Is My Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, published September 1840 by Harper & Brothers as No
• CVI in 'Harper's Family Library,' issued anonymously apart from the author's initials appearing on page 5
• Two printings dated 1840 are recorded; the true first printing is identified by a dot over the 'i' in the word 'in' (first line of the copyright notice) and by an unbroken running head on page 9 -- both absent or altered in the second 1840 printing
• BAL records two binding states: binding A in grained black cloth with the spine stamped in gold, and binding B in tan muslin stamped in black (the tan muslin itself occurring in three further sub-states distinguished by variant lists of other Harper's Family Library titles printed on the back cover)

How Harper & Brothers marked a first edition

• 1912-1949: month/year letter code on copyright page. Month: A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May, F=Jun, G=Jul, H=Aug, I=Sep, K=Oct, L=Nov, M=Dec (J skipped).
• Year code (J skipped): M=1912, N=1913 ... Z=1925, then A=1926, B=1927 ... Z=1950 (cycles).

Full Harper & Brothers first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later 19th and 20th-century editions credit Dana by name on the title page and are extensively revised (Dana's own 1869 revised and expanded edition, with a new final chapter, is textually distinct from and postdates the original anonymous 1840 first printing).P-034396

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea a first edition?

A first edition of Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea by Richard Henry Dana Jr. (Harper & Brothers) is identified by: First edition, published September 1840 by Harper & Brothers as No.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Later 19th and 20th-century editions credit Dana by name on the title page and are extensively revised (Dana's own 1869 revised and expanded edition, with a new final chapter, is textually distinct from and postdates the original anonymous 1840 first printing).

I have a first edition of Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.