1943 Albert Einstein Letter
Watch
GUEST:
I have a letter that Albert Einstein wrote to my father in 1943. In 1940, my father read a Time magazine article that stated that Einstein was quoted as saying that the only social institution that stood up to Nazism was the Christian church. My father's a Presbyterian minister in a little Northern Michigan town called Harbor Springs.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
And he quoted Einstein in a sermon.
GUEST:
And a member of the congregation wrote my father a letter saying, "Where did you get your information?" So my father wrote Time magazine, and Time magazine wrote him back, and I have that letter, too, but they didn't give the source. So my father wrote Einstein, and he wrote back, saying, yes, he did say that the Christian church was standing up to Hitler and Nazism.
APPRAISER:
I love this story for a lot of reasons-- one, it's about your dad checking his references, checking his facts.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And how important it is to get your references right. He goes to the first reference, Time magazine.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
He doesn't get a good answer, and he goes beyond that.
GUEST:
Exactly.
APPRAISER:
The second reason I really like this story is that, your dad kept all the supporting material.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
For, behind the letter that he eventually got from Einstein, confirming, "Yes, I did say this about the Christian church."
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
"It is the only social institution that can stand up to the Nazi regime." So the first letter I have in this stack is the letter from the parishioner who says, "Where'd that quote come from?"
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And then the second letter is the letter from Time magazine. They're kind of hedging their bets.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
I love that they can't really confirm it, but they won't deny it, but they're...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, he said it, he said it."
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And then the third thing, even though he kept all of this original primary support material, your dad took the time to write a three- or four-paragraph essay in which he explains the story behind the Albert Einstein letter.
GUEST:
Right, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
This is terrific. I mean, if I could get one message across to people who own historical manuscripts...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...who own letters from famous people, who own archives, and people who know the story behind them, it would be, "Please just take five minutes..."
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
"...and write it down for the next generation." Because even though everybody knows it today...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...there is a really good chance that the oral tradition will not survive with the paper.
GUEST:
Exactly.
APPRAISER:
If you had brought this letter in without the supporting documents, I would have looked at it...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...and it says, "It's true that I made a statement which corresponds approximately with the text you quoted. I made this statement during the first years of the Nazi regime, much earlier than 1940, and my expressions were a little more moderate." And I would say, "Well, it's a nice typed letter from Einstein, says something about Nazis," but I wouldn't really know what he was talking about...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...if your father had not saved all the material that is appropriate to it. Have you ever had this Einstein letter appraised before?
GUEST:
Never.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's on just typing paper. He used to blind stamp his return address. And it's typed and then signed here. Normally, a run-of-the-mill typed Einstein letter from this period is about $1,500 at auction.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
But with this fantastic story behind it, a $1,500 letter becomes a $5,000 letter.
GUEST:
Wow.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
