# Is "Two Years Before the Mast" by Richard Henry Dana Jr. (published anonymously) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana Jr. (published anonymously) (Harper & Brothers, "Harper's Family Library" No. 106, 1840) is identified by: New York: Harper & Brothers, September 1840, issued anonymously, without Dana's name on the title page, as No. The dot-over-the-i, unbroken-running-head state is the first printing; the no-dot, broken-running-head state is the second.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- New York: Harper & Brothers, September 1840, issued anonymously, without Dana's name on the title page, as No
- 106 of Harper's Family Library
- The true first printing has a dot over the "i" in "in," first line of the copyright notice, and an unbroken running head on page 9; the second printing lacks the dot and shows a broken running head on page 9
- Two settings both dated 1840 exist and are told apart by these textual points rather than by the date alone
- The book was issued simultaneously in more than one cloth -- black cloth stamped in gold and tan muslin stamped in black are both recorded first-edition bindings -- so cloth color alone is not a reliable priority test
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers, "Harper's Family Library" No. 106
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Henry Dana Jr. (published anonymously) |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers, "Harper's Family Library" No. 106 |
| Year | 1840 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | New York: Harper & Brothers, September 1840, issued anonymously, without Dana's name on the title page, as No |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
New York: Harper & Brothers, September 1840, issued anonymously, without Dana's name on the title page, as No. 106 of Harper's Family Library. The true first printing has a dot over the "i" in "in," first line of the copyright notice, and an unbroken running head on page 9; the second printing lacks the dot and shows a broken running head on page 9. Two settings both dated 1840 exist and are told apart by these textual points rather than by the date alone. The book was issued simultaneously in more than one cloth -- black cloth stamped in gold and tan muslin stamped in black are both recorded first-edition bindings -- so cloth color alone is not a reliable priority test.

## Is this the true first?
The dot-over-the-i, unbroken-running-head state is the first printing; the no-dot, broken-running-head state is the second. Both are dated 1840 on the title page, so it is these internal textual points, not the imprint date, that establish priority.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Dana's 1869 'author's edition,' published by Fields, Osgood & Co. of Boston after the original copyright expired, revised the text throughout and added a long appendix, 'Twenty-Four Years After,' describing his 1859 return to California; a copy containing that appendix is this later revised edition, not the anonymous 1840 Harper's Family Library first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Two Years Before the Mast* by Richard Henry Dana Jr. (published anonymously) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/two-years-before-the-mast
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.