Antiquarian Book Fair: Einstein and his blocks

Visiting the Antiquarian book fair for the first time was a truly refreshing and insightful experience. As someone who was never initially interested in any form of book collecting, being able to attend such an event does succeed in sparking an interest in someone to engage in the world of book collecting. An annual event for book collectors and special items worldwide, the antiquarian book fair which was held in New York could have you gracing the booths and isles for hours as each and every item was able to capture the eye.

One booth, in particular, titled the Seth Keller collection, which is located in White Plains had one item of interest that really shocked me. Seth Keller specialized in collecting historic documents and legacy items throughout American history. His stall featured manuscripts from an array of historical figures such as Abram Lincoln and George Washington. His collections feature items such as a rare version of the July 1776 declaration of Independence and personal letters written by George Washington. The item which really caught my interest was not shocking to me because of the item itself but rather how he managed to even obtain the item. Priced at $160,000 dollars were Albert Einstein’s childhood building blocks perched in the display cabinet. I was in disbelief when Seth told me that they belonged to him and did not hesitate to grill him with questions as to how he managed to get his hands on them.

Seth revealed that the family actually donated them directly from his childhood home to Christie’s in London on July 2016. His family had explained that when Einstein was a child, he would use these very blocks to build complicated structures. His own joys of childhood lay the foundations for his imagination which led him to develop the most significant scientific theories of the century. To my surprise, Seth even allowed me to handle the blocks which were mostly in pristine condition. They were much heavier than I expected, and the surface of the blocks had an almost sand like texture to them. Personally, I feel that the blocks were a little overpriced but realistically it did make sense as the item was of the upmost value due to its rarity, scarcity, and the fact that it was extant.