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Sonneborn mss.

Manuscripts Department

Indiana University,

 

 

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permission

_ is covered by copyright and may not be

 

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- quoted or reproduced without

of copyright holder,

THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS /
8il STATE STREET : MADISON 5 oe,

SPENCER B. DRAFFAN

THOMPSON WEBB, JR. SINA SPIKER
Sales Manager

Director Editor

Professor T. Sonneborn
Department of Zoology
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana

Dear Professor Sonneborn:

Joshua Lederberg of our Genetics Department has asked
the University Press to consider the possibility of publishing a
volume reprinting a number of papers in microbial genetics. Be-
fore we can consider undertaking such a proposal, I must have an
indication of interest in the volume sufficient to justify its
publication. At Dr. Lederberg's suggestion, therefore, I ask
your advice. Your opinions will be of great assistance to us,
and we will welcome any comments and suggestions. Please be frank
in your judgment of the project; I shall hold anything you say in
confidence unless you specify otherwise.

Dr. Lederberg proposes to bring together in one volume
original, previously~publishead papers in microbial genetics which
would be assigned to graduate students in a course on the subject.
In most colleges such papers are available only in single copies
in the Journals in which they originally appeared; thus they are
seldom satisfactorily available to students. Since most of these
papers are out of print, there is no way to obtain additional cop-

jes,

Although the proposed volume could not include all the
readings that every professor might consider desirable, careful
selection may make a useful book. We hove that research workers
might also consider this gathering convenient, even if they already
have most of the articles in their reprint file, and that biology
teachers who are not specialists in microbial genetics might welcome
a collection of this kind for reference. The proposed volume is
not intended as a substitute for a textbook, of which there is none
yet available, but 1t should be a useful adjunct to a text.

The size of the volume will depend on the cost, which in
turn will depend largely on the size of the edition, and that can
be estimated only in terme of the potential market. It is not now
possible, therefore, to prepare a complete list of the titles which
 

4c4hbyo Mavel law

_is covered by copyright and may not be
' quoted or reproduced without

of copyright holder,

Professor T. Sonneborn
May 25, 1950
Page 2

would be included. A few authors, however, have been circularized
and have given a preliminary consent to be mentioned as contributors.
The following list is included here primarily to convey to you the
kind of paper which would be included:

y

gton, Indiana

Beadle Hershey
Burnet Luria
Coulson Demerec
Delbruck Sonneborn

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Bloomin

I must emphasize that the list above is only partial;
final selection can be made only after the size of the volume is
determined, In addition, it is hoped especially to include more
papers on fungi. ©

For obvious reasons, it will not be possible to include
review articles. The primary consideration in choosing a title will
be the desirability of making its contents available to students
and not its being the first report of a discovery. The length of
papers and their general availability will also have to be considered,
The present plan also calls for a comprehensive bibliography of mi-
croblal genetics arranged by subject matter. Dr. Lederberg has in-
dicated that he will be glad to receive any suggestions you may care
to make concerning the papers which should be included.

Sonneborn mss.

Manuscripts Department

' Indiana University,

 

The present plan calls for reproducing these books by off-
set directly from the original papers. The project would be under-—
taken by the University of Wisconsin Press as a service to scholars,
The contributors would receive no royalties, and the price will be
kept as reasonable as possible.

permission

If we are to undertake this project at all, we shall need
“answers to the questions on the attached page. Your answers to
these questions will not be considered as a commitment, but we shall
be very grateful to you for any advice that you are willing to give
us,

Yours /¥ery sincerely,

ft

/ Asif
Thompsoy Webb, Jr.
Director

 

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