141 résultats
1925réf. 140941837Berlin: No Publisher 1925. Revised edition. 783-797 pp. Publisher's original printed wrappers. About Very Good with thin tear along front wrap fold near head a little chipping to wraps at spine front wrap hinge fragile contents toned with age. This copy belonged to Hans Albert Einstein Albert Einstein's oldest son with his inkstamp at top of front wrapper; likely a presentation copy from his father. Neatly written at top of front wrapper are "41" and 163." Very rare author's offprint from Die Kulture der Gegenwart of an essay on relativity theory which was first published in 1914 revised to incorporate Einstein's later research. OCLC/WorldCat locates no physical copies. Weil 71. [No Publisher] unknown books
1932réf. 1864np: np 1932. First edition. nb. UNPUBLISHED CANDID PHOTOGRAPHS OF EINSTEIN AND LETTERS BY WILLIAM HUBBARD OFFERING AN INTIMATE VIEW OF THE SCIENTIST ON VACATION. On March 2 1932 at the height of his career and world fame Albert Einstein and his wife Elsa set off on a vacation to their German homeland departing from Los Angeles on the M. S. San Francisco. Another passenger aboard the ship was the renowned music scholar William Lines Hubbard. Famous in his own right Hubbard was the music critic for the Chicago Tribune and author of a definitive 11-volume work on the history of opera published 1908. Accompanying Hubbard was his companion Julia Reid their cabins adjacent to that of the Einstein's. As was the practice during this era Hubbard kept detailed journals and letters of his travel experiences. This collection from the estate of Hubbard contains the following items: 1. Three unpublished small black-and-white and sepia photographs. The first photograph 4.5" x 2.5" pictures Einstein his wife Elsa the Ship's Captain Hubbard the tall figure and three other of the ship's passengers dated 3/14/32. The second photograph 3.5" x 3.25" is an outstanding full front image of Einstein his wife Elsa and the ship's Captain. The final photograph 4.5" x 2.5" is a full frontal image of Einstein and his wife Elsa both seated in deck chairs with the ship's Captain standing behind. 2. Typed letter dated March 22 1932 written while sailing through the South Atlantic. Six pages typed front and back on two pieces folded of the ship's original stationary approx. 7.5x11 in. Excerpts on Einstein include: Of our Six Passengers two are Prof. Einstein and wife. They are proving very delightful companions-- sincere unaffected and jolly. At first they were very reserved and merely bowed and smiled and "Guten-Morgan-ed" when entering and leaving the dining room but when they had become rested and saw that none of the rest of us planned to intrude they came forward and have been very genial. She is a great talker but talks interestingly. He walks deck smoking his stubby black pipe or whistling cheerily his gray hair blowing in the breeze. Each forenoon and sometimes in the afternoon he goes to the piano and plays for half hour or so. Plays in that satisfying manner peculiar to a man to whom music is a comfort and who thinks musically. It is in no wise brilliant playing but it is throughly enjoyable to hear. The rest of the time he sits in his steamer chair or in his cabin reading or thinking. On the 14th he had his 53rd birthday and the Capt had ordered from La Libertad Salvador where we had taken cargo the day before large bunches of easter and tiger lilies which in the morning were on the Einstein table together with a birthday cake the ship's cook had made and countless cards and letters which friends had sent. It was all a complete surprise to them both and their happiness was childlike in its spontaneity and sincerity. It was heart warming to watch them. They seem to appreciate being left to themselves and not being lionized. It is the third time they have come through the canal on these boards an they enjoy it to the full. 3. Typed letter dated April 1 1932 written while entering the English Channel. Seven pages on two approx. 8.5x11in sheets folded of the ship's original stationary. Excerpts on Einstein include: We had good fun watching for crocodiles along the banks as we came up the cut and Prof Einstein was especially gleeful when he discovered one. Professor Einstein loves the roung sic weather and has reveled in it. He and the Mme are proving very delightful fellow passengers. She is very chatty but chats interestingly and he struts up and down deck smoking his stubby pipe or whistling like a jolly kid his white hair blowing in the breeze. We have some talks occasionally and he yesterday when he saw the copy of Living Philosophies which I had given me sic before I left San Diego and in which his article is the first took the book and autographed his picture and wrote in remembrance of the happy days on board the San Francisco. I don't think I told you of his birthday which occurred on the 14 of March the day before we reached the Canal. The Capt came to know if it and when the Einsteins came to their table at breakfast they found it decorated with three huge vases of Easter and Tiger lilies which the Capt had secured in La Libertad. The cook had made a gorgeously decorated Torte-- one of the filled and frosted German cakes-- and there were letters and telegrams from friends which had been sent in the Capt's care. It was a complete surprise to the Einsteins and they were like two happy kiddies. It was gladdening to watch their simple and keen enjoyment. Later we had pieces of the Torte which were a bit of muchness for breakfast but which of course we ate. 4. Typed letter dated April 24 1932 written in Merano Italy. Six pages on five 5.5x7in sheets. While recalling a cargo transfer on the M. S. San Fransisco Hubbard writes: The Einsteins were especially enthusiastic and we had a great fun over the boss of the unloading. He was a huge and tremendously rotund gent wearing a soft felt hat and a short overcoat the buttons of which seemed fated to "bust off" at any moment. His chief employment seemed to be running about from side to side of the dock into the warehouse and out again clambering onboard and then clambering off and all the time shouting orders at the top of his voice and gesticulating wildly. Einstein had been reading the "Living Philosophies" which I had loaned him and was especially curious concerning Mencken and how he happened to be included in the great ones in the book. I gave him an outline of Mr. M's greatness and assured him that the book cold sic well largely on account of M being included. All of which amused the Einsteins greatly. So when this wild boss hove into sight that morning and began his excited directing Mrs E said "there is Mister Mencken" and thus he remained so long as we were in Rotterdam. The Einsteins were starting early the next morning for Berlin so they went about 9 pm to the custom house and had their 16 packages bundles and gifts examined. Frau Professor had a funny story to tell of their experience with the 150 pound bag of coffee that had been presented them in Salvador. 5. An official passenger list from the M. S. San Francisco printed on the ship's original stationary 4.75" x 8.25" dated March 2 1932. With "Professor Albert Einstein" and "Mrs. Albert Einstein" shown under the list of cabin passengers going from Los Angeles to Bremen. 6. A postcard depicting Hubbard's profile in black and white 3.45" x 5.45". All items in very good condition letters with wear and soiling at folds and housed in a custom cloth presentation folder. RARE FIRST-HAND TESTIMONY REVEALING THE PERSONALITY OF EINSTEIN IN RELAXED AND INFORMAL MOMENTS. np unknown books
1924réf. 2905Berlin: Julius Springer 1924. First edition. original wrappers. Very Good. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS of the presentation of "Bose-Einstein statistics." “In 1924 Bose found a way to derive Planck’s equation for black body radiation using a statistical approach based entirely on the idea that light is made up of tiny particles photons. This echoed the statistical mechanics approach of Ludwig Boltzmann to the behaviour of gases but using a different statistical rule; it derives black body radiation entirely in quantum terms without using the idea of electromagnetic radiation at all. Bose wrote a paper about his discovery and sent it to Albert Einstein who immediately saw its significance translated it into German and arranged for its publication in the prestigious Zeitschrift für Physik. Einstein developed the idea to apply to other kinds of particle not just to a ‘gas’ of photons which is why this approach is usually referred to as ‘Bose-Einstein statistics’. Paul Dirac coined the name ‘bosons’ for particles which obey Bose-Einstein statistics" Gribbin Q is for Quantum. Particle Physics: One Hundred Years of Discoveries: “Discovery of new statistical counting rules for light quanta and a new derivation of Planck’s radiation law. Known as Bose-Einstein quantum statistics for particles with integer spins.” WITH a follow-up paper by Bose: "Wärmegleichgewicht im Strahlungsfeld bei Anwesenheit von Materie": "Bose's first paper in 'Zeitschrift für Physik' was followed by another that was also translated by Einstein and published during 1924. In it Bose provided a general statistical treatment of emission and absorption processes for electromagnetic radiation in equilibrium with matter. This paper was accompanied by a note by Einstein expressing serious doubts about the method. In January 1925 Bose wrote to Einstein from Paris that he was working on a paper he felt would remove these doubts. But it seems never to have been completed" DSB. Plancks Gesetz und Lichtquantenhypothese. IN: Zeitschrift für Physik Vol 26 No. 3 August 1924 pp. 178-81. Berlin: Julius Springer 1924. “Wärmegleichgewicht” Vol 27 No. 5/6 September 1924 pp. 384-93. Octavo original wrappers. “Planks Gesetz” with small closed tear at rear wrapper edge; otherwise fine condition; “Wärmegleichgewicht” with small chip to base of front wrapper. SCARCE in original wrappers. Julius Springer unknown books
1931réf. 1403337Potsdam Germany 1931. Two letters by Albert Einstein. The first is a single-paged autograph letter signed by Albert Einstein with one horizontal fold and one vertical fold. In Very Good condition . Measuring 22.5 x 28.5 cm. Letter accompanied with mailing envelope both with matching paper-clip rust stain. Letter with some light wear along edges small staining to lower corner. Addressed to G. W. Meyer and dated 8 Oktober 31 in Potsdam the Letter reads in full: "Sehr geehrter Herr! Indem ich Ihnen für die Uebersendung des Buches von Henry George bestens danke sende ich Ihnen anliegend die gewünschte Meinungsäusserung mit der Bitte um Weiterleitung an Mrs. Evans. Mit ausgezeichneter Hochachtung" and signed in ink "A. Einstein". He thanks Meyer for serving as an intermediary in getting a book to him and for forwarding the enclosed letter. The second letter is a typed copy of Einstein's previously enclosed letter presumably made by Meyer before he passed the original on to Evans. Addressed to R. W. Evans and dated 8.10.1931 in Potsdam the letter discusses Henry George's economic theory of poverty and land nationalization compares it to Franz Oppenheimer's work and proposes questions to be asked. Presumably he was sent a copy of Henry George's Progress and Poverty. First published in 1879 it sparked the Progressive Era discussing the paradox of increasing inequality and poverty amid economic and technological progress as well as the economic value of land. Consignment. Shelved Case 3. The Letter reads in full: "Sehr geehrte Mrs. Evans! Ich habe das Buch von Henry George zum grössten Teil mit ausserordentlichem Interesse gelesen und glaube dass es in der Hauptsache einen unanfechtbaren Standpunkt vertritt insbesondere was die Ursache der Armut betrifft. Nie in diesem Buch vertretenen Ansichten stimmen soweit ich es beurteilen kann vollkommen mit den Resultaten des zeitgenössischen Professors Franz Oppenheimer überein der sie offenbar selbständig herausgefunden hat. Nicht einverstanden bin ich mit der Theorie des Zinses. Mit dem vorgeschlagenen Heilmittel der Verstaatlichung des Bodens und der Bodenschätzung scheint mir allerdings mehr ein Problem als eine Lösung gegeben zu sein. Soll z. Beispiel ein Boden Eigentum der Gemeinschaft das darauf hingestellte Haus aber Privateigentum sein Jedenfalls ist es schon von höchster Wichtigkeit dass das Wesen des Uebels klar aufgezeigt ist. Schon darum wäre es wichtig wenn das Buch die ihm gebührende Beachtung fände. Mit ausgezeichneter Hochachtung gez. A. Einstein." 1403337. Shelved Dupont Bookstore. unknown books
