When did the writing of the communist manifesto begin?

The Communist Manifesto was first published in 1848 in London in German. The Manifesto sometimes says the authors are Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Other sources say that Engels "assisted" Marx.

The first English translation was produced in 1850. The Manifesto went through a number of editions from 1872 to 1890; notable new prefaces were written by Marx and Engels for the 1872 German edition, the 1882 Russian edition, the 1883 German edition, and the 1888 English edition.