Albert Einstein Collection, 1700s-1998 (bulk 1879-1998) AR 136 / MF 549

Albert Einstein Collection, 1700s-1998 (bulk 1879-1998)
 
AR 136 / MF 549

Processed by LBI Staff

Leo Baeck Institute

Center for Jewish History

15 West 16th Street

New York, NY 10011


Phone: (212) 744-6400

Fax: (212) 988-1305


Email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org

URL: http://www.lbi.org

© 2009  Leo Baeck Institute
Finding aid was encoded in EAD 2002 by Chris Bentley on May 7, 2009. Description is in English.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Albert Einstein Collection
Dates: 1700s-1998
Dates: bulk 1879-1998
Abstract: This collection contains letters and notes by Albert Einstein, as well as photographs, clippings, items commemorating Einstein, the Einstein family tree, and autographs. The collection also includes a guest book from 1929 from Einstein's house in Caputh with entries made by guests who visited the house.
Languages: The collection is in German, English, French, Spanish, and Hebrew.
Quantity: 3.5 linear feet (7 boxes) + oversized material
Identification: AR 136 / MF 549
Repository: Leo Baeck Institute
Return to the Top of Page

Biographical Note

Albert Einstein was a Nobel Prize Winning physicist. He was born in Ulm, Germany in 1879, and died in Princeton, New Jersey in 1955.

Return to the Top of Page

Scope and Contents

This collection contains letters and notes by Albert Einstein, as well as photographs, clippings, items commemorating Einstein, the Einstein family tree, autographs, correspondence about Einstein, and clippings about him from 1921-1974 in two scrapbooks. The collection also includes a guest book from 1929 from Einstein's house in Caputh with entries by Stern, M. Laue, Edwin Fischer, Charles Rosenbloom, Chaim Weizmann, Lola Hahn, Ruggiero Ricci, Hermann Struck, Erich Kleiber, and Margarete Herrmann.

Also part of the collection are materials used for the Einstein Centennial Exhibit, held at the Leo Baeck Institute in 1979, including contents of the catalogue, such as letters, photographs, photocopies and their captions, etc.; and research material for exhibit. The original pictures and documents came for the most part from the Estate of Albert Einstein in Princeton. Also included are photocopies of seven letters by Leo Baeck to Einstein.

The following individuals are mentioned in this collection: Baeck, Leo; Baer, Norbert; Bamberger, Fritz; Blomme, Alphonse; Blumenfeld, Kurt; Bohr, Niels; Born, Max; Brillouin, Leon; Broch, Hermann; Bronk, Detlef; Buber, Martin; Dessau, Paul; Dukas, Helen; Dyson, Freeman; Ehrlich, Willy; Einstein, Elsa (1876-1936); Einstein, Margot; Einstein, Siegbert (1889-1968); Elisabeth, Queen of Belgium (1876-1965); Fischer, Edwin; Fowler, R.H.; Freund, Ismar; Geller, Abraham; Geller, Melvin; Hahn, Lola Held, Robert O.; Herrmann, Margarete; Hirsch, Julius; Hoffmann, Banesh; Kahler, Antoinette von; Kahler, Erich von; Kleiber, Erich; Kline, Allan; Laue, M.; Levy-Bruhl; Leyens, Erich; Liebermann, Max; Lilienthal, David; Mann, Thomas; Maric, Mileva; Mickel, Karl; Moos, Rudolf; Muenchinger, Karl; Nathan, Helmuth; Newman, Betty; Oppenheimer, Franz; Oppenheimer, J. Robert; Roosevelt, Eleanor; Rosenbloom, Charles; Ruggiero, Ricci; Schwarzschild, Karl; Serbu, Melanie; Shazar, Zalman; Sommerfeld, Arnold; Sonneborn, Rudolf; Straus, Ernst G.; Struck, Hermann; Unsold, Albrecht; Verschaffelt, E.; Warnow, Joan W.; and Weizmann, Chaim.

Return to the Top of Page

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

Collection is microfilmed - use MF 549 (4 reels).

