Strong interest in Einstein letters drives new record for Stockholms Auktionsverk

The Einstein letters — offered across seven lots — provide a rare insight into the development of field theory and shed light on Chaim Herman Müntz’s central role in Einstein’s mathematical reasoning during the years following 1927.

Other international highlights in The Rare Books, Maps & Manuscripts Sale also attracted strong interest and competitive bidding.

An exquisitely crafted 18th-century manuscript of Dala’il al-khayrat, dated 1210 (1795–96), featuring magnificent illuminations and scenes from Mecca, achieved a final price of SEK 1,050,000.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s monumental four-volume Le antichità Romane (1756), a complete copy with provenance from both Horace Walpole and Gösta Stenman, sold for SEK 675,000. The work contains 218 engravings and is considered one of the 18th century’s most significant studies of ancient Roman architecture.

Sir William Hamilton’s spectacular series of color engravings Campi Phlegraei (1776–79), featuring 59 hand-coloured plates depicting Vesuvius and the volcanic landscapes surrounding Naples, sold for SEK 700,000.

The rare wall map Nova et accurata totius Americae tabula (1672) by Frederik de Wit — one of few surviving large-format maps of the American continent from the period — reached a final price of SEK 437,500.

Finally, strong interest was recorded for the rare first edition of the von Wright brothers’ Svenska foglar (1828–39), one of an estimated maximum of 50 complete copies, which sold for SEK 200,000.

“We are immensely proud to have achieved the most successful book auction in the long history of Stockholms Auktionsverk — and it is particularly gratifying to see such strong interest in Einstein’s unique correspondence during Nobel Week. The sale confirms the continued international demand for high-quality works of significance to both scientific and cultural history,” says Katharina Fahlstedt, Chief Curator and Specialist in Books, Maps and Manuscripts at Stockholms Auktionsverk.