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A well-known scientist’s violin, believed to be Albert Einstein’s first, has been sold at auction for £860,000. The 1894 Zunterer violin was initially expected to fetch around £300,000 when it was auctioned off at Dominic Winter Auctioneers in South Cerney, Gloucestershire. Along with the violin, a philosophy book gifted by Einstein to a friend was also sold for £2,200. Once a 26.4% commission is added, the final price for the violin will exceed £1 million.
According to auctioneers, once the commission is factored in, this sale could potentially set a record as the highest-ever for a violin that was not previously owned by a concert violinist or made by Stradivarius. The prior record was held by an instrument that was likely used on the Titanic. Senior auctioneer and historical memorabilia specialist, Chris Albury, described the sale, which lasted about 10 minutes, as a “special moment.” He mentioned that three phone bidders were actively involved throughout the auction process.
Einstein’s passion for playing the violin was highlighted by Mr. Albury, who noted that many people were unaware of this aspect of the scientist’s life. Einstein had started learning the violin at the young age of four and continued to play it daily throughout his life. A bike saddle that was also owned by Einstein did not sell at the auction and may potentially be re-listed in the future. All the items that were up for auction were originally given to physicist Max von Laue in late 1932, soon before Einstein fled to America to escape the growing antisemitism and Nazism in Germany.
Von Laue later passed on the items to an acquaintance and Einstein enthusiast, Margarete Hommrich, 20 years after receiving them. It is now Hommrich’s great-great granddaughter who decided to put these valuable items up for sale. Another violin that had once belonged to Einstein, gifted to him upon his arrival in the US in 1933, was sold at auction for $516,500 (£370,000) in New York back in 2018
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