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Bloomsbury Manuscripts, Literature & History, Modern First Editions

Bloomsbury’s forthcoming two day sale of Manuscripts, Literature & History, Modern First Editions (16th/17th October) has some especially tasty morsels.

Particularly interesting are the two privately owned letters from Albert Einstein, lot 83 is in long hand and lot 84 which consists of four letters, is typewritten. This important letter to Dr Walter Marseille the psychoanalyst, written in 1948 at the very beginning of the Cold War with Russia, encompasses Einstein’s thoughts on the West’s relationship with a belligerent USSR; many of today’s politicians pondering Russia’s invasion of Georgia will sympathise with his views. In these letters he discusses the idea of a world government and his disagreement with the philosopher Bertrand Russell. ‘We agree on the following: only World Government can produce security…Better to let Russia see that there is nothing to be achieved by aggression, but there are advantages in joining…The attitude of the Russians, it seems to me, clearly shows that they are deeply concerned about the military-industrial situation…You argue that Russia’s strength will grow in time and thereby worsen the situation for the rest of the world. This last is granted: I am, however absolutely against it. It is like suicide out of fear of dying. In my view it is much better, both morally and practically, to attempt to bring about a state of affairs in which the Russians, out of pure self-interest, find it preferable to give up their separatist position…’ This fascinating letter is expected to fetch £4000-6000.

Lot 83 has never been on the market before, is apparently unpublished and comes from another private individual. Einstein took the time to personally answer queries from other scientists, both established as well as aspiring. In a letter dated Princeton 26th December 1936, Einstein dismisses a paper by Adrien Wils on the theory of relativity, writing that Wils has got the wrong end of the stick! Einstein tells him that his paper ‘doesn’t reflect the essentials of the theory…’ and that he uses the term wrongly. ‘The name is only justifiable in case of talking about movement when you consider it relative to another one…This topic has nothing to do with the superficial statement that ‘everything is relative.’ In this letter, the world’s greatest theoretical physicist went on to damn journalists who had proclaimed the theory of relativity as being difficult to grasp, ‘ The twaddle that the theory is extremely difficult to understand, is complete nonsense, spread by superficial journalists.’ This handwritten letter and typewritten envelope, is estimated £6000-8000.

Closer to home is a large archive of letters, poems, short stories and articles (many appearing in the Guardian and The Yorkshire Post) offering a detailed insight into the work of the late, colourful Yorkshire poet and author, Vernon Scannell (lot 257). This extensive body of work also covered Vernon’s views on literature and politics, and is the fruit of his collaboration with his old friend Alan Benson who typed his manuscripts from the 1990s until his death last year (estimate £4000-6000).

Auction info www.bloomsburyauctions.com