Lot 44
  • 44

EINSTEIN, ALBERT; EINSTEIN, MARGOT

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • An archive of 4 typed letters signed from Albert Einstein and 2 autograph letters signed from Margot Einstein, all to Walter Kaufmann, primarily on the topic of Kaufmann's musical career. Caputh bei Potsdam, 1 October 1930 & 1 June 1931; Coq-sur-Mer, Brussels, 25 April, 1933; and Princeton, New Jersey, 23 January, 1938.
  • paper, ink
4 typed letters signed "A. Einstein", 1 page each (11 1/8 x 8 1/2 in.), 2 on Einstein's personal letterhead from Germany, 1 on letterhead of the Institute for Advanced Study, School of Mathematics, Princeton, New Jersey. WITH: 2 autograph letters signed ("M.E." and "Margot"), 4 & 2 pp, Berlin, 16 February 1933 & Princeton, 24 January, 1938. Creases where previously folded, some chips & tears with loss to a few letters to 1 Margot Einstein letter.

Condition

A Einstein letters: Creases where previously folded, 1 letter with small splits at folds and creases at edges. M. Einstein letters with creases at folds, and with come chips and small tears to edges.
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.

Catalogue Note

AN EARLY CORRESPONDENCE SHOWING A FRIENDSHIP UNHINDERED BY SPACE AND TIME, WITH EINSTEIN WRITING OVER A 8 YEAR PERIOD FROM GERMANY, BRUSSELS, AND THE US TO KAUFMANN IN GERMANY, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, AND INDIA.

Kaufmann, a composer, conductor and musicologist was a family friend of the Einstein's having met in Pre-War Germany. From 1927-1933, Kaufmann, a Czech national, conducted summer sessions of the opera in Karslbad, Berlin, and Eger, while working on a doctorate in musicology during the year. Kaufmann submitted his doctoral thesis in 1934, but upon learning that his thesis supervisor was the leader of a local Nazi youth group, chose not to accept the doctorate. Shortly thereafter, Kaufmann left Germany for Bombay, India. He spent the next 12 years of his life there, before eventually settling in the United States where he became a professor at the Indiana University School of Music. His work is recognized across India, as he is known for composing the signature music for All India Radio, a tune which is still played as the opening sequence of AIR stations across India. 

It is not surprising that Einstein and his step-daughter Margot shared friends. Of all his children, Einstein felt closest to Margot, and in a letter to his second wife Elsa, Margot's mother, he wrote: "I love her [Margot] as much as if she were my own daughter, perhaps even more so, since who knows what kind of brat she would have become [had I fathered her]."