1916réf. 140941831Leipzig Germany: S. Hirzel 1916. First separate edition. First separate edition. 4 pp. Illustrated with portrait of August Mach from photograph. Publisher's original printed wrappers. Very Good with some small chips to fragile wrappers faint crease to top of front wrap contents toned with age. This copy belonged to Hans Albert Einstein Albert Einstein's oldest son with his inkstamp at top of front wrapper; likely a presentation copy from his father. Neatly written at top of front wrapper is "43" and date "14.III.16." OCLC/WorldCat locates four copies two at the University of Toronto one at the Smithsonian Institution and one at the American Philosophical Society. Weil 89. Very rare author's offprint stating "Uberreicht vom Verfasser" of the eulogy by Albert Einstein for fellow physicist Ernst Mach as first published in Physikalischen Zeitschrift. A noted scientist in his own right Mach is best known for the concept of "Mach's principle" which asserts that an entity's inertial mass is determined by all the other masses in the universe. Einstein in fact coined the phrase "Mach's principle" and his application of it had major ramifications for the development of his theory of general relativity Einstein in 1918 labeling it one of the "three pillars" of general relativity. S. Hirzel unknown books
1946réf. 1206241946. Signed. EINSTEIN Albert. Typed letter signed. Princeton April 3 1946. Single sheet of gray letterhead measuring 8-1/2 by 11 inches; p. 1. Matted and framed with a portrait entire piece measures 19 by 15-1/2 inches. $9500.Original typed letter signed by Albert Einstein thanking his friend Dr. Isadore Held for his birthday wishes as well as for sending a new book that Einstein found both ""extraordinarily enlightening"" and humorous. Text in German.The letter typed on Einstein's personal letterhead with his name and Princeton address blindstamped at the top reads in full translation: ""3 April 1946. Dear Mr. Held: I would like to express my sincere thanks for your birthday wishes and for the sending of the last work of this wonderful contemporary. I have already read quite a bit and find that it is extraordinarily enlightening. His penetration into the mentality of far-off times and attitudes toward thinking is most remarkable and his humor no less. With fond greetings to you and your dear wife. Yours signed Albert Einstein."" This letter was written to Austrian-American medical Dr. Isadore Held who was friends with Einstein since at least 1938. Held and Einstein shared numerous interests particularly related to Jewish humanitarian relief and Israel. At Held's death Einstein wrote to his widow that ""True goodness emanated from this man who alleviated the harshness of human relations and who understood and forgave all weaknessesÉ As a role model for his fellow men he was the best that a human being can be."" Einstein was not a huge fan of birthdays though he happily acknowledged well wishes from friends. Just before turning 65 Einstein crankily said to a New York Times interviewer: ""What is there to celebrate Birthdays are automatic things. Anyway birthdays are for children."" In a 1954 letter to physicist Hans Mhsam Einstein described his birthday as ""a natural disaster a shower of paper full of flattery under which one is drowned."" Einstein was generally quite shy and did not like to be the center of attention particularly from strangers obsessed with his accomplishments and fame. However well-meaning letters and small gifts like the book given by Held were always welcomed and graciously accepted by Einstein. Original mailing creases and a few pinpoint holes along top edge possibly from stapling. About-fine condition. unknown books
1916réf. 2364Braunschweig: Druck und Verlag von Friedr Vieweg and Son 1916. First edition. Original wrappers. Very Good. FIRST PRINTING IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS OF ONE OF EINSTEIN'S MAJOR WORKS: HIS FIRST PAPER ON THE DERIVATION OF PLANK'S LAW AND PROVIDING THE THEORETICAL BASIS FOR THE LASER. "Einstein commended the 'unparalleled boldness' of Planck's derivation of 1900 meaning not only the problem itself but also the fact that it was based on assumptions that were not entirely free of contradictions. Einstein now succeeded in the first of two papers in eliminating that flaw. More interesting than the derivation itself was the general character of his methods. Einstein proceeded from Niels Bohr's basic--and by then well tested--assumption that the electrons within an atom occupy a number of discrete energy states and are able through emission or absorption of radiation to pass from one of those states to another. Added to this was an assumption of thermodynamic equilibrium between radiation field and atom as well as a consideration of the 'classical' limiting case at high temperatures--and there was Planck's formula. This brief argument. also covers emission stimulated by the radiation field; thus the formulas already by implication contain the theory of the laser though it was to take nearly half a century to be realized" Folsing Albert Einstein 389. Weil 85. The "implication" containing the theory of the laser was more fully developed in his companion paper "On the Quantum Theory of Radiation" published a few weeks later. In the first paper Einstein wrestled with the concept that the atomic emission of radiation could be a directed process; in the second paper he convincingly demonstrates that this is indeed the case. IN: Verhandl. D. Deutch. Phys. Ges. Vol 18 pp. 318-323. Braunschweig: Druck und Verlag von Friedr. Vieweg and Son 1916. Octavo original wrappers; housed in custom half leather chemise. One thread literally resewn on wrappers a little creasing and soiling. A beautiful copy. RARE IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS. Druck und Verlag von Friedr Vieweg and Son unknown books
1941réf. 3262211/9/41. A generous demonstration by Einstein of his loyalty to friends and belief in the importance of music Dr. Theodor Rosenheim was a physician at the famed Medical University Clinic of the Charité in Germany in the 1880s. He was primarily concerned with the physiology and pathology of the digestive tract. He published an early textbook on the “Pathologie und Therapie der Krankheiten des Verdauungsapparates”. Rosenheim was one of the first in Germany to describe and publish on ulcerative colitis. He was intensively involved in the technical development of esophagoscopy and gastroscopy which at that time were only possible with rigid instruments. The Rosenheim line which was named after him described the largest diagonal diameter of the gastric percussion figure. Rosenheim was appointed professor extraordinarius at Berlin University in 1921. He also founded a polyclinic and a private sanatorium for stomach and intestinal patients. He was well respected in Berlin and his private practice developed successfully with a large circle of patients including Albert Einstein. Theodor’s wife was Hedwig Rosenheim and their daughter Kate was a hero of the Holocaust. She helped several thousand children from Jewish families to escape from Germany. She personally accompanied the legendary Kindertransporte to England among other places. She travelled to the USA in 1936 to negotiate directly with the aid organizations there. She then returned to Germany to actively continue the aid campaigns. Theodor died in 1939. Käte Rosenheim was able to flee Berlin together with her 72-year-old mother Hedwig Rosenheim on January 23 1941. They reached Havana Cuba via France Spain and Portugal. From there they were able to continue to New York where they arrived on April 1 1941. Albert Einstein was an accomplished violinist and music lover who was inspired by music in his scientific work. He often said that he would have been a musician if he hadn't pursued science. Another music lover was Hedwig Rosenheim. She had escaped Germany without her possessions especially her precious musical instruments. Upon arrival in the United States she contacted the old family friend Albert Einstein hoping he could help her get a flute either for herself or another escapee one who may have agreed to look for her. Einstein was sympathetic and rose to the occasion. He even contributed some of his personal funds to secure the flute. Typed letter signed his vacation house in Knollwood at Saranac Lake N.Y. September 11 1941 to his old friend Mrs. Hedwig Rosenheim in New York City. “ The matter of i.e. the quest for the flute shall not fail. First one should know what the committee is giving out – or loaning. Second there is the Hebrew Free Loan Society 108 Second Ave. New York which in such cases provides interest-free loans in exchange for the backing of two guarantors. I will serve as a guarantor and contribute 20 dollars on top of that. The man should visit both institutions and can show this letter. In the hope of receiving a positive report soon I remain with warm greetings your A. Einstein.” “PS. Starting next week my address will again be in Princeton.” The committee he referred may have been the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee though there were others as well. It shows a lot about Einstein - his generosity his continued concern for old friends who had escaped from Germany and love for music - that he volunteered to make a personal financial contribution to obtaining the flute. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1950réf. 140948403New York: Philosophical Library 1950. First Edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. First edition first printing. Signed by Albert Einstein on the front free endpaper and dated the year of publication. Above and beneath Einstein's signature Rabbi Irving Levey has inscribed this book to former owner Harold Rosenstein and written two lines of Hebrew that translate to "A day that is exceptionally good 19 Kislev 5711." According to Rosenstein's grandson Einstein's signature was procured by Rabbi Levey who lead temple at the Jewish Center at Princeton from 1949-51. Levey and Einstein and worked together on issues relating to the then-newly formed State of Israel. vi 282 pp. Bound in publisher's blue cloth stamped in gilt. Near Fine with light rubbing to corners and spine ends offsetting at endsheets. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with toning light edge wear small stain to rear flap. The iconic theoretical physicist's second collection of essays covering the years 1934-1950 surrounding his personal convictions around religious and humanitarian issues in the wake and aftermath of WWII. Boni 515. Philosophical Library unknown books
