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Albert Einstein. Die Grundlage der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie. Leipzig: Verlag von Johann Ambrosius Barth, 1916...
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Description
"The connection to atomic and quantum theory remains obscure"
- Albert Einstein on the Theory of Relativity
Albert Einstein. Die Grundlage der allgemeinen
Relativitätstheorie. Leipzig: Verlag von Johann Ambrosius
Barth, 1916. First separate edition, monograph issue. The only
signed copy to appear at auction, signed and later inscribed by the
author in 1938, to the title page. A beautiful first edition,
monograph issue of the General Theory of Relativity, uniquely
signed and inscribed by Einstein with his later thoughts on Unified
Field Theory:"Die Theorie der Gravitation hat sich unterdessen bewahrt. Ihre Beziehung zu der Maxwell'chen der Elektrizität auf den von Kaluza zuerst eingeschlagenen Wege dürfte wohl auch das Richtige treffen. Dagegen is der Zusammenhang mit der Atomistik und der Theorie der Quanten noch dunkel"
An approximate translation: "Gravitational theory has meanwhile proven itself. Its connection to Maxwell's electromagnetic theory, along paths first opened by Kaluza, should also prove to be correct. On the other hand, the connection to atomic and quantum theory remains obscure."
Octavo; measuring 9 x 6.5 inches. 64 pages. With the printer's imprint, "Druck von Metzger & Wittig in Leipzig" on the copyright page, and the shorter imprint "Metzger & Wittig, Leipzig" on the lower wrapper. Original buff paper wrappers printed in black. Minor edgewear, lightly toned and foxed with some scattered staining, small effaced pencil notation to the top right corner of the upper wrapper, foot of spine just chipped, somewhat rubbed, small ink doodle to the lower wrapper just touching text. Internally clean and tight, edges untrimmed; contemporary ink ownership of Hermann Rohmann to the title page, a few pages somewhat roughly opened but not affecting text, minor scattered thumbsoiling, text block edges toned with minor wear. Housed in custom red cloth chemise, red cloth slipcase backed in red morocco, stamped in gilt with five raised bands on spine.
This keystone achievement in 20th century physics considers Einstein's own 1905 Special Theory in conjunction with Newtonian laws of gravitation. Einstein's General Theory of Relativity "...was in fact principally directed towards resolving inconsistencies arising from the Newtonian system. Indeed, Einstein himself did not call it a theory of relativity: his paper was concerned with 'the electro-dynamics of moving bodies.' It's two vitally important revolutionary conclusions were (1) that 'it is impossible by any experiment to detect uniform motion relative to the ether,' (2) that energy and mass are equivalent, expressed in the now famous equation E = mc²," (PMM).
It is quite possible that this copy was signed for physicist Hermann Rohmann who, like Einstein, contributed to Annalen der Physik. The 1937 auction record for this text, sold by the American Art Association (Anderson Galleries), describes this copy as, "with the autograph signature of the author on the title-page..." and notes the name of a former owner is also inscribed on the title page.
After purchasing the signed text at auction in 1937, Halstead Vander Poel (a Manhattan native, noted collector, member of the Grolier Club, and almost eerily lucky man) was able to secure this absolutely unique inscription on one of Einstein's visits to New York. Vander Poel miraculously survived the sinking of three (!) different ships on which he served in WWII and amassed an enviable collection of English and American literature, portraits, and antiques. Einstein's inscription here references Theodor Kaluza, a German mathematician and physicist, whose 1919 Kaluza-Klein theory was the first to connect Einstein's early gravitational theory and Maxwell's electromagnetism, noting that the two could be described as one theory with the introduction of five dimensions, rather than four. Einstein continued to return to Kaluza's work, certain that he was close to a breakthrough in unifying gravitation and electromagnetic fields, but as of this 1938 inscription, remained still frustrated with his inability to derive the existence of particles, hence his dry reference to quantum mechanics as "dunkel" (obscured).
"For his 'special' theory Einstein was awarded a fellowship (fourth class) of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut in Berlin. In 1921 he was awarded the Nobel Prize. The Committee referred with caution to the relativity theory and cited the greatest physicist of the century for his discovery of the law of the photo-electric effect," (PMM).
Without a doubt one of the cornerstone titles of scientific advancement, featuring an unmatched inscription from one of the twentieth century's most brilliant minds.
Grolier/Horblit 26c (periodical issue); Norman 696; PMM 408; Weil, Checklist (1960), 78.1.
Provenance: Hermann Rohmann (1886-1931); American Art Association (Anderson Galleries), November 11-12, 1937, lot 175; Halsted Billings Vander Poel, (1911-2003); Christie's, March 3, 2004, lot 327; Bonhams, December 7, 2016, lot 1072, $125,000.
Exhibited: The Grolier Club (exhibition card laid in).
Auction Info
2022 July 16 Historical Platinum Session Signature® Auction #6258 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
July, 2022
16th
Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 3
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,064
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