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Wednesday, March 07, 2018, 11:28
Einstein note fetches US$6,100 at Jerusalem auction
By Associated Press
Wednesday, March 07, 2018, 11:28 By Associated Press

This undated photo provided by Winner's Auctions and Exhibitions shows a letter by Albert Einstein to a young chemistry student named Elisabetta Piccini he wrote on his visit to Florence in Oct 1921, that will be auctioned in Jerusalem on March 6, 2018. The letter reads, "To the scientific researcher, at whose feet I lay and sat for two full days, as a friendly souvenir." The phrase "to lie at somebody's feet" is an expression of affection in German. (PHOTO / AP)

JERUSALEM — For Albert Einstein, it turns out the law of attraction was relative.

A handwritten note by the Nobel-winning scientist, written to a young woman who apparently caught his eye during a trip to Italy, was sold at auction in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

Winner's Auctions and Exhibitions said Einstein was visiting his sister in Florence in October 1921 and learned that a young chemistry student named Elisabetta Piccini, lived in the apartment upstairs. It said the 42-year-old Einstein was interested in meeting the 22-year-old woman, who was the daughter of a famous chemist, but she was too shy and turned him down.

When Einstein left Florence, he left the signed note in German: "To the scientific researcher, at whose feet I lay and sat for two full days, as a friendly souvenir."

The phrase "to lie at somebody's feet" is an expression of affection in German. The letter fetched US$6,100 on Tuesday evening, including fees.

Gal Wiener, chief executive of Winner's, called the note "outrageous."

"She didn't want to meet famous people. She was modest and he left her a note," he said. "You know nowadays the 'Me Too' campaign? Probably Einstein would have been in this campaign by leaving such a note to this lady."

ALSO READ: Einstein's theory of happiness sells for US$1.3m at auction

Tuesday's auction also included a 1928 letter from Einstein to his colleague Herman Muntz, in which the auction house said he laid out ideas for his "Third Stage of the Theory of Relativity," and a photo of Einstein smoking a pipe. The letter was sold for US$103,700. The photo was unsold.

The auction house did not disclose the buyers.

Last October, Winner's sold another Einstein letter with his thoughts about happiness for US$1.3 million.

"We've been selling Einstein items for quite a long time now and we have a tremendous success," Wiener said. He said people around the world "are interested in Einstein, not just the mathematical, the physical part, also his personal life."


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