Beschreibung:

EINSTEIN, Albert. Autograph letter signed ('Pater') to his son Hans Albert, Princeton, [3 February 1936], in German, one page, 4to ; envelope. Provenance : Einstein family, and by descent. Einstein is delighted that Hans Albert has finished his work, though he expresses sympathy for the printer, as he has great difficulty in deciphering his son's letter; he offers to pay any printing costs that the Institute will not pay -- he advises his son to get in touch with his friend Dukas in this connection. The financial situation of Hans Albert's mother continues to give concern, and there is a real danger she will be made bankrupt; if Einstein dies the whole expense for her and Eduard will fall upon the Swiss state. 'I'm not ashamed of this, though, because Switzerland didn't raise a finger to prevent the confiscation of my savings in Germany; they declined on the basis that I also had German citizenship!'. Einstein reminisces about climbing a mountain in Switzerland as a young man in order to watch the dawn. 'I am working very hard on a theory of matter on the basis of the general theory of relativity. I have never encountered such mathematical difficulties. A very famous young colleague is working with me; I am very much enjoying our collaboration'. The 'famous young colleague' is perhaps Einstein's assistant Leo Infeld, who had arrived at Princeton early in 1936, and worked with Einstein for a year. In 1937 they collaborated on a popular book on physics, The Evolution of Physics .