The first violin Albert Einstein bought for himself which he hid from the Nazis has today sold for nearly £1.1million.The genius mathematician acquired the instrument shortly before leaving Munich to move to Switzerland for his studies in the mid 1890s.He played the violin, which he engraved 'Lina', throughout his late teens and into his adult life as he developed his groundbreaking theory of relativity.Einstein gifted the 1894 Anton Zunterer violin to his good friend and physicist colleague Max von Laue in late 1932.He was about to flee Germany for America to escape Nazi persecution due to his Jewish faith and wanted his 'pride and joy' to not be lost.Twenty years later, von Laue gifted the instrument to a friendly acquaintance and Einstein fan, Margarete Hommrich from Braunschweig.The treasured relic remained in her family for 70 years but was today sold by Mrs Hommrich's great-great granddaughter at auctioneers Dominic Winter, of Cirencester, Gloucs.It was estimated at £200,000 to £300,000 but sparked a bidding war and there was a round of applause in the room as the hammer came down at £860,000.The first violin Albert Einstein bought for himself which he hid from the Nazis has today sold for nearly £1.1million Einstein playing the violin in Germany, 1929. He said that had he not become a physicist he would have pursued a career in musicWith auctioneers fees included, the undisclosed buyer paid £1.087million for it.It sold for more than the violin played by Titanic crewman Wallace Hartley while the infamous ship sank in 1912. That instrument sold for £900,000 in 2013.Einstein started playing the violin aged five and practiced almost every day throughout his life, even giving public performances.Sadly, no audio recordings exist but he said that, had he not become a physicist, he would have pursued a career in music.The violin, which has the Munich-based maker's dated label inside, has all original parts about from strings, the tail loop and fine-tuning screw.Senior auctioneer Chris Albury said ahead of the sale: 'We are thrilled to be handling these extraordinary historical artefacts. Einstein gifted the 1894 Anton Zunterer violin to his good friend and physicist colleague Max von Laue in late 1932 Einstein started playing the violin aged five and practiced almost every day throughout his life, even giving public performances He played the violin, which he engraved 'Lina', throughout his late teens The violin, which has the Munich-based maker's dated label inside, has all original parts about from strings, the tail loop and fine-tuning screw Einstein (left) making music with Bruno Esser (right) aboard the ship Deutschland, 1927'Einstein's violin is a particularly precious and exciting item to handle.'When it arrived for analysis and valuation the violin's sound post and bridge were both detached and it had not been played for a very long time.'We know that Einstein named all his violins 'Lina', so to see this etched onto the back panel was hair-raising.'Von Laue had later disposed of the bicycle when it seized up, but he kept this leather saddle as it was so comfortable.'Remarkably, the original Nelson saddle order form, completed, dated and signed in Einstein's hand was also retained and is offered with the saddle.'The Zunterer 'Lina' violin would seem to be the one he would have been playing from his later teens and through his early adult life, most notably when he published his important papers on relativity in 1905 and 1915.'It is spine-tingling to think that he would have been playing pieces by his beloved Mozart and Bach while his young mind was thinking through his revolutionary ideas, many of which still underpin so much scientific and technological research today.'Einstein died in 1955.