1908réf. 2507Leipzig: S. Hirzel 1908. First edition. original wrappers. Very Good. THE BIRTH OF GENERAL RELATIVITY: FIRST PRINTING IN RARE ORIGINAL WRAPPERS OF ONE ONE EINSTEIN'S MOST IMPORTANT PAPERS; containing the beginning of general relativity the derivations of the equivalence principle gravitational redshift and the gravitational bending of light. "Einstein's road to general relativity began in November 1907 when he was struggling against a deadline to finish an article for a science yearbook explaining his special theory of relativity. Two limitations of that theory still bothered him: it applied only to uniform constant-velocity motion. and it did not incorporate Newton's theory of gravity. "'I was sitting in a chair in the patent office at Bern when all of a sudden a thought occurred to me' he recalled. 'If a person falls freely he will not feel his own weight.' That realization which 'startled' him launched him on an arduous eight-year effort to generalize his special theory of relativity and 'impelled me toward a theory of gravitation.' Later he would call it 'the happiest though in my life.' "The tale of the falling man has become an iconic one and in some accounts it actually involves a painter who fell from the roof of an apartment building near the patent office. Einstein refined his thought experiment so that the falling man was in an enclosed chamber such as an elevator in free fall above the earth. In this falling chamber at least until it crashed the man would feel weightless. Any objects he emptied from his pocket and let loose would float alongside him. "Looking at it another way Einstein imagined a man in an enclosed chamber floating in deep space 'far removed from stars and other appreciable masses.' He would experience the same perceptions of weightlessness. 'Gravitation naturally does not exist for this observer. He must fasten himself with strings to the floor otherwise the slightest impact against the floor will cause him to rise slowly towards the ceiling.' "Then Einstein imagined that a rope was hooked onto the roof of the chamber and pulled up with a constant force. 'The chamber together with the observer then begin to move "upwards" with a uniformly accelerated motion.' The man inside will feel himself pressed to the floor. 'He is then standing in the chest in exactly the same way as anyone stands in a room of a house on our earth. The man in the chamber will come to the conclusion that he and the chest are in a gravitational field. Just then however he discovers the hook in the middle of the lid of the chest and the rope which is attached to it and he consequently comes to the conclusion that the chamber is suspended at rest in the gravitational field.' Einstein observed that inertial mass always equals gravitational mass and through his thought experiments concluded that "From this correspondence it follows that it is impossible to discover by experiment whether a given system of coordinates is accelerated or whether. the observed effects are due to a gravitational field." "Einstein called this 'the equivalence principle.' The local effects of gravity and of acceleration are equivalent. "In 1907 working against the deadline imposed by the Yearbook of Radioactivity and Electronics Einstein tacked on a fifth section to his article on relativity that sketched out his new ideas. He also came up with many predictions that could be tested including that light should be bent by gravity and that the wavelength of light emitted from a source with a large mass such as the sun should increase slightly in what has become known as the gravitational redshift. "It would take Einstein another eight years until November 1915 to work out the fundamentals of this theory and find the math to express it. Then it would take another four years before the most vivid of his predictions the extent to which gravity would bend light was verified by dramatic observations. But at least Einstein now had a vision one that started him on the road toward one of the most elegant and impressive achievements in the history of physics: the general theory of relativity" Isaacson Einstein 145-49. Weil in his bibliography also notes that "On p.443 are probably the first explicit statements both of the equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass and of the equation for mass in terms of energy now regarded as the theoretical basis for the release of atomic energy." Weil 21. Although Einstein submitted the paper on 4 December 1907 it wasn't published until the January 22 issue of the Jarbuch. Note: There was a very short "Correction" in a subsequent issue not included here. IN: Jahrbuch der Radioactivität under Electronik Vierter Band - 4. Heft No. 16 pp. 411-462. Leipzig: S. Hirzel 1908. Octavo original wrappers; handsome custom box. Light wear to wrappers and split to spine; text fine with Einstein paper largely unopened. AN EXTREMELY RARE COPY IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS OF ONE OF EINSTEIN'S MOST IMPORTANT PAPERS. S. Hirzel unknown books
1918réf. 2839London: Fleetway Press 1918. FIRST EDITION. Original wrappers. Fine. THE FIRST INTRODUCTION OF EINSTEIN'S GENERAL RELATIVITY TO THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD. The groundbreaking first edition 1918 with the second edition 1920 containing the account of Eddington's 1919 expedition proving Einstein's theory both in original wrappers. "Einstein's discovery of the General Theory of Relativity was communicated to the Berlin Academy of Sciences in 1915. Because of the First World War direct communication with physicists in Germany was not possible but the papers were forwarded to Eddington who was then Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society by Willem de Sitter a personal friend of Eddington's in neutral Holland. The theory is of considerable mathematical complexity but as Einstein stated in the last paragraph of his paper 'scarcely anyone who has fully understood this theory can escape from its magic'. Eddington was the ideal expositor of these ideas in English and within 2 years had written his Report on the Relativity Theory of Gravitation for the Physical Society of London" Malcolm Longair "Bending Space-time". The second edition is notable for containing a new preface that discusses the results of the "eclipse expedition" led by Eddington that verified General Relativity and catapulted Einstein into world-wide fame. This preface precedes Eddington's full report in the Philosophical Transactions. Provenance: Almost certainly Nobel Prize winning physicist's Charles Glover Barkla's copy of the 1918 report with an original 1918 receipt in Barkla's name laid in. Barkla won the 1917 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his discovery of the characteristic Röntgen radiation of the elements". London: Fleetway Press for The Physical Society of London 1918 and 1920. Octavo original wrappers; custom box. General light wear to wrappers. Beautiful copies. RARE. Fleetway Press unknown books
1931réf. 021909New York: Covici Friede 1931. First Edition. hardcover. Some pencil markings in text title page and endpapers darkened not really affecting Einstein's inscription; covers a little soiled. Good to Very Good and quite scarce. With a long biographical note and an appreciation by George Bernard Shaw. Subjects include Disarmament Pacifism the Jewish Homeland and more. This copy INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author with his scarcer full signature on the front endpaper: "To little Pauline/Albert Einstein/1933." An uncommon title to find signed by the man of the century. With a letter of authenticity from James Spence if you need that kind of security blanket. Covici Friede hardcover books
1949réf. 140948474Evanston Illinois: The Library of Living Philosophers Inc 1949. Signed Limited First Edition. Near Fine. First edition. Number 508 of a limited 760 copies signed and dated by Albert Einstein. 777 pp. Bound in publisher's brown leatherette stamped in gilt; top edge gilt; lacking the glassine dust jacket and slipcase. Text in English and German. Near Fine with very faint tidemark to edge of half-title frontisportrait and title page. A collection of critical essays devoted to the theoretical physicist by twenty-five eminent scholars and scientists with Einstein's remarks. Published on Einstein's 70th birthday the work has contributions by noted contemporaries such as Max Born Kurt Godel and Wolfgang Pauli. The Library of Living Philosophers, Inc unknown books
1922réf. 792Berlin: Springer 1922. First Edition. Wrappers. Near fine. 2 vols. in German the first appearance of 2 distinct papers in 2 separate periodical issues September 13 and November 17. Both are complete in original wrappers. Near fine small pencil name on the Nov. cover. Seems to be surprisingly rare. RBH lists no auction sales of Friedmann's article title and date since 1975 and only one copy of it is listed by OCLC but copies of the bound annual Zeitschrift für Physik are regularly available and should not in this case be considered in any way equivalent to our set in publisher's wrappers. 1. Friedmann's pioneering paper the first to seriously apply general relativity to cosmology without the stabilizing cosmological constant theorizing and mathematically formularizing an expanding universe dragging cosmology into a branch of physics. In Zeitschrift für Physik Band 10 He 16 September 13 1922 pages 377-386 "Here we have for the first time the idea of an expanding universe originating in a singularity-a big-bang." -Helge Kragh Cosmology and Controversy page 24. 2. Einstein's critical remarks on Friedmann's paper that he retracted in 1923. In Zeitschrift für Physik Band 11 He 4/5 November 17 1922 page 326. Springer unknown books
