Letter to Maurice Lachâtre and Juste Vernouillet, February 9, 1872

Author(s)	Karl Marx
Written	9 February 1872

First published in: Marx and Engels, Works, Second Russian Edition, Vol. 33, Moscow, 1964. Translated from the French
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 44

MARX TO MAURICE LACHÂTRE AND JUSTE VERNOUILLET^[1]

IN PARIS

London, 9 February 1872
1 Maitland Park Road,
Haverstock Hill

Dear Sirs,

Please be so good as to make two copies of the enclosed contract on stamped paper, one to be signed by Mr Maurice Lachâtre, and then send both copies to me, one of which I shall return duly signed.

In a letter dated 2 February my translator tells me:

'I shall start work this very day and proceed more quickly or less quickly, depending upon the time allowed me by the publisher. At all events I shall be entirely at his disposal.'

You would oblige me by enabling me to advise Mr Roy of 'the time allowed'.

I have the honour to be, Sirs,

Your obedient servant,

Karl Marx

↑ The surviving manuscript copy of the letter does not bear the name of the addressee. However, its contents and Marx's correspondence on the subject indicate that it was addressed to the heads of the Lachâtre publishing house in Paris. On 13 February 1872 Marx received a reply from the manager Juste Vernouillet, who informed him about the despatch of copies of the agree ment on the publication of the French translation of Volume I of Capital. The agreement was signed on 15 February by Marx on one side, and Maurice Lachâtre and Juste Vernouillet on the other. It stipulated that the French edi tion was to be published in 44 instalments, and sold five instalments at a time.
The French authorised edition of Volume I of Capital was published between 17 September 1872 and November 1875. The translation was done by Joseph Roy, who began in February 1872 and completed work in late 1873. The quality of the translation largely failed to satisfy Marx; besides, he was convinced that the original needed to be revised to adapt it to French readers.

[1] The surviving manuscript copy of the letter does not bear the name of the addressee. However, its contents and Marx's correspondence on the subject indicate that it was addressed to the heads of the Lachâtre publishing house in Paris. On 13 February 1872 Marx received a reply from the manager Juste Vernouillet, who informed him about the despatch of copies of the agree ment on the publication of the French translation of Volume I of Capital. The agreement was signed on 15 February by Marx on one side, and Maurice Lachâtre and Juste Vernouillet on the other. It stipulated that the French edi tion was to be published in 44 instalments, and sold five instalments at a time.
The French authorised edition of Volume I of Capital was published between 17 September 1872 and November 1875. The translation was done by Joseph Roy, who began in February 1872 and completed work in late 1873. The quality of the translation largely failed to satisfy Marx; besides, he was convinced that the original needed to be revised to adapt it to French readers.

[1]