To Alan Collins [Letter 426]

May 10, 1950

Mr. Alan C. Collins
Curtis Brown, Ltd.
347 Madison Avenue
New York 17, New York

Dear Alan:

Here is the picture you asked for. I am delighted to join the Curtis Brown stables and hope to be one of your best horses (Hollywood language).

Thank you very much for sending the roses to Archie. I am very grateful for your courtesy—it made me very happy when I heard from him that he had received them. But where is the bill for this transaction? Please send it on to me. Don’t you know that authors shouldn’t be trusted for money for so long?

Have you spoken to Archie or Appleton-Century about their offer, as you mentioned you would in your letter of April 19? I agree with you that we don’t have to press the matter, but when and if you have any further discussions about it, please let me know.

I am enclosing a letter from the Swiss publisher which was sent to me by Bobbs-Merrill some time ago and which I have not answered. Since you will handle the foreign rights to my new book, I thought I would turn this inquiry over to you. I don’t know where they got the idea that my new book will be ready for publication this spring. It is much too early to make any commitments about the translation rights. Another German-Swiss publishing house in Zurich published THE FOUNTAINHEAD and I suppose we will probably give him first chance on the new book, but we can decide on that later when the time comes.      With best regards.

Sincerely yours,

Ayn Rand

AR:je