RICHARD HENRY DANA JR. - AUTOGRAPH LETTER DOUBLE SIGNED 04/22/1851 - HFSID 1318

RICHARD HENRY DANA, JR
Richard Henry Dana, Jr. sends an autograph letter sending copies of letters that are to be published.
Autograph Letter Signed twice: "Rich. H. Dana Jr" and, on a postscript, "R H. D. Jr" on verso, 1p, 4½x7¼, front and verso. No place, 1851 April 22. To "Hon. H. Hale". In full: I believe Mrs Hastings has left you a copy of a letter from Josiah Quincy to Dr. Franklin, dated Apr. 1775, for publication. I send you copies of letters from Dr. Cooper, John Winthrop, & Joseph Warren, written to the same person at the same time, by the same opportunity. It seems to me, therefore, that they should all be published together. I have written an introduction which I submit to your judgment." Handwritten postscript: "P.S. I add another letter from Dr. Warren to Rev. Edmund Dana, of an earlier date, which I think will be of interest." JOSIAH QUINCY was likely the American patriot who died in 1775, returning from a diplomatic mission to England, rather than his more famous son, the future Congressman and President of Harvard.Son of a prominent Boston family, RICHARD HENRY DANA, JR. (1815-1882) interrupted a Harvard education to enlist as a common merchant seaman. Two Years Before the Mast (1841), based on his diary, is a classic account of life at sea and of the California coast in the 1830s. Dana returned to graduate from Harvard, becoming an expert on maritime law and a champion of the rights of seamen. Also a strong opponent of slavery, he helped found the Free Soil Party in 1848. Slightly creased. ½-inch vertical tear at lower margin, ¼-inch paper separation at right edge at upper horizontal fold. Overall, fine condition.