Dear Collector
One of the most remarkable amateurs to grace South Africa’s shores was Harry Bolus, pioneering botanist. No fewer than five genera have been named after him. Born in Nottingham in 1834, Harry Bolus arrived at Algoa Bay in 1850. He spent the next twenty-six years in the eastern Cape, both in Grahamstown and Graaff-Reinet, excelling in business ventures and public affairs. A family tragedy apparently sparked his interest in the s
tudy of plants. According to the Dictionary of South African Biography: “On 19.8.1864 Bolus’s son died of diphtheria; it has been said that this left Bolus in such a state of despondency that [his friend] Guthrie persuaded him to take up botany to take his mind off his bereavement.”
Bolus developed a particular interest in ericas and orchids. This month we are proud to offer his most celebrated work, Icones Orchidearum Austro-Africanarum Extra-tropicarum; or, Figures, with Descriptions, of Extra-tropical South African Orchids – otherwise known simply as Orchids of South Africa. For background on this beautifully-illustrated set, again the Dictionary of South African Biography is most helpful: “It was about the time of his first trip to Kew that Bolus began to ta
ke a special interest in the Orchidaceae. Although several other botanical interests took up much of his time, he retained a particular interest in orchids until his death. His first publications on Orchidaceae appeared in 1882, when, besides his ‘Notes on some Cape orchids’, he published ‘A list of published species of Cape orchideae’, prepared largely during a visit to Kew in 1881. He published The orchids of the Cape Peninsula in 1888, many of the 102 species which he described being illustrated with partly-coloured plates, which he prepared himself. This work was followed in 1893 by the first volume of his Icones orchidearum Austro-Africanarum extra-tropicarum. Although he worked on two volumes, the second did not appear until just after his death in 1911. A third volume was edited and completed by Miss H. M. L. Kensit, with nine extr
a plates painted by his son, Frank Bolus (1870-1945), and published in London in 1913.”
As recently as 1959, the previous owner of our Orchids of South Africa was able to purchase the work from the Bolus Herbarium. Part One of the first volume was, however, unavailable. One can speculate as to the reasons for this. Had the catastrophic fire at Juta’s Adderley Street building in 1901, which destroyed so much of the firm’s stock, been responsible for the dirth of this part? Possibly. What we do know is that we have been able to partially atone for the incompleteness of the work by obtaining a modern reprint of the missing section. This has been rebound in a style that fits in rather well with the three original volumes.
In keeping with the botanical theme, we have this month also included several other excellent books on plants in our list.
Like Harry Bolus, Olive Schreiner had a close acquaintance with the eastern Cape, and the Karoo in particular. Best-known for her landmark novel Story of an African Farm, Olive Schreiner perhaps deserves recognition even more for the egalitarian spirit promoted in her many books and pamphlets. This month we have an unusual ‘dream’ by Olive Schreiner, published by the American feminist Sarah E. Holmes – exceedingly uncommon in this form. We have also included in the month’s list several other items either by, or about Olive Schreiner.
In addition to some recently catalogued items in the areas we generally cover, this month we also include a large section of books obtained new from the publishers, which we are now offering at very competitive prices.
Although the official exchange rate is currently hovering above R16: £1, we are pleased to offer our newsletter subscribers everywhere a preferential rate of R14: £1 for everything in this month’s list – effectively a reduction of around twelve percent. As always, we hope we have found something for you.
