Charles Darwin's copy of Karl's Marx's book back on display

Charles Darwin's historic copy of Das Kapital by Karl Marx, before its recent restoration

Cambridge University Library An old copy of Karl Marx's "Das Kapital". First page, with inscription written on it — Charles Darwin's historic copy of Das Kapital by Karl Marx, before its recent restoration

Charles Darwin's copy of Das Kapital, given to him by its author Karl Marx, is back on display at his former south-east London home after a restoration.

Marx gave Darwin a copy of his book in 1873, inscribed: "On the part of his sincere admirer, Karl Marx".

But the book remained largely unread by Darwin, curators at his home, Down House, say.

They think the book brings an "amusing insight into the dynamics between these two prominent intellectuals".

German-born Karl Marx is best known for The Communist Manifesto but in Das Kapital he argues the exploitation of labour is the driving force of Capitalism.

Charles Darwin (left) and Karl Marx (right) were key thinkers of the 19th Century

Getty Images Two line drawings. Left, Charles Darwin. Right, Karl Marx — Charles Darwin (left) and Karl Marx (right) were key thinkers of the 19th Century

Meanwhile English naturalist and biologist Charles Darwin developed the Theory of Evolution, arguing species change over time through natural selection.

But the condition of Darwin's copy of Das Kapital has made curators question the men's relationship. Most of the book's pages remained uncut, said a spokesperson for English Heritage, which runs Darwin's home at Downe, near Orpington.

Before industrial printing became a common practice in mid-20th Century book-binding, a book's pages were often joined by a fold at the top of the page and, in order to read the book, the fold had to be sliced.

Dr Tessa Kilgarriff, curator of collections and interiors at English Heritage, said: "The uncut pages, and lack of customary pencil marks, suggest Darwin was less enamoured with Marx's writing - or, quite possibly, that his German simply wasn't up to scratch."

Das Kapital, after the recent restorations by Cambridge University Library

Cambridge University Library Das Kapital, after restorations — Das Kapital, after the recent restorations by Cambridge University Library

Darwin's son, the late Francis Darwin, agreed that his dad struggled with the German language.

He noticed his father's German books contained fewer scribbled notes, ideas, and annotations. "He would say that his only way was to read a sentence a great many times over, and at last the meaning occurred to him," he once said.

However, while thanking Marx for the gift, Darwin suggested his lack of political understanding could have been the reason for the book's unread condition: "I heartily wish that I was more worthy to receive it, by understanding more of the deep and important subject of political economy."

Charles Darwin worked on his evolutionary theory of natural selection in this house

Heritage Images A white house with plants growing on the sides of the walls. Sunny, blue sky in the back — Charles Darwin worked on his evolutionary theory of natural selection in this house

The book was last on show in 2017, before being removed from display when curators noticed it was deteriorating.

Cambridge University Library restored the book, repairing small tears on the cover and fixing the deteriorating spine by applying tissue and an adhesive.

Dr Kilgarriff added: "We are pleased that this fragile volume has now been preserved and many more people will have the chance to enjoy it for years to come."

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