The bidding was frenetic at Bloomsbury Auctions’ 25th anniversary sale on May 15 for Albert Einstein’s handwritten letter to his friend, in which he discusses his thoughts about God and religion. The saleroom was packed to capacity with 11 extra telephone lines. At around $97,500 there was an imperceptible lull in the bidding; it immediately sped off, once again finally selling to a private overseas collector for an astounding $405,000.
Rupert Powell, Bloomsbury’s managing director, said, “The private buyer has a passion for theoretical physics and all that that entails. This extraordinary letter seemed to strike a chord, and it gave a deep personal insight one of the greatest minds of the Twentieth Century. The final price has eclipsed previous records by at least four times.”
The unrecorded letter from Einstein, in which the theoretical physicist wrote of his religious beliefs, was handwritten in pen in 1954 to his friend the philosopher Eric Gutkind. Einstein wrote, “The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.”
“We’re especially delighted with the sale, as not only have we broken another world record, but we have made a staggering $2.5 million in our 25th anniversary sale,” said Powell.
A complete review will appear in a future issue.
