The auction house Dominic Winter Auctioneers offered an extraordinary collector's item on 20 May. The bicycle saddle belonged to the physicist Albert Einstein, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his theory of relativity and was known as a keen cyclist. Einstein used the bicycle both as a means of transport and for relaxation. In a letter to his son Eduard in 1930, he wrote: "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you have to keep moving." The saddle was offered in the auction for a minimum bid of 8,000 euros - but there were no bidders. The bidders had hoped for interest from a museum. As the asking price was too high, there is now a chance to purchase it at a lower price.
Order by Albert Einstein
The brown leather saddle of the Nelson brand was made around 1929. The accompanying papers document the order placed with Ludwig Nelson Fahrradbau GmbH, which was based at Akazienstraße 28 in Berlin-Schöneberg in the 1920s and early 1930s. The company manufactured bicycles, frames and accessories. Einstein filled out the order form in pencil on 26 March 1929 and entered his Berlin address. The document records the order for a saddle with the catalogue number 237, Einstein's signature "A. Einstein" and his home address in Berlin Schöneberg.
Gift from Albert Einstein to Max von Laue
The family history of the current owners describes the further history of the saddle. Einstein handed over the bicycle, saddle and documents to the physicist Max von Laue on 29 November 1932 during a visit to Einstein's summer house in Caputh, Brandenburg. A few months later, Einstein left Germany and emigrated to the United States. Von Laue later explained that Einstein had given him the bicycle because his own no longer worked. The bicycle itself was disposed of after being damaged, but von Laue kept the saddle because of its comfort. The saddle was later given as a gift to Margarete Hommrich, whose descendants are now selling it.
Max von Laue as recipient
Max von Laue lived from 1879 to 1960 and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1914. His discovery of X-ray diffraction on crystals laid the foundations for modern crystallography. As a student of Max Planck and colleague of Arnold Sommerfeld, von Laue made contributions to optics, quantum theory, superconductivity and the theory of relativity. He publicly defended Einstein's theory of relativity in times of political opposition in Germany. After the Second World War, von Laue helped to rebuild German scientific institutions.
Auction details
The auction took place on 20 May 2026 and was part of the auction "Photographs, Posters & Postcards, Autographs, Documents & Ephemera" as lot 355. The auction house set the estimate between 7,000 and 10,000 pounds sterling. As there were no bids in line with expectations, the offer was withdrawn.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
