ALS in German, signed “A. Einstein,” at the conclusion of a partial ALS by his then-wife, Mileva, his letter on both sides of a 9.75 x 7 sheet, no date [but circa December, 1912]. Einstein and his wife write to Mileva’s longtime friend, Helene Savic (née Kaufler), a Viennese history student whom Mileva met at school in 1899. Helene married a Serb, Milivoy Savic, in 1900. Einstein begins his message on the lower half of one page, finishing on the reverse. He writes (translated): “I can’t pass up this opportunity to send a little greeting to the Serbian heroine. We were very glad that you weathered the agitating times well. But for poor Milana it’s terrible. If only the Austrians stay quiet; a conflict with Austria would be terrible for Serbia, even in the event of a success. I do believe, however, that the saber-rattling has little meaning. Cordial greeting to you all....” The opening pages of Mileva’s letter are not present. The extant portion reads, in part: “My big Albert has become a famous physicist, well respected by the experts in the world of physics. He steadily works on his problems, and I could say with an easy conscience that he lives only for them. I must confess with a bit of shame that we are unimportant to him and take second place. Here we live cheerfully and rather peacefully for my husband doesn’t like interruptions during work....” Most of Mileva’s letters to Helene, likely including the initial pages of this one, were burned by her daughter. The present letter was published by Helene Savic’s grandson, Milan Popovic, in A Friendship—Letters from Mileva and Albert Einstein to Helene Savic. The first Balkan War began in October 1912. In November, Serbian troops reached the Adriatic Sea at Durazzo, which gave them an important seaport. Austria, fearing that a Serbian port on the Adriatic would ultimately become a Russian port, began to mobilize its troops. Light show-through of text, otherwise fine condition. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
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