Einstein, Albert
Typed Letter, signed
Princeton, New Jersey, May 2, 1936. Single sheet, 10 15/16 x 8 1/2 in. (278 x 216 mm). One-page typed letter in German on Einstein's Princeton home stationery, signed by him to Herbert Feist: “Dear Mr. Feist, I gratefully acknowledge receipt of your letter and that of Ms. Macholl-Friedlander. I have already tried to do this, but I cannot hide from you the fact that it is very difficult to achieve the goal. I conclude this from other failed efforts. Unfortunately, I cannot invite you to come to me because my seriously ill wife is forbidden from receiving visitors. With excellent respect and kind regards, A. Einstein”. Creasing from old folds; wear in top right edge. 

Herbert Feist is presumed to be the same Feist that was born in Mannheim, Germany, in 1903, and who, following the rise of the Nazis, emigrated with his family to New York. An artist, he opened his own gallery, Herbert E. Feist Gallery on the Upper West Side. His maternal grandfather was Max Herschel (1840-1921), a prominent member of the Jewish community in Bonn, Germany, and leader of its congregation for many years. Feist died in 1981. Einstein's second wife, Elsa, mentioned in this letter, would pass away in December, 1936 from a protracted illness.