Access Information

Readers may access the collection by visiting the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History. We recommend reserving the collection in advance; please visit the LBI Online Catalog and click on the "Request" button.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:
Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011
email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org

Return to the Top of Page

Access Points

  • Individuals:

    • Einstein family
    • Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955

  • Organizations:

    • Akademie fuer die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Germany)
    • Centralverein Deutscher Staatsbuerger Juedischen Glaubens

  • Subjects:

    • Citizenship
    • Nobel Prize winners

  • Places:

    • Bern (Switzerland)
    • Buchau (Germany)
    • Caputh (Germany)
    • Davos (Switzerland)
    • Japan
    • Leiden (Netherlands)
    • Oxford (England)
    • Palestine
    • Princeton (N.J.)
    • Ulm (Germany)
    • United States -- Emigration and immigration
    • Zurich (Switzerland)

  • Document Types:

    • Coins
    • Family trees
    • Poems
    • Postage stamps
Return to the Top of Page

Separated Material

Photographs have been removed to the LBI Photograph Collection.

Return to the Top of Page

Microfilm

Collection is available on 4 reels of microfilm (MF 549).

  • Reel 1: 1/1 - 2/3
  • Reel 2: 2/4 - 5/5
  • Reel 3: 5/6 - 8/7
  • Reel 4: Rare and/or oversized material (except Box 8 which is on Reel 3)
Return to the Top of Page

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date (if known); Albert Einstein Collection; AR 136 / MF 549; box number; folder number; Leo Baeck Institute.

Return to the Top of Page

Container List

There is no Box 7 for this collection.

All items have been microfilmed (unless otherwise noted). Microfilmed items are listed in order of appearance on the microfilm reels (unless otherwise noted).

 

Box 1, undated, 1879-1990.

20 folders
Scope and Content:

This box contains materials incorporated from the following formerly separate collections: AR 136: Original Collection / AR 5152: Helen Dukas Collection.

Box Folder Title Date
1 1 Family tree; incl. Moses Baruich (Ainstein) - photocopy of: Ratsprotokoll March 16, 1665; Siegbert Einstein, ...; articles and correspondence referring to family tree undated
1 2 Lecture: "Mein Glaubensbekenntnis", held at the "Liga fuer Menschenrechte"; Winter 1932-1933; 2 p. typed 1932-1933
1 3 2 photocopies of publication of letter from Einstein to Roosevelt: "The Way Out", 1939, 2 p. undated
1 4 Issue of Scopus, 31, 1979; includes Einstein's Lecture at the opening of the University of Jerusalem 1979
1 5 Regarding: Theory of relativity: Reprint of article: "The Philosophical Significance of the Theory of Relativity", originally published in Vol. VII of "The Library Of Living Philosophers", 1949, p. 289-311, with a dedication: "Dr. Otto Einstein in alter Freundschaft ueberreicht! Hans Reichuchain, Los Angeles, Maerz 1951"; Photocopies of correspondence to Mr. Louis Philip Levine undated
1 6 Otto Nathan: "The Social and Cultural Concerns of Albert Einstein", 18 p. typed; Erich von Kahler: "Einstein - The Man", 5 p., typed undated
1 7 Photocopies of letters of Albert Einstein undated
1 8 Photocopies of photographs of Albert Einstein (Photographs REMOVED to Photograph Collection) undated
1 9 Postal stamps in Einstein's honor. (Coins REMOVED to Art and Objects Collection) undated
1 10 Melanie Serbu: Photocopies of correspondence between Einstein and Serbu 1928-1965; most of the letters are typed, a few are handwritten undated
1 11 Difficulties with students in the 1920s undated
1 12 Clippings 1879-1955
1 13 Clippings, on occasion of Einstein's death; Obituary, typed, English, 6 p. 1955
1 14 Clippings; incl. "Glimpses of Einstein. A photo essay" 1955-1979
1 15 Clippings, on occasion of Einstein's 100th birthday, life and work in retrospect 1979
1 16 Einstein's 100th birthday: Exhibitions, Commemorations, Symposia, etc. 1979
1 17 Clippings 1980-1990
1 18 Miscelleneous: Clippings; Brochure about Einstein fountain, Ulm, 1984; Correspondence of Louis Philip Levine; Concert Program undated, 1984
1 19 AR 5152: Helen Dukas Collection: Correspondence with Zalman Shazar and others undated
1 20 AR 5152: Helen Dukas Collection: Colored copies of Hebrew art "From the Collections of the Jewish National and University Library Jerusalem"; Reproduction of "Ulmer Gulden" has been REMOVED to Art and Objects Collection undated
Return to the Top of Page
 

Box 2, undated.

