TLS in German, signed "A. Einstein," one page, 8.5 x 11, blindstamped Princeton letterhead, February 25, 1942. Letter to Austrian novelist Hermann Broch in New York, during the time that he was finishing his great book The Death of Virgil. In full (translated): "I have read your manuscript with great interest and truly believe that your method brings the important object closer to understanding. I will be glad if I have the opportunity to use your work through my judgment." In very good to fine condition, with some light edge creasing, a paperclip impression to the top edge, and a few small edge stains.
One of the major Modernist writers, Broch fled Nazi Germany for New York. He was fascinated with Einstein's theories, and incorporated modern physics into his literature-in one episode in The Guiltless, a stupid math teacher and future Nazi becomes involved in an absurd meeting held to protest Einstein's theory of relativity. Similarly, a New York Times review of The Sleepwalkers describes the novel's structure-a multiplicity of narratives featuring an essay-within-a-novel-and observes: 'Through this series of encapsulations, Broch sought to create an 'absolute' novel that, as in Einstein's theory of relativity, contained its own observer within the field of observation.' That two corresponded on these subjects-and that Einstein endorsed Broch's "method"-makes this an extremely interesting letter that bridges the gap between the arts and sciences.
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