9 February 1924  81 Harley Street  London W1

Dear Professor:

«IP4,0»I trust there will be general agreement about the desirability of a Committee meeting before the Congress,«FN1.××8th Congress of the International Psychoanalytic Association, Salzburg, 21‑23 April 1924.» i.e. on the Saturday.  I see that Abraham has asked you whether this should take place in Salzburg or Vienna.  If the latter proves more convenient to you, you know we should of course all fall in with the idea.  I do not mind saying, however, that I hope on personal grounds that the former would prove as convenient to you, for to us (my wife is coming too) to travel from Salzburg to Vienna and back would [be] a rather tiring addition to a long and expensive journey (through Switzerland), not to speak of possible complications with her relatives in Vienna (staying only a few hours), and it might well mean giving up work a couple of days earlier.  I am sure you will not mind mentioning these considerations, which I do only in the event of your hovering between the two decisions.

You will not have been surprised at the Rundbrief news about the Press.«FN1.××In his Rundbrief of 2 February 1924, Jones reported regretfully that they would have to face the possibility of "giving up the Press, except in name..." (Sigmund Freud Copyrights Ltd, Wivenhoe; and Rank Collection, Butler Library, Columbia University, N.×Y.×C.).»  The decision was greatly overdetermined.  The finances had been allowed to get into a muddle, and I called a company meeting and compelled Rickman to elucidate them, when, as I feared, they proved to be much more precarious than he had assumed.  Reece, our agent, has got into a muddle in his sexual life, with the result that he neglects matters badly, constantly changes his address, and may well have to leave the country.  Brentano withdrew their offer. Etc., etc.  There was no bright side anywhere, except that our translations are satisfactory, and it would have been folly to go on deeper into the mire.  My hope now is (1) to keep the Press in being as a corporate body in the chance of resumming [resuming] at a future date is [if] suitable help is forthcoming, which is likely, (2) to save the «MDUL»Journal«MDNM» at all costs, and keep it in our own hands and (3) to induce a reputable firm to continue the Library series of books under the same title and with the same editorship, but at their cost.  We should thus still achieve the esssential aim of the Press, to distinguish between trustworthy psa books and the rubbish otherwise published, indeed better than before when Unwin was acting as our sales agent and at the same time publishing bad books on the subject.  I have already approached two good firms on the matter, and hope soon to let you have good news.  Naturally this all means releasing both the Verlag and yourself from the contractual and personal arrangements made with the Press, but I trust you will not make any other plans, e.g. in America, until you have had the opportunity of considering any scheme we may be able to suggest.  After all, the translations are substantial matters and we have put an enormous amount of work into them.

It may interest you at this juncture to have my impressions of the three people you sent me a year or two ago.  The most successful has without doubt proved to be Mrs. Riviere, who I am glad to say has made an excellent recovery from her operation.  After an initial difficulty on her first return, which did not last long, she has proved a most valuable and loyal cooperator, has given not the slightest trouble to anyone, and is on the best of terms with myself.  The Stracheys are harder people to get close to, and have also been away from London a great deal on account of her health, but behave quite correctly.  They have been to dinner a few times, he oftener, and also for a visit to Elsted, I have sent him a couple of patients and also some books for review, and recently got him to assist in our company meetings.  He is of course chiefly engrossed in his translation work, and makes no other contribution, e.g. to the work of the Society.  So the total effect is somewhat neutral, though valuable in some ways.  Rickman has certainly proved the least successful of the lot.  He has not been at all difficult to get on with, and our personal relations have always been excellent.  But he has two qualities that badly disqualify him in serious situations.  One is a certain unreliability, in that he promises to do things and then forgets or postpones them without saying anything more about them.  The other is an extraordinary Sinn für das Nebensächliche,«FN1.××"Sense for the unimportant."

» a curious lack of feeling for reality and importance.  Then he is distinctly weak and easily influenced by the last person who spoke to him.  On the other side I must say that he has great energy and working capacity, especially for detail.

I am happy to think of how much you must enjoy being at work again.  I wonder what you are writing now.  Are you tackling the great task of rearranging the «MDUL»Traumdeutung«MDNM»?

With all good wishes,  yours always cordially  Ernest Jones