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Albert & Elsa Einstein- Photo Signed to W. Mayer Albert Einstein & His Wife Elsa- Photo Signed to Hi

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
Albert & Elsa Einstein- Photo Signed to W. Mayer Albert Einstein & His Wife Elsa- Photo Signed to Hi
<B>Albert Einstein & His Wife Elsa- Photo Signed to His Research Assistant, Walther Mayer.</B></I> This is an incredible collection of rare Einstein related autographs and memorabilia from the estate of Einstein's personal assistant, Dr. Walther Mayer. The key item is a fabulous formal portrait photograph of Einstein and his "inner circle" which included his wife, Mayer, and personal secretary, Helen Dukas. It has been signed on the mount by Elsa Einstein, and by Albert Einstein who has added "<I>Freundliche Grüsse!</B></I>" which means "Friendly Greetings." Also, apparently in Albert's hand is "<I>Auf Wiedersehen [Good Bye], Walther</B></I>". <BR><BR>In December, 1930, Einstein and his associates made their first trip to America as a group (Einstein had visited America in 1921). The first stop was in New York City where they visited from December 11-15. On December 12th, Einstein received the "Key to the City" in a late morning ceremony. He then attended, at the New York Times Annex, a luncheon given in his honor by Adolph S. Ochs and the <I>Times</B></I> editors. This portrait is believed to have been taken at that time. After a trip to the California Institute of Technology, they returned to Europe in 1931. The entire "team" would immigrate to the United States, for good, in 1933. This photograph was in the possession of Professor Mayer, and then his wife, Helen, until her death in 2003. Apparently the photo has never been published, as it is unfamiliar to the curators of the Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This wonderful, and likely unique, portrait is 7.75" x 9" in size and mounted in a <I>New York Times</B></I> folder 12" x 16" in size. The condition is fine with just a slight bit of "silvering" at the bottom and one 2" crease on Elsa's dress. The mount is lightly creased, affecting only the "Auf". <BR><BR>Also in this amazing lot are several other historic items from the Mayer estate: Professor Mayer's U.S. Certificate of Naturalization; Helen Mayer's U.S. Certificate of Naturalization, Austrian passport, and 1930 Austrian Residence Registration; as well as the Mayer's Marriage Certificate. All these items are in fine condition. <BR><BR>Walther Mayer had studied mathematics at the Federal Institute in Zurich and at the University of Vienna. His work in differential geometry brought him to the attention of Einstein who, in 1929, made him his personal assistant to work on distant parallelism. Mayer came to Princeton with Einstein in 1933 and got a position at the Mathematical Institute there, becoming an associate of the Institute for Advanced Study. Einstein respected his talents greatly, once saying, "I almost had to resign before I even took up the position in Princeton just to show Flexner how important Mayer was to my work." Mayer died in 1948.