Best wishes
Lindsay and Wendy
botanical artists. Very good condition; short tear to dustwrapper at head of spine panel, with tape repair to reverse side; faint tape marks to endpapers; some spotting to top edge and to half-title. “In this fascinating survey, Lys de Bray, herself a noted flower painter, provides an informed, entertaining and revealing overview of the work of the greatest botanical illustrators of the various periods of history, linking their careers and achievements to the wonderful illustrations they created.” £6.50
Ellison, Don & Anthony: 
and in many cases inset photos of fruit, trunks or other distinguishing features, as well as information on region / country of origin, size, growth habits, growing conditions and fruit and seeds.” £25.00
the scientific drawing class of the famous Karl Schmid of the Zürich School of Applied Art in Switzerland. The description of the plants is kept to a minimum because the quality of the prints is of such a high standard that the plants can be easily identified without detailed descriptions which would make the book unnecessarily bulky. However, a description of the physiology, reproduction and growth is included because these aspects should be thoroughly considered by the control measures to obtain cost-effective weed control.” £15.00
. 113; illustrations, colour plates. A little spotting to endpapers and edges. Very good condition. The book deals with some of the smaller wild flowers of the Witwatersrand. £8.50
iz (illustrations), and Michael Fraser (text): 
tic plants of the world. The story of her travels to every continent in the world, often alone and enduring hardships and dangers in conditions so primitive as to be outside the experience of the modern generation, is told in this abridged version of her travel memoirs and autobiography, first published in 1893 under the title Recollections of a Happy Life. The results of her wanderings were her astonishing collection of over 800 paintings, now housed in the Marianne North Gallery at Kew, and this is the first time that they have been reproduced in book form.” £6.50
utiful full-colour photographs; illustrated family key. Tape marks to endpapers. Very good condition. “The South African What Flower is That? is a long-needed reference for anyone who would love to grow his own garden and house plants but doesn’t know the first thing about them. More than 1 500 of the annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees and vines most commonly found in South African gardens and parks are easily identified by superb full-colour photographs. The accompanying text is brief and to the point, detailing each plant’s origin, how, when and where to plant it and even how it can be propagated. Clear, informative symbols tell the reader at a glance of a plant’s needs, such as how resistant it is to frost or wind, how much water it requires, whether it is sun or shade loving and much more. Professor Kristo Pienaar, head of the Department of Botany, University of the Western Cape, is an exuberant, colourful personality who manages to inter-link his hobbies and his work to 
the joy of flower lovers throughout South Africa.” £12.50
Scott-Shaw, Rob: 
rm; distribution maps and habitat diagrams. Fine condition. “In this book, artist Joan van Gogh illustrates the magnificent trees and shrubs of the Witwatersrand, Magaliesberg and Pilanesberg – a highly populated area, long-neglected by botanical writers, yet surprisingly rich in its indigenous tree life. The 150 vivid and accurate colour paintings are supplemented by field data, carefully compiled over the past fifteen years by Joan van Gogh and leading palaeobotanist, Dr John Anderson of the Botanical Research Institute. The text covers the characteristic features of the bark, leaves, fruit and flowers of each of the 159 indigenous species known to occur in the area. The accounts include distribution and habitat maps; habit sketches; an indication of the plant’s height and items of general interest.” £15.00
ettered in gilt on spine; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pp. xiv + 302, incl. index; maps; monochrome illustrations in text. As new. “Timbuktu – the name still evokes a faraway place, the metaphor for remoteness. However, in its heyday, Timbuktu was one of the centers of the world. Founded in the early eleventh century by Tuareg nomads, within two centuries Timbuktu became a wealthy metropolis and a nexus of the trans-Saharan trade: salt from the deep Sahara, gold from Ghana, and money from slave markets all flowed through Timbuktu. Merchants returning to their homelands spread stories of a fabulous place with spires of gold, rich beyond measure, with wise and generous kings. … Yet, faded as it is, and despite a long history of jihad in the region, Timbuktu itself has triumphantly foregone fanaticism to preach a tolerant version of Islam, even though that religious tolerance is again under attack. Poverty and ambition also threaten the city’s survival, but sources as diverse as UNESCO, the Ford Foundation, and the South African government are helping preserve and translate Timbuktu’s precious repository of ancient manuscripts and, in so doing, ensure its future. Using sources dating deep into Timbuktu’s fabled past, alongside contemporary interviews with cultural historian Abdel Kader Haïdara and other residents and officials, de Villiers and Hirtle have produced a spectacular portrait of this epic city of gold.” £10.00
Fletcher, Jill: 
African War Books is a comprehensive guide to Boer War literature published up to 1920. The author, drawing on his extensive collection, and other sources, has produced an important reference embracing general histories, regimental records, official publications, personal accounts and numerous other items, many privately printed. Over 200 reproductions of covers and title pages are present, many printed in colour. The volume will be of considerable value to collectors and dealers and to those generally interested in Victorian military history.” £30.00
