Description:

Einstein Thanks His Friend for an Enlightening Book

EINSTEIN, ALBERT.  Typed Letter Signed, "A. Einstein", in German, 1 p., on blind-stamped personal letterhead, Princeton, April 3, 1946, 8.5" x 11".  Expected mailing folds, staple holes at top, minor toning and creasing.

Einstein writes to his friend Dr. Isadore Held, whom he had known since at least 1938, to thank him for birthday wishes and for sending along an unspecified work by a “wonderful contemporary.” Einstein writes that he finds the work to be “extraordinarily enlightening.”

Complete Translation April 3, 1946 Dear Mr. Held: I would like to express my sincere thanks for your birthday wishes and for the sending of the last work of this wonderful contemporary. I have already read quite a bit and find that it is extraordinarily enlightening. His penetration into the mentality of far-off times and attitudes toward thinking is most remarkable and his humor no less. With fond greetings to you and your dear wife Your A. Einstein Albert Einstein. Historical Background Albert Einstein marked his sixty-seventh birthday on March 14, 1946, but he did not celebrate them. Two days before turning 65, Einstein told a New York Times interviewer, “What is there to celebrate? Birthdays are automatic things. Anyway, birthdays are for children.” In 1954, he wrote to fellow physicist Hans Mühsam, “My birthday was a natural disaster, a shower of paper, full of flattery, under which one almost drowned.” Generally shy, Einstein did not like to be the center of attention, but he still acknowledged birthday wishes from an old friend. In March 1947, Einstein wrote in condolence to Held’s widow about her husband, “True goodness emanated from this man, who alleviated the harshness of human relations and who understood and forgave all weaknesses…. As a role model for his fellow men he was the best that a human being can be.” Isadore W. Held (1876-1947) was born in Austria and received his medical education in Philadelphia. He did post-graduate study in Berlin and Vienna and settled in New York City. He was the author of 86 monographs on medical subjects and translated a number of German medical books into English. For nearly forty years, Held served as a physician at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. He was also very active in Jewish community affairs.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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