Einstein, Albert

"Die Grundlage der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie," pages 769 - 822 in Annalen der Physik, 4th series, 49, no. 7. Leipzig: Johann Ambrosius Barth, 1916



8vo (9 x 5 1/2 in.; 228 x 140 mm). Comprising pages 769-880 and plates V-IX, making up the entirety of Nr. 7. Publisher's printed tan wrappers, in a boards folding-case; backstrip gone, upper cover detached with some edge-tears.

Haverford College (stamp in upper outer corner of upper wrapper)

Grolier/Horblit 26c; PMM 408; Weil, Checklist (1960), 78.1

backstrip gone, upper cover detached with some edge-tears.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

First edition of his General Theory of Relativity, in the 7th number of volume 49 of the Annalen. "Whereas Special Relativity had brought under one set of laws the electromagnetic world of Maxwell and Newtonian mechanics as far as they applied to bodies in uniform relative motion, the General Theory did the same thing for bodies with the accelerated relative motion epitomized in the acceleration of gravity. But first it had been necessary for Einstein to develop the true nature of gravity from his principle of equivalence ... Basically, he proposed that gravity was a function of matter itself and that its effects were transmitted between contiguous portions of space-time ... Thus the universe which Newton had seen, and for which he had constructed his apparently impeccable mechanical laws, was not the real universe ... Einstein's paper gave not only a corrected picture of the universe but also a fresh set of mathematical laws by which its details could be described" (R.W. Clark, Einstein, 1984, p. 253).