1934réf. 1478Princeton: np 1934. 1st Edition. No Binding. Very Good. AN IMPORTANT SIGNED LETTER in English by Einstein revealing his reservations of associating with communism even in the fight against fascism. Written from Princeton NJ to Professor Albert Sprague Coolidge of Harvard University and dated February 16 1934 the letter reads: My dear Professor Coolidge: I had an opportunity of meeting personally Lord Marley and has sic very favorably impressed by his personality. It became known to me that he sympathizes with the Russian Government i.g. with the Russian communist party and that the committee for which he is active is influenced by communists. The problem as to the attitude which is advisable to be taken towards this committee is rather complicated. On the one hand the world-wide danger of fascism makes it necessary that all enemies of fascism cooperate; on the other hand an action which has communist leanings might endanger that fight since the important task undertaken in defense of culture and civilization may be linked up with interests of a political party. I myself have severed my connections with the committee which with my permission had used my name up to the end of last year. It seems to me advisable to take an attitude as follows: to help their action against fascism but not to identify oneself with the committee. Very truly yours signed A. Einstein P.S. I wish you would be good enough to use this strictly confidentially. In 1934 Lord Baron Marley Dudley Leigh Aman toured the United States to raise funds for his association the World Committee for the Victims of German Fascism. Marley through his committee was "passionately advocating a scheme for which he was to become an international figurehead - resettlement of oppressed German and Polish Jews in the Jewish Autonomous Region" in Siberia. He published a book "The Brown Book of the Hitler Terror and the Burning of the Reichstag sponsored by the World Committee and with an Introduction written by Lord Marley himself which was the first popular exposé of what was happening in Hitler's Germany. It documented the destruction of political parties trade unions and universities book-burning and the building of concentration camps. "At a fundraising dinner held in his honour in New York in February 1934 where Einstein presumably met him just before writing this letter Marley opened the Brown Book and 'speaking quietly declaring that he did not intend to harrow' read aloud to his audience of 600 American Jews some of the collected evidence of Nazi repressions. Here were documentary records of what was happening in Germany - a substantiation of the brutality that hitherto had had no distinct form in the mind of the American Jewish public. What before had been the subject of a growing fear mingled with disbelief was now being presented as hard fact and supported with detailed evidence. The New York Times 8 February 2005 reports the audience being 'startled' by the disclosures and the night ending with $3500 raised for the World Committee" The Jewish Quarterly No. 198. Einstein was correct to be suspicious of Marley's activities for it was later determined that the "World Committee" was indeed a Communist front; Einstein writing here to Coolidge in 1934 was prescient about the motives of the committee. This letter in addition to underscoring Einstein's passionate stance against fascism is particularly important as documentary evidence of Einstein's caution about having any dealings with communism especially considering that the U.S. FBI worried about Einstein's political leanings kept a file on Einstein that grew to 1427 pages. Princeton NJ: February 16 1934. One 8.5 x 11 in. page. Envelope folds minor spotting. An outstanding letter with important and revealing content. np unknown books
1941réf. 2142520/12/1941. Brigitte Kaufmann was born in Germany but when the Nazis came to power in 1933 she fled to Paris. In France Kaufmann worked as an actress under the name of Brigitte Châtel and translated documents. She met her future husband Alfred Alexander-Katz in Paris and they married in 1939; the following day her husband was taken to an internment camp. He was given the choice of being interned in a labor camp or joining the Foreign Legion and chose the latter. Alexander was then sent to Clermont in Vichy France and the family relocated there. Dr. Walter Rudlin was a social science professor at Sarah Lawrence College in New York and actively involved in anti-fascist activities. He was the author of “The Growth of Fascism in Great Britain”. In September 1942 he left his position and joined the U.S. Board of Economic Welfare whose chair was Vice President Henry Wallace. His wife Eryl was interested in bringing Jews in Europe out of harm’s way and she knew the Alexander-Katz family. So Eryl sought to get Brigitte and her family safely out of Europe to Mexico and sought Einstein’s help. On March 12 1941 Einstein responded noting that Brigitte is his relative. “Thank you very much for your letter of March 11th. I am very gratified indeed to learn that our mutual friends Fred and Brigitte Alexander-Katz have some prospect to receive a visa into Mexico. I am certainly willing to vouch for their reliability and integrity both personal and political. I have known Mrs. Brigitte Alexander-Katz - whose family is related to mine - since she was a little girl. Her husband a very able engineer will certainly be useful to any country which receives him. If you will send me the address of the proper Mexican authority I shall gladly send any letter of recommendation desired.” This was a warm letter indeed expressing true concern and friendship for the Alexander-Katz family. On April 3 1941 Einstein again wrote Rudlin noting “Enclosed I am sending you the requested letters in the hope that they may be successful.” But there were delays and no visa so Rudlin wrote Einstein seven months later asking him to take the matter up with the Mexican government. Typed letter signed on his blind-embossed letterhead Princeton December 20 1941 to Mrs. Eryl Rudlin saying that he expects the visa to be granted but does not feel he ought to approach the Mexican government directly. “The Mexican authorities know that I am interested in the case of the Alexander-Katz family; they have kept me informed about the whole development of the matter. I have no doubt that admission to Mexico will be granted as it has been granted to hundreds of people in the same situation. I can give Mr. Alexander-Katz a recommendation but it is out of the question that I ask the Minister of Education to send him an official invitation. I have already done what could be done without intrusion.” Despite what he writes here to calm Mrs. Rudlin Einstein might have exerted some gentle pressure on Mexico by contacting the Mexican ambassador to the U.S. Gilberto Bosques; or the Alexander-Katz visas may have already being granted at that moment. The Einstein Archives is silent on this subject. But soon after Einstein soon wrote this letter in 1942 a telegram to the young Alexander-Katz family arrived stating that Einstein and Rudolph Uhlman a lawyer in New York had secured visas through Ambassador Bosques for them to escape to Veracruz Mexico aboard the ship San Thomé. In Mexico Brigitte she became a noted author actress director and translator. She became the first woman in Mexico to produce and direct television programs. Speaking five languages she also worked as a translator for UNESCO and Amnesty International. Her daughter Susana and granddaughter Sophie also became actors. unknown books
1954réf. 2832Princeton NJ: np 1954. First edition. nb. Fine. EXTREMELY RARE AND BEAUTIFUL SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH OF EINSTEIN BY FREDERICK PLAUT. SIGNED ON THE IMAGE BY EINSTEIN: "A. Einstein 54". A fine photograph of Einstein in 1954 a year before his death sitting in his Princeton home surrounded by books and holding his pipe gazing slightly away from the camera. In his 1964 collection of photographs The Unguarded Moment the photographer Frederick Plaut explains the circumstances of his evocative photo of the elderly Einstein: "There must be a moment in every professional photographer's life when he is so in awe of his subject that he can scarcely focus his camera. That moment for me was when I met Albert Einstein at his home in Princeton. Certainly the great man was not formidable; he greeted my wife and me graciously and proceeded to chat with her while I went to work. I remember that she asked him about his music and when he told her that he no longer played his violin she murmured 'That's too bad.' He smiled 'Ah no. It would have been too bad if I went on.' In the final moments of our visit Einstein looked at me very seriously. 'I hope' he said 'you can sell these pictures for a good price.' Astounded I blurted out: 'Oh no Sir. I have nothing to sell. I just wanted to photograph you.' His face clouded. 'Not sell them If I had known that I never would have let you take them.' After we left I realized the significant of a delightful remark attributed to Mrs. Einstein. Someone once asked Mrs. Einstein whether she understood Professor Einstein's theory of relativity. She answered without hesitation 'No but I understand Professor Einstein'" Frederick Plaut The Unguarded Moment A Photographic Interpretation. The photographer Frederick Plaut moved to the United States from Europe in 1940. After being "discovered" by the legendary photographer Edward Steichen Plaut soon was invited to exhibit in numerous exhibitions. "At the Museum of Modern Art his photographs have been shown in many exhibitions including: 'The Family of Man' 'Music and Musicians' 'The Exact Instant' and others. Plaut's work has appeared in Time Life Esquire Look Saturday Review Vogue U.S. Camera Modern and Popular Photography andRealities et al" The Unguarded Moment. Provenance: Acquired directly from the family of the original recipient Arthur Klein with the original mailing envelope stamped "Jan 27 '54" from The Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton where Einstein was working at the time. Arthur Klein is primarily known for founding with his wife Luce Spoken Arts a highly influential company formed in the 1950s that created and distributed recordings of the works of famous writers and artists usually reading from their own works. Princeton NJ: 1954. Silver gelatin print approximately 4.75 x 6.75 inches. With Plaut's studio stamp on verso. Fine condition with Einstein signature - nicely centered at the base of the photograph - particularly strong. As Plaut mentioned in his account of the photographic session he never intended to sell this photograph and it is likely very few of these photos were printed and distributed. EXTREMELY RARE: WE CAN FIND NO OTHER EXAMPLE OF THIS PHOTOGRAPH SIGNED BY EINSTEIN. np unknown books
1938réf. 366717Princeton New Jersey 1938. 7 lines typed in German on letterhead of the Institute for Advanced Study School of Mathematics watermarked Chieftain Bond signed in ink. 4to 9-7/8 x 7-1/8 inches. Old folds. Fine. 7 lines typed in German on letterhead of the Institute for Advanced Study School of Mathematics watermarked Chieftain Bond signed in ink. 4to 9-7/8 x 7-1/8 inches. Im Jahre 1837 habe ich ein Affidavit für meine Verwandte Fräulein Ursula Einstein ausgestellt. Ich erkläre hiermit dass ich dieses Affidavit aufrechterhalte und bereit bin di notwendigen Unterlagen neu zi liefern wenn es gewünscht wird. den 31. Oktober 1938 signed Professor Albert Einstein. "In the year 1937 I signed an affidavit on behalf of my relative Miss Urusula Einstein. I hereby state that I continue to certify this affidavit is correct and am ready to submit the necessary documents anew if this is requested." Albert Einstein 1879-1955 German-born physicist renowned for developing the theory of relativity in papers published in 1905 and 1916 was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 and left Germany in 1933. He was associated with the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. This statement was almost certainly prepared in connection with efforts to assist his relative in emigrating. In a letter to his sister Maja Winteler-Einstein then resident in Switzerland dated December 1938 Einstein wrote "I am now working as some sort of itinerant relief committee and buckets of letters are coming in . I am helping the Ulm relatives with emigrating". Ursula Einstein born 1916 was able to get out; in 1940 she was a refugee in Port-au-Prince and later reached Brazil. Her younger sister Barbara was not so fortunate. Barbara Einstein born 1918 took her own life in March 1943 after her fiancé Harry Jacob was taken off to the concentration camps. A choice Einstein autograph. unknown books
