Photograph Signed
A superb formal photographic portrait of Einstein by Orren Jack Turner INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY EINSTEIN below the image.
Einstein visited the United States for the first time in 1921, landing in New York on April 2. During his stay he delivered lectures at Columbia and Princeton Universities. It was at Princeton where he met the Princeton-based photographer Orren Jack Turner and sat for this photo. (A different photo by Turner from the same sitting was published in the June 1922 issue of The Photographic Journal of America).
Einstein is shown from the waist up in a three-piece suit, tie slightly loose at the collar, looking up and to the right. The photograph's actual size is 6" x 9" and it is printed with a border that would allow for framing (full size with borders: 7-3/4" x 11-3/4"). Turner's name is blindstamped vertically in the border immediately right of the image, and Einstein's inscription and signature are immediately below the image. It is inscribed to Frau Zeisler, wife of Professor Ernest B. Zeisler, with four words in German and signed in full: "Albert Einstein June' 1921."
Ernest Zeisler was the son of Sigmund Zeisler who was Einstein's lawyer. Ernest authored books on mathematics, Sherlock Holmes (he was a member of the Baker Street Irregulars), and the Chicago Haymarket Riot (his father was involved in the case). He received doctorates in mathematics and medicine and became acquainted with Einstein through his father. Ernest and Einstein corresponded and on occasion played music together. Einstein tried unsuccessfully to maneuver Ernest into a teaching position at the Naval Academy during World War II.
Minor loss to the matte at the very top left corner and bottom corners with a small tear also, well away from the image. Fine, beautiful image with a clear inscription and signature.
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