[OWEN, Robert Dale (1801-1877)]. Pocahontas: A Historical Drama. New York: George Dearborn, 1837.

First edition of Owen’s play, where he casts Pocahontas as the first American heroine. The narrative intends to, “exhibit a faithful episode out of our early history,” and pushes back against dramatic embellishments Owen identifies in European literature. Robert Dale Owen was a Welsh social reformer who immigrated with his father to the United States in 1825 in order to set up a self-sufficient socialist community at New Harmony, Indiana. He was the editor of the New Harmony Gazette until 1827 when he and another social reformer, Fanny Wright, dedicated their time to the education and gradual emancipation of slaves in Tennessee.

Octavo (180 x 105mm). Half-title (somewhat foxed). Original dark brown cloth (lacking head and tail caps, bumped). Provenance: Sondley Reference Library in Asheville's Pack Memorial Library (bookplate) – E.A. Stevens (bookplate).