To the President of the International Flying Saucer Bureau - photo 1
To the President of the International Flying Saucer Bureau - photo 2

To the President of the International Flying Saucer Bureau

Lot 116
27.01.2023 10:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
$ 11 340
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 887894
Lot 116 | To the President of the International Flying Saucer Bureau
Estimate value
$ 3 000 – 4 000
EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955). Typed letter signed ("A. Einstein") to Albert K. Bender, Princeton, 12 November 1952.

One page, 165 x 140mm on Institute for Advanced Study letterhead. With the original transmittal envelope.

A terse but polite reply to the President of the International Flying Saucer Bureau. Einstein, evidently responding to a request to join what is believed to be the first major civilian UFO club in 1952 (or at least write a statement on its behalf), politely declines the invitation, writing that he had "no experience and only superficial knowledge in the field." Bender (1921-2016), was a collector, editor and the founder of the short-lived International Flying Saucer Bureau. He shut it down a year later, after he was supposedly visited by "three men in black." According to Bender, he had planned to publish "the truth" about a government coverup in the October 1953 issue of the Bureau's magazine, Space Review, but the three shadowy figures managed to intimidate Bender into ceasing publication. Bender's experiences were published by his associate Gary Barker in They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers (1956) which helped place the "men in black" firmly into UFO folklore.
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
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

More from Creator

A signed photograph
A signed photograph
$100
"Demostracion de la no existencia de campos gravitacionales sin singularidades de masa total no nula"
$5 500
An endorsed check to the United Jewish Appeal
An endorsed check to the United Jewish Appeal
$100
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
£18 000
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
£8 000
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
£7 000
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
£40 000
On his family's applications for U.S. citizenship
On his family's applications for U.S. citizenship
$100

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.
?>