Einstein's 'God Letter' Grabs $2.9 Million at Auction
An arena of genteel bloodsport, the Christie's sale room at Rockefeller Center is simply appointed, subtly lit, and connected through multiple channels to wealthy collectors across the globe. Several big spenders gathered there in person and by phone on Monday as Einstein's remarkable letter, known for its blunt appraisal of God as "the expression of and product of human weakness," came up for sale.
Bang! The bidding began at $750,000.
Einstein penned the 1954 letter in his native German, then mailed it to the Riverside Drive apartment of philosopher Eric Gutkind, who'd written a book about how the Bible, and Zionism, would save the age. Einstein opened politely by remarking to Gutkind on similarities in their thought, but then called the Bible "a collection of venerable but still primitive legends."
(Listen to the story to hear what Einstein wrote about Judaism in the letter.)
The letter remained in private hands until 2008 and initially sold at auction for $404,000. On Tuesday, the price quickly blew past Christie's presale estimate of $1.5 million. Minutes later, it topped $2.1 million, the previous top price for an Einstein missive. (That’s what it cost in 2002 to buy Einstein's 1939 warning to FDR about the perils of the dawning nuclear age.) And the bids kept coming.
In the end, a pair of collectors battled by phone until the auctioneer was able to say, "Final call for two million, four hundred thousand dollars."
Bang! Sold.
Christie's commission, plus tax, will put the final price at $2.9 million for the anonymous winning bidder, a new record for an Einstein letter.Â
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