Contract Between Marx and the Leske Publishers in Darmstadt on the Publication of Kritik der Politik und Nationalokonomie

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Marx studied political economy from the end of 1843, and by the spring of 1844 had set himself the task of writing a criticism of bourgeois political economy from the standpoint of materialism and communism; the draft "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844" written at this time have reached us incomplete. Work on The Holy Family in the autumn of 1844 forced Marx temporarily to interrupt his study of political economy; he returned to it only in December 1844; in February 1845, just before his expulsion from Paris, he concluded the publication contract with Leske. In Brussels Marx continued to study English, French, German, Italian and other economists and added to his Paris notebooks of quotations several more notebooks. In the autumn of 1845 he again turned to other work: he had concluded that a criticism of political economy should be preceded by an exposition of his new principles of general methodology and a critical review of current philosophical doctrines, and therefore concentrated on writing, jointly with Engels, The German Ideology. On the other hand, he firmly rejected (see his letter to Leske of August 1, 1846) the publisher's attempts to get him to adapt the projected work to the conditions of the reactionary censorship. On September 9, 1846, Leske informed Marx that, in view of rigorous censorship and police persecution, he would not be able to publish his work. In February 1847 the contract was cancelled.

Between Herr Dr. Marx, at present residing in Paris, on the one hand, and the C.W. Leske Publishers in Darmstadt, on the other, the following Contract has been concluded today.

§ 1. Herr Dr. Marx gives the C.W. Leske Publishers the exclusive right to publish his work entitled Kritik der Politik und Nationalökonomie, which will comprise two volumes in octavo, each of more than twenty printed sheets.

§ 2. The Author, Dr. Marx, undertakes not to publish in another publishing house any work which could compete with the work named herein.

§ 3. In return, the Leske Publishers will pay Herr Dr. Marx the sum of francs 3,000 (three thousand francs) as royalties for the entire work, the first half of this sum to be paid when the complete Manuscript is handed in, and the second half on completion of the printing. The Publishers also undertake to deliver twelve copies free of charge to the Author.

§ 4. The Publishers will begin the printing of the work as soon as the Manuscript is handed in and will see to it that it appears in a suitable get-up.

§ 5. The edition of the Kritik der Politik und Nationalökonomie is fixed at 2,000 copies.

§ 6. This Contract is valid only for the first edition of the work. Should a second edition become necessary, a new contract will be concluded. It goes without saying, however, that in the event of a second edition the Leske Publishers retain a preferential right.

This Contract has been drawn up in duplicate and is signed by both contracting parties.

Paris, February 1, 1845

Dr. Karl Marx

C. Leske