Catalogus van de Biblioteek der Nederlandsch Zuid-Afrikaansche Vereeniging (1939)

This catalogue  - which lists the holdings of the library of Nederlandsch Zuid-Afrikaansche Vereeniging in Amsterdam, which were then (1939) extensive and valuable - is rare, though at least two copies have previously been sold on Antiquarian Auctions.

The society still flourishes - and indeed claims to be the oldest such society in the world, having been founded in the early 1880s.

The library is still there, and individuals can join for a fairly high annual subscription, but no catalogue seems to have been published since the one in this lot. 

In their Foreword to the 1939 catalogue, the society's then chairman, L R Middelberg, and secretary, P J van Winter, commended the work of the compiler, Miss (Dr) Gast, for [translated] "contributing to a broader public awareness of the library". 

On initial inspection, the 287 pp main catalogue is difficult to follow. A contents list starting on p 289, however, provides subject and page references, and the order of the main listing is explained. Even better, pp 296-320 is a small-type alphabetical index of authors and titles; its page references to the main listing lead the reader to the details of some 5000, often multi-volume, entries, which then included books in Dutch, English, Afrikaans and other languages. 

Though by no means "a Mendelssohn", the catalogue is valuable as a list of an important European library's Africana holdings up to the outbreak of the second world war.

Beige limp covers, with black lettering to the spine, are drawn on to sewn sections comprising 320 pp of text. The are two ex libris labels on the inside front cover (see images). The covers, especially the spine, are sunned, but the contents are only lightly sunned towards the page edges, and are complete and unmarked, making this an excellent copy of an unusual publication.