On October 1 in 2018, Alexander Bitar History had the great honor of announcing a truly remarkable and vital charity sale regarding one of the most significant Albert Einstein papers in private hands. The lot would be offered by Stockholms Auktionsverk, the world’s oldest yet active auction house. The unique charity auction included a requirement that the highest bidder would obligate to donate the manuscript to The Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm; hence it would forever be available for public view.

The item in question is the very first published work by Einstein after receiving his Nobel Prize in physics in 1922. In the manuscript, Einstein incorporates a variant of his General Theory of Relativity from 1915. Another remarkable feature is that the manuscript was owned by Nobel laureate Max von Laue for more than 25 years. It’s simply the ultimate Nobel item!

The manuscript was successfully sold on December 5, 2018 for a record price. On June 18, 2019, the ceremony was held at The Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, where the manuscript was officially handed over by the donor Per Taube. Mr. Taube stated that “this is a very unique document that we want many to enjoy; thus we felt that The Nobel Prize Museum is the best home for the item”.

Erika Lanner, the museum’s curator, said that “the interest of Albert Einstein is always huge among our visitors; this manuscript helps us to tell the story about his work and the situation regarding his Nobel Prize, which in fact wasn’t given for his Theory of Relativity”.

Alexander Bitar Foundation would like to take this opportunity to publically thank Mr. Per Taube for his great generosity. It’s people like him that enrich history and help cultural heritage grow stronger for the next generations.

/Alexander Bitar