DIE K*FFEROORLOG VAN 1793

Author and Title: Van der Merwe (Dr. P. J.) DIE K@FFEROORLOG VAN 1793

Collation: First edition, first printing: octavo (8vo), 88 pages, focused layout utilizing mid-century academic typography. Original publisher's premium heavy-gauge textured card wrappers. A very good plus copy. The original paper wrappers are exceptionally flat, square, and well-preserved, with virtually none of the typical spine chipping or edge peeling common to wartime softcovers; the face is bright and clean with a minimum of corner shelf friction. The text block is robustly bound, tight, and completely uncracked; internal sheets are exceptionally clean and entirely free from marginalia, highlighting, foxing, or institutional markings.

A highly preserved, collectible copy.

Notes: Published in 1940, this volume offers a seminal academic assessment of the Second Frontier War. Dr. P. J. van der Merwe provides an objective evaluation of early colonial records by George McCall Theal, shedding new light on the frontier dynamics of the eastern Cape. The text focuses on the economic triggers of the conflict—primarily driven by access to crucial grazing land and water resources between the expanding Trekboer community and the Xhosa tribes—and features a critical re-evaluation of Honoratus Maynier, the controversial Landdrost of Graaff-Reinet.

 

A scarce, collectable historical artifact prized by collectors of early Frontier War Africana. Dr. Petrus Johannes van der Merwe (1912–1959) was a widely respected historian and professor at Stellenbosch University, renowned for his landmark trilogy on the lifestyle and mobility of the Cape Trekboer. His personal research papers, field notes, and manuscripts are permanently preserved within the Stellenbosch University Library Special Collections.

Size: 8vo (215 x 140 mm)
Imprint: Kaapstad, Nasionale Pers Beperk, 1940