In 1922 in Tokyo, Albert Einstein gives a note to a courier, on which he evokes in a few lines the keys to a happy life. This historic note has just been auctioned for $ 1.56 million.
The recipe for happiness costs at least $ 1 million. It is in any case the value that has just been reached by a handwritten note, written by Albert Einstein, in which the famous theoretician of relativity explains in a few lines what he considers to be the secret of a happy life.
Observed from every angle by the Winners auction house, this note was written in 1922 at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, while Albert Einstein had just learned that he would receive the Nobel Prize in physics.
The note was auctioned on October 24, 2017, after his salesman explained the context surrounding this mysterious missive. During his stay in Tokyo, where he gave a series of lectures, Albert Einstein was given a courier by a courier in his hotel. The physicist refuses to let the courier go empty-handed, and gives him two notes written in German.
"A QUIET AND MODEST LIFE"
On sale at the initial price of $ 2,000, the price of the note has significantly exceeded the initial estimate in just twenty minutes of bidding, to reach $ 1.56 million. The buyer is European, according to a spokesman for the auction house, and wishes to remain anonymous.
Written on the paper of the Imperial Hotel, Albert Einstein's note could be translated as follows: "A quiet and modest life brings more happiness than the search for success, which implies a permanent agitation. "
In giving these words to the courier, the physicist had told him to keep this note, because it might one day have more value than a simple tip. Albert Einstein was not mistaken.