Description
Two Years Before The Mast: A Personal Narrative Of Life At Sea by Richard Henry Dana, Jr., part of the “Four American Books” project by R.R. Donnelley.
Octavo, ix, [1], 524pp, [4]. Blue cloth over beige spine, illustrations stamped in gilt. Free of the typical toning to the spine. Top edge gilt. Designed and illustrated by Edward A. Wilson. Includes the publisher’s scarce glassine dust jacket and rigid slipcase. The slipcase is in fine condition, with the title label affixed to the spine. From a limited edition of 1000 copies, published under the supervision of William A. Kittredge at R.R. Donnelley.
The “Four American Books” project, orchestrated by C.G. Littell and William A. Kittredge of R.R. Donnelley, was intended to demonstrate that the printing of illustrated books on modern commercial machinery was comparable to the fine presses of Europe. The project succeeded and orders for trade editions came from Random House, Harcourt Brace, and others. The other three works selected for the campaign were Tales by Edgar Allen Poe, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, and Walden by Henry David Thoreau. (University of Chicago Library, Printing for the Modern Age Exhibition, 2006)