ers; pp. xxiii + (i) + 312, incl. index; plates. As new. “John L. Dube is mostly remembered today as the founding president of the African National Congress in 1912, yet it is the sheer breadth of his achievements that impresses. Inspired by the struggles of African Americans for political and social equality, he became the leading campaigner for Africans’ rights in South Africa through the first half of the twentieth century. Apart from being active in Congress politics, he was the founder of the Ohlange Institute near Durban (where Nelson Mandela cast his vote in the first democratic elections of 1994), and of the newspaper Ilanga laseNatal – both of them still in operation. In addition to being a farmer and Congregational clergyman, he authored the first Zulu novel and published several other works besides. In this splendid biography, Heather Hughes traces the story of his life, revealing much about the man and his world that has been either hidden or forgotten. With the centenary of the ANC being celebrated in 2012, it is fitting to restore its first president to a prominent place in our history.” £15.00
0, offers a fascinating insight into life on a Great Karoo farm in the 19th century. Life experiences are brought within feeling and smelling range through the author’s extraordinary powers of observation, reflection and description, his attention to detail, his thoughts about the environment and ecology decades before ecosystems was ever a buzzword, his enviable command of English, and his ability literally to turn into poetry some of his thoughts about both the mundane and the profound as he brings to us his ‘revelation of the Great Karroo’.” £15.00
This is the first volume in the Cory Library’s ‘Eastern Cape Reprints’ series. 210 x 148 mm; laminated pictorial wrappers; pp. xxviii + (viii) + 116. As new. “In his introduction, Richard Kawa tells us that he conceived of writing a history of all the black nations and their chiefs while still a student at Healdtown in the 1870s. He travelled far and wide to collect material, and preserved many genealogies and praises that would otherwise have been lost. Kawa tried to assist Reverend Whiteside in writing the History of the abaMbo (1912), but he fundamentally disagreed with Whiteside’s interpretations more especially on the critical question of how King Hintsa treated the Mfengu refugees, and he wanted to set the record straight. Several passages in Ibali lamaMfengu reveal Kawa was one of the very first black nationalist thinkers. This edition includes his article ‘Kunganjani kusiyiwe eKapa?’ published in Imvo Zabantsundu in 1886. Many later historians, including DDT Jabavu and KK Ncwana, built on the foundations laid by Richard Kawa, but his book has become almost unobtainable. Cory Library at Rhodes University in Grahamstown has preserved one of the few surviving copies. We have pleasure in making this facsimile reprint available, which gives you the original text in isiXhosa, just as Kawa wrote it, with an introduction in English by Vathiswa Nhanha and Jeff Peires of the Cory Library.” £12.50
and, John: 
4to; original black boards, lettered in blind on spine and upper board; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pp. 212; lavishly illustrated with full-colour photographs of the sites and the rock paintings and carvings, also with some diagrams in text. As new. A visually stunning book. “Travelers to Africa who discover its rock paintings and engravings are fascinated by their esthetic appeal, and never fail to wonder about their meaning. Rock Art in Africa: Mythology and Legend provides a panorama of the great parietal assemblages of the whole continent, which the author divides into four major geographical zones: The Sahara, the intertropical zone of central Africa, Azania, and southern Africa. They are characterized by a variety of stylistic choices, ranging from accentuated realism to an almost abstract symbolism. The photographs, tracings, and drawings that illustrate Rock Art in Africa bear witness to the originality of the art. The author places the works in the context of their discovery by the great explorers, and then deciphers their hidden meanings, discarding erroneous traditional readings that have often been too easily adopted, and proposing new interpretations. He evokes tales and legends, which make it possible to achieve a partial elucidation of these prehistoric images and to reconstruct the mythology of the remote, or not so remote, past; he also analyses the myths that these works of art in their turn have aroused within Western culture.” £20.00
Arne (compiler): 
index; endpaper map; liberally illustrated. New. “George Sutton and his family arrived in Colonial Natal in 1872. He acquired farmland near Howick and soon made his mark in agricultural circles and in the political arena. It is fortuitous that he left behind a most valuable set of diaries covering the period 1874 to 1898. These, together with other reference works, enabled the author to review his contribution to the development of the Colony up to the time of Union in 1910. He pressed for technological advancement among farmers and played a leadership role in the wattle bark industry. He tirelessly fought to see Responsible Government granted to Natal in 1893. George Sutton became Prime Minister of Natal in 1903 and was knighted (KCMG) in the following year. The book provides insight into conditions prevailing in the Colony, especially in the Midlands of Natal at that time. The names of many prominent personalities are noted. Apart from political issues the book reveals details of family matters, far
ming operations, social contacts, church affairs and the hardships and joys faced over a period of 41 years. No complete biography has been written on Sir George and this book does not purport to take the place of a full biography. This attempt aims to give recognition to issues thus far neglected and to summarise his Diaries.” £25.00