9 folders
Scope and Content:

This box contains materials incorporated from the following formerly separate collection: AR 4858: Centennial Exhibit, LBI 1979.

Box Folder Title Date
2 1 I: Contents of Catalogue: #1-20 undated
2 2 I: Contents of Catalogue: #21-40 undated
2 3 I: Contents of Catalogue: #41-49 undated
2 4 I: Contents of Catalogue: #A-M undated
2 5 II: Research material for exhibit: a. Events undated
2 6 II: Research material for exhibit: b. Letters undated
2 7 II: Research material for exhibit: c. Quotes by Einstein; d. Photos of Einstein; e. Mathematical drafts; f. Correspondence LBI regarding Exhibit undated
2 8 Exhibit, Miscellaneous: Part 1 undated
2 9 Exhibit, Miscellaneous: Part 2 undated
Return to the Top of Page
 

Box 3, undated, 1919-1982.

20 folders
Scope and Content:

This box contains materials incorporated from the following formerly separate collections: AR 7279: Addenda: Photographs, Manuscripts, Varia / AR 5607: Solvay Conference.

Box Folder Title Date
3 1 I.1: Individual Photos; German and Swiss period undated
3 2 I.2: Individual Photos; Trips abroad: (Japan - Palestine - South America) undated
3 3 I.3: Individual Photos; California visit 1931-1932
3 4 I.4: Individual Photos; Life in USA - after immigration undated
3 5 I.5: Individual Photos; Attendance at cultural/scientific affairs undated
3 6 I.6: Individual Photos; "Special Occasions" (at the League of Nations -- arrival in Haifa -- greeting by school children on arrival at San Diego -- swearing in at citizenship ceremony -- at Carnegie Hall -- Picasso exhibit -- 60th birthday, etc.) undated
3 7 I.7: Individual Photos; with relatives and friends undated
3 8 I.8: Individual Photos; with famous contemporaries (Queen Elizabeth of Belgium - Marie Curie - Rabindranash Tagore - Leopord Godouski - Thomas Mann - Max Born - Prof. Franz Oppenheimer - Winston Churchill - George Marshall, etc.) undated
3 9 II: Individual Photos (without date or specific identification): 1. Albert Einstein - earlier years, later years, with friends; 2. Enlargements - various periods undated
3 10 Photo albums: Sailing (date and place unidentified); Sailing on Wannsee - September 1919; Scientific Congress, Montevideo, April 1925; California (Pasadena, Palm Springs) 1931-32; Photographs of Children and grandchildren, varia; Addenda: Photo showing Albert Einstein with the anthropologist Levy-Bruhl, the sociologist Franz Oppenheimer and the President of the Kant-Gesellschaft, Professor Liebert in Davos, Switzerland, 1928 undated, 1919-1932
3 11 III.1: Photos of artworks (drawings, paintings, sculptures) featuring A. Einstein undated
3 12 III.2: Artworks (drawings, paintings, sculptures) featuring A. Einstein undated
3 13 III.3. Cartoons, featuring Albert Einstein undated
3 14 Photocopies "Gaestebuch" - Haus Einstein, Caputh 1929-1932. -- ORIGINAL REMOVED TO R 39 undated
3 15 Commemorative folder - Inauguration of Albert Einstein School - Mexico undated
3 16 Margot Einsteins' Folder of Commemorative U.S. postage stamps featuring Albert Einstein 1966-1979
3 17 Typewritten manuscript of Paul Dessau's Opera "Einstein", Manuscript by Paul Dessau and Karl Michel: "Einstein". 1970; German, 60 p. typed, xeroxed. Opera celebrating the life, moral and scientific achievements of Einstein; Manuscript by Banesh Hoffmann and Joan W. Warnow: "Teacher's Guide ... for the film `Albert Einstein. The Education of a Genius'", Undated, English, 17p., typed, xeroxed undated
3 18 Typewritten manuscript of an address by Albert Einstein given in New York, Nov. 11, 1947, 3 p.: Address upon receiving an award from the Foreign Press Association, Einstein discusses the current condition of the world.; Manuscript: "Today with Mrs. Roosevelt", 1950; English, 14 p., typed, mimeographed, A discussion of the future of atomic energy among Roosevelt, J. Robert Oppenheimer, David Lilienthal, Detlef Bronk, Allan Kline, and Harry Winne.; Address at Memorial ceremony for Einstein's aide Helen Dukas by Freeman Dyson, March 15, 1982, 5 p.; Photocopy of a signed poem by A. E., Feb. 18, 1933 (showing him on bycicle); Manuscript by H. L.: "Einstein on Second Avenue (A Street Scene)", 1934, English (translated from the Yiddish), 2 p., typed, From a Jewish Daily Forward account of the eager anticipation of East Side residents when Einstein appeared in their neighborhood as the honored guest at a Palestine dinner; Hermann Hesse: "Ein paar Erinnerungen an Aerzte" in: Ciba-Symposium 8, 1960, p. 194-202; James K. Feibelmann: "A Conversation With Einstein", typed, 4 p.; Extracts from the will and Testament of Jewaharlal Nehru, typed, 2 p.; Arne Gustavs: "Albert Einstein. Seine Beziehung zu Hiddensee und zu Gerhard Hauptmann", in: Greifswalder Jahrbuch, 1966, p. 275-283, with a dedication for Margot Einstein; Hedwig Born: "Stille Gaenge", poetry-booklet with a dedication for Albert and Margot undated, 1934-1982
3 19 Manuscript by Ernst G. Straus: "Albert Einstein's Work". 1971; German, 8 p.; typed, xeroxed. Lecture explaining Einstein's major scientific discoveries undated
3 20 AR 5607: Solvay Conference undated
Return to the Top of Page
 

