Apess, William | A scarce missionary narrative by an indigenous author

Apess, William

Experience of Five Christian Indians of the Pequod Tribe. Boston: William Apess, 1837

12mo (204 x 125 mm). 47 pp; dampstained and lightly soiled, a few small tears to edges. Later blue cloth. 

Second edition, following the first of 1833, scarce in any edition. We can trace no examples of the first edition at auction. The second edition is almost as unobtainable: this is the first copy to come to auction in almost a century. 

Apess himself was part Pequot by descent, and he was a strong advocate for Native American rights in the antebellum United States. The present text includes descriptions of missionary life in America, with a particular focus on the experiences of women. It includes chapters devoted to Hannah Caleb, Sally George, and Anne Wampy, three Pequod women who converted to Christianity.

REFERENCE:

Sabin 1737