RECOLLECTIONS OF A BOER PRISONER-AT-WAR AT CEYLON

Recollections of a Boer Prisoner-of-War at Ceylon 

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Recollections of a Boer Prisoner-of-War at Ceylon
• Author: J. N. Brink
• Publisher: Tsj. van Dirk, Amsterdam (Distributed globally)
• Publication Date: 1904
• ISBN: Not issued
• Edition Details: Rare First English Edition. Bindery Error: The entire internal book block was bound completely upside down and backwards inside the main covers.
• Binding: Original decorated publisher's cloth hardcover.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG) / Distinctive Binding Curio
• Interior: Remarkably clean, bright, and solid. The pages are free of heavy foxing, tears, or ink defacement, displaying exceptional preservation for a text over 120 years old.
• Exterior: The decorated cloth cover is very neat, showing only light handling wear and minor, age-appropriate shelf friction. The bottom right-hand corner shows a slight touch of bumping.
• Structural Note: A magnificent collectors' anomaly—the inner book block is factory-bound completely inverted (upside down and facing backwards) relative to the exterior boards.

Synopsis & Historical Context

This rare 1904 text is one of the premier English-language primary sources detailing the exile of Boer commandos to the remote Diyatalawa Camp in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Brink provides an astonishingly detailed record of camp administration, sports, structural education systems built by prisoners, and the deep, underlying emotional trauma of displacement.

Author Profile: J. N. Brink

As an educated Boer captive, J.N. Brink acted as an informal scribe for his fellow inmates, providing an objective, deeply literary look at international wartime incarceration.