Robert J. Belford an Ernst Haeckel, Los Angeles, 25. März 1912
TYPEWRITER SILENCER MFRS.
(INVENTORS AND SOLE OWNERS)
319 HOMER LAUGHLIN BUILDING, LOS ANGELES, CAL.
March, Twentya-fifth
Nineteen twelve.
Professor Ernst Haeckel
Jena, Germany
My dear Professor:
This letter is not to a stranger from a stranger but to an old and tried friend, for since the late sixthies[!] I have been reading after you, and, I am conceited enough to say that few men in this country understand your philosophy better than I do. Hundredsb and hundreds of times in the last 40 years have I been tempted to write
you, to say what thousands have said -- that Ernst Haeckel in sine dubio the first unbiased philosopher and scientist that has ever lived. And I have said this and more in my unpublished book, The Iron Laws of Nature borrowed fromc Goethe and used by you, where I found the title. It is applicable to my book, and, I freely admit that I appropriated any thing that is good, beautiful and true in any author for there is no such thing as originality in nature, which of course includes man. Now, I have said the aforegoing I may as well say that that is not what has induced me to start this letter to you; indeed no, if that were all I had to say, I should never have had the temerity to address you.
To appeal to you, I am forced to be a bit egoistical. I believe most men that pass three score years care a little of their past; it seems to me we are more content to enjoy the present as best we can by keeping pain at arms length. However, I must tell you that for nearly forty years I have been a publisher --- I confess to it with a contrite heart of course --- a publisher of books galore, magazines and other periodicals. My brother and I began publishing at the respective ages of 12 and 15. It was Hobson’s choice, because we were orphans, penniless and without education. Yes, it is true, we might have become stage or bank robbers but that was’nt what Fate had in store for us, so publishers we were and publishers we remained until my brother died and I had to migrate to this land, which is Paradise now for me, of sunshine and renewed youthfulness. You better come here and begin life all over again. That is what I am doing. This is about enough biography other than to say our house was know, as Belford Bros and afterwards as Belford, Clarke Co. with headquarters in Chicago and in New York. I am the New York Belford.
For many years, probably 20, I have had the idea in my head that a complete, unexpurgated edition of Haeckel’s books in English, made uniform in size, fully illustrated and sold in sets only is the very best business guess in the publishing business in the United States & Greater Britain. It seems like criminal stupidity that some publisher has not thought of it and made it an accomplished fact. I edited and my brother publishede an edition of Voltaire in 42 volumes that had an immense sale. In my opinion Voltaire cannot compare with your works at present as a seller. I don’t refer to single volumes but to a complete set. Hence, with a parity of reasoning, I say Haeckel would be the biggest success in many years in this country. I know what the task means; I know there f are many books, the best of your life’s work, that have not been translate and should have to done; I know that publishers and translators hold rights on the present Englished books, and, I also know that arrangements must be made with those publishers and translators. However, though the obstacles seem insurmountable, I am one of those that consider obstacles merely as incentives to success. ||
#2 Haeckel
This is my plan, subject of course to revision at any time, for, you know, the one thing that is absolutely constant and continuous is change. Personally, I could not finance and market the work but friends and acquaintances urge me to write you fort hey will furnish the sinews-of-war and do the marketing, provided I do the rest. First, to translate everything that you select for a definitive edition, an edition de luxe, that has not been translated. Second, to make one edition, the first one, of 100 sets to be sold at $ 1.000.00 a set. After the 100 sets are placed, then to bring out two more editions, one at something under $ 100.00 a set and a people’s edition for probably, $ 35. to $ 40 a set. You may think that the placing of 100 sets at $ 1.000.00 is the most difficult part of this plan; indeed no, it is by far the easiest. I regret to say they probably shall not be bought because they know and understand their Haeckel -- probably many of them donot even know you exist -- but because they have the money and want to get what will never be common. Of course the $ 1.000.00 set should be the best example of the printers and bookbinders art. Sure, they are barbarians but they better spend their money for a fine edition of Haeckel than to be chasing over the Globe for little stone gods and faked masterpieces in colors. Yes, indeed one-half of the curios and masterpieces are bogus; it is an established business catering imitations to the newly rich. But we shall do nothing of the kind, the edition will be worth the price and it will never, as long as I am alive, exceed 100 sets. Even the 100 sets may be divided into three or four different styles of 25 to 30 sets each. We hope this first edition of 100 sets will give us at least our money back and that long after I and you had slipped into oblivion. Let me say, that personally, I care almost nothing for the monetary and of this undertaking, the others of course are different. The undertaking is purely business with them. Although I have printed volumes of Darwin, Spencer, Huxley, Tyndall, republished The Fortnightly while under the able editorial management of John Norley, now, alas, Lord Norley but still a radical though not as radical as of old, I should consider the whole of my life’s work a mere bagatelle in comparison to publishing a complete set of Haeckelg. It is not a case of hero-worship on my part; it is because I am firmly convinced that you and you only have given mankind a true, fearless philosophy of the universe and life as far as human knowledge is obtainable. Great and all as Darwin and Spencer and the rest oft hat sublime galaxy of the Victorian age were strongh failed to give us the whole truth and nothing but the truth -- that was left for Haeckel.