Box 4, 1922.

1 folder
Scope and Content:

This box contains materials incorporated from the following formerly separate collection: AR 7279: Addenda.

Box Folder Title Date
4 1 Autograph book: A book signed (in Japanese and German) by participants at a lecture given by Albert Einstein in Tokyo December 1922
Return to the Top of Page
 

Box 5, undated.

8 folders
Scope and Content:

This box contains materials incorporated from the following formerly separate collection: AR 7279: Addenda. It includes newspaper and magazine clippings with references to Albert Einstein, obituaries, and tributes on his death.

Box Folder Title Date
5 1 Clippings, Part 1 undated
5 2 Clippings, Part 2 undated
5 3 Clippings, Part 3 undated
5 4 Clippings, Part 4 undated
5 5 Clippings, Part 5 undated
5 6 Clippings, Part 6 undated
5 7 Clippings, Part 7 undated
5 8 Clippings, Part 8 undated
Return to the Top of Page
 

Box 6, undated, 1920-1998.

19 folders
Scope and Content:

This box contains materials incorporated from the following formerly separate collection: AR 7279: Addenda.

Box Folder Title Date
6 1 Journals: The New Yorker, Dec. 2, 1933; Dec. 9, 1933 December 2-9, 1933
6 2 Journals: Collier's, Nov. 26, 1938 November 26, 1938
6 3 Journals: Life, June 12, 1939 June 12, 1939
6 4 Journals: Der Simpl, Heft 6, 1950; The Militarization of America, Jan. 1948; Jungkaufmann, Nr. 4, April 1952; The Decalogue Journal, 4:4, April/May 1954; World Over, April 29, 1955; The Listener, March 18, 1954 1948-1955
6 5 Journals: Scientific American, Sept. 1950 September 1950
6 6 Letter from Dean Gordon, regarding: Monthly Evening Sky Map, Feb. 6, 1930 undated
6 7 Addenda: Clipping about book on Einstein's life (TLS, 1996) 1996
6 8 Addenda: Clipping about Einstein's relationship to his first wife Mileva Maric (NYT, 11/6/1996) November 6, 1996
6 9 Addenda: Clippings about Alfons Bloome and his portrait of Albert Einstein undated
6 10 Addenda: Clipping about an inheritance dispute about Einstein's summer house in Caputh ("Berliner Morgenpost" October 10, 1998) October 10, 1998
6 11 Addenda: Anniversary message to Einstein from the OSE June 1951
6 12 (Old Addenda 6): Supportive note by Albert Einstein for the "Akademie fuer die Wissenschaft des Judentums" in Berlin; letter to Fritz Bamberger (Berlin, December 3, 1932) (both photocopies); letter by Fritz Bamberger explaining the background of these two documents (1979) undated, 1979
6 13 Addenda: Magazine: Science & Vie Junior, French, Special issue about Einstein's scientific contributions undated
6 14 Addenda: Carbon copy of letter Einstein to the Centralverein April 5, 1920
