City and Suburban - an early Johannesburg Title Deed of Purchase.

This unusual document is a legally registered transfer deed by the City and Suburban Gold Mining Company Ltd. or as it is also called here City and Suburban Township, of a specific stand Number 35 located at the corner of Goud and Commissioner Streets, Johannesburg to a John Ford Bagshaw. Dated 17 July 1895. It is a legal document registered with the state and carrying endorsed revenue stamps of the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek .

City and Suburban was established as a township for business or residence in 1896, located close to the heart of Johannesburg , South of the town, between Marshall town to the West and Jeppestown to the East. The area is named after the original mine, City and Suburban Mine, which lay on the southern reaches of the suburb. This transfer deed was one of the earliest of purchases of this area. It illustrates an interesting bit of Johannesburg history. The original division of Johannesburg into rectangular blocks on a grid pattern meant that intersections occurred with great frequency, city blocks are relatively short and there were and still are many corner stands . Each corner stand was a more valuable erf or stand than those stands tucked in between the corners.

The price paid for this specific stand was £1140. City and Suburban development as a township came at the tail end of the first phase of Johannesburg expansion, 1886-1895 and it lay just to the south of the southern apex of the Randjeslaagte triangle. The date on the deed is also of interest, 1st July 1895. The Jameson Raid did not occur until 2nd January 1896. This certificate is thus a remarkable original pre 1900 piece of early Johannesburgiana. It is in original state and in very good condition. A full article on this document and the City and Suburban Company has just been posted on the Johannesburg Heritage Portal and can be accessed online: http://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/opportunity-purchase-original-johannesburg-title-deed