First authorized English translation
Manifesto of the Communist Party.
8vo (123 x 183 mm). 31, (1) pp. Original printed wrappers, stitched as issued.
$49,906.00
First authorized English translation of the Communist Manifesto. Originally published in German in 1848, the "Manifesto of the Communist Party" was in 1850 subjected to a flawed English translation (by Helen Macfarlane) which rendered the famous opening line, "A spectre is haunting Europe", as "A frightful hobgoblin stalks throughout Europe". The present translation was overseen by Engels himself, with the assistance of Samuel Moore, with whom he had already worked on an English translation of "Das Kapital". It remains the primary English translation of this iconic work. "This translation acquires special importance through the fact that Marx and Engels are here named for the first time as the authors of the 'Communist Manifesto'" (cf. ME-Erstdrucke).
Minor soiling; wrappers and spine professionally repaired. Heavily annotated in pencil by an early reader. Extremely rare: only two copies have appeared at auction since 1963.
AndrΓ©as 237. ME-Erstdrucke p. 15. Stammhammer I, 145. Auvermann/Reiss/Sauer p. 27. Cf. PMM 326.