What was the price of translation in the 19^thcentury? How were translators remunerated in Finland in the early days of literary and governmental translation? Practices and functions of translating have varied throughout history, and so have fees and salaries. It is impossible to talk about translation as a single, easily definable process and of translations as calculable, well-defined entities. However, with the help of archival data it is possible to observe and study translation culture, translation practices and payment negotiations. This article reports a study of Finnish 19^thcentury discourses on remuneration of translating and links these discourses to the emergent translation culture. The material consists mostly of translators’ correspondence with their publisher in an attempt to locate negotiation on fees and pay. This material is complemented with a look at institutional sources to study the position of state-employed translators. Questions of pay and remuneration are crucial to understanding how translation practice is carried out in societies and how translation culture evolves.