Finding Aid to The Albert Einstein Archives

XML file created by SPI Technologies Ltd, UK in March 2002 on the basis of “The Guide to the Albert Einstein Archives, created 2002 by Ze’ev Rosenkranz.

Finding aid written in English.

The Albert Einstein Archives

1712, 1859-60, 1869, 1871, 1878-1887, 1891-present (bulk 1901-1955)

Edmond J.Safra Campus, Giva’at Ram
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel

c. 80,000 items (54 meters)

Einstein, Albert (1879-1955)

This collection contains the personal papers of Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and supplementary material collected at the Albert Einstein Archives. The material documents the life and career of Albert Einstein. The collection includes the manuscripts of Einstein’s scientific and non-scientific writings, his correspondence with scientific colleagues and non-scientific contemporaries, his general correspondence as well as his personal documents and family correspondence. The collection also includes non-textual materials such as photographs, sound recordings and film footage.

Material chiefly in German and English; some material in French, Italian, Russian, Yiddish, Hebrew, and other languages. Small amount of the material in German is in Gothic script.

The core of the material in the Albert Einstein Archives was accumulated by Einstein during his lifetime. Following Einstein’s death in Princeton in 1955, the Estate of Albert Einstein was established. In the 1960s, Einstein’s papers were arranged and described by Einstein’s secretary, Helen Dukas, and Harvard professor of physics, Prof. Gerald Holton. Additional material was collected by the executor of the Einstein Estate, Dr. Otto Nathan, and by Helen Dukas from 1955 to 1982.

In the late 1970s, the papers were gradually transferred to the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, where the first editorial office of The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein (CPAE) was located. The material remained the property of the Einstein Estate. An itemized index was compiled by the first editor of the CPAE, Prof. John Stachel, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Einstein’s Last Will and Testament of 1950 stipulated that the Hebrew University would eventually become the final repository of his personal papers and the heir of all of his intellectual property. The papers were transferred to the Jewish National and University Library (JNUL) in Jerusalem. The papers were incorporated into the Department of Manuscripts and Archives as the Albert Einstein Archives. Since 1982, additional material pertaining to Einstein has been collected by the Albert Einstein Archives from various sources around the world.

The personal papers of Albert Einstein were transferred to the Hebrew University from the Estate of Albert Einstein in 1982 in accordance with Einstein’s Last Will and Testament of 1950 and as a result of the transfer agreement between the Estate of Albert Einstein and the Hebrew University of 1982.

Papers of Albert Einstein (1879-1955). The material includes manuscripts of scientific articles, lectures, notebooks and working sheets and articles, lectures, statements, forewords and poems; and correspondence with scientific colleagues and prominent contemporaries and general correspondence; personal and official documents and family correspondence; curiosity items, reprints, newspaper clippings, posters, etc.

The papers reflect Einstein’s personal life, his groundbreaking scientific work, his intense political activities in Europe and the U.S.A., his humanitarian efforts and his involvement with Jewish affairs.

The papers include material relating to the special and general theories of relativity, the quantum theory and quantum mechanics, and the unified field theory in the field of physics; pacifism, militarism, fascism, nationalism, McCarthyism, world government and nuclear disarmament in the field of politics; Jewish identity, anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict in the field of Jewish affairs.

The correspondence includes Einstein’s exchange of letters with fellow physicists such as Planck, Bohr, Schrödinger and Heisenberg and with famous contemporaries such as Sigmund Freud, F.D. Roosevelt, Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians, Chaim Weizmann and Thomas Mann. The Albert Einstein Archives also includes sub-collections of non-textual materials: photographs, medals, honorary diplomas, Einstein trivia and collectibles, sound recordings and film footage.

The holdings of the Albert Einstein Archives can be divided into the following main sub-collections (according to format):

1. Textual Materials
   
   
   1. The original dispatch of Einstein’s papers from Princeton in 1982. This material is organized into 3 sections – scientific material, non-scientific material and biographical material. Each of these sections is further divided into two sub-sections each. The individual archival items were numbered in accordance with the sequence in which they were microfilmed in the 1970s. The reel numbers listed here pertain to the sequence of the items in the microfilming.
      
      
      1. Scientific material

         A.1 Scientific manuscripts and notebooks 1894-1955 (Reels 1-5)

         This sub-section contains the manuscripts of Einstein's scientific articles, papers and lectures, notebooks and working sheets. This material includes the original manuscripts of Einstein's articles on such topics as the general theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and the unified field theory.
         

         A.2 Scientific correspondence 1901-1955 (Reels 6-27)

         This sub-section contains Einstein’s correspondence with his scientific colleagues, including Max Planck, Niels Bohr, Max Born, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, and Hendrik A. Lorentz.
         

         
         
      2. Non-Scientific material

         B.1 Non-Scientific manuscripts 1915-1955 (Reel 28)

         This sub-section contains the manuscripts of Einstein’s articles, speeches, lectures, poems and aphorisms in such non-scientific fields as politics, society, philosophy and culture. This material includes Einstein's writings on such subjects as pacifism, Judaism, the nuclear threat, and civil rights.
         

         B.2 Non-Scientific correspondence 1901-1955 (Reels 32-61)

         This sub-section contains Einstein’s correspondence with prominent contemporaries, e.g., Sigmund Freud, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Walther Rathenau, Thomas Mann, Bertrand Russell, and Albert Schweitzer and on specific topics. It also contains Einstein’s correspondence on non-scientific issues with non-prominent correspondents.
         

