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Title: Marx to Asher & Co., [after 12 December 1868] (drafts)
Description: Two drafts of Marx's reply to the London booksellers Asher & Co., written on their letter, about where copies of Herr Vogt can still be had.
Author: Karl Marx
Date: 1868-12-12
URL: https://marxismo.school/archivo/marx-engels/cartas/originales/1868-12-12%20Marx%20to%20Asher%20%26%20Co
---


*Transcription with doubtful readings: 5 of the 77 words of the final text (6.5 %) are marked as uncertain ([?]), and each of them is explained in a note. Two drafts of a reply from Karl Marx to Asher & Co., foreign booksellers and publishers in London, written at the foot of their letter to him dated 12 December 1868; the date of the reply is not given. Manuscript preserved at the IISG (Karl Marx / Friedrich Engels Papers, inv. C 7, image 2), transcribed from the digital facsimile by the Escuela de marxismo, 2026 (double reading and collation with the image). Written in English. Diplomatic transcription: spelling and punctuation of the manuscript; underlinings in italics; deletions as ~~text~~ where legible, otherwise ~~[ilegible]~~; additions above or below the line inserted in their place, with a note; [?] after an uncertain reading. Nothing has been completed from other editions. [Traducción al español](https://marxismo.school/archivo/marx-engels/cartas/1868-12-12%20Marx%20a%20la%20librer%C3%ADa%20Asher%20%26%20Co)*

[First draft][^n1]

The only place where ~~some~~ a few[^a1] copies of *Herr Vogt* are still obtainable, is Berlin. At least, there were some to be had[^a2] a few weeks ago.

[Second draft][^n2]

~~There are~~ ~~[ilegible]~~ ~~now[?]~~ ~~still[?]~~ ~~copies of~~ to[?][^d1] ~~I believe,~~ The only place ~~where~~ , where[?][^d2], ( a few ~~[ilegible]~~ weeks ago,[^a3] some[^a4] copies of „*Herr Vogt*" ~~are~~ were[^a5] still ~~to be found~~ ~~[ilegible]~~ obtainable,[^a6] is Berlin. I shall write there ~~to a friend~~ of mine, ~~that~~ and[^a7] ~~direct him, if he~~ ~~bought~~ a copy ~~I shall direct him to~~ ~~to settle~~ forward it to to[?][^d3] 11, Unter den Linden. and to[?][^d4] ~~Sell~~ ~~[ilegible]~~ ~~to~~ ~~exchanges[?]~~ It[?][^d5] can be got, it will be[^n3]

Yours ~~truly~~ ~~obediently~~ faithfully

K. M.

[^n1]: The sheet carries the printed letterhead of Asher & Co. (13, Bedford Street, Covent Garden, London; also at 11, Unter den Linden, Berlin) and their letter of 12 December 1868 to “Dr. Marx”, in another hand: they have an order from Berlin for one copy of *Herr Vogt*, which they cannot find in London, and ask him to procure them one. Marx's two drafts are at the foot of the right-hand page. This first one, short, is in the upper right corner; above it, on its own and with no call sign, stands the word “fortnight” (perhaps an alternative to “a few weeks”).

[^a1]: “a few” written above the deleted “some”.

[^a2]: “to be had” written above the end of the line, with a stroke leading back to “some”.

[^n2]: Below the first draft and further to the left, heavily corrected; the order of the words is reconstructed from their position on the sheet and from the connecting strokes.

[^d1]: A small word, not struck out, above the end of the cancelled first line: t and o (“to”, or “tr”, or the beginning of another word); there is no call sign.

[^d2]: Added above, to the right, after a pale struck-out word, with a curved stroke down to the bracket before “a few”: w, h, e, r, e with a final loop; “when” is possible.

[^a3]: “weeks ago,” written above a long struck-out word in heavy ink (“deposited”?).

[^a4]: “some” written above “copies”.

[^a5]: “were” written above the deleted “are”.

[^a6]: “obtainable,” written below “still”. Above “still” there are further words struck out in heavy ink, and a small “were” or “was”, not struck out, that cannot be placed with certainty.

[^a7]: “and” written beside the deleted “that”. The stroke through “to a friend” ends at the d, so “of mine,” is left standing. Under “shall write” there is a long word struck out in heavy ink.

[^d3]: A second “to”, in paler ink, before the bracketed address “11, Unter den Linden”: a repetition or an uncancelled correction of the first.

[^d4]: t and o with a lead-in stroke; “if” would be possible only with an f without descender.

[^d5]: A single short word with a cross-stroke before “can”: “It” fits best; “If” (without a following “it”) is possible. A long curved stroke links “it will be” with “forward” above.

[^n3]: The definitive wording intended seems to be: “The only place where, a few weeks ago, some copies of Herr Vogt were still obtainable, is Berlin. I shall write there, and [if a copy] can be got, it will be forward[ed] to 11, Unter den Linden”; but the draft does not say it in so many words.