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Albert Einstein

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:40,000.00 - 60,000.00 USD
Albert Einstein

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Auction Date:2013 Aug 14 @ 18:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Two incredible pages of calculations in ink, in Einstein’s hand on both sides of an 8.5 x 11 off-white sheet, dated December 25, 1925. At the top of the page, Einstein pens a short note in German, signed “A. E.,” in full (translated): “To the Jewish Student Union in Germany, I wish your conference the best of success. I would gladly be present myself, but unfortunately urgent work prevents me from the appearance. I always wish my utmost support, to demand your goals.” Einstein divides the rest of the front of the page into four sections, and pens intricate calculations in all four. The reverse bears several more calculations and tables, a couple in pencil, and a small geometric sketch. Accompanied by a letter from Edward Glass, Professor of Physics at the University of Windsor, stating, “The calculations on the Einstein letter are the kind that every physicist does informally and frequently. The two lines immediately below Einstein’s initials are for the electromagnetic field.” He goes on to identify computations for Einstein’s gravity (general relativity) and components for the Ricci tensor for an electromagnetic field source, ending, “The top line of the back side is the ‘trace’ of the Einstein field equation, and 1,2,3,4 stands for x,y,z,t. These notes are his rough ‘back-of-the-envelope’ computations for physics already in the public literature.” In fine condition.

Distressed by the unjust quota system that greatly limited the number of Jewish students admitted to European universities, Hersch Lauterpacht founded the World Union of Jewish Students in 1924 to address the growing problem, develop new programs, and provide greater opportunities for Jewish students seeking to continue their educations. Then a lecturer in Berlin, all too familiar with the growing anti-Semitism and frequently a victim of it himself, Einstein threw his weight behind the union and accepted Lauterpacht’s invitation to serve as the organization’s first president. Following his research on general relativity, Einstein entered into a series of attempts to generalize his geometric theory of gravitation to include electromagnetism as another aspect of a single entity—in these pages he offers a Jewish Student Union in Germany a glimpse into that work, along with his utmost support, hopefully inspiring them to continue their own pursuits. While these calculations may be the type ‘informally and frequently’ done by every physicist, those from the hand of Einstein very rarely come to market and are highly coveted by collectors.