From Rudolf Oldenbourg   28 October 1866

Dear Sir!

I hope you will excuse the liberty I take in writing this letter to you, which, I am afraid, will come too late reach its purpose.

I read in the papers, that your work “domesticated animals and cultivated plants” is just out,¹ and I wish to publish a german translation of it through my house (firm: Cotta & Co^y. in Stuttgart, and Munich),² if you have not allready disposed of such a translation, what I allmost must guess through a letter, which you wrote in June to my friend Professor Nägeli.³

I thought, to have the translation to be done by D^r. Peschel, the author of some works of best repute (Geschichte der Erdkunde),⁴ if you would give your consent to such a plan.

Being for many years a personal admirer of your studies, I had reason to regret, that the german translations of your works, untill now, allways fell into hands, which were not quite fit for it, though the translators were respectable men.

I recollect, that when 12 years ago I read your journey in South America, translated by Dieffenbach, I could not help smiling at the remarquable awkwardness of poor M^r. Dieffenbach’s translation, who in a life of travel-toil had forgot his german.⁵ More serious are the insufficiencies of M^r. Bronn’s translation of your “origin” because they have actually caused misunderstandings and doubts, which could be removed only by those, who were able to recur to the English original⁶

Your friend Prof Huxley was much better introduced into the german world, and my sincere wish would be to give your eminent productions a german garment equally worthy of their great merits.⁷

As to the respectability of my house you will easily get information in any of the foreign bookselling-houses in London, Messrs Williams and Norgate or Duleau.⁸

I am, dear Sir, | your most obed^t. servant | R. Oldenbourg

Prof Nägeli told me yesterday that he was going to write to you in a few days⁹

Charles Darwin Esq^r. | Down | Bromley | Kent S.E.