To J. V. Carus   30 October 1869

Down. | Beckenham | Kent. S.E.

Oct 30 1869

My dear Sir

I recd this morning a letter from Prof. Vogt proposing to translate my new book for Mr Ricker.1 At the same time he tells me the very bad news that you are no longer Professor at Leipzig.2 Under these circumstances Vogt suggests that you wd perhaps have more time than before, & find it more convenient to translate my new book, & in that case he begs me to consider his proposition as never made.

Under these circumstances I shall be delighted if you will accept the right of translation, & you can apply to any publisher whom you like & make the best terms you can. As my books sell pretty well in Germany a publisher ought to give you a considerable remuneration for the right and labour of translation. When I know the size of my book, though I dare say this will not be for 9 or 12 months, I will let you know, to aid you in making any agreement. The book will not be very small & will contain a good many wood cuts.

Besides Mr Ricker mentioned above, Mr Duncker of Berlin, & Mr Brockhaus of Leipzig have applied to me for the right of translation.3

Pray believe me | my dear Sir | yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin

See letter from Carl Vogt, 26 October 1869. Franz Anton Ricker was the director of the publishing firm of J. Ricker’sche Buchhandlung. The ‘new book’ was Descent.
CD refers to Alexander Duncker of Alexander Duncker Verlag and Heinrich Brockhaus of F. A. Brockhaus Verlag.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6960,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6960