THE SOUTH AFRICAN BOOKMAN - RARE COMPLETE SET OF 13 ISSUES

On offer here is a library bound full set of 13 Issues of this early and little known South African quarterly Literary periodical published by the South African Home Reading Union. Two volumes.  Vol. 1 contains Numbers 1 - 8 dating from August 1910 - August 1913, and Vol.2 contains Numbers 9 - 13 dating from November 1913 - April 1915. The two 8vo. volumes are uniformly bound in 1/4 leather and bllue buckram covered boards. Bound in at the rear of each volume are the original wrappers of every issue and some advertisement leaves. Additionally bound in at the rear of Vol. 2  is the 40pp. booklet: 'THE WAR - It's Causes and Its Messages - Speeches Delivered by The Prime Minister - August - October 1914.'  Methuen. 1914 (4th Edition) - in the original blue wrappers. Both volumes have the usual ex library envelopes, stickers and rubber stamps on the front endpapers as well as Withdrawal stamps from the Transvaal Provincial Library. There is also the occasional library number stamped on only a few inner pages. Internally the volumes are clean and without foxing and a competent bookbinder could readily restore these 13 issues into their original wrappered state. Each issue of this publication comprises between 50 and 60 pages. The five issues in Vol. 2 are printed on a heavier and probably cheaper paper stock.

The South African Bookman was a literary journal and quarterly periodical published in Pretoria between 1910 and 1915. It served as the official organ of the South African Home Reading Union (SAHRU), a cultural organisation focused on shaping print culture, guiding reading habits, and building a specific national identity following the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. John Purves served as the primary editor of the journal from its inception in August 1910 until November 1913. Purves was a prominent literary scholar and professor at the Transvaal University College. The South African Home Reading Union: This journal was run and contributed to heavily by women’s organisations and educationists connected to the Union. Purves used the platform to argue that South Africa lacked a unified "literary consciousness". The journal aimed to jumpstart local writing and encourage white South Africans to develop a shared cultural identity. The journal was heavily styled after The London Bookman. It balanced a desire for localized colonial writing with an overarching loyalty to British cultural imperialism. Each issue featured articles on both South African and International Literature. A regular feature titled 'Literary Portraits' featured pieces on the likes of Olive Schreiner, J.F. Cilliers, Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, Thomas Pringle, F.C. Kolbe and others. Issue No. 2 featured a lengthy review of the just released Mendelssohn S. African bibliography.

In response to a question I posed to my friendly AI consultant - I got the following response:  'Original physical copies of The South African Bookman (1910–1915) are virtually non-existent on the open commercial market today. Because it was a niche, short-lived quarterly journal distributed mostly internally to members of a specific union over a century ago, it is highly sought after by academic institutions'.

Time does not allow more detail but further information is available on request.

NB. In view of the scarcity of this item I am restricting the sale thereof to South African buyers.