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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2009
Towards the end of the career of many a distinguished scientist, or shortly after his or her death, an edition of the scientist's articles is published under the title: ‘The Collected Papers of…’. While not wishing to slight either the ceremonial importance or real utility of such collections, they must be clearly distinguished from the sort of editions on which the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein is modelled. The former are primarily intended to make the published papers of a great scientist easily accessible to other scholars and students working in the same field as an aid to their research. The reader is provided with little or no help in understanding or evaluating the historical role these writings played in the development of this field, the circumstances leading to their creation, or how they fit into the life of their creator.
1 For a comprehensive discussion of documentary editing, with some indications of the difference between literary and historical editing traditions, see Kline, Mary-Jo, A Guide to Documentary Editing, Johns Hopkins, 1987.Google Scholar
2 Boyd, Julian P. (ed.), The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Princeton, 1950.Google Scholar
3 Reingold, Nathan (ed.), The Papers of Joseph Henry, Smithsonion Institution, 1972.Google Scholar
4 From an address to students of UCLA in 1932. The German text and an English translation appear in Builders of the Universe, U.S. Library Association, 1932. I have retranslated the German text from pp. 94–96.
5 The Autobiographical Notes were first published in 1949. I shall quote from the revised English translation in Einstein, Albert, Autobiographical Notes/A Centennial Edition, Open Court, 1979.Google Scholar
6 He was speaking about Max Planck, and more generally of a certain type of scientist among whom he clearly included himself. See ‘Principles of research’, in Einstein, Albert, Ideas and Opinions, Crown, 1954, pp. 224–227.Google Scholar
7 From an inscription in memory of Kammerlingh-Onnes. See Dukas, Helen and Hoffman, Banesh (ed.), Albert Einstein/The Human Side, Princeton, 1979, p. 18.Google Scholar
8 See von Meyenn, Karl (ed.), Wolfgang Pauli/Wissenschaftliche Briefwechsel mit Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg u.a., Springer, 1979Google Scholar; Rosenfeld, Leon and Rudinger, Erik (eds.), Niels Bohr/Collected Works, North-Holland, 1972Google Scholar; Blum, W., Durr, H.P. and Rechenberg, H. (eds.), Werner Heisenberg/Gesammelter Werke, Abteilungen, A.B., Springer, 1984Google Scholar; Abteilung C., Piper, 1984.Google Scholar
9 The German text of the Foreword was published in the Japanese edition. I have translated from a photocopy of this text provided to the Einstein Archive by the owner of a copy of this edition.
10 Albert Einstein to David Bohm, 28 October 1954 (Item 8–050 in the Control Index to the Einstein Archive).
11 Einstein, Albert to Darmstädter, Ludwig, 29 12 1919 (Item 43–509 in the Control Index to the Einstein Archive).Google Scholar
12 Solovine, Maurice (ed.), Albert Einstein/Lettres a Maurice Solovine, Gauthier-Villars, 1956Google Scholar; Born, Max (ed.), The Born–Einstein Letters, Walker, 1971Google Scholar; Speziali, Pierre (ed.), Albert Einstein/Michele Besso/Correspondance 1903–1955, Hermann, 1972Google Scholar; Hermann, Armin (ed.), Albert Einstein/Arnold Sommefeld/Briefwechsel, Schabe & Co., 1968Google Scholar; Debever, Robert (ed.), Elie Cartari–Albert Einstein/Letters on Absolute Parallelism 1929–1932, Princeton, 1979.Google Scholar For a list of some of the published Einstein letters see Wheaton, Bruce R. and Heilbron, J. L., An Inventory of Published Letters To and From Physicists 1900–1950, Office for History of Science and Technology, U. of California, 1982.Google Scholar
13 See, for example, Einstein, Albert, Mein Weltbild, Ullstein, 1981Google Scholar; and Einstein, Albert, Ideas and Opinions, Crown, 1954Google Scholar; for editions currently in print. The essay in question is printed on pp. 127–131 of the German edition, and pp. 227–232 of the English edition.
14 Item 1–002 in the Control Index to the Einstein Archive.
15 Einstein, A., Bemerkung zu der Arbeit von A. Friedmann: Uber die Krummung des Raumes, Zeitschrift für Physik, (1922), 11, p. 326.Google Scholar
16 Einstein, A., Notiz zu der Bemerkung der Arbeit von A. Friedmann: Uber die Krummung des Raumes, Zeitschrift für Physik, (1922), 16, p. 228.Google Scholar
17 Item 1–026 in the Control Index to the Einstein Archive. The translation is my own.
