Einstein archives, letters to lovers set for Asian exhibits
Jerusalem, Jan 11 (AFP) Handwritten pages from AlbertEinstein's theory of relativity, letters to his lovers andother parts of his archive stored in Jerusalem are to beexhibited for the first time in Taiwan, China and Japan.
Some 75 artifacts will go on display in Taipei beginningFriday as part of the exhibit "Albert Einstein: Life in FourDimensions," Jerusalem's Hebrew University said Thursday.
They will remain on display at the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall through April 8 before moving on to Chinaand Japan.
The Jerusalem university is home to the world's largestEinstein collection.
The pieces on display will include "his 1921 Nobel Prize,handwritten pages from the theory of relativity, lettersexchanged with Sigmund Freud, family members and lovers, andthe physicist's own vinyl record collection," the universitysaid.
A university spokeswoman told AFP that "nearly everythingpresented is original except for Einstein's century-old pipe,which is too fragile to send. We sent a copy."Part of the journey for the historic and highly valuablematerial included an armoured truck, a police escort and adummy car to "throw off potential thieves," the universitysaid.
While certain artifacts have been exhibited in placesincluding Washington and Los Angeles, the upcoming exhibitsmark the first time such a large number of pieces have beensent abroad, the spokeswoman said.
Einstein served as a non-resident governor of Jerusalem'sHebrew University.
When the German-born physicist died in 1955, he left theinstitution his archives, making it the owner of the world'smost extensive collection of his documents.
He also once turned down an offer to become Israel'spresident.
In October, a note that Einstein gave to a courier inTokyo briefly describing his theory on happy living sold atauction in Jerusalem for $1.56 million.(AFP)AMS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.