Transcription with doubtful readings: 44 of the 271 words of the final text (16.2 %) are marked as uncertain ([?]) or illegible ([ilegible]), and each of them is explained in a note; in the body of the letter there are 14 of 198 (7.1 %), in the marginal note and the lower block 30 of 73 (41 %). Draft of a letter from Karl Marx to Isaac Ironside in Sheffield, written in Manchester; the date, 21 June 1856, and the addressee are those given by the editors of the MEW (vol. 29). Manuscript preserved at the IISG (Karl Marx / Friedrich Engels Papers, inv. C 714, image 3; the inventory files it under “Sheffield Free Press, The”), transcribed from the digital facsimile by the Escuela de marxismo, 2026 (double reading and collation with the image). The base text is in very faint pencil, in a clear slanting hand (according to the MEW editors, Engels's); the corrections and additions, the note of the date, the marginal note and the words written over the lower block are in ink (Marx's hand). The lower block, corrected in layers, yields only fragments. Written in English. Diplomatic transcription: spelling and punctuation of the manuscript; deletions as text where legible, otherwise [ilegible]; additions above the line inserted in their place, with a note; [?] after an uncertain reading, [ilegible] for what cannot be read. Nothing has been completed from other editions; where the MEW gives a reading of a doubtful passage, the note says so. Traducción al español
34 Rutland[?] St. Grnhys[?], Mchr.[?] 25[?]1
d.[?] d.[?] June 142
Dr Sir
I received your letter this morning only, as it had to be sent to me here to Mchr. where I am at present shall3 stay for some time weeks4. [ilegible] I [ilegible] you &5
I have duly considered your proposal, and, on the whole, accede to it. I need not repeat, that I6 In a matter like this, it is impossible to mention expressly every small particular, nor[?]7 to agree upon the size of type &c. neither do I expect anticipate8 that any difficulties may arise therefrom, nor from [ilegible]9 ( the reservation I [ilegible] [ilegible]10 make as to a[?]11 "copy used" [†] 112 I should not accept of[?] on the part of any[?] [ilegible]13 [ilegible] I shall provide you in time for next Saturday ( but one's publication, with fully 2 columns of matter & keep you amply supplied every week with[?] to that extent.
It would be [ilegible] most14 convenient to me, (if your arrangements admit of it) to receive a remittance say after every five months[?] weekly publications.
As to your reprinting the papers in your series, I have no objection, reserving to myself15 of course, the right to myself the right of using the materials later on, in any way I may see it16 fit to use them.
[In the left margin, vertically:]17 [ilegible] [ilegible] ⌐ with[?]18 [ilegible] Treasury, English records etc[?] I should[?] not a[ilegible]19
[Lower block:]20 I [ilegible] as I am ( that you will[?] not suppress[?] historical truth out of21 / + [ilegible] [ilegible] same[?] [ilegible] the[?] latter[?] point ( I reserve to myself the liberty22 / of treating[?] of ( you will think[?] it only just[?] that I [ilegible] [ilegible] ( from[?] ) any23 / [ilegible] [ilegible] suppressed[?] [ilegible] conviction[?] [ilegible] ( which[?] [ilegible] are of decisive[?] ( historical importance,24 / not all surrender[?] myself not free [ilegible] they[?] with ┐25 / I should not[?] [ilegible] obliged[?] to [ilegible] [ilegible] the publication.26 / * prejudice[?] or partiality[?] [ilegible] contract[?]27
Address in pencil at the top right. Street: an initial with a loop on the left (R or B), then “utl”, two or three letters and a tall stroke before “St.”: “Rutland” or “Butler”. “Grnhys”: G, small low letters (r, n), h, y, s, an abbreviation of the district. “Mchr.”: M, c, h, r with a full stop. Figure: 2 and a second figure (5 or 3). The MEW gives the address as “34, Butler St., Greenheys, Manchester” and dates the draft 21 June 1856. ↩
