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A PATRON SAINT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. EINSTEIN, ALBERT. 1879-1955. Autograph Letter Signed (A. Einstein), to Die 'A.E. Group' in New York humorously accepting his role as patron saint, and offering a motto for their members, image 1
A PATRON SAINT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. EINSTEIN, ALBERT. 1879-1955. Autograph Letter Signed (A. Einstein), to Die 'A.E. Group' in New York humorously accepting his role as patron saint, and offering a motto for their members, image 2
Lot 8

A PATRON SAINT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.
EINSTEIN, ALBERT. 1879-1955.
Autograph Letter Signed ("A. Einstein"), to "Die 'A.E. Group' in New York" humorously accepting his role as patron saint, and offering a motto for their members,

1 – 10 June 2020, 13:00 EDT
Online, New York

US$30,000 - US$50,000

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A PATRON SAINT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.

EINSTEIN, ALBERT. 1879-1955. Autograph Letter Signed ("A. Einstein"), to "Die 'A.E. Group' in New York" humorously accepting his role as patron saint, and offering a motto for their members, 1 p, 285 x 230 mm, in German, Scharbeutz near Lübeck, 26.9.28, folds, repair to lower margin, mounted on card, toning.

EINSTEIN'S MOTTO – In a comic and self-deprecating letter addressed to the "A.E. Group," an Albert Einstein fan club based in NY, Einstein offers up a motto for personal behavior:

Seek to understand,
Despise no one,
Believe nothing blindly.

Exhibiting Einstein at his most human and humorous, this playful letter exudes the "good humor and fellowship" Einstein wishes for the group. Einstein is clearly tickled by the adulation being shown him by the A.E. Group -- Einstein here jokingly asserting that the members of the A.E. Group have made a bold choice in choosing him for their "patron saint," as the church normally "demands of its saints that they be dead; for only in this way can it avoid any unexpected surprises. He continues, "May this whim bring you good fortune and may good humor and friendship reign in your ranks. May the grumbling and brow-furrowing of your patron saint not infect you, particularly when you are gathered together under his halo."

The motto Einstein here recommends to the Group can of course be viewed as a statement of Einstein's own personal code of conduct – amply displayed both in his professional and in his private life. An utterly charming letter, with much cheer and no grumbling.

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