We should have to have McCabe’s translation of Bolsche’s Life of Haeckel, with McCabe’s addition thereto. It is mighty good.
The first thing to do, should the proposition apeal to you, would be to write each publisher for permission to print 100 sets from their respective plates on paper that should be furnished them and as directed by me. The sheets to be delivered to us in New York at whatever price each publisher may make. We desire to furnish paper so that the size and quality should not vary. The size of the plates of books now existent in English would not make any difference; we should have to make the book size about 9x6, which size accommodates all the plates now made. The remainder that we shall have to translate would be set uniform of course. If any of the books now being marketted in the United States has been revised in German then we should be compelled to retranslate the same. It is possible there is one of Appleton’s that has not been revised to date.
The honorariumi to you should not be less than $ 150.00 on each set of the first edition and not less than 15% of the reatil price of the future ||
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editions; this is what my friends suggest would be the square deal, as Americans are fond of saying, when they feel they are within shooting distance of what is just. I think as far as the first 100 sets are concerned that amount should be satisfactory. If we get the permission, it is our intention to put at least three water colors in each volume of the de luxe edition.
In this connection, I should be pleased to learn if a copy of your Kunstformen der Natur, and, your Wanderbilder may be purchased in Germany?
I should also like to ask, if a uniform set of your books have been issued in Germany and if so, who the publisher is? Unfortunately, I know no German and what I know of English and other languages I have had to pick up since childhood any old way while in the midst of the severest kind of struggle to exist.
I shall take the liberty to send you a copy of my Iron Laws of Nature when it comes from the press because but for you it never I believe wouldj have been written. There are three men of universal reputations that call me friend: they are Col. Ch; Chaille-Long, who discovered the source of the Nile, was with General (Chinese) Gordon at Kharatoum, now in Washington D. C.; General Homer Lea, the author of The Valour of Ignorance and so forth; now general adviser to Dr. Sun Yat Sen in Nanking. The poor fellow has been at the point of death but his wife writes me that he will pull through; and Hudson Maxim, the inventor and better still the author of The Science of Poetry and the philosophy of Languages. His home is in Brooklyn, N. Y. They are my reference, if any is needed. I need hardly add that cash would be paid the publishers for the sheets when delivered in New York. Fate seems to have selected me for this job. I have had the experience as a publisher; am not lacking in ability and possess a reasonable amount of honesty. You will recall that joke Byron played on John Murray, the great Scotch publisher; one Christmas he sent from Italy an immense and handsome family bible, with his compliments to Murray. Years later some inquisitive person was looking through its pages to find underlined „Barabbas was a liar.“ The guild are not all liars, Lord Byron to the contrary.
Now, dear friend, for I insist you have been one of the best I have had since born, whether you select me for this undertaking or not, please consider it seriously and if I am not the person, get some person that you may have more confidence in to do the work. It is due humanity and had better be done while you are with us, which I hope shall be for many years to come.
This is not a business letter and is not intended to be but I hope it may serve its purpose better than a stiff and formal proposition. At the proper time, if necessary, the formal documents will be forthcoming. I doubt if you are in Jena, nevertheless, if you are not this will be forwarded to your present address. I should have added that I can find here the proper persons to dok the translating, he or they must be l good German scholars but must be of considerable scientific attainments. There should be no error made on that score.
Again thanking you for all I am indebted to you m and wishing this may find you and yours in health and enjoying as Victor Hugo put it, the youth of old age, I remain, dear Sir,
Sincerly
Robert J. Belford.
Robert J. Belford.n
a korr. aus: Twanty; b korr. aus: Hundres; c korr. aus: fro; d korr. aus: aprobate; e korr. aus: publishe; f gestr.: is; g korr. aus: Haeckele; h eingef.: strong; i korr. aus: honoraium; j eingef.: would; k eingef.: do; l gestr.: not; m gestr.: for; n egh. Unterschr.