Sell or Auction Your Enrico Fermi Autograph Letter Signed for up to Nearly $10,000 or More at Nate D. Sanders Auctions
FREE APPRAISAL. To buy, auction, sell or consign your Enrico Fermi autograph letter signed that is for sale, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).
Sell Your Enrico Fermi Autograph Letter Signed
Enrico Fermi (Italian: [enˈriːko ˈfermi]; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian (later naturalized American) physicist and the creator of the world’s first nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1. He has been called the “architect of the nuclear age” and the “architect of the atomic bomb”. He was one of very few physicists to excel in both theoretical physics and experimental physics. Fermi was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity by neutron bombardment and for the discovery of transuranium elements. With his colleagues, Fermi filed several patents related to the use of nuclear power, all of which were taken over by the US government. He made significant contributions to the development of statistical mechanics, quantum theory, and nuclear and particle physics.
Below is a recent realized price for an Enrico Fermi autograph letter signed item. We at Nate D. Sanders Auctions can obtain up to these amounts or more for you:
Enrico Fermi Autograph Letter Signed. Sold for nearly $10,000.
Consign your item at Nate D. Sanders Auctions. Send a description and images to us at [email protected].
Here are some recent items that our auction house, Nate D. Sanders (http://www.NateDSanders.com) has sold:
”Atomic Energy for Military Purposes”, signed in 1946 during the Manhattan Project by six of the most important individuals who developed this first atomic bomb, including Enrico Fermi and Robert Oppenheimer. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1945. Book is the official report of the Manhattan Project, signed on the half-title page by Enrico Fermi, Samuel K. Allison, George B. Kistiakowsky, Kenneth T. Bainbridge, and Robert Oppenheimer. Signatures were acquired by another Manhattan Project scientist, Laurence Cherry, who designed the detonation system for the Fat Man bomb. Hardbound book measures 5.75” x 8”. Some light wear and spotting to boards. Mr. Cherry’s stamp appears on page edges and also on front free endpaper, along with his address and notation that the book was purchased in 1946 at Los Alamos. Very good condition.
Sold for $5,000.
Enrico Fermi Robert Oppenheimer Manhattan Project Signed
Typed letter signed by Manhattan Project Director Norris Bradbury, who encloses the signatures of the “five scientists associated with the Atomic Bomb Project.” On a separate sheet are the promised signatures, written boldly by all: “J.R. Oppenheimer”, “Samuel K. Allison”, “E. Fermi”, “N.E. Bradbury” and “G.B. Kistiakowsky”. Letter dated 2 November 1945 is on official “P.O. Box 1663 / Santa Fe, New Mexico” stationery, the secret P.O. Box address used for the project whose physical location was undisclosed. Also includes original mailing envelope postmarked 7 November 1945. Document, measuring 8.5″ x 11″ has some folding from mailing, else near fine. Sold for $3,800.
We have also auctioned an Enrico Fermi Award that was given to physicist Leon Lederman. Lot details are below.
The Enrico Fermi Award presented to Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman in 1992. The Fermi Award, first given in 1956, honors scientists from around the world for their lifetime achievements, with many of the recipients also winning Nobel Prizes. Medal features a relief portrait of Enrico Fermi, with his name and the years of his birth and death. ”SCIENTIA PROGRESSUS” is also engraved on front, which translates from Latin to ”the progress of science”. Verso reads: ”PRESENTED TO / LEON LEDERMAN / FOR ESPECIALLY MERITORIOUS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT, USE, OR CONTROL OF ATOMIC ENERGY / 1992” and is framed by the words, ”DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY / UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”. Gold-plated medal weighs 324 grams or 11.4 ounces, and measures 3” in diameter. Case measures 5.25” x 5.25” x 1.5”. Very small mark on front of medal on Fermi’s lapel. Near fine condition. With an LOA by Leon Lederman. Sold for $25,000.
