TLS in German, signed "L. Trotsky," one page both sides, 8.5 x 11, January 18, 1931. Letter to a publisher concerning the contract and delivery time for the manuscript of his work History of the Russian Revolution. In part (translated): "The contract signed by you undoubtedly states that the payment of $2500 will follow after delivery of the first volume of the Manuscript and not after delivery of the complete Manuscript, as you now arbitrarily maintain and is contrary to your agreement…It is correct that the delivery of the Manuscripts runs several months later than the date of the contract. I would like to remind you that the approximate date was added on my own initiative, against certain protests on your part. You explained that I could deliver the Manuscripts to you in one or two years, that it would not matter to you; you only wanted to be assured that you and no one else would receive the Manuscripts…If one sees an offense in the delay of the delivery against the contract, I believe that your publishing house is guilty of an even larger offense towards the Author…
Your publishing house stated: 'Our main reason for wanting the ms. sent here chapter by chapter is the urgency of advance publicity.' Accordingly, I had to arrange my entire work not at the beginning of the book, but with those chapters suitable for Newspapers…But you have neglected to even undertake the translation, and after delivery of the entire Manuscript…you raised the question of postponing the foreign publications so that you could gain time to fulfill your neglected obligation. Therefore, I have already informed you of the delay of about 3 months for the foreign versions, especially of the German and Russian editions, which has for me the most unfavorable consequences, intellectually and materially…The literary work, especially under very exclusive conditions, does not allow by far to fix a term as to publishing under normal conditions…
The first and second volumes of the History of the Russian Revolution cannot appear simultaneously. The German publisher, so as to please you, will bring out the first volume in April (instead of February) and the second volume in October…But if you state in your cable: 'delivery complete manuscript necessary to maintain validity contract,' I cannot interpret it any differently but take it that you yourself do not want to comply with the contract, which means that you are trying to postpone your payments until after delivery of the first volume under pretexts that I cannot accept." In fine condition, with a small tear to the right edge, and slight paper loss to the upper right corner.
The initial edition of Trotsky's History of the Russian Revolution appeared in three volumes in Russian in 1930, and was then translated to English by Max Eastman and released in 1932. An important historical work, Eastman wrote that it would 'take its place in the record of Trotsky's life… as one of the supreme achievements of this versatile and powerful mind and will.'
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