Albert Einstein’s leather jacket sold for £110,500 at Christie’s Valuable Books and Manuscripts sale in July.

Christie’s specialist Thomas Venning described the jacket as being full of character. ‘Einstein was an incessant pipe smoker and, astonishingly, 60 years after his death, his jacket still smells of smoke.’

Photographic memories

The Levi-Strauss jacket first appeared in a number of photographs of Einstein taken in the mid-1930s and became a staple of the great man’s wardrobe.

Said Venning: ‘Einstein wore it all the time, a fact mentioned in the memoirs of fellow scientist Leopold Infeld, who worked with him at Princeton. Infeld explained that Einstein tried to keep material restrictions to a minimum. Long hair reduced the need for a barber and, he wrote, “one leather jacket solved the coat problem for years.”’

Christie’s next major books sale is on 30 November.

To find out more go to christies.com