It was not until 1913 that Engels' authorship was publicly known although some new editions continued to appear incorrectly listing Marx as the author as late as 1971.

Early in 1851 Charles Dana, then an editor of the New York Daily Tribune, suggested to Karl Marx that he should contribute topical and historical writings to the newspaper.

[2] Marx was at the time engrossed in economic research and was unable to fulfill the commission, but on August 14, 1851 we wrote a letter asking his friend and co-thinker Frederick Engels to produce "a series of articles about Germany, from 1848 onwards.

"[1] Engels agreed with this plan and over the next 13 months he went on to produce 19 articles on the 1848 German revolution for the New York press.

[1] Marx was closely consulted during the writing of this material and read over each manuscript before sending it for publication.

[1] Even though written by Engels, these articles were published under the byline of Karl Marx, under the series title "Germany: Revolution and Counter-Revolution.

[3] After appearing in the Tribune the material was never published again in the lifetime of Marx and Engels, with the exception of the first two pieces, which were reprinted in German translation by the New-Yorker Abendzeitung late in October 1851.

[1] The "Revolution and Counter-Revolution" articles written by Engels were instrumental in establishing Marx with the Tribune and a journalistic relationship began which was to continue for more than a decade.

[5] By January 1853 Marx was fluent enough in English to write for the Tribune without additional editorial assistance.

These first appeared in 1896 in a volume published by Swan Sonnenschein & Co. entitled Revolution and Counter-Revolution; or, Germany in 1848.

[3] As the original series had been cut short by one article for reasons of space, Aveling added a 20th and final article to the published collection to conclude the material — another piece by Engels but published under Marx's signature entitled "The Late Trial at Cologne" which had first appeared in the Tribune on December 22, 1852.

[3] Distribution of the Aveling-edited Revolution and Counter-Revolution was handled in the United States by Swan Sonnenschein's American business partner, the publishing firm of Charles Scribner's Sons.

It was not until the 1913 publication of correspondence between Marx and Engels that the true authorship of the posthumously-published Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Germany became known.

Also discussed is the Cologne Communist Trial, in which the defendants were acquitted after some of the evidence was shown to have been crudely forged.