         
         
      3. Biographical material

         C.1 Travel diaries 1922-1933 (Reel 29)

         This sub-section contains Einstein’s travel diaries to various locations around the world.
         

         C.2 Personal documents and correspondence 1879-1955 (Reels 29-32)

         This sub-section contains Einstein’s personal documents, his correspondence with various family members, and his correspondence pertaining to honorary degrees, awards and birthdays.
         

         
         
      
      Internal organization:
      Each sub-section is divided into series and sub-series according to record type.
      
      Arrangement within individual series and sub-series:
      Chronological within each record type - published manuscripts, unpublished manuscripts, notebooks, drafts and notes, documents and poems. Alphabetical within correspondence and chronological within the alphabetical order.
      
      
   2. Additional archival material collected from various repositories around the world from 1982.
      • Einstein’s working sheets (Reels 62-63) This section contains c. 2,000 working sheets, mainly from Einstein’s attempts to develop a unified field theory.
      • Miscellaneous accruals since 1982 (Reels 65-69 and 120-125) This section contains miscellaneous materials acquired by the Einstein Archives since 1982.
      
      
   
   
2. Audiovisual Materials
   
   The audiovisual materials consist of four main collections:
   
   • Photographs: the photograph collection consists of formal and informal portraits of Einstein from his earliest years till his death. It also includes photographs of Einstein with family members, friends, colleagues and associates and depicts Einstein at various events and occasions. This collection also contains a substantial number of cartoons featuring Einstein as well as reproductions of paintings and busts which depict him.
   • Sound recordings: this collection includes recordings of Einstein's voice in German and English, speaking on various subjects, such as the famous formula E=mc² , the role of universities in society, and the nuclear threat.
   • Film footage: this collection features Einstein in newsreels at events such as a Palestine Campaign dinner in New York in 1931, his arrival at Los Angeles pier holding his violin case in 1933, and his meeting with David Ben-Gurion in 1951. The collection also includes video copies of documentaries on Einstein made by various production companies.
   • Multimedia products: this small collection includes CD-ROMs on Einstein or depicting the figure of Einstein
   
   
3. The Albert Einstein Archives Library
   
   The Library consists of two main collections.
   
   • Einstein's private library: Einstein's personal library was transferred to The Jewish National & University Library in 1987, following the death of Einstein's step-daughter, Margot Einstein. The library includes books, musical scores and records collected by Einstein throughout his life. The books deal with science, European and American politics and society, literature and culture, religion and philosophy, Judaism and Israel. The musical scores contain works by Einstein's favorite composers, especially Mozart, Bach, and Handel. The records range from classical music to Israeli folk music. It is not known to what extent the library is complete - no inventory from the years in which Einstein lived is extant. But it is known that Einstein's secretary gave some books away to friends and associates following Einstein's death. Einstein's own books and records are supplemented by those of the other members of the Einstein household.
   • Secondary literature: the Einstein Archives also possesses a comprehensive collection of books by and about Einstein. Copies of new editions of Einstein's books are deposited by the publishers and the Archives acquires copies of new books about Einstein.
   
   
4. Artifacts
   
   The artifact collection consists of two parts:
   
   • Einstein's diplomas and medals: the Einstein Archives possesses Einstein's personal collection of honorary diplomas and medals, the most prominent of these being the Nobel Prize certificate and medal.
   • Einstein trivia: Objects of trivia relating to Einstein, such as commercial calendars, posters, and postcards, T-shirts and other memorabilia, have become increasingly popular in recent years. These are collected by the Einstein Archives as evidence of Einstein's mythical status.
   
   

Part of family correspondence closed until July 2006 due to stipulation of donor.

Copyright to material by Albert Einstein held by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Copyright to material by other correspondents held by them or by their heirs.

Copyright to photographic and film material held by The Hebrew University and various other institutions and individuals.

Guide to the Albert Einstein Archives , compiled by the Einstein Archives, revised version 2002: Contains general administrative information on the Einstein Archives and archival information on the structure of the papers: division into sub-groups, series, sub-series and folder list.

Database to the Albert Einstein Archives , produced jointly by the Albert Einstein Archives and the Einstein Papers Project, 2003: This database provides the following information on each individual archival item: item number, date, title of manuscript, names and places of correspondents, cross-references to other items, publication information and length. Data can be retrieved according to item numbers, dates, titles of manuscripts, names and places of correspondents and publication information.

Database to the Einstein Archives Photograph Collection , compiled by the Einstein Archives, revised version 2002: This database encompasses the entire photograph collection of the Einstein Archives. The database provides the following data on each photograph in the collection: content, date, photographer, source, and copyright holder.

In part, originals held by numerous repositories holding Einstein material around the world.

Duplicate sets of bulk of the papers at: Princeton University Libraries; Boston University Library. Microfilm of bulk of the papers at: ETH Library, Zurich; Caltech Archives, Pasadena

The papers include most of the original drafts of Einstein’s own publications (books, articles, forewords, etc.). They constitute the most significant archival source material for the historical edition of Einstein’s writings and correspondence, The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein . The papers have been used as source material for numerous biographies, scholarly and non-scholarly articles, essays, films, TV programs, multimedia productions, etc.

The Archival Database can be searched for any persons listed below by entering their name into a query - while omitting the associated dates.

Persons

Geographical Names