Here are some other recent items that our auction house, Nate D. Sanders (http://www.NateDSanders.com) has sold:
The 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded to physiologist Alan Lloyd Hodgkin for establishing the propagation mechanism of nerve impulses called action potentials — consequently helping to understand the mechanism behind disorders such as multiple sclerosis, seizures and Parkinson’s disease. Hodgkin is also responsible for identifying the Hodgkin Cycle and, along with colleagues Andrew Fielding Huxley and John Carew Eccles, hypothesized the existence of ion channels on cell membranes, a concept which took over 20 years to confirm; that confirmation earned Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann the 1991 Nobel Prize. This Nobel Prize medal is made of 23k gold and features the relief portrait of Alfred Nobel, with his name and the years of his birth and death. Verso features the words, ”INVENTAS VITAM JUVAT EXCOLUISSE PER ARTES”, which translates from Latin to, ”Inventions enhance life which is beautified through art”. A.L. Hodgkin’s name and the year 1963 in Roman numerals are engraved on a plaque below the relief, framed by the words, ”REG. UNIVERSITAS MED-CHIR-CAROL”. On the right side is the name ”E LINDBERG”, who designed the prize. Comes with 6 original photographs of Hodgkin (at least 4 of which are from the ceremony in Oslo on 10 December 1963), a New York Times article on Hodgkin dated 18 October 1963, a portion of a 1976 issue of ”The Journal of Physiology” featuring an essay by Hodgkin, and the official 1963 English edition of the Nobel Prize publication, featuring Hodgkin and partner Huxley on the cover. Medal is housed in the maroon leather presentation box with a white satin lining and Hodgkin’s name printed on the front. Box measures 5.5” x 5.5” x 1”. Medal measures 6.5 cm or 2.56” in diameter, and weighs 196 g or 6.9 oz, consistent with the original Nobel Prizes awarded in 1963. Presented in near fine condition. With an LOA from the daughter of Dr. Alan Hodgkin. Sold for $795,614.
Gutenberg Bible Leaf 193 Chronicles of Old Testament
Scarce leaf from the Gutenberg Bible, one of the earliest major books printed from moveable metal type, the invention that ushered in the Age of Enlightenment by democratizing knowledge through mass production of literature. Printed by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany from 1450-1455, less than 50 complete or near-complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible are now extant, with nearly all those housed in public institutions. Singular leaves are also scarce, with the leaf presented here having been acquired by bookseller Gabriel Wells, whose purchase of an incomplete Bible in 1920 gave way to selling the individual leaves alongside an essay by A. Edward Newton entitled “A Noble Fragment”. Leaf is number 193 of the full Latin Bible, with the recto being the Prologue to 1 Chronicles of the Old Testament, and the verso the first part of Chapter 1 of 1 Chronicles. Each page features two columns of 42 lines in dark black Gothic type, accented by red and blue rubrication. Each copy of the Gutenberg Bible differs in its rubrication and illumination, with buyers at the time deciding upon these embellishments after the Bible was printed. The six-line rubricated letters of this leaf were likely added later, restored to match the original style. Leaf measures 11.125″ x 15.375″, bound on edge to portfolio measuring 11.75″ x 16″. Paper quality is still bright with very little foxing or discoloration compared to other examples. A stunning example from the book that changed the course of history. Sold for $136,500.
Albert Einstein autograph letter signed with his hand drawings, elegantly explaining his electrostatic theory of special relativity to a physics teacher struggling to reconcile it with experiments he was conducting. In addition to the letter, which is new to the market, Einstein generously replies to a series of questions the teacher asks him on a questionnaire, providing additional drawings and calculations, initialed ”A.E.” at the conclusion. Dated 4 September 1953 on Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study letterhead, Einstein writes to Arthur L. Converse, the teacher from Malcolm, Iowa, in part, ”There is no difficulty to explain your present experiment on the basis of the usual electrostatic theory. One has only to assume that there is a difference of potential between the body of the earth and higher layers of the atmosphere, the earth being negative relatively to those higher layers…[Einstein then draws Earth and the atmosphere, referring to it for clarification] The electric potential p rises linearly with the distance h from the surface of the earth…For all your experiments the following question is relevant: How big is the electric charge produced on a conductor which is situated in a certain height h, this body being connected with the earth…” Einstein then answers Converse’s questions on a two-page questionnaire. In one answer, Einstein seems to disagree with the question, providing both a diagram and mathematical equation and then a ”?” to try to aid understanding. He later writes ”not clear” to one answer along with a question mark and additional diagram with the notation ”charge of elektroscope increased proportional to h”. An extraordinary lot by Einstein showing the generosity of his time, with rare content on his theory of special relativity. Single page letter and two-page questionnaire each measures 8.5” x 11”. Also included is Einstein’s original mailing envelope from ”Room 115” of the Institute for Advanced Study, postmarked 7 September 1953 from Princeton. Folds and very light toning to letter, otherwise near fine. Questionnaire has folds, light toning and staple mark, otherwise near fine with bold handwriting by Einstein. Dark Albert Einstein autograph. With an LOA from the nephew of Arthur Converse and new to the market.Sold for $53,504.
FREE ESTIMATE. To buy, auction, sell or consign your Enrico Fermi autograph letter signed that is for sale, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).