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Read moreBerlin, 28 August 1924
Price Realised GBP 10,000
Estimate
GBP 4,000 - GBP 6,000
Estimates do not reflect the final hammer price and do not include buyer's premium, any applicable taxes or artist's resale right. Please see the Conditions of Sale for full details.
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'Please, no cult of personality'
Berlin, 28 August 1924
Price Realised GBP 10,000
Price Realised GBP 10,000
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- This lot is offered by Christie Manson & Woods LtdChristie Manson & Woods Ltd
8 King Street, St. James's, London, SW1Y 6QT, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Fax: +44 (0)20 7839 2869
Lot Essay
'Please, no cult of personality': on biographies and his lack of amour-propre, hope for the European feature, and the decline of his mental abilities.
On his aversion for biography: Einstein discourages Maja from pursuing the biography of him on which she was working at this time: 'Now the matter of your book. It is of course quite natural that such things are embarrassing to me, as they are used against me, and also because such a parading of a living man in front of strangers has something painful about it. In foreign countries it might take off, but where one lives it is unbearable'. The biographical sketch of him by Alexander Moszkowski (1921) had already caused enough trouble, with even Max Planck describing it as a 'catastrophe': 'You are otherwise, absolutely correctly, against individual display and consider it as a disadvantage especially of German life. Please, no cult of personality. There is also the question of my lack of amour-propre [Selbstgefühl], which contrasts laughably with the external fuss'.
Maja has again been complaining – not unfairly – about Einstein's 'abundant silence' ('mein reichliches Schweigen'), but he reminds her of how their father was: 'And on top of that I am a harried man, from inside and from outside'. He cannot find a post for Paul Winteler, not even in the business of his friend Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe. Einstein is enjoying his role in the League of Nations committee, which he believes portends a hopeful period in European relations: 'the mentality here above all leaves much to be desired, which of course is not incomprehensible'.
As for his work, he is starting to feel the effects of age (at 45 years old): 'Scientifically I haven't succeeded in much – the brain goes slowly rancid with age, which however is not so unpleasant. In return, one also has less of a responsibility in later life'.
Post Lot Text
Temporary Admission Regime
This lot has been imported from outside the EU for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime.
Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
Shipping Outside the UK
Please note that if this lot is to be shipped outside of the UK an export licence will be required. A period of 2 weeks should be allowed for the application to be processed.
On his aversion for biography: Einstein discourages Maja from pursuing the biography of him on which she was working at this time: 'Now the matter of your book. It is of course quite natural that such things are embarrassing to me, as they are used against me, and also because such a parading of a living man in front of strangers has something painful about it. In foreign countries it might take off, but where one lives it is unbearable'. The biographical sketch of him by Alexander Moszkowski (1921) had already caused enough trouble, with even Max Planck describing it as a 'catastrophe': 'You are otherwise, absolutely correctly, against individual display and consider it as a disadvantage especially of German life. Please, no cult of personality. There is also the question of my lack of amour-propre [Selbstgefühl], which contrasts laughably with the external fuss'.
Maja has again been complaining – not unfairly – about Einstein's 'abundant silence' ('mein reichliches Schweigen'), but he reminds her of how their father was: 'And on top of that I am a harried man, from inside and from outside'. He cannot find a post for Paul Winteler, not even in the business of his friend Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe. Einstein is enjoying his role in the League of Nations committee, which he believes portends a hopeful period in European relations: 'the mentality here above all leaves much to be desired, which of course is not incomprehensible'.
As for his work, he is starting to feel the effects of age (at 45 years old): 'Scientifically I haven't succeeded in much – the brain goes slowly rancid with age, which however is not so unpleasant. In return, one also has less of a responsibility in later life'.
Post Lot Text
Temporary Admission Regime
This lot has been imported from outside the EU for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime.
Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
Shipping Outside the UK
Please note that if this lot is to be shipped outside of the UK an export licence will be required. A period of 2 weeks should be allowed for the application to be processed.
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Lot 32
Sale 16447
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Berlin, 28 August 1924
'Please, no cult of personality'
Estimate: GBP 4,000 - 6,000
Bid amount
Buyer's premium
Estimated total cost exclusive of duties