Lot 466

Albert Einstein Signed Photo, Among Best Extant! Signed for Pioneer of History of Science - Extraordinary!

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Albert Einstein Signed Photo, Among Best Extant! Signed for Pioneer of History of Science - Extraordinary!

Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000

Current Bid: $6,500

(18 Bids)

December 11, 2024 10:00 AM EST
Live Auction
Wilton, CT, US

Description:

Albert Einstein
[Princeton, NJ], ca. 1947
Albert Einstein Signed Photo, Among Best Extant! Signed for Pioneer of History of Science - Extraordinary!
Signed photograph
An incredible signed photo of Albert Einstein, 7" x 9", b/w and very likely taken by Lotte Jacobi, showing Einstein in head and shoulders in his oft-worn leather jacket. Signed at bottom: "A. Einstein 1947." On verso the recipient of this photo, physicist and historian Derek J. de Solla Price, adds a note in pencil reading: "This portrait was signed for me by Einstein at Princeton in 1947. Derek J. Price." Very slight creases at margins, otherwise in near fine condition. Originates from a direct descendent of Derek J. Price.

Derek J. de Solla Price (1922-1983) was a groundbreaking British physicist, the first professor of the history of science, and an expert on the subject of scientific instruments, especially the astrolabe. He came to the United States in 1943, remaining there to work on his Ph.D. and thence study on a scholarship from the Commonwealth Fund until 1948. While on scholarship, Price worked in both Pittsburgh and Princeton, where he no doubt encountered Einstein. Quotations from Einstein and his work appear in Price's most famous book, "Science Since Babylon" (1961).

We are reasonably certain that the photographer of this wonderful image is Lotte Jacobi (1896-1990), a leading portrait photographer and photojournalist with an impressive list of subjects, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Thomas Mann, Robert Frost, W. E. B. du Bois, and Chaim Weizmann. Jacobi is best known for her classic portrait of Einstein in his study with notebook on lap, his hair disheveled and wearing the very leather jacket in our photo. This groundbreaking image was scorned for its informality and simplicity, and in fact entirely rejected for publication by Life Magazine. Jacobi was evidently fond of taking photographs of Einstein in his leather jacket, and all of her portraits of Einstein wearing it bear the singular quality of immediacy and intimacy.

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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    Dimensions:
  • 7" x 9"
  • Artist Name:
  • Albert Einstein
  • Medium:
  • Signed photograph

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000