Travel in South Africa (1924)

South African Railways and Harbours, softcover, 1924, extensive photographic illustration, maps, foreword, introduction, 120 x 185mm, condition; good.

Until the late 1950s, the tourism market in South Africa remained predominantly a regional business, with the whites of neighbouring countries such as Rhodesia  and Mozambique providing the bulk of tourists. Only 17 per cent were long-distance visitors from overseas, half of whom came from Britain. One important reason for this was that South Africa was a long-haul destination, which for the majority of potential overseas tourists meant a two-week sea journey.

"Revisiting the ‘Old’ South Africa: Excursions into South Africa’s Tourist History. [South African Historical Journal, 56 (2006), pages 103–122]"

Up until 1947, the publicity arm of the South African Railways and Harbours (SAR & H) dealt with tourist matters for South Africa, and thus provided a national construct through imagery for the wider world.

Like Pierneef's panels for Johannesburg Park Station these images helped promote a synecdohic vision of the national landscape.  These publications commissioned during the 1920's were often the first systematic descriptions of many parts of the country. (Washed with Sun: Landscape and the Making of White South Africa by Jeremy A. Foster)