Lot 407

Einstein Original Geometry Drawing With Signed Explanation Sent to H.S. Student: "…you are the only person we know of who could supply us with the answer…"

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Einstein Original Geometry Drawing With Signed Explanation Sent to H.S. Student: "…you are the only person we know of who could supply us with the answer…"

Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000

Current Bid: $22,500

(12 Bids)

January 29, 2025 10:00 AM EST
Live Auction
Wilton, CT, US

Description:

Albert Einstein
[Princeton, NJ], ca. May 12, 1952
Einstein Original Geometry Drawing With Signed Explanation Sent to H.S. Student: "…you are the only person we know of who could supply us with the answer…"
Original signed drawing
An original plane geometry drawing pen-sketched by Albert Einstein (1879-1955), accompanied by three lines of handwritten explanation, and Einstein's initials as "A.E.", all found on the last page of a 2pp letter sent to Einstein by Johanna Mankiewicz, a 15-year-old high school student from Los Angeles, California. Einstein has supplemented his drawing (two circles of different sizes positioned side-by-side along a horizontal axis, measuring approximately 5" x 2.75" alone) with a detailed explanation as: "The radius r3 of K2 is the difference r3=r1-r2. The tangent 02 -> K3 is // to the tangent on K, and K2 and can be easily constructed. This gives the solution. A.E." N.d. but ca. May 12, 1952 based on the companion envelope's postmark. [Princeton, New Jersey.] The student's 2pp autograph letter signed on bifold stationery is signed "Johanna Mankiewicz" on the third page, "Thursday." "1050 Stone Canyon Rd. / West Los Angeles, Calif." Expected wear including some moderate flattened transmittal folds, several with minor closed tears. Einstein's explanation contains several contemporaneous typographical edits. Minor smudging to a few words of his explanation. Else near fine. 6" x 8." Accompanied by its original transmittal Air Mail envelope with cancelled stamp. Provenance: Johanna Mankiewicz, by descent.

After sitting through an especially baffling geometry class which puzzled even her teacher, Los Angeles high school student and sophomore class secretary Johanna Mankiewicz (1937-1974) went straight to the source: Albert Einstein, the universally acknowledged mathematical genius of the 20th C.! Mankiewicz attended Westlake School for Girls, a well-heeled all-girls independent primary and secondary school located in Holmby Hills, California halfway between Bel Air and Beverly Hills (today part of the Harvard-Westlake School, with a campus located just outside of Studio City.) Notably, Johanna Mankiewicz was also the only daughter and youngest child of Herman Mankiewicz (1897-1953), the Oscar Award-winning Hollywood screenwriter; the niece of Oscar Award-winning Hollywood screenwriter, director, and producer Joseph Mankiewicz (1909-1993); and the granddaughter of Franz "Frank" Mankiewicz, alluded to in this letter, an academic who had taught at the City College of New York. (Sadly, Johanna Mankiewicz, then a novelist, would die tragically in a New York City cab accident at age 36 in 1974.)

Johanna Mankiewicz wrote in part:

"Dear Professor Einstein,

Our geometry class, here at Westlake School for Girls, found itself completely at a loss today when, after seeing that no one in the class had done a certain problem, our teacher tried to explain it. She, too, could not do this problem, and that is why I am writing to you.

I realize that you are a very busy man, but you are the only person we know of who could supply us with the answer and let us keep ourselves busy at our other business. So, if you could possibly work this problem for us we would be very grateful.

This is the problem:

The common external tangent of 2 tangent circles of radii 8" and 2" is —

I think you will agree it is the hardest thing — when our own teacher couldn't do it!

Very respectfully yours,

Johanna Mankiewicz

(secretary of sophomore class, Westlake School)

P.S. I think you knew my grandfather, Professor Frank Mankiewicz, of C.C.N.Y."

The story of Einstein's assistance to Mankiewicz "went viral" according to a 2017 article in "Physics Today." The "Santa Barbara News-Press" Late Final Home Edition issued on Friday, May 16, 1952 published the AP story under the section heading "Gets Only 'Relative' Help" and the article headline "Einstein's Geometry Hint Leaves Girls in Muddle." (See scan included just for reference.) The story was immediately picked up by both the "New York Times" and the "Los Angeles Times," as well as "Time" magazine. It was even carried worldwide by Australia's "Sydney Herald."

The May 1952 exchange between Einstein and Mankiewicz is a classic example of the physicist's engagement with young people. Einstein belied his awesome legendary status by being very approachable. It is well-documented that Einstein routinely helped school children with their math homework, whether they appeared in person at his door, or posed S.O.S. questions like this one by mail. Countless examples of Einstein's help shaped the image he maintains today: as a champion of aspiring mathematicians. Mankiewicz was later chastised by her school principal for having bothered Einstein with such a trivial matter, and for no doubt embarrassing the teaching faculty.

As we can see by Einstein's response, he meticulously outlined the steps to solve the tangent problem, but stopped short of giving the answer. Johanna and her classmates appreciated Einstein's help but they still didn't understand how to solve the problem, according to a very amusing article carried by the UP published on May 16, 1952. In part: "But Einstein shrewdly omitted the specific answer… The details of Einstein's diagram were not altogether clear to Johanna, but she decided after conferring with friends that the correct answer must be 8 inches…"

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:
  • 6" x 8"
  • Artist Name:
  • Albert Einstein
  • Medium:
  • Original signed drawing

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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