Lot #303

Albert Einstein Typed Letter Signed

Description

In 1945, Einstein responds to real-time World War II fiction: "The book is probably well suited to give innocent American spirits a faint notion of the doings whose cost falls on their proud democratic shoulders"

TLS in German, signed “A. Einstein,” one page, 8.5 x 11, blindstamped personal Princeton letterhead, April 3, 1945. Letter to Dr. Isidor W. Held, in full (translated): "What a doctor, who gives gifts to his patients! Sincere thanks for the book by my friend Upton Sinclair, from which I see how the gears of world politics are mirrored in his brain. The book is probably well suited to give innocent American spirits a faint notion of the doings whose cost falls on their proud democratic shoulders. I am happy about the Germans’ progress and await the next chapter with trembling." In very good to fine condition, with light creasing in the blanks areas, a couple of small stains, and several staple holes along the top edge.

Einstein likely received one of the novels from Upton Sinclair's popular Lanny Budd series, which place a fictional American art dealer amidst real-world events: the 1944 installment, Presidential Agent, follows his contact with the Nazi government as an undercover agent; Dragon Harvest, published in 1945, builds upon this theme, with Budd serving as President Franklin Roosevelt’s eyes and ears in Germany as the Nazi war machine rolls relentlessly toward Paris. Einstein, a voracious reader, was clearly entertained by these plots. Interestingly, Einstein himself appears in these novels as a friend of the socialite Budd—together, they play Mozart sonatas for piano and violin!

Auction Info

• Auction Title: Fine Autograph and Artifacts, Ft. Revolutionary War
• Dates: #612 - Ended July 14, 2021

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