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'More valuable than a regular tip': Einstein's handwritten note to courier sells for $1.5m
A note that Albert Einstein gave to a courier in Tokyo briefly describing his theory on happy living has sold at auction in Jerusalem for $1.56m (€1.33m), according to auctioneers.
The winning bid for the note far exceeded the pre-auction estimate of between $5,000 and $8,000, according to Winner's auctions.
"It was an all-time record for an auction of a document in Israel," said Winner's spokesman Meni Chadad, adding that the buyer was a European who wished to remain anonymous.
The note, on Imperial Hotel Tokyo stationery, says in German[1] that "a quiet and modest life brings more joy than a pursuit of success bound with constant unrest".
[1] The original German text was: "Stilles bescheidenes Leben gibt mehr Glück als erfolgreiches Streben, verbunden mit beständiger Unruhe."
I hope you're happy with your purchase.
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Friday October 27 2017, @01:55PM
I enjoy the Scarlet Pimpernel series, which were written 100 years ago, and a few things from the preceding century. You have to go back 3-400 years for the drift to be noticeable - Elizabethan English is similar, but the usage is very different, anything before that and the changes are a lot more significant (original Chaucer is not something most people would read for fun, even if they enjoy the stories in the linguistically updated versions). Written English evolved a lot more slowly after the printing press.
sudo mod me up