Rare original and unused 5 x 3 admission pass for the Stafford Little Lectures delivered by Albert Einstein at Princeton University’s McCosh Hall between May 9 and 13, 1921. The card, which is headed, “Admit Bearer, To Professor Einstein’s Five Lectures on the Theory of Relativity—May 9-13 in Princeton University,” lists the dates and times of the four lecture topics: “Generalities on the Theory of Relativity (without using mathematical equations)” on Monday, May 9th at 4 p.m. and Tuesday the 10th at 3:15 p.m.; “Special Theory on Relativity” on Wednesday the 11th at 3:15 p.m.; “General Theory of Relativity and Gravitation” on Thursday the 12th at 3:15 p.m.; and “Cosmological Speculations” on Friday the 13th at 3:15 p.m. The lower portion features a train schedule for commutes to and from Princeton, New York’s Pennsylvania Station, and Philadelphia. In fine condition.
Einstein had introduced his final version of the general theory of relativity to the world in 1916 with the publication of his paper 'The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity,' but it did not become well known until British astronomers offered experimental proof of the concept in 1919. Recognized as a monumental discovery, these findings made front-page news everywhere and turned Einstein into a celebrity overnight.
At the time of these lectures, Einstein was at the height of his fame and undertaking his first world tour. After his initial stop in New York City, Einstein would famously alight upon Princeton University in early May, some dozen years before fleeing Nazi Germany and emigrating to the institution where he would become a lifetime member of the Institute for Advanced Study. Following each of his five lectures, of which Einstein spoke entirely in German, Professor Edwin P. Adams of the Department of Physics, rose and gave verbal English-language summaries for the audience. This monumental four-part lecture was published by Princeton University Press in 1922, the same year Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics as a reserved prize.
