Establish the identity and fate of the missing figure referenced in Minkowski’s manuscript

Determine whether Hermann Minkowski produced a separate, careful drawing of the complete geometric derivation of Lorentz contraction that corresponds to the “Figur” referenced on folio f56v of the manuscript, and establish what happened to that drawing.

Background

Minkowski’s manuscript refers to a “Figur” associated with the derivation of the Lorentz-contraction factor, but no corresponding figure survives in the manuscript. The paper conjectures that Minkowski may have created a more complete drawing for the presentation and subsequently removed or reused it. Identifying this figure would clarify how the geometric argument was originally presented and how the surviving diagrams relate to later versions used in the Cologne lecture.

References

A figure that would correspond to this ``Figur'' is not contained in the manusccript, and my conjecture is that Minkowski produced a careful drawing for the entire argument which he then took out and reused for later expositions of the argument.

— Minkowski's Geometric Explanation of Lorentz Contraction  (2608.20138 - Sauer, 20 Aug 2026) in Section 4, paragraph beginning “A complete derivation of the contraction factor”

But I conjecture that this figure is already close to what Minkowski was referring to in his Ferienkurs manuscripts.

— Minkowski's Geometric Explanation of Lorentz Contraction  (2608.20138 - Sauer, 20 Aug 2026) in Section 4, paragraph beginning “I will therefore now continue to present the entire argument”