The letters of Marx and Engels 1845
Written: end of January-February 1845;
First published: abridged in Aus dem literorischen Nachlass von Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels und Ferdinand Lassalle, Bd. 2, Stuttgart, 1902, and in full in Archiv fur die Geschichte des Sozialismus und der Arbeiterbewegung, Jg. 9 Leipzig, 1921 and in The Letters of Karl Marx,selected and translated with explanatory notes and an introduction by Saul K. Padover, 1979;
Transcribed: by [email protected], 1996.
Dear Friend,
I hope to have time to see you tomorrow. I am due to leave on Monday.[1]
The publisher Leske has just been to see me. He is bringing out a quarterly [2] in Darmstadt which is not subject to censorship. Engels, Hess, Herwegh, Jung and I, etc., are collaborating with him. He has asked me to solicit your cooperation -- poetry or prose. Since we must make use of every opportunity to establish ourselves in Germany, you will surely not decline.
Of all the people I am leaving behind here, those I leave with most regret are the Heines. I would gladly include you in my luggage! Best regards to your wife [3] from mine and myself.
Yours
K. Marx
The letter has no date. The approximate date of its writing is established on the basis of Marx's mentioning in it his imminent departure from Paris due to the expulsion decree issued against him by the French authorities, and also his meeting with the publisher Leske during which he probably concluded the contract for publishing his Kritik der Politik und National-ökonomie, which was signed on 1 February 1845.