réf. 225685/5/33. Germany as an island of intellectuals is no longer possible he writes blaming the fall of his country and exile of his colleagues on poor education a vestige of Bismarck ""I am almost collapsing under all my responsibilities."" A glimpse into the tragic end to the scientific flowering of pre-Nazi Germany along with Einstein's explanation for why it all happened A rare letter from a brief but consequential period in Einstein's life: after he left Germany but before he arrived in America Einstein had long been a revered scientist and member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences and was employed by Berlin University. At the beginning of March 1932 he returned to Germany from a visit to the United States where he had discussed heading the soon-to-open Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton New Jersey. He determined to accept and to spend half the year in Berlin and half the year in Princeton. But that year the Nazis were on the rise. It was becoming increasingly obvious to Einstein that his life was in danger. A Nazi organization published a magazine with Einstein’s picture and the caption “Not Yet Hanged” on the cover. There was even a price on his head. In December 1932 Einstein again left Germany to be a visiting professor at CalTech in Pasadena California. When Hitler was appointed German chancellor on January 30 1933 the physicist had just arrived in New York on his way to California to lecture on his theory of relativity. Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany was now open swift and often violent. Prominent Jews were denounced by Nazi officials attacked in the media and subjected to violence and arrest. As a vocal opponent of Nazism and a staunch advocate of pacifism Einstein was a particularly attractive target. Fortunately at the time Hitler came to power Einstein was already in the United States. Nonetheless the Nazis publicly agitated against Einstein as a symbol of “Jewish degeneracy” and accused him of spreading “atrocity propaganda.” In February and March 1933 the Gestapo repeatedly raided his family’s apartment in Berlin. Despite his own March 15 1933 declaration of self-imposed exile from Nazi Germany as well as warnings from friends that it was too dangerous to return Einstein and his wife decided to travel back to Germany intending to visit their summer cottage. At the end of March they arrived in Antwerp on the SS Belgenland owned by the shipping company Red Star Line. There they learned that Nazis had ransacked their cottage in Caputh at which point they decided that re-entering Germany was unwise. In April 1933 Einstein discovered that the new German government had passed laws barring Jews from holding any official positions including teaching at universities. Thousands of Jewish scientists were suddenly forced to give up their university positions and their names were removed from the rolls of institutions where they were employed. Einstein was now without a permanent home unsure where he would live and work and equally worried about the fate of countless other scientists still in Germany. He rented a house in De Haan Belgium where he lived for a few months. In late July 1933 he went to England for about six weeks where he was introduced to Winston Churchill. Einstein asked Churchill to help bring Jewish scientists out of Germany. British historian Martin Gilbert notes that Churchill responded immediately and sent his friend physicist Frederick Lindemann to Germany to seek out Jewish scientists and place them in British universities. In October 1933 Einstein returned to the US and took up his position at the Institute for Advanced Study. He had already revoked his German citizenship in Brussels and handed in his notice at Berlin University. He would never return to Germany. Michele Angelo Besso was a Swiss/Italian engineer. A Sephardic Jew by birth he was a close friend of Einstein during his years at the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich and then at the patent office in Bern where Einstein helped him to get a job. Einstein called Besso ""the best sounding board in Europe"" for scientific ideas. In Einstein's original paper on special relativity he ended the paper stating ""In conclusion let me note that my friend and colleague M. Besso steadfastly stood by me in my work on the problem here discussed and that I am indebted to him for many a valuable suggestion."" After his resignation in 1890 Otto von Bismarck was venerated as unified Germany’s founding father not only during the remaining twenty-eight years of the monarchy but also albeit less emphatically in the Weimar Republic in Nazi Germany and in the Federal Republic. Throughout Germany numerous Bismarck statues are testament to the admiration. Hamburg has three. His memorialisation even went beyond Germany; the capital of the US state of North Dakota for example is named after him. Einstein was evidently not a proponent of the erstwhile unifier of Germany. As Einstein wrote of Bismarck’s influence ""The characteristic feature of this mentality is that people place the importance of what Bertrand Russell so tellingly terms “naked power” far above all other factors which affect the relations between peoples. The Germans misled by Bismarck’s successes in particular underwent just such a transformation of their mentality—in consequence of which they were entirely ruined in less than a hundred years."" In this letter he encourages Besso to let him have his suggestions for saving Hermann Weyl from the regime – through substituting him for Einstein on a proposed trip to Spain would seem disastrously tactless. He sends his regards to Anna Besso with the rueful remark that the German example bodes ill for an intellectual utopia which she had proposed. Weyl would go on work with him at Princeton. These two men were among Einstein's closest friends and colleague - Jewish or closely tied to Jewish relatives. He is rushing to get them out. Typed letter signed in German Le Coq-sur-mer Belgium May 5th 1933 to Besso. ""Dear Michele! I was not affected personally but just about everybody else who is kind of close to me was. Bismarck’s dismal education policy is wreaking havoc again with the German people. ""I would love to follow your suggestion regarding Weyl if I saw any possibility at all especially since I am almost collapsing under all my responsibilities. Even the slightest attempt to replace me with someone else in Spain would without a doubt be perceived as extremely upsetting. Have you not thought of that ""Rushed greetings to you Albert."" He writes a postscript: ""Greetings to Anna from me and tell her she can judge herself based on the current German conditions what her concept of 'island of intellectuals' would look like."" In July 1933 upon Einstein’s request a committee of 51 American artists intellectuals and political leaders came together to form the International Relief Association. Among them were the philosopher John Dewey the writer John Dos Passos and the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. Other prominent citizens including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt soon joined the effort. Its mission as The New York Times reported on July 24 1933 was to “assist Germans suffering from the policies of the Hitler regime.” But Einstein did much more. He tried to persuade political leaders in the United States and Europe to take action to help the Jewish populations at risk particularly those of his colleagues in Germany's scientific community which was very hard hit. He worked tirelessly to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis and to find them places of refuge and employment. Many immigrants to the United States during the mid to late 1930s were Jewish between 1939 and 1940 more than half of all immigrants were Jews most of them refugees fleeing persecution in Europe. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-22732 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204162353/Folder-site-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1502réf. 2446215/02/1933. He revises the typescript of his interview with the War Resisters League of which he was Honorary Chairman and calls out William Randolph Hearst and the head of the press and film empire in Germany who aided Hitler’s rise On philosophy: “The intellect without the emotions is insignificant”; On racism: “The main thing is that minority groups should be allowed security in the community.” They ought to be “accepted with friendliness as equal members” On the press: He criticizes William Randolph Heart by name but says “The freedom of the press is necessary despite all the dangers or abuse that come with it.”. On pacifism and peace keeping: “A pacifist is one who believes in his heart that to go to war is beneath the dignity of a human being” “Society needs some form of organization for security and protection in international life” and “An international police force…is almost absolutely necessary as one step toward achieving peace. Force when used by an impartial third party to achieve law and order it's not contrary to pacifism”. This document has never previously been offered for sale and was acquired by us from the family that has had it all this time Einstein was well known as a pacifist until Hitler’s rise to power. In 1930 on his second visit to America he joined the War Resisters League and accepted the office of Honorary Chairman. Einstein spoke to the organization that year saying “True pacifists must publicly declare in time of peace that they will not take up arms under any circumstances… even if only 2% of those assigned to perform military service should announce their refusal to fight governments would be powerless they would not dare send such a large number of people to jail.” The league then issued a pamphlet “Einstein on War Resistance” that was widely read and discussed. Meanwhile back in Germany the rising Nazi movement found a convenient target in Einstein and relativity branding the latter “Jewish physics” and sponsoring conferences and book burnings to denounce Einstein and his theories. The Nazis even enlisted other physicists to denounce Einstein; “One Hundred Authors Against Einstein” was published in 1931. When asked to comment on this denunciation of relativity by so many scientists Einstein replied that to defeat relativity one did not need the word of 100 scientists just one fact. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-24605 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204150044/Einstein-Feb-15-1933-3-1-1600x209.