6 May 1921  The Plat  Elsted

Dear Professor:

I have made three inquiries as to which exact day in May your birthday is,^[1] but have had to answer to them.  Today comes Abraham's letter which shews that the birthday must be in the first week of May.  So, although a little late, please allow me to add my warmest congratulations to the others.  I hope that the bust, upon which we agreed after anxious discussion, will serve to remind you in a visible form of our devotion to you.^[2] I wish I could add such a beautiful present as Abraham did in the way of glowing local news of progress, but I have to admit that Berlin is much in advance of London, though there is no reason to complain of the situation in England.

Since my illness I have had to restrict my correspondence to the most urgent matters, chiefly with Hiller, and I have not yet answered your letter of April 12th.

I inquired of Lissa & Kann about the 75 fl.  They had withdrawn them from my account, but forgotten to send them on to my Amsterdam one.

The Farnell article is certainly poor, and I accepted it only because he is one of the eldest‑standing analysts in America.  I adopted the policy of accepting for the first year or two all articles from well‑known American analysts until we should feel strong enough to reject them and risk giving offense, but their superficiality and muddle‑headedness undoubtedly try one's patience.  I am afraid it would be costly now to omit Farnell's article, as it is already corrected in the Umbruch, but please do if you think fit and give the instructions to Hiller.^[3]

I was alarmed at your remark about employing American translators, and would give a great deal to be able to persuade you of how rare it is for anyone to be able to write correct English, of course even rarer in America than in England.  Nor is translating a minor matter, for it is by far the chief part of the work for the Journal and Library.

As for the translation of your own works, that is a subject, I think the only one, on which I really disagree with you.  So far from its being unimportant, as you say, I think it is much the most important task that any of us here can accomplish.  No other reading in Psa can ever replace your works, and a garbled, incorrect, and vulgarly written version is almost as bad as nothing.  It is all very well for you to say that I should not concern myself in the matter, but all the educated people here hold me directly responsible.  I have no answer when I am asked, as I have been countless times: "Why don't you tell Prof. Freud about his English translations?  It can't be possible that he does not care".

A great chance was lost to the Press when first the American, and then the English, rights of the Vorlesungen were sold to unscrupulous people.  I discovered afterwards that Unwin, who like all publishers thinks of nothing but money, was quite prepared to reprint the Bernays version, but fortunately I had made it a condition that his translation was first to be revised to my satisfaction.  It was the first chance I had had of seeing a book of yours in decent English and naturally I did not neglect it.  So now a committee consisting of Mr. Flugel, Mrs. Riviere and myself are re‑translating the book, Mrs. Riviere doing the greater part of the work.  I understand that Strachey is doing the Massenpsychologie and also the Krankengeschichten, and so long as I have a chance to revise his work I am satisfied with the arrangement.

You will be glad to hear that our combined efforts have brought James McCann to his knees, as you will see from the accompanying letter from his London agent, Curtis Brown; I enclose also a copy of my reply.  Will you please send them back to me sometime.

You may remember the name of Tansley from a paragraph in the Notes in the 3rd number of the Journal;^[4] perhaps you have also seen my review of his book "The New Psychology",^[5] which deals positively with Psa.  He has written a very good letter to me asking me to approach you on the matter of your analysing him for four months from next March.  I know him personally and can strongly recommend him.  I am answering his letter by saying that I had written to you about him and advising him to write to you direct, also to try if possible to secure a longer period.

Did your wife receive the photograph we sent her a couple of weeks ago?

With my deepest wishes for many happy returns of your birthday,  yours always affectionately  Ernest Jones

^[1]           Freud was born on 6 May 1856.

^[2]           A bust of Freud by the Viennese sculptor, Paul Königsberger, was presented to Freud by Eitingon on behalf of the members of the Secret Committee, see Jones (1957a, p. 25; 1957b, p. 26).

^[3]           The article was not published in the Journal.

^[4]           Professor A. G. Tansley (1871‑1955), British botanist and plant ecologist, who took a great interest in Freud's ideas.  On 13 October 1920 Tansley gave an address on "Freud's Theory of Sex considered from the Biological Standpoint," before the British Society for the Study of Sex‑Psychology, Journal, 1(1920):341.

^[5]           Jones (1920c).