr Einstein', Commodore Hotel, New York, n.d.

In German. 5 lines on one page, 216 x 139mm, on printed letter-head of The Commodore (old tape damage to centre, the letter heat-sealed in hard plastic). Provenance: Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 8 May 1973, lot 41.

Einstein on pipe-smoking: 'One must cultivate the little vices'. Einstein expresses thanks for an 'elegant little pipe' ('das elegante Pfeipfchen'), and adds an aphorism: 'One must cultivate the little vices so as not to give space to the big ones'.

The then brand-new Commodore Hotel was Einstein's base during his first visit to New York, in April-May 1921.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
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24.06.2020 – 16.07.2020
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