Albert Einstein’s theory of happiness sold for $1.7 million

 ALBERT Einstein’s theory of happiness may be relative, but it has still managed to fetched $1.7 million at a Jerusalem auction house.

The Nobel-winning scientist’s musings, on a handwritten note, may not be as famous as his groundbreaking theory of relativity, but they still shed light on one of the great modern minds.

Winner’s Auctions and Exhibitions said Einstein was travelling in Japan in 1922 when he was told he would be awarded the Nobel prize in physics.

In Tokyo, Einstein scribbled the note in German to a bellboy after he did not have cash to give him a tip.

The note, on Imperial Hotel Tokyo stationery, says in German that “A calm and humble life will bring more happiness than the pursuit of success and the constant restlessness that comes with it.”


Gal Wiener, CEO of the auction house said bidding began at $2,000 and quickly escalated, with the bidding war lasting around 25 minutes.

Applause broke out in the room when the sale was announced.

It was an all-time record for an auction of a document in Israel.

“I am really happy that there are people out there who are still interested in science and history and timeless deliveries in a world which is developing so fast,” the seller told AFP on condition of anonymity after the sale.

A second Einstein note written at the same time that simply reads “where there’s a will, there’s a way” sold for $240,000, Winner’s said.

JAPANESE LECTURE TOUR

The German-born physicist, most famous for his theory of relativity, was on a lecture tour in Japan when he handwrote the autographed notes, previously unknown to researchers, in 1922.

He had recently been informed that he was to receive the Nobel prize for physics, and his fame outside of scientific circles was growing.

A Japanese courier arrived at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo to deliver Einstein a message.

The courier either refused to accept a tip, in line with local practice, or Einstein had no small change available.

Either way, Einstein didn’t want the messenger to leave empty-handed, so he wrote him two notes by h5and in German, according to the seller, a relative of the messenger.

“Maybe if you’re lucky those notes will become much more valuable than just a regular tip,” Einstein told the messenger, according to the seller, a resident of the German city of Hamburg.


EINSTEIN’S FAMOUS LETTERS

Two other letters Einstein wrote in later years were also auctioned on Tuesday, fetching prices of $33,600 and $9,600.

In June, letters written by Einstein about God, Israel and physics sold for nearly $210,000 at a Jerusalem auction.

Roni Grosz, the archivist in charge of the world’s largest Einstein collection at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, said the notes shed light on the private thoughts of the great physicist, whose name has become synonymous with genius.

“What we’re doing here is painting the portrait of Einstein — the man, the scientist, his effect on the world —— through his writings,” Grosz said.

“This is a stone in the mosaic.” Einstein served as a non-resident governor of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University. When he died in 1955, he left the institution his archives, making it the owner of the world’s most extensive collection of his documents