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""209"" /> In December 1932 Einstein decided to leave Germany. The reason: it became obvious to him that his life was in danger. A Nazi organization published a magazine with Einstein’s picture and the caption “Not Yet Hanged” on the cover. There was even a price on his head. In January 1933 Einstein came to the United States to serve at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena California as a visiting professor. The appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor took effect late that month and Einstein decided he would not return to his home in Germany where he had been a professor at the Berlin Academy of Sciences. He would instead return to Europe and assess the situation from there. He and his wife Elsa returned by ship to Belgium in March 1933 to find that that their residences in Germany had been raided numerous times. Einstein accepted the fact that he could not return to Germany and turned in his passport to the German consulate; he also formally renounced his German citizenship. By the summer Einstein learned that his name was on a list of assassination targets. He resided in Belgium for some months and then moved to England for a short period. On October 17 1933 he returned to the US and took up a position at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton in New Jersey. And there he remained until his death. On February 15 1933 after Hitler had taken power but before Einstein learned that his homes had been raided he granted an interview to the War Resisters League at the home of one of its officials John Dorland. Dorland wanted the interview to be read aloud at the upcoming March 2 meeting of the members in Pasadena. He prepared a five page typescript of the interview and sent it to Einstein to review. As Dorland said in his cover letter to Einstein “Would you be kind enough to read it and if the answers misrepresent you in any detail may we request that you revise it in such particular as we are very anxious to have these correct.” He also asked Einstein's permission to read the interview aloud. This is the original typescript of the Einstein interview sent to Einstein by Dorland complete with Einstein’s handwritten notations. It is the only such annotated interview of Einstein that we have seen and it covers important topics. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-24606 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204150037/Einstein-Feb-15-1933-2-1-1600x247.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""247"" /> On page one Einstein makes it clear he was not ready to abandon his resistance to war. “The War Resisters” he stated at the interview “are doing a fine work. They have done more than any other peace group. A strong organized minority who have declared themselves absolutely against war is very powerful.” Question from Dorland. “Can we hope to convince everybody” Answer: “Oh no we cannot convince everybody but we do not need to. One strong man is worth much and has great influence Individuals thoroughly convinced and small groups working earnestly are of the utmost value.” Q: “In trying to arouse interest is it better to appeal to the intellect or the emotions” A: “To both; the intellect without the emotions is insignificant.” On page two Einstein states that “Public protests are very valuable” as is control over munitions production. “The private munitions business is a great threat to the peace of the world and there should be government control. Public opinion is not yet awake to the atrocities of the munitions firms.” Then Dorland changes the subject to “race relations.” Einstein responded “The main thing is that minority groups should be allowed security in the community.” Then Einstein hand writes in some thoughts. If they are not afforded such security “they should isolate themselves from the rest of society since they are not accepted with friendliness as equal members.” Then some fascinating free thoughts emerge. Clearly thinking of the Jews in Germany he crosses out “It insecurity is not so bad” and instead says “They can achieve a healthy existence”. But thinking of the current situation he finishes the thought by adding at least “Up until now!” He surely had less confidence about the future. On page three Einstein discusses the part to be played by international organizations. “The main thing is organization. Disputes will always come but we must have other methods than war for settling them. Society needs some form of organization for security and protection in international life.” Einstein then writes in “Obligatory court of arbitration. Unconditional obligation of the states to accept their verdicts and enforce them.” He is then asked which is less threatening to the progress of peace a professional army or universal military conscription. Einstein answers “The professional army is better because then only the professional soldiers become imbued with the military spirit.” Asked about Japan leaving the League of Nations he hand writes “It is better to let Japan secede from the League of Nations rather than have it the League compromised by a bad compromise.” Sooner let them go than compromise principles to keep them in. Lastly he is asked for his definition of a pacifist and responds “A pacifist is one who believes in his heart that to go to war is beneath the dignity of a human being.” <img class=""alignnone wp-image-24607 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204150030/Einstein-Feb-15-1933-5-1-1600x242.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""242"" /> On page four Einstein continues by saying that a pacifist “must be active in the prevention of war; that is he must support justice arbitration and conciliation.” In terms of having some international force enforce the peace Einstein is in favor. “an international police force as suggested by the French is almost absolutely necessary as one step toward achieving peace. Force when used by an impartial third party to achieve law and order it's not contrary to pacifism. This international force would exist only for a transition perhaps 20 years.” Dorland then asks Einstein “What do you think of the control over public opinion by the press” Einstein in the interview stated it was not good but in this document he elaborated further. “The freedom of the press is necessary despite all the dangers or abuse that come with it. This is the point with the biggest dependence of the peace movement peace work on economic circumstances. Hearst in America and Hugenberg in Germany demonstrate this fact with frightening clarity”. Alfred Hugenberg was the head of a press and film empire in Germany who aided Hitler’s rise. Einstein’s comparison of William Randolph Hearst with him is interesting. He clearly feels that the press in the wrong hands motivated by profit and political power was a danger. The next question was “Are religious bodies a power for peace” Einstein’s answer: “Not greatly now.” On the final page Einstein states his belief that though no one can change human nature “we can change traditional institutions.” <img class=""alignnone wp-image-24608 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204150023/Einstein-Feb-15-1933-4-1-1600x231.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""231"" /> This document is full of gems: “The intellect without the emotions is insignificant”; “The main thing is that minority groups should be allowed security in the community.” They ought to be “accepted with friendliness as equal members”; “Society needs some form of organization for security and protection in international life”; “A pacifist is one who believes in his heart that to go to war is beneath the dignity of a human being”; “An international police force…is almost absolutely necessary as one step toward achieving peace. Force when used by an impartial third party to achieve law and order it's not contrary to pacifism”; and “The freedom of the press is necessary despite all the dangers or abuse that come with it.” This is a great and fascinating rarity. A search of public sale records going back over 40 years turns up only one other example of an Einstein annotated interview nor have we ever had one. It wasn’t long in 1933 before the intensity of the threat from Naziism convinced Einstein that only force would be a deterrent a Hitler triumph. He resigned from the War Resisters League later in 1933. To Einstein pacifism became not an absolute concept but one that had to be re-examined depending on the magnitude of the threat. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-24457 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204150746/Folder-site-8-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1954réf. 2625423/02/1954. An increasingly uncommon letter of Einstein on the role of religions philosophy peace and the dangers of the atomic age that he helped usher in <img class=""alignnone wp-image-26334 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204132831/Einstein-Feb-28-1954-1-e1674939062835-1600x216.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""216"" /> Albert Einstein believed that wars stood in the way of human progress and he was a lifelong pacifist though he did not believe in pacifism at any price or in all situations. He was also an active promoter of world peace from the days of World War I right up to his death in 1955. In fact one of his last acts before his death was to add his signature to a statement of nine scientists warning that the world risked universal annihilation unless the institution of war was abolished. Knowing his stance people from all over the world appealed to him to assist various causes consistent with these beliefs and to give statements supporting individuals and groups that did so. Einstein was also not a member or follower of any organized religion. He considered himself a Jew but was not a practicing Jew. And as for the Christian churches he felt that it “since Constantine has always favored the authoritarian State as long as the State allows the Church to baptize and instruct the masses"". Their conduct in the years up to World War II was worse than disappointing he thought as they made the devil’s bargain - the evil compromise - with the Hitler regime. Einstein addressed this saying “Since when can one make a pact with Christ and Satan at the same time"" He added ""The Church has always sold itself to those in power and agreed to any bargain in return for immunity…If I were allowed to give advice to the Churches I would tell them to begin with a conversion among themselves and to stop playing power politics.” This idea of an evil compromise or devil's pact is central to his feelings about organized religion. There was one exception to his criticism of religions - the Quakers. Their community aims at purifying the Christian world and generating social reform by creating direct experience with God without intervention of clergy or other expressions of church. The Quakers greatly influenced science and industry and their community is noted for the pursuit of peace and non-violence. Thus Einstein’s views fit into their belief system. “If I were not a Jew I would be a Quaker” he once wrote. Speaking to a Quaker gathering in 1938 he said ""With admiration and respect I have seen in the course of many years how successfully and selflessly the Society of Friends has worked in the entire world to lessen human suffering and to make the teachings of Christ apply to real life. Everyone who is concerned about a better lot and a more dignified stature for humanity owes deep gratitude to the Society of Friends. This Society is an admirable testimony against the assertion that every organization by its very nature kills the spirit which has called it into life.” <img class=""alignnone wp-image-26335 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204132818/Einstein-Feb-28-1954-2-e1674939294283-1600x653.