6 15 Addenda: Xeroxes of two handwritten letters by Albert Einstein to Mr. Lehman (1937 & 1941) undated
6 16 Addenda: Einstein Centennial Issue (Physics today, March 1979) March 1979
6 17 Addenda: Article "Numismatic Tributes to Albert Einstein" (by Harry Flower, The Numismatist, January 1987) January 1987
6 18 Terry Haas: Licht und Raum. Homage an Albert Einstein. Museum Bochum, Catalog 1977-1978
6 19 Images of Einstein: A Catalog. Compiled by Joan N. Warnow. Center for History of Physics 1979
Return to the Top of Page
 

Box 8, undated, 1920-1962.

9 folders
Scope and Content:

This box contains autographs (shelf location: R 39).

Box Folder Title Date
8 1a Autographs (AR 1147): letters by Einstein to Frau Lowe, Mayer, Richard Eisemann, Abraham Geller, Egon Kemeny, Siegfried Messing, Erich von Kahler, Antoinette von Kahler, Dr. Schwalbe, Kurt Blumenfeld (20 items) undated
8 1b Photocopies of Autographs in 8/1a (photocopies of material formerly located in Chemical Bank Vault) undated
8 2 Letter from Einstein to Dr. Landau August 20, 1920
8 3 Postcard to Margo Einstein from Hermann Hesse, undated undated
8 4a Letters and cards from Queen Elisabeth of Belgium to Margot Einstein (13 items, in German and French, 1955-1962); an exchange of poetic greetings between Albert Einstein and the Queen (2 items, carbon copies, in German - dated 1933); and a press release by the Belgian Government Information Center in New York about the Queen (2 pages, in English, not dated) undated, 1933-1962
8 4b Photocopies of Autographs in 8/4a undated
8 5 A manila envelope, containing various letters, among others: photocopy of draft by Albert Einstein "Mes projects d'avenir", photocopy of letter by Albert Einstein addressed "Meinchieben", thanking them for congratulations and charitable contribution, photocopy of a letter by Busoni (in Italian, dated 1923), mementos connected with Hermann & Nimon Hesse, a postcard by Charlie Chaplin to Margot Einstein (undated) undated
8 6 Personal Documents: Registration Card 1942; Identification Card; Death Certificate 1955 undated, 1942-1955
8 7 "Gaestebuch" - Haus Einstein, Caputh 1929-1932: Guest book for the Einstein house with entries by: Stern, M. Laue, Edwin Fischer, Charles Rosenbloom, Chaim Weizmann, Lola Hahn, Ruggiero Ricci, Hermann Struck, Erich Kleiber, Margarete Herrmann. (photocopies only - original at ROS 12) undated
Return to the Top of Page
 

OS 60, 1921-1998.

2 folders
Scope and Content:

This box contains materials incorporated from the following formerly separate collection: AR 4988: Betty Newman Collection, #1-36.

