Letter 5425 — Darwin, C. R. to E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, [19 Mar 1867]

Dear Sir

I have received the press proof of my new book, which will probably be entitled The V. of A. & P. under D. It will be in 2 Vols 8^vo. with 43 wood-blocks.—^f2 Whether so large a work will be worth translating into German I cannot judge. I have had two applications from G. publishers for clean sheets for translation, & one offer on payment.^f3 But I would give up any claim for payment if I could get a good translator. Do you continue to wish to bring out a translation, & could you persuade Prof. V. C. to translate the work?^f4 If you inform me that he will translate it, subject to your resolving to have a Translation, I would send you clean sheets as soon as half-a dozen have been printed off. But please to observe on Prof V. Carus being the translator You would have to negotiate with M^r Murray for stereotypes of the wood-blocks. I sh^d wish for an answer before much of the work is printed so that if you decline I might offer early sheets to the other applicants.—

Hoping that my offer may interest you, I remain, Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | C. D.—

Footnotes

f1

The date is established by the reference to this letter in the letter from E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 22 March 1867.

f2

CD refers to Variation.

f3

CD had received an offer to translate Variation from Rudolf Oldenburg, the business manager for the Munich branch of the firm J. G. Cotta’schen Buchhandlung (Bosl ed. 1983; see Correspondence vol. 14, letter from Rudolf Oldenbourg, 28 October 1866). More recently, CD’s publisher, John Murray, had received an offer from a publisher in Jena (see letter from John Murray, 19 March [1867] and n. 5).

f4

Julius Victor Carus had recently completed the German translation of the fourth edition of Origin (Bronn and Carus trans. 1867; see letter to J. V. Carus, 17 February [1867]).