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""653"" /> In 1949 the Australian pathologist Alton R. Chapple who was a Quaker wrote to Einstein in the then-current climate of concern regarding the perils of the atomic age for ""a few words of leadership and hope"". Einstein responded stressing the necessity for moral courage by the individual. He said that power is often in the hands of power-loving persons who know very little restrictions when it comes to the realization of their ambitious goals; and answering negatively the question whether self-restraint on what “productive thinkers and explorers” research might not prevent further development of means of mass destruction. He gave three main reasons: 1 The already existing means of destruction are effective enough to bring about total destruction; 2 People really devoted to the progress of knowledge concerning the physical world like Faraday or Rutherford have never worked for practical goals let alone military goals. And nobody could know in advance what kind of application might be developed on the basis of their discoveries; and 3 People of technical skill are so numerous and so dependent economically that they cannot be expected to refuse employment offered them by the state or private industry even if they were able to clearly recognize that their work will lead to disaster on a world-wide scale. He concluded that hope can only be based on the intellectual and moral independence of a sufficient number of people since “honesty and courage of the individual to stand up for his convictions on every occasion is the only essential thing”. Chapple wrote Einstein again in 1954 about the Quakers and a perceived contradiction that Chapple discerned in the 1949 letter thinking that Einstein stated that he does not expect people to refuse to work in research that generates knowledge for the means of mass destruction. Einstein responded to Chapple giving a virtual primer on his world view and opinions on how a religion and religious individuals could live a moral life and contribute something valuable to society and the cause of peace. This he felt the Quakers did. Typed letter signed on his blind-embossed letterhead Princeton February 23 1954 to Alton Chapple in Australia illuminating Einstein’s judgment and standards of conduct. “Thank you for your letter of February 16th. I consider the Society of Friends the religious community which has the highest moral standards. As far as I know they have never made evil compromises and are always guided by their conscience. In international life especially their influence seems to me to be very beneficial and effective. “There seems to me to be no contradiction in my remarks in my former letter to you. The rules applying to a moral elite can not be expected to be followed by the rank and file.” So here Einstein praises those religions with “the highest moral standards”. He especially lays out the need for them and for individuals to avoid “evil” compromises and to always be guided by conscience. If an individual does these things or a dedicated group like the Quakers they will gain influence that is both beneficial and effective. Einstein does stand by his statement in the 1949 letter maintaining that from his experience moral elites lead and that those in rank and file don’t necessarily follow that lead. In a sense he is saying that an ethical elite exercising leadership has the best chance of saving the world. An increasingly uncommon letter of Einstein on philosophy peace the role of religions and religious individuals and the dangers of the atomic age that he helped usher in. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
réf. 2034512/12/30. We obtained this photograph directly from the Guard heirs and it has never before been offered for sale In December 1930 Albert Einstein visited America for the second time. It was originally intended as merely a two-month working visit as a research fellow at the California Institute of Technology but Einstein’s popularity made the trip headline news. After arriving in New York City Einstein was taken to various places and events including Chinatown a lunch with the editors of The New York Times and a performance of Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera on December 12 where Einstein an opera buff who revered Mozart Bach and other great composers was cheered by the audience on his arrival. William Guard was engaged by the Manhattan Opera Company as a press representative upon its organization in 1906. Upon the company's dissolution he took a similar position with the Metropolitan Opera remaining with the company until his death in 1932. Einstein met Guard at his office on his visit to the Met. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-26178 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204133729/Einstein-Opera-1-e1673307039907-1600x1193.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1193"" /> Newspapers reported on December 14 1930: “Einstein Theory Defined in Sentence”. “At last Prof. Einstein has hit upon a one sentence definition of relativity which anyone can understand. He was chatting recently in the office of William Guard factotum of the Metropolitan Opera. ‘Professor’ said Guard ‘I have a definition of your relativity theory and I would like to know if it is correct.’ The Professor smiled. There are presumed to be only a handful of wise men in the entire world who are able to understand it. ‘My definition is this’ said Guard. ‘There is no hitching post in the universe—so far as we know.’ Einstein laughed and nodded assent vigorously.” A spectacular 8 by 10 inch photograph of Einstein inscribed and presented by the great scientist to Guard on his visit to the Met: ""Mr. William J. Guard / A. Einstein / 12. XII.30.” We obtained this photograph directly from the Guard heirs and it has never before been offered for sale. unknown books
1935réf. 1383623/05/1935. He prophesizes however that the road ahead for the Jews will be “arduous and very painful” The Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton New Jersey was founded in 1930 by educator Abraham Flexner with funding from department store magnate Louis Bamberger. Flexner first recruited noted mathematicians from Princeton University to join the Institute then broadened its scope by including established scholars in economics politics and humanistic studies. In 1932 Flexner offered Einstein a faculty position at the Institute. Einstein’s decision was effected by historical events as in January 1933 Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. Soon after Einstein made the decision to resign from his Berlin position give up his German citizenship and accept the position in Princeton. The ocean liner Westmoreland which carried Einstein at age 54 to what would become his new home country arrived in New York Harbor on October 17 1933. <img class=""alignnone size-full wp-image-24695"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204145639/einsteinsig.gif"" alt="""" width=""1920"" height=""1080"" /> Einstein found the Institute and life in the United States congenial so in April 1934 just six months after his arrival Einstein announced that he was staying in Princeton indefinitely and assuming a permanent full-time status at the Institute. He would remain in the United States the rest of his life. Meanwhile he was very much a celebrity and was invited to the White House to meet with the Roosevelts. He politely declined saying he did not want to call attention to himself a position that German Jews had become accustomed to adopting during the rise of Naziism. However the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt intervened writing Einstein directly requesting his presence. So Einstein and his wife Elsa arrived at the White House on January 24 1934 had dinner and spent the night. President Roosevelt was able to converse with them in passable German. Among other things they discussed Roosevelt’s marine prints and Einstein’s love for sailing. On learning that the Einsteins had decided to stay in the United States Roosevelt suggested that the Einsteins should accept the offer of some Congressmen to have a special bill passed on their behalf that he would sign granting them citizenship so that they would not have to endure the five year waiting period. The Einsteins declined the President’s generous suggestion saying they wanted to be treated like any other applicant for American citizenship. Because the Einsteins had not been sure of their ultimate destination and declared themselves as visitors instead of immigrants when they arrived in October 1933 this meant that they would need to leave the U.S. and return again to declare intention to seek citizenship. The United Jewish Appeal UJA planned a fund-raising dinner in Einstein’s honor for May 28 1935. This was exactly the time the Einsteins had set aside to leave the country to perfect their citizenship so he was forced to decline the invitation. He did however provide them with a statement that was received by the UJA on May 25 the very day the Einsteins stepped onboard the Queen Mary to travel to British-owned Bermuda for a few days to satisfy the formalities. The royal governor was there to greet them when they arrived in Hamilton and he recommended the island’s two best hotels. Einstein found them stuffy and pretentious. As they walked through town he saw a modest guest cottage and that is where they ended up. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-32085 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20240908143641/Einstein-May-23-1935-1-1600x968.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""968"" /> Typed statement signed in German Princeton May 23 1935 time stamped as received on May 25 to be read at the UJA dinner and issued to the press accordingly. It takes the moral high ground but warns of great dangers ahead. ”Unfortunately because of non-deferrable obligations I can only express in writing my recognition and gratitude for the assistance provided to the many unfortunate people by the dinner on the 28th of May. We can gain consolation in this critical time if we compare the moral standard of our friends and our enemies with each other. The result of such a comparison shows us that our way for world history can be considered the better one even if at times it is arduous and very painful.” Our research indicates that this important statement is unpublished as the dinner was postponed and it was never released to the press. But even this moving and forceful statement was not enough for the event organizers. Learning that Einstein could not attend they postponed the dinner. Instead the $50-a-plate dinner for the benefit of the UJA arranged by that organization and the Council of Jewish Organizations was held in New York City on June 26 with Einstein in attendance. About 1000 people attended the banquet at which Einstein spoke. In his speech Einstein returned to the same theme of morality as in the above statement saying that the ""moral disintegration and intensified national egoism"" of the times requires all Jews to strengthen their ranks to preserve Jewry. Of foremost importance he said was the upbuilding of the settlement in Palestine. On June 28 the UJA announced it was using the proceeds from the dinner to aid German refugees in New York City by allocating funds to local agencies equipped to care for the refugees. Einstein reentered the U.S. from Bermuda on June 3 1935. On January 15 1936 the Einsteins submitted their declaration of intention to become citizens of the United States. