The manuscript consists of 54 pages, and in 1913 and 1914 it was edited in Zurich by the famous physicist and his colleague and confidant Michel Besso. Engineer Bess, according to Christie, the manuscript was almost miraculously preserved, because what Einstein thought might not have bothered to keep a working document. Hall noted that all of Einstein’s handwritten documents are very rare, and especially those created before 1919.
“Einstein’s manuscript has flaws, and I think that makes him even more special, because we see his perseverance,” said Vincent Belloy, a Christie’s expert.
The Rukupis was once saved by Michel Besso, a colleague of Albert Einstein
Photo: Antony Payone, Reuters
The current record at auction of Einstein’s manuscript was $2.8 million from 2018. Einstein’s letter about the secret to being happy was sold in Jerusalem in 2017 for $1.56 million, AFP said.
After developing a special theory of relativity, which he expressed in 1905 with the formula E = mc2, Einstein began work on a general theory of relativity in 1912.
The manuscript contains calculations that include “a certain number of previously unnoticed errors”. When Einstein realized them, he no longer cared about the manuscript that Besso had taken.