On the day of arrival in exile

Einstein, Albert, German physicist and Nobel laureate (1879-1955). Typescript letter with six autograph lines signed ("Albert").

Peacock Inn, Princeton, NJ, 17. X. 1933.

8vo. 1 p. With an autograph letter signed by Elsa on the reverse.

Includes: 3 autograph letters signed by his wife Elsa Einstein (folio and 8vo; Caputh, 21 August 1932 and no date), one with a 6-line autograph postscript signed by Albert Einstein, and a slip of paper (ca. 40 x 80 mm) with autograph note, date (Princeton, 9 May 1934), and signature in full.

 35,000.00

Intimate correspondence with Einstein's cousin Kuno Kocherthaler, director of a mining company in Spain and also an art collector.

Typing on hotel stationery on the day of his arrival in the USA as a stateless refugee, having escaped from ever-increasing persecution in Nazi Germany, Einstein thanks Kuno for a letter of his about financial matters, adding below in his own hand: "Wir kamen heute erst hier an und suchen uns in dieser exotischen Welt zurechtzufinden. Im Frühjahr um den 1. April kommen wir nach Spanien, wo ich eine Art Lehrtätigkeit auszuüben habe. Hoffentlich sehen wir uns dort wieder einmal gemütlich [...]".

In an earlier letter of Elsa's, also regarding family investments administered by Kuno (undated but written aboard the "Oakland", probably in the port of Bremen on 10 December 1932, about to depart for a winter cruise to Pasadena via Middle America), Einstein adds a poignant note about his younger son Eduard, who suffered from schizophrenia and had recently been committed to a mental asylum in Switzerland: "Nimm bitte diese schleichende Sorge von uns; das Leben hat in letzter Zeit Schweres gebracht, da mein liebster Sohn, der Jüngere, in einer Anstalt hat untergebracht werden müssen (Geisteskrankheit) [...]".

In the final missive, possibly another postscript torn from a longer letter, Einstein gives his consent in a single word ("Einverstanden"), signing and dating: "Princeton, 9. Mai 1934 / Albert Einstein". Elsa's own letters discuss travel, finances, Albert Einstein's stay in Spa, etc.

Each sheet with marginal binder holes affecting a few letters, otherwise flawless.

Stock Code: BN#53798 Tags: ,