This Note by Albert Einstein to a Hotel Bellboy Just Sold at Auction for $1.3 million

No one can deny the legendary status of the one and only Albert Einstein. The scientist is famous worldwide for his achievements in theoretical physicals, developing important theories on relativity. He is one of the most influential and notable names in history, not only in science but throughout the world. It isn’t a surprise to hear that a handwritten note by the German-born scientist to a bellboy in Japan was a sought after piece at auction. The old parchment paper with a small note about happiness sold at a Jerusalem auction house for a whopping $1.3 million!

Staying at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo in 1922, Einstein had just recently discovered that had he won the Nobel Prize for physics. When the hotel bellboy delivered a package to his room, the scientist had discovered he had no change, and instead handed him a note of thanks instead. It read, “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than successful pursuit combined with constant restlessness.” Wouldn’t you say that Einstein’s prescription to “ultimate happiness” is much more valuable than some spare change? Apparently it is!

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The note by Albert Einstein was written in 1922 in a Tokyo hotel stationary (Photograph courtesy of TheHeatMag.com)
The note by Albert Einstein was written in 1922 in a Tokyo hotel stationary (Photograph courtesy of TheHeatMag.com)


This year, the bellboy’s nephew had decided to put the piece of parchment up for auction at a Jerusalem auction house. The note was expected to bring in $5,000-$8,000. When the bidding war began, the price continued to increase until an undisclosed European buyer officially won it at an outstanding $1.3 million! A second note written to the attendant fetched a smaller fee of $240,000. It read, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” The former sale holds the record for being the largest for any document in Israel.

1922 was a banner year for Albert Einstein. He helped normalize French-German relations, finished his first study on unified field theory, and had joined the League of Nations. He was in Asia at a time for a lecturing tour and continued his visit in Japan despite being called on by Stockholm to receive his Nobel prize. For those not looking to spend a million dollars to have one of Einstein’s notes in their collections, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has an extensive archive of over 2,000 digitized papers for public viewing.

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