A violin owned and played by famed theoretical physicist Albert Einstein was sold for $516,500 at a New York auction Monday. The instrument fetched more than three times its catalog estimate of $150,000.
The instrument was made in Pennsylvania by Oscar Steger of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. He dedicated the instrument to Einstein, inscribing the inner case, "Made for the Worlds [sic] Greatest Scientist Profesior [sic] Albert Einstein By Oscar H. Steger, Feb 1933 / Harrisburg, PA."
Einstein was a passionate musician who began playing the violin at age 6, discovering the Mozart violin sonatas at 13 and playing throughout his life.
There are many sources that indicate that music was what made Einstein happiest. He was once quoted as saying, "Life without playing music is inconceivable for me. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music, I get most joy in life out of music."
Einstein later passed the instrument on to the son of a janitor at Princeton University, where he was a resident scholar. The violin had remained with the family ever since.
Ian Ehling, the director of printed books and manuscripts at Bonhams Auctions in New York said, "Einstein was an incredible musician actually. That was pretty much a lifelong passion. And he would rearrange his schedule to be able to meet with his friends every Wednesday to play the violin."
