TLS signed “A. Einstein,” one page, 8.5 x 11, blind-stamped personal letterhead, Princeton, November 15, 1954. A short and humorous reply to Burt Whitehead, Jr., the principal in Burt Whitehead & Sons, a plumbing firm in Toledo, wrote: "In answer to your recently quoted remarks that you would rather have been a plumber or a peddler, please be advised that the pasture here is not so green as it may appear. Thanks for your compliment to our industry, unintentional though it may have been."
Einstein’s letter of response reads, in full: “I had not for one moment any exaggerated illusions about the greenness of your pasture, but in comparison with universities and other schools……” Intersecting mailing folds, and a few light creases and wrinkles, otherwise fine condition. Accompanied by a carbon of Whitehead’s letter, as well as the original mailing envelope to Einstein’s letter. All are housed in a brown cloth folding-case, gilt-stamped maroon morocco title label on spine.
The retired Einstein was asked by The Reporter magazine for his reaction to their articles about scientists in America—to which he responded that he would rather have been ‘a plumber or a peddler,’ suggesting that other avenues would have given him greater independence. Those remarks were in protest at the treatment of his colleague, J. Robert Oppenheimer, who had been accused of disloyalty, and in a larger sense against political interference in science. As evidenced by this letter from the Ohio plumber, Einstein’s choice of words brought him considerable criticism and was interpreted as a sign that he had lost interest in science because of the deployment of the atomic bomb. Wonderfully whimsical content, explaining his position to a plumber! Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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