From V. O. Kovalevsky 10 September 1872
London | 218 Euston Road.
10 Sept. 72.
Dear Sir
As I expected I found letters from my brother stating that he is intent at all events to bring the Russian edition out, should You give Your permission for doing so; besides as a means for You to form an estimate as to the amount that may fall to our common profit and the share You will think fair he sends me the following estimate furnished to him by the printer.—1
Estimate for 2000 copies.—
Printing 3£. p. sheet — 75.
Paper 100 reams at 12/ — 60
Corrections?? — — 15
Binding — — 25
Satinage2 of papers and sundries 10
£ 185
Besides the cost of printing we have:
Translation 4s the page — 80
Casts from Murray — 103
Heliotypes 2000 150
Transport of casts & Heliot.
to S Petersb. — 10
£ 250
185 £. 435.
The highest price that could be possible fixed for such a book in our country is 7s 6d; 33% is given to the booksellers the net price is 5s. per copy or £500 for the 2000.— Trying to make an edition of 3000, as he intents, we shall have 75£. per heliotypes more and £40 for paper and printing the cost will be £.550, but the return £750 or 200£. net profit.—4 This expected profit he is quite willing to share in the manner You will think fair.—
The price of the book could not on any account be more than 7s. 6d and, even at this, comparatively high price for Russia, we may expect a pirated edition with bad woodcuts or without them at 3s. or so.5
Still dear Sir You are perfectly free to dispose of the translation as best You like if You find the given estimates unsatisfactory, if not I will call on You one morning and settle this affair finally.6 I looked over Wund’s book but did not find much that would be of any immediate use for You, still I marked in the second volume some points page 1–40 and more from page 320 to the end.7 There is still less in the first vol., but I will look it over and send to You one of these days.—
Your very truly | W. Kowalevsky
P.S. The letter You received seems to me to come from a lady, she wishes certainly, having the proof-sheets, to offer the translation to some editor.8
Footnotes
Bibliography
Chambers: The Chambers dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers. 1998.
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Expression: The expression of the emotions in man and animals. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1872.
Wundt, Max Wilhelm. 1863. Vorlesungen ueber die Menschen- und Thierseele. Leipzig: L. Voss.
Summary
Alexander [Kovalevsky] is intent on assisting Russian publication of Expression. Sends estimates of costs and profits. At 7s 6d per copy a net profit of £150–200 is expected.
Wilhelm Wundt [Menschen und Thierseele (1863)] probably of no use.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-8516
- From
- Vladimir Onufrievich Kovalevsky (Владимир Онуфриевич Ковалевский)
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- London, Euston Rd, 218
- Source of text
- DAR 169: 93
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 8516,” accessed on 20 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-8516.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 20