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1921réf. 1206201921. Signed. EINSTEIN Albert. Autograph letter signed. No place August 14 1921. Single sheet of cream lined paper measuring 7-1/2 by 11 inches; p. 1. $35000.Rare heartfelt autograph letter of recommendation written and signed by Einstein in German enthusiastically recommending his friend and colleague physicist Prof. Dr. Paul Epstein for an academic position.The autograph letter dated ""14 VIII 21"" written entirely in Einstein's hand reads translated from the original German: ""Prof. Dr. Epstein is certainly one of the most prominent living theoretical physicists of the German-speaking world. Without a doubt he would have been appointed to a German professorship a long time ago had his Russian nationality not stood in the way. Among Epstein's numerous original scientific papers two findings which advanced the modern quantum theory in crucial ways should be noted. After Mr. Sommerfeld as the first physicist who on the basis of special hypotheses had applied the quantum theory to a certain mechanical system of more than one degree of freedom Mr. Epstein discovered an important generalization of the quantum principle which established the application of the quantum theory for all quasi-periodic mechanical systems. Based on that general application of the quantum principle he then provided an analysis of the splitting of spectral lines in the electrical field Stark effect the accordance of which with the experiment provides one of the strongest supports for the Rutherford-Bohr atomic theory. I would like to add that I have also come to appreciate Mr. Epstein in personal interactions as a human being and that I had the pleasure of attending several scientific lectures given by him which enabled me to convince myself of his competence in delivering clearly understandable oral exposition. / A. Einstein.""Einstein and Epstein were friends and longtime correspondents who shared an interest in physics Judaism and the founding of Israel. Paul Epstein was a Russian-American mathematical physicist. He remains best known for his contributions to the development of quantum mechanics. Indeed he was one of a select group that included Lorentz Einstein Minkowski Thomson Rutherford Sommerfeld Rntgen von Laue Bohr de Broglie Ehrenfest and Schwarzschild. Born in Warsaw then part of Imperial Russia Epstein was brought up solidly middle class. He later stated that his mother recognized his potential at the age of four and predicted his future as a mathematician. Epstein studied mathematics and physics for his entire university career eventually earning a degree from the Imperial University of Moscow. He then went on to earn a Ph.D. at the Technical University of Munich in 1914 concentrating on a problem in the theory of diffraction of electromagnetic waves. However the outbreak of World War I rendered Epstein an enemy alien in Germany. Sommerfeld intervened on his behalf and he was allowed to stay as a private citizen and continue his research. In 1916 Epstein published an important paper explaining the Stark Effect using the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantum theory. After the war Epstein went to Leiden and worked as an assistant for Lorentz and Ehrenfest. In 1921Ñthe year this letter was writtenÑEpstein was recruited by Robert Millikan to join the physicists at the California Institute of Technology. Epstein accepted the position and stayed there for the rest of his career publishing extensively on quantum theory. Epstein was something of polymath and worked in numerous areas outside of quantum theory including work on air resistance the settling of gasses the theory of vibration and the absorption of sound. He was an avid supported of Freudian psychoanalysis including as one of the founding members of the Psychoanalytic Study Group that later merged with the Los Angeles Institute for Psychoanalysis. Epstein was also notably anti-communist and worried about the threat of nationalism.The areas of study mentioned in Einstein's letter of recommendation all came together to help form the science behind atomic and hydrogen bombs though neither Einstein nor Epstein anticipated quite where the science was headed in 1921. The letter mentions the Stark effect which is the shifting and splitting of spectral lines of atoms and molecules due to the presence of an external electric field. It is analogous to the Zeeman effect in which a magnetic field is the influence. The Rutherford-Bohr model presented in 1913 is a system consisting of a small dense nucleus surrounded by orbiting electronsÑsomewhat like the Solar System but with electrostatic forces instead of gravity. The Bohr model came to be recognized as a relatively primitive model of the hydrogen atom compared to the valence shell atom model. However because of its simplicity and the correct results it generates for certain systems it is still commonly used to introduce students to quantum mechanics.Overall this letter provides valuable insight into the scientific world during the height of Einstein's international career right when he first began traveling abroad and meeting fellow scientists internationally. The letter reflects Einstein's importance in the community and is a testament to Epstein's ability as a physicist. Original mailing creases. Fine condition. unknown books
1953réf. 2270Princeton NJ: np 1953. First edition. custom folder. Very Good. TOWARDS THE END OF HIS LIFE EINSTEIN WRITES TO ONE OF HIS FRIENDS FROM THE PATENT OFFICE CONCERNING ONE OF THE CENTRAL STRUGGLES OF HIS SCIENTIFIC LIFE. COMMENTING ON THE WORK OF DIRAC EINSTEIN ADMITS THAT ALTHOUGH HE "CAN'T TAKE A STATISTICAL FOUNDATION OF PHYSICS SERIOUSLY" HE FINDS IT "DIFFICULT TO MOVE BEYOND IT". Background: Einstein's struggle with accepting a strictly statistical quantum theory has been one of the most discussed and debated topics of twentieth-century physics. When introduced to the statistically-based quantum mechanics of Heisenberg Born and Jordan in 1926 Einstein famously wrote to Max Born that "Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the 'old one.' I at any rare am convinced that He is not playing at dice." Einstein letter to Born from 4 December 1926. From the onset "Einstein regarded the quantum theory as descriptively incomplete. What he meant was that in typical cases the probabilistic assertions provided by the theory for an individual quantum system do not exhaust all the relevant and true physical assertions about the system. Put briefly according to Einstein the typical statistical story told by quantum theory is not the whole story." Arthur Fine "What is Einstein's Statistical Interpretation or Is It Einstein for Whom Bell's Theorem Tolls". Einstein's discomfort with the new theory haunted him for the next three decades and his challenges to the theory were the cause of some of the most fertile and defining moments of modern science notably the celebrated "Bohr-Einstein debates" begun at the Fifth Solvay Conference 1927 and his monumentally influential "EPR" paper of 1935 "Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete" written with Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen. As late as 1949 in his "Reply to Criticisms" published in Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist Einstein notes that Born and Wolfgang Pauli in their contributions to the volume "deprecate the fact that I reject the basic idea of contemporary statistical quantum theory insofar as I do not believe that this fundamental concept will provide a useful basis for the whole of physics" and spends the majority of the essay explaining his position and distinguishing between his acceptance of the model for "ensembles of systems" while still rejecting it for an "individual physical system". The letter: Dated September 12 1953 and written to his old colleague at the patent office in Bern Joseph Sauter the letter translated from the original German reads in full: Dear Mr. Sauter If I am able to I will gladly assist Mr. Keberle. I have heard of you often from my old friend Besso and I have also received a manuscript which deals critically with handwritten Dirac's presentation of the statistical approach to quantum theory. I have not been able to judge it myself because it is simply impossible for me to take a statistical foundation of physics seriously. But I have to admit that it is difficult to move beyond it. Yours sincerely signed A. Einstein. Albert Einstein. The recipient Joseph Sauter worked with Einstein at the Bern Patent office during the years he was developing the ideas for his revolutionary papers of 1905. "Among his colleagues at the Patent Office Einstein discovered one with similar scientific interests-Dr. Josef Sauter a French-Swiss who had also studied at the Polytechnic and who had been Professor Weber's chief assistant for a while. Sauter like Einstein tried to fill the gaps in the Polytechnic's syllabus by private study so that Einstein was able to discuss with him Maxwell's thermodynamics and Helmholtz's and Hertz's theoretical concepts. The two also discussed Einstein's publications on thermodynamics with the result that Sauter discovered a mistake in them which Einstein accepted 'without being the least upset.' Fifty years later Einstein recalled 'that I had a lot of discussions with Sauter about. my thermal-statistical papers'. At least as important as his help with the 'rewriting and amending' were Sauter's connections with scientific circles in Bern to which he soon introduced his new colleague." Albrecht Fölsing Albert Einstein. Edouard Keberle mentioned in the first line by Einstein was a Bulgarian physicist who at the time of the letter had just left the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Bern over a publication dispute. Not long after this letter - in early 1954 - Keberle accepted a post at the Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City. It is unclear if Einstein helped him in any way to get this position. Michele Besso - also mentioned in this letter - was Einstein's close lifelong friend. What prompts Einstein to declare that "it is simply impossible for me to take a statistical foundation of physics seriously" is the mention of a manuscript on the work of Paul Dirac. Philosophically Dirac was almost the opposite of Einstein - he had no interest in probing the interpretations of quantum theory wryly noting in his paper "The Inadequacies of Quantum Field Theory" that "The interpretation of quantum mechanics has been dealt with by many authors and I do not want to discuss it here. I want to deal with more fundamental things." It is revealing in this letter that although Einstein re-states his objection to a statistical basis of quantum theory he has doubts about his position admitting - less than two years before his death - that he still has difficulty moving beyond it. Typed Letter Signed. Princeton NJ: September 12 1953. One 8.5x11 inch sheet with Einstein's embossed Mercer Street address at top. Custom silk presentation folder. With original mailing envelope with postmarks. A few small smudges usual folds; fine condition. ONE OF EINSTEIN'S FINAL STATEMENTS ON ONE OF THE CENTRAL TENETS OF HIS SCIENTIFIC PHILOSOPHY. np unknown books
