RICHARD HENRY DANA JR. - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 03/02/1871 - HFSID 1329

RICHARD HENRY DANA, JR.
Dana handwrote, dated and signed this letter in 1871 to a "Devlin" in 1871, asking about a book of sketches and letters that he wanted to use at a reading in Boston.
Autograph letter signed: "R. H. Dana Jr", 1 page, 5¼x8¼. Boston, Massachusetts, 1871 March 2. Addressed to "Devlin". In full: "Devlin Excuse my troubling you; but I wish to learn when I may expect to see the book of sketches and letters on [illegible]; as I have [illegible] upon making some of it at a reading Boston next week. Yours faithfully". 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. Dana also wrote The Seaman's Friend (1841), which included a section on maritime law and the rights and duties of seamen. Active in politics, he helped found the Free-Soil Party (1848) and gave free legal aid to blacks captured under the Fugitive Slave Law. Lightly toned, soiled and creased. Random ink stains. Light tears and nicks in right edge. Rust stain near top edge. Letter was neatly torn from notebook or pad on left edge. Light impressions on paper in upper left corner. Adhesive residue on verso with show-through; does not touch handwriting or signature. Folded once vertically and twice horizontally. Lightly torn on right edge along bottom edge. Otherwise, fine condition.