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Auction archive: Lot number 204

EINSTEIN, Albert. Autograph letter signed ("A.Einstein") to Bruno Eisner (a pianist), Princeton, N.J., 26 September 1936. 1 pages, 4to, a trifle soiled at two folds. In German.

Auction 19.05.2000
19 May 2000
Estimate
US$10,000 - US$15,000
Price realised:
US$11,162
Auction archive: Lot number 204

EINSTEIN, Albert. Autograph letter signed ("A.Einstein") to Bruno Eisner (a pianist), Princeton, N.J., 26 September 1936. 1 pages, 4to, a trifle soiled at two folds. In German.

Auction 19.05.2000
19 May 2000
Estimate
US$10,000 - US$15,000
Price realised:
US$11,162
Beschreibung:

EINSTEIN, Albert. Autograph letter signed ("A.Einstein") to Bruno Eisner (a pianist), Princeton, N.J., 26 September 1936. 1 pages, 4to, a trifle soiled at two folds. In German. "THERE EXISTS HERE A TREMENDOUS ANTI-SEMITISM...AN OMNIPRESENT ENEMY" A very revealing letter to a concert pianist who had been a friend and musical companion of Einstein's in Berlin. Einstein had obtained an appointment at Princeton three years earlier, and here advises Eisner, who is anxious to emigrate from Hitler's Germany, regarding academic positions in the United States and cautions him about America's pervasive anti-Semitism: "...I hasten to answer you. Unfortunately, you are proceeding on a false assumption. I am sitting here completely lonely, not in touch with anyone, least of all any musicians. The distribution of positions in schools is absolutely unorganized, so that you can only hear about vacancies through personal connections. If a position is vacant somewhere, I am not informed, even when it falls in my own special subject." "Secondly, there exists here an enormous Anti-Semitism, especially in University circles (but also in industry and banking). This never takes the form of brutal utterances or actions, but works the more intensely, under cover. It is, so to speak, an omnipresent enemy which you never get to see, but do perceive." Einstein explains that his own assistant, "with whom I have worked successfully for two years," recently found a post in Russia, "because there were no opportunities here." But, he reassures Eisner, "that does not necessarily mean that it would be too difficult for you to find a suitable job; even if not in the few large cities...You must try to get personal connections in musical circles. Go see the old L[eopld] Godowsky, 270 Riverside Drive. He won't be doing much at this time, but he knows the country and is held in high esteem by everyone, with good reason. Give him my best regards when you visit him. I am glad to hear that you live with such good and kind people. Mr. Talmey [Max Talmey, a jewish medical student who first introduced Einstein to the sciences as a youth] I've known since childhood (he was a student at that time). Best regards to you and to Talmey." In a postscript, Einstein adds: "I enclose a note to Godowsky. Make an effort to be admitted to the relevant trade union..." He closes with news of his wife's ill-health. Eisner was successful in the end in emigrating to the United States, where he continued his concert career and later held faculty appointments at the University of Indiana and Univeersity of Colorado, Boulder. It is not known whether Eisner sought the advice of Leopold Godowsky (1870-1838), the distinguished pianist and composer, who had become a naturalized citizen as early as 1891.

Auction archive: Lot number 204
Auction:
Datum:
19 May 2000
Auction house:
Christie's
New York, Rockefeller Center
Beschreibung:

EINSTEIN, Albert. Autograph letter signed ("A.Einstein") to Bruno Eisner (a pianist), Princeton, N.J., 26 September 1936. 1 pages, 4to, a trifle soiled at two folds. In German. "THERE EXISTS HERE A TREMENDOUS ANTI-SEMITISM...AN OMNIPRESENT ENEMY" A very revealing letter to a concert pianist who had been a friend and musical companion of Einstein's in Berlin. Einstein had obtained an appointment at Princeton three years earlier, and here advises Eisner, who is anxious to emigrate from Hitler's Germany, regarding academic positions in the United States and cautions him about America's pervasive anti-Semitism: "...I hasten to answer you. Unfortunately, you are proceeding on a false assumption. I am sitting here completely lonely, not in touch with anyone, least of all any musicians. The distribution of positions in schools is absolutely unorganized, so that you can only hear about vacancies through personal connections. If a position is vacant somewhere, I am not informed, even when it falls in my own special subject." "Secondly, there exists here an enormous Anti-Semitism, especially in University circles (but also in industry and banking). This never takes the form of brutal utterances or actions, but works the more intensely, under cover. It is, so to speak, an omnipresent enemy which you never get to see, but do perceive." Einstein explains that his own assistant, "with whom I have worked successfully for two years," recently found a post in Russia, "because there were no opportunities here." But, he reassures Eisner, "that does not necessarily mean that it would be too difficult for you to find a suitable job; even if not in the few large cities...You must try to get personal connections in musical circles. Go see the old L[eopld] Godowsky, 270 Riverside Drive. He won't be doing much at this time, but he knows the country and is held in high esteem by everyone, with good reason. Give him my best regards when you visit him. I am glad to hear that you live with such good and kind people. Mr. Talmey [Max Talmey, a jewish medical student who first introduced Einstein to the sciences as a youth] I've known since childhood (he was a student at that time). Best regards to you and to Talmey." In a postscript, Einstein adds: "I enclose a note to Godowsky. Make an effort to be admitted to the relevant trade union..." He closes with news of his wife's ill-health. Eisner was successful in the end in emigrating to the United States, where he continued his concert career and later held faculty appointments at the University of Indiana and Univeersity of Colorado, Boulder. It is not known whether Eisner sought the advice of Leopold Godowsky (1870-1838), the distinguished pianist and composer, who had become a naturalized citizen as early as 1891.

Auction archive: Lot number 204
Auction:
Datum:
19 May 2000
Auction house:
Christie's
New York, Rockefeller Center
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