Einstein notes with sketches of relativity theory sold in Paris auction for $13 million

Paris, Nov. 24 (BUS): A manuscript co-authored by Albert Einstein, offering a rare look at the legendary physicist’s thinking that led to his general theory of relativity, was auctioned Tuesday for 11.7 million euros ($13.17 million).

Christie’s auction house estimated the value of the manuscript at between two and three million euros.

54 pages of paper, half filled with Einstein’s handwriting, is one of only two known documents in which the thinker approaches his famous theory that laid the foundation for modern cosmology and technology such as GPS navigation.

They were held in the custody of Swiss physicist Michel Besso, a close friend and academic partner of Einstein, who co-authored the work between 1913 and 1914.

“This is also what makes it particularly important given that working documents drawn up by Einstein before 1919 are extremely rare,” said Vincent Belloy, an expert at Christie’s that hosted the auction in Paris.

“Einstein is someone who has kept very few notes, so the mere fact that the manuscript survived and made its way to us really makes it quite unusual,” he added.

The manuscript consists primarily of endless computations in black ink on wrinkled, slightly yellowish paper, and challenges Einstein’s popular image as an absolute genius, as it shows that even – at least sometimes – he made mistakes.

“Einstein makes mistakes in this manuscript, which I think somehow makes it greater, because we see the persistence, the thought that was in the process of being built, being corrected and redirected,” Belloy said.

In May, a handwritten letter in which Einstein mentioned his famous equation E = mc², part of his earlier theory of special relativity, was sold for nearly €1 million in the US, more than three times its estimated price.

With his general theory of relativity published in 1915, Einstein revolutionized modern physics when he first described gravity as a geometric distortion of space and time, a discovery that is still valid.

Christie’s did not disclose the name of the buyer.

HF