Box Folder Title Date
OS 60 (Unnumbered) 455 clippings in two scrapbooks (brittle material) 1921-1974
OS 60 (Unnumbered) Addenda: calendar with Einstein portraits [on the microfilm reel, this item appears between OS 20 and OSL 1] 1998
Return to the Top of Page
 

OS 19, undated.

4 folders
Scope and Content:

All items have been removed to the Photograph Collection; there is no longer a box located at OS 19.

Box Folder Title Date
OS 19 (Unnumbered) A series of photos by Adelier Jacobi, Berlin, showing the Einstein house in Caputh (near Berlin), Exterior and Interior Shots: eleven photos mounted on 10 x 15" card board, twelve photos mounted on 15 x 20" card board, plus 1 unmounted interior photo 6 1/2 x 9". (removed to Photograph Collection) undated
OS 19 (Unnumbered) Photos of Albert Einstein (at various ages), enlarged and mounted. (removed to Photograph Collection) undated
OS 19 (Unnumbered) Photos of Albert Einstein (at various ages), enlarged - not mounted. (removed to Photograph Collection) undated
OS 19 (Unnumbered) Enlarged and mounted photos showing Albert Einstein with friends and in groups - mostly at scientific or cultural affairs. (removed to Photograph Collection) undated
Return to the Top of Page
 

OS 20, undated, 1953.

4 folders
Box Folder Title Date
OS 20 (Unnumbered) Miscellaneous: Photo of house in Ulm where Albert Einstein was born (enlarged and mounted) (removed to Photograph Collection); drawing by Da Verona "Sorrowing Woman"; etching of Nicholas Copermais undated
OS 20 (Unnumbered) Desk-blotter pad, given to Albert Einstein by a Jewish organization on his visit to Argentina undated
OS 20 (Unnumbered) Acknowledgement by Hadassah of a gift in honor of Professor Albert Einstein, to help build the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem undated
OS 20 (Unnumbered) Award of Merit, presented to Albert Einstein by the "Decalogue Society of Lawyers", Chicago, Illinois 1953
Return to the Top of Page
 

OSL 1, 1955-1979.

1 folder
Scope and Content:

This box contains materials incorporated from the following formerly separate collection: AR 4988: Betty Newman Collection, #1-36.

Box Folder Title Date
OSL 1 (Unnumbered) Betty Newman Collection AR 4988 # 37, print by Onorio Ruotolo, 1955; (AR 136) exhibit poster, "Albert Einstein, A Centenary Exhibition," University of Texas, Austin, 1979 (two copies) 1955-1979
Return to the Top of Page
 

ROS 12, 1929-1934.

2 folders
Box Folder Title Date
ROS 12 (Unnumbered) Photo of Albert Einstein by Sylvia Salmi, NY (dedication: Herrn Berthold Neuer zum Andenken) 1934
ROS 12 (Unnumbered) "Gaestebuch" - Haus Einstein, Caputh: Guest book for the Einstein house with entries by: Stern, M. Laue, Edwin Fischer, Charles Rosenbloom, Chaim Weizmann, Lola Hahn, Ruggiero Ricci, Hermann Struck, Erich Kleiber, Margarete Herrman [not microfilmed] 1929-1932
Return to the Top of Page
 

R 16, 1700s.

1 item
Box Folder Title Date
R 16 (Unnumbered) Manicure set - family heirloom of the Einstein family first owned by Esther Einstein (1720-1796) [not microfilmed] Mid 18th century
Return to the Top of Page
 

TB 18, undated, 1978-1980.

3 items
Box Folder Title Date
TB 18 (Unnumbered) AR 136: Poster with color drawing by Josep Scharb, 1947, reproduced Bonn, 1978 [not microfilmed] 1978
TB 18 (Unnumbered) Unframed poster collage titled "Einstein", showing photocopies of various publications and letters by Albert Einstein, displayed at a centenary exhibition 1979-1980 of the Smithsonian Institution [not microfilmed] ca. 1979-1980
TB 18 (Unnumbered) Two posters (unframed), both showing enlarged reproductions of three versions of Einstein portraits [not microfilmed] undated
Return to the Top of Page