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Princeton University Library Collection of Albert Einstein Materials

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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Einstein

Albert Einstein was engaged by Kaizosha, the Japanese publishing house, to present a series of scientific and popular lectures on relativity. From Nov. 17, 1922, to Dec. 29, 1922, Einstein toured Japan, giving these lectures and performing official engagements. His trip at the time was described as a "triumphal progress."

Albert Einstein was born at Ulm, in Württemberg, Germany. He studied in Zurich, Switzerland, and in 1901, the year he gained his diploma, he acquired Swiss citizenship. He became a German citizen in 1914 and remained in Berlin until 1933 when he renounced his citizenship for political reasons and immigrated to America to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J. He became a United States citizen in 1940 and retired from his post in 1945. He died on April 18, 1955, in Princeton.

This assembled collection consists of miscellaneous material by or about Einstein: correspondence, manuscripts and typescripts, photographs, drawings, articles and offprints, ephemera, newspaper clippings, and medical records. The material is chiefly in English, with a few items in German. Correspondents include Isaac Aschkenazy, Charles Bradford, Hermann Broch, Edward U. Condor, William Karraker, H. N. Russell, Lyman Spitzer, and William M. Whitney. Manuscripts include poems in German and in English, and an address delivered at Swarthmore College in June, 1938. There are photographs of Einstein with Mrs. Erich Von Kahler at the Kahler's house and of Einstein with Ghandi, Nehru, and others, and there are drawings of Einstein by Meinhard Jacoby, Arzell Thompson, Jr., and "J.C.T." There are also several photographs of Einstein taken by Roman Vishniac.

Arranged in accession number order.

The collection was formed as a result of a Departmental practice of combining into one collection material of various accessions relating to a particular person, family, or subject. Materials are the gift of multiple donors over the course of many years. Accession numbers include AM: 78-19, 78-20, 79-134, 80-5, 80-14, 80-17, 80-27, 82-45, 82-83, 84-91, 85-84, 1993-75, 1993-76, 1993-77, 1993-78, 1993-79, 1994-109, 1995-3, 1995-18, 2000-44, 2007-98, 11674, 15698, 16136, 16856, 17630, 20721, 21179, 21697; E 3755, 2017-25, 2017-111, 2019-28, 2022-024.

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Finding aid written by James Flannery on January 24, 2006. Folder inventory added by Jenna Marrone in 2012.

No appraisal information is available.

Subject

Publisher
Manuscripts Division
Finding Aid Date
2006
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Collection Inventory

Address Delivered at Swarthmore College, Including Translations By Dr. Peterson, 1938 June. 2 folders.
Scope and Contents

Missing: 1 TLS to Prinz Loewenstein 1939 February 14.

Physical Description

2 foldersAMS

Poem: "An die liebe Mitwelt" and Translation, undated. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersmss unsigned

To Charles Bradford, 1955 March 7. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLS

Letter to Professor H.N. Russell and Letter to Professor Lyman Spitzer, Including Responses, 1948. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLsS (reponses are xerox copies)

To A.A. Ostroll, 1942 January 8. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLS

To William M. Whitney, 1934 June 9. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLS

To Hendrick Willem van Loon, 1930-1945. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersxerox copies

Sketch of Albert Einstein by Meinhard Jacoby, 1931. 2 folders.
Scope and Contents

Includes typed letter of explanation from John R. Martin to R.M. Ludwig, 1975 June 30.

Physical Description

2 folders

Westways Article Describing Einstein's Visit to Caltech, 1931. 2 folders.
Scope and Contents

Print of Einstein photograph located in Box 2.

Physical Description

2 folders

Article on Anti-Semitism Written by Einstein, 1938 August. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersXerox copy

Samples of and Materials Relating to Einstein Postal Stamps, 1979 March 4. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

"First Day Cover", Albert Einstein Centenary at Zimbabwe Rhodesia, 1979 May 19. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

Photograph: Albert Einstein Walking Home from the Institute, circa 1952. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

Letter to Abraham Young Regarding Zionism, 1931-1938. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLS (xerox copy)

Printed Announcement and Algebraic Equations, undated. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

Photograph: Albert Einstein with Mrs. Erich von Kahler, 1951. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersPhotograph signed by Einstein

Photographs: Albert Einstein, Otto Loewi, and William Roth's Granddaughter in the Erich von Kahler House in Princeton; Albert Einstein Listening to Otto Loewi, 1950. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

Photograph: Elsa Einstein; Letters from Princeton and Pasadena; Postcard Postmarked Christobal, Canal Zone, 1913-1935. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersALS (Princeton), TLS (Pasadena). Photograph contains inscription to Rose Schiff.

Letter to Hermann Broch from Helene Dukas with Notes from Einstein; Letter to Hermann Broch from Einstein; Poem to Hermann Broch from Einstein, 1944-1946. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLS; ALS

Letter to Professor Edward Condor from Einstein Regarding Philip Phenix's Thesis and Corresponding New York Times Article, 1934 July 26. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersALS

To Mrs. Bloch, 1933-1934. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLsS (3)

To Issac Aschkenasy, 1930 February 25. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLS (xerox copy)

To Mr. Drake, 1934 January 5. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLS (copy)

Photographs: Einstein, 1921-1949. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

Correspondence and Papers of Andrew F. West and Others Relating to Einstein's Visits to Princeton in 1921 and 1933, 1921-1933. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

Manuscript and Essay with Calculations, undated. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersAMsS (copy)

To Sam Turiel, 1940. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLS

To the Young Women's Christian Association, 1938 July 5. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLS

Letter to William Karraker and "A Discussion of the Lorentz Transformation" by G. Brooks Boekeland, 1947-1948. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersTLS, AMsS

Newspaper Clippings, 1951. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

Letters from Einstein to Mrs. Karr and Letter from Peter Mullen to Norman B. Thompson, 1932-1933, 2007. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 foldersALsS, 1 xerox copy

Photograph: Einstein in Pasadena, 1931. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Pencil Sketches of Einstein by Arzell Thompson, Jr., 1976. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Portrait Etching of Einstein, 1921 May 15. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn Medical Record on Albert Einstein, 1948 December. 1 folder.
Scope and Contents

Copy (likely made from microfiche) of a 9-page medical record on Albert Einstein from a 5-day stay at the Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn beginning on December 27, 1948.

Physical Description

1 folder

Vishniac, Roman (1897-1990). Albert Einstein in Princeton, 1941. 1 box.
Scope and Contents

Consists of four 10 x 13" silver gelatin prints of photographs taken by Roman Vishniac in the fall of 1941, showing Einstein seated in his office on the ground floor of Fuld Hall at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, as well as standing and writing computations on a large blackboard, possibly at another location.

Conditions Governing Use

No photocopies may be made since Princeton does not own the original. Researchers interested in reproductions should contact the International Center for Photography in New York City.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digitized negatives of these images can be found online in the Roman Vishniac Archive at the International Center of Photography, here, here, here, and here.

Physical Description

1 box

Materials Viewable Online
  1. View digital content
Gwenyth Barrington Letter to Edward A. Krause about Albert Einstein, 1951 June 9. 1 folder.
Scope and Contents

One three-page letter in which Barrington recounts a conversation with Einstein.

Physical Description

1 folder

Albert Einstein Letter to Mrs. Emil G. Beck, 1947 January 31. 1 folder.
Scope and Contents

Consists of a letter from Einstein on letterhead of the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists to Mrs. Emil G. Beck (her full name is not recorded), sending thanks for her "generous answer to my letter asking for your help in the great educational task we have undertaken."

Physical Description

1 folder

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