In dark ink below the address, underlined with a long stroke. The two initials have the shape of Marx's looped d with a descender: “d. d.” (dated) or “J. D.”. It refers to Ironside's letter of 14 June, mentioned in the MEW. ↩
“shall” written in ink above the line. ↩
“weeks” written in ink above the deleted “time”. ↩
The long deletion at the end of the line is in pencil; the struck word before “you” may be “report” or “expect”. “&” at the end, in pencil. ↩
Addition in ink over “In a matter like this”, enclosed in a loop that crosses “I need”: cancelled. The sign after “that” (“I”?) is blotted. ↩
A pencil word retraced in heavy ink: n, o, r, without the tall stroke of the d of “and”. ↩
“anticipate” written in ink above the deleted “expect”. ↩
Above “from”, in ink, a word of three letters (o; r or z; b or h), followed by an opening bracket in ink before “the”; neither “or the” nor “out” fits. ↩
This line is covered by a broad smear or stroke of pencil (perhaps a cancellation); only “tion”, “make”, “as to "copy used"” and traces of two words are visible. ↩
A small letter above the quotation marks; perhaps only a sign. ↩
At the end of the line, in ink, a cross or call sign and a figure 1. ↩
Addition in ink, written along the lower edge of the broad pencil stroke. After “accept” a short word with a descender (“of”, or “it”); “any”: a, n and a small y. The last word begins with a tall capital T (T, h or u, f or r…): “Tory”? It is not “Newspaper”. ↩
“most” written above the deleted word. ↩
“to myself” written above the line. ↩
“it” written above the line. ↩
Written in ink along the left margin, to be read from top to bottom, and crossed through its whole length by a thin stroke (perhaps cancelled). It begins with a bracket “⌐”, a call sign; where it belongs is not marked (perhaps at the cross after “copy used”). ↩
“with”: added above “Treasury”; uncertain. ↩
“etc”, “should”: uncertain; the last word begins with a and i. ↩
Lower part of the page: pencil lines, very faint, with ink corrections superimposed in layers; the order of the lines is that of the page, separated here by /. Pencil: the base lines, the signs “+” and “*” and large strokes to the left (call signs, not text). Ink: “as I am”, the retraced “not”, “out of”, “same”, the retraced “You”, “any”, “conviction”, “decisive”, the line “not all surrender myself …” and “contract”. It does not yield a continuous text. According to the MEW, the letter here says that Marx is sure that Ironside will not suppress historical truth out of prejudice or partiality, and that it will seem fair to him that, if passages were suppressed which in Marx's conviction are of decisive historical importance, Marx should feel obliged to stop the publication. ↩
“will”: w, i or o, a tall stroke (“will” or “would”). “suppress”: two p descenders in a row (not “pervert”). At the right, in ink, “out of” and below it a short word (“one” or “see”) with “+”, a call to the next line. ↩
The beginning (“Sort…”?) is struck out in pencil; “same” in ink, below the line, underlined; then a pencil word that cannot be read; “the latter” (or “letter”) uncertain. ↩
“think” and “just” (or “fair”) uncertain; an illegible pencil word after “I”; “from” in brackets, uncertain. “any” in ink above, at the right, with a curved stroke. A vertical ink smudge covers the centre-right. ↩
Two words struck out in ink at the beginning (one perhaps “worse”); “suppressed”, in pencil, uncertain; “conviction”, in ink, uncertain; an illegible pencil word; “which” uncertain; another illegible word; “& decisive” in ink, underlined with a curved stroke leading to the bracket before “historical”. ↩
An ink line over the pencil; “not” above “all”. “surrender”: long s and “urr…” (“consider” is less likely). “they” could be “stop”. “┐”: call sign. ↩
Pencil, below the ink line: “not” and “obliged” uncertain; three illegible words. ↩
“*” in pencil at the beginning (call sign). “prejudice”: with the descender of the j; “partiality”, uncertain; the struck word is in pencil with an ink stroke; at the end, in ink, “cond…” or “cont…” with a crossed final t: “contract” or “condense”. ↩