Dear Sir

I am very happy Dear Sir to share any profits that will come out of the Edition of Your new book and I hope profits will come out of it.² We had so much to talk over during my visit, that I could not fully explain to You how matter stands with Your other works.³ I would be extremely glad to share also any profits from Your former 4 vol. but unhappily till now I am a heavy loser by them.⁴ You will appreciate this seemingly strange fact by my saying that besides my complete Edition of Your Descent of Man, we have in Russia two pirated abridged edition of the same work selling at a very low price.⁵ We are not protected by a treaty and every successful book printed in England is sure to be published in an abridged and bad translation, which by its low price cuts entirely all profits of a good and complete Edition.

By publishing the work “on Expression” shortly after the original there is a hope of preventing competitive and bad Editions, but still I must be prepared that after the book is out in England it will be translated and printed in a cheap form with some of the woodcuts made in Russia, and the whole book sold at 2/6 or 3s.⁶ However if profits will come, I and my brother will be very glad to share them.⁷ If You will allow me, I’ll call one day of the ensuing week, for a short visit, on You, and try to arrange this matter to our mutual satisfaction

Your very truly | W. Kowalevsky