September 2020 Auction Ends Thursday, September 24th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/24/2020
Elsa Einstein World War II letter signed, dated 2 January 1933 just a few months before she and Albert Einstein decided to renounce their German passports. In this letter to her cousin Erich, she tries to coordinate a time for him to visit them in Princeton, and also references helping Erich's partner Walter, likely to leave Europe. Letter in German translates in full,
''Dear Erich! / As of yet, it has not been allowed to happen. Last Saturday I sent you a telegram telling you that I would expect you on Monday. Then I received the news that you had left town. Therefore I will try again this week. Our getting together seems to be ill-starred; I have almost stopped believing that it will ever happen. - Please write me a special-delivery letter at once to let me know if we may expect you this Sunday morning. Saturday would not work, unfortunately, because we will have a house full of company then. On Sunday morning, however, we will be ready to see you from 10:00 o'clock on, and we will try our best to make sure that no further guests arrive that day so that we can be together with you without any interruptions. There is always a lot going on here. A great many people from out-of-town will travel here at all times, just to speak with Albert. Besides, we sometimes spend time in New York, and then there is so much going on there as well that we usually do not get back until late at night, completely exhausted.
It would be so nice if you were able to come this Sunday, so please write to me immediately. I assume that you might want to enjoy being in New York before coming here, but I believe that you could easily get here by 10:00 o'clock. And I hope that you will then be able to stay with us for the rest of the day and not be rushed. Then we will have a chance to discuss matters concerning Walter. Unless there have been some gruesome transgressions lately, we will certainly bring him here - and do so very soon. After all, we have already done a number of other things that were much more difficult and dangerous. / Now I hope that we will see you soon. Until then, affectionate regards, yours [signed] Elsa''. Two page letter on a single sheet measures 8.5'' x 11''. Folds and light toning, overall near fine condition.
Elsa Einstein Letter Signed From 1933 Shortly Before Albert Einstein Decided to Leave Germany -- ''...we have already done a number of other things that were much more difficult and dangerous...''
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