{London,}] 30 September 1876 

Dear Bracke, 

I had already learnt of your transactions with B. Becker from 
your various letters to Engels, since we always show one another 
everything that has a bearing on party interests. 

As soon as I received your letter, Engels and I ventilated every 
aspect of the question and came to the conclusion that considera- 
tion for Becker is not in any way incompatible with your 
publication of Lissagaray’s work.* 

1. You terminated your engagement with B. Becker, purely on 
business grounds—long before there was any mention of Lis- 
sagaray’s work—after he had abruptly turned down your proposals. 
Moreover, you paid him 300 talers by way of compensation. That 
meant that the matter was settled, nor could it possibly be assumed 
that, from then on, your house would refrain from printing any 
works relating to the history of the Commune. 

2. In so far as Lissagaray’s work competes with Becker’s,” such 
competition is going to arise whether the work is published by you 
or by someone else. (Liebknecht just now offered to have it 
published by the Volksstaat printing office, an offer we would in no 
circumstances accept.) Lissagaray’s work will be appearing in 
Brussels in a few weeks’ time, whereas Becker won’t have finished 
his until May 1877. So any injury he may incur thereby is in any 
case inevitable. 

3. Although Becker’s and Lissagaray’s books have the same 
title— History of the Commune—they differ completely in kind and 
are works which, had not commercial or other considerations 
intervened, might very well have been brought out by the same 
publisher. 

Becker’s work is at best a compilation, written from the German 
critical standpoint, of material concerning the Commune which is 
available to anyone in Paris. 

Lissagaray’s book is the work of a participant in the events 
described (and to that extent it is in the nature of a memoir), a 
participant, moreover, who had at his command a wealth of 

a [P. O.} Lissagaray, Histoire de la Commune de 1871, - > B. Becker, Geschichte und 
Theorie der Pariser revolutiondren Kommune des Jahres 1871. 

manuscripts stemming from the protagonists in the drama, etc., 
which were not accessible to anyone else. 

The only possible connection between the two works is that 
Becker will find in Lissagaray’s book a fresh source which he 
cannot afford to leave out of account and which may necessitate 
extensive alterations to his manuscript, in so far as this has already 
been completed. 

Your interest in the publication of Lissagaray’s book is the same 
as induced you to commission Becker to compile the materia] — 
namely party interest which you can satisfy, as said above under 
1., without remotely infringing your publishing encacements origi- 
nally entered into with Becker. 

So much for that point. 

As regards Mr Grunzig, I should like you to make inquiries 
from Most concerning the man’s character. Should the particulars 
prove satisfactory, I would tentatively send Mr Grunzig a first 
sample sheet for translation so as to be able to judge whether he is 
up to this far from easy work. 

Lissagaray has sent me the first five printed sheets. From this I 
see that it is a luxury edition, only thirty lines per page. If the 
French original runs to 500-600 pages, it will, in an ordinary 
German edition, hardly run to more than 400 pages. 

Your stipulation as to the apportionment of profits meets with 
my complete approval; should it yield nothing, Lissagaray, like you 
yourself, must and will rest content with that. 

As regards the translator's fee, that is a matter for you alone to 
decide. It is no concern of the French author. 

As regards all the other stipulations—number of copies, 
design, prices, etc.—the decision is yours alone. (For Lissagaray has 
given me plein pouvoir’ to act in his name.) 

On the title-page you should print: ‘Translation authorized by 
the writer of this work.’ 

On the title-page of the French original Lissagaray will put ‘tous 
les droits réservés” so that you will be able to confiscate any eventual 
German translation that competes with yours. 

With cordial regards, 

Yours, 
Karl Marx