Scarce 8.75 x 11 offset photographic print of Albert Einstein at home in his Princeton study, taken by Lotte Jacobi in 1938, signed in fountain pen by the subject, "Albert Einstein 43," and in black ballpoint by the photographer, "Lotte Jacobi." The reverse features a portrait of Rolf Tietgens; the page was likely removed from a book. In fine condition, with faint toning and staining to the edges. Consignor notes that the piece comes from the estate of Joseph William Pepperell Frost.
Lotte Jacobi (1896–1990) was a German photographer in the fields of portrait, theater and art. Jacobi descended from a fourth generation Jewish family of photographers and grew up in Posen. After her training—initially with her father—Lotte Jacobi studied film and photography in Munich from 1925 to 1927. She then took over her father's studio in Berlin. When the National Socialist regime made it nearly impossible for Jacobi to work from 1933 onwards, she initially worked under various pseudonyms. In 1935, she emigrated to New York with her son. Here, in 1940, she married the Berlin publisher Erich Reiß. She lived in the city until 1955 and portrayed American and emigrated European intellectuals, writers, and artists.
Jacobi and Einstein worked on a series of portraits from the late 1930s, commissioned by Life magazine in Princeton, to shape his media image. Einstein agreed to be photographed only if Lotte Jacobi was commissioned for the photography. Pieces signed by both are exceedingly rare—this is the first such example we have offered.
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