Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$350.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Apparently '1921' on the title page (which is the case here) indicates that the book is either the second or third printing, depending on who is describing it. A few sellers say it's the second printing, a few others identify it as the third. On the front end paper of my book the previous owner lightly penciled '2nd + printing of the 1st American edition.' Whichever, it is fairly rare with only a handful of other copies for sale on the Internet. I have priced mine quite inexpensively relative to these others. Type in 1921 and you can check that out. You can see the covers in the photos. They have few light smudges, the result of over a hundred years of being handled, but no stains or discolorations. The gilt lettering on the front cover is a little bit lightened. On the spine it may have been green (not sure) and is more lightened, but still legible, although not so much in the photo. There isn't a lot of wear on the covers. There are two tiny tears at the top edge of the spine. The cover edges are in very good shape. The cover corners have held up quite well, the two bottom ones each have one very small spot of rub-through. The top page edge appears to have had a topstain. It's a little bit faded now. All three page edges look pretty good, no conspicuous soiling or staining. The book is square and the spine is straight. The covers do not bow out like some others I have seen. The binding is quite solid from cover to cover. At the middle of the book there is a very, very thin space at the juncture between two facing pages. Both pages are firmly bound from top to bottom. Both covers are nicely, tightly bound. No issues at either of the junctures with their facing end papers or with any of the pages in the book. The pages are very clean. Scrolling through, I've yet to find any instances of soiling. There are a half-dozen or so very small tan spots on the blank side of the half-title page, not much of anything. I didn't see any other spotting on any other page in the book. The pages are slightly, but uniformly toned, as you would expect them to be. I'm not finding any conspicuous creasing, no placeholder creases, no turned-down corners. Nor are there any markings or attachments of any kind. I mentioned the lightly penciled reference to the printing off the top edge of the front end paper. At the other top corner of this page there is what may be a penciled name. Hard to read it, maybe Einstein, but I erased it. No, I don't erase anything. It looks like E. something, definitely Not Einstein. Anyway the penciling could easily be erased if one chose to. These two light pencilings represent the only writing be found anywhere in the book. There is a nice frontispiece drawing of Einstein. The frontispiece has crinkling off its middle edge and across the way just off its juncture with its facing page. No tears. I didn't see any tears on any of the pages. I didn't see any of crinkling on any of the other pages. The crinkling on the frontispiece does not reach Dr. Einstein's face (or brain).
Seller: Rareeclectic, pound ridge, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$2225.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Dark blue cloth boards with gold lettering on front cover, green lettering on spine. There are a few scratches and bumps to the cover, slight wear around edges and corners. Book plate noted inside front cover. The pages are heavy and yellowing. The text is clean and intact, the binding is tight. Translated by Robert W. Lawson M.Sc. There is an etching of Einstein dated 1920. A boigraphical note on the author is included here. DATE PUBLISHED: 1921 EDITION: 168 PAGES
Seller: Princeton Antiques Bookshop, Atlantic City, NJ, U.S.A.