Pierre and Marie CURIE thanks for the award of the Gegner prize.

Pierre Curie (1859-1906)

Autographed letter signed to Marcellin Berthelot.

One octavo page on letterhead of the School of Physics and Chemistry.

Collector's stamp crossed out and slight damage in upper right corner.

Auroux. August 8, 1898.

Pierre and Marie Curie express their gratitude for the awarding of the Gegner Prize, which has just been given to Marie Curie.

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"Mr., Mrs. Curie, and I are very grateful to the Academy for its decision regarding the awarding of the Gegner Prize . Please accept, Sir, our sincere thanks and the assurance of our deepest respect. P. Curie."

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Since 1871, the French Academy of Sciences has awarded the Gegner Prize to a scientist distinguished by the rigor of their work. In 1898, the prize was awarded to Marie Curie, who had distinguished herself through her research on the magnetic properties of metals. She received the Gegner Prize again in 1900 and 1902, thus marking her path to her two Nobel Prizes (in Physics in 1903, and then in Chemistry in 1913).

This letter is sent from Lozère, where the Curies are spending their holidays to "breathe the fresh air after the noxious atmosphere of the rue de Lhomond." One might be surprised to see Pierre Curie responding to an announcement of a prize not intended for him, but it was indeed he who received, on behalf of his wife, the congratulations of Marcellin Berthelot (and also of Henri Becquerel).

With the Gegner prize in hand, and relieved by the 3800 francs that came with the award, the Curies put aside the study of magnetism to devote themselves exclusively to that of radium and radioactive substances.