following sworn statement on May 11,1845: “I swear on my life that Mr.
Magister S. A. Kierkegaard has the right to require of me what I receive in
the way of income from the sale of the writings... from Mr. Reitzel, book
dealer, and that in the event of my death he is obligated to pay the sum to
Mr. Kierkegaard.”
This complicated traffic came to an end in 1847: During the course of
the summer Kierkegaard negotiated with Reitzel regarding the fate of the
remaining unsold copies of the books that had been published on commis-
sion. The two parties came to an agreement in August, and for the sum of
1,200 rixdollars Reitzel took possession of the remaining copies ofFear
and Trembling,Repetition,Philosophical Fragments,The Concept of Anxiety,Pre-
faces,Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions,Stages on Life’s Way,Concluding
Unscientific Postscript, andA Literary Review. Reitzel also assumed the ex-
penses associated with theEdifying Discourses in Various Spiritsfrom 1847,
which had already been printed at Kierkegaard’s expense. Kierkegaard re-
ceived 225 rixdollars for these discourses, his first regular royalties, after
which he was an author paid royalties in the normal manner: Prior to the
appearance of each book, he sold Reitzel the copyright to the first printing,
but he always retained the subsequent property rights. He would write a
new contract and receive additional royalties whenever another printing
would appear.
The status of things as of July 1847 can be seen in a statement of his
account that Kierkegaard sent Reitzel in advance of the negotiations about
the books he had published on commission.
Work Number Sold Remainder
Either/Or(525 copies) sold out 0
Fear and Trembling(525 copies) 321 204
Repetition(525 copies) 272 253
Philosophical Fragments(525 copies) 229 296
The Concept of Anxiety(250 copies) 165 85
Prefaces(525 copies) 208 317
Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions
(500 copies) 181 319
Stages on Life’s Way(525 copies) 245 280
Concluding Unscientific Postscript(500 copies) 119 381
A Literary Review(525 copies) 131 394Kierkegaard’s earnings on all the copies of his books that had been sold,
minus twenty-five percent for Reitzel, came to 3,674 rixdollars, to which
must be added the 1,200 rixdollars Kierkegaard was paid in August 1847