280mm x 397mm

General wear; spine cracking.

R1,000

(Rhodesian Box 2, no 6)

The East African Annual 1947–1948 captures a major administrative and economic watershed across British East Africa.

Key Historical & Visual Aspects: Dawn of the East Africa High Commission (1948): The 1947–1948 publication coincided directly with the birth of the East Africa High Commission on January 1, 1948. This regulatory body formally unified the administration of railways, harbours, posts, telegraphs, customs, and civil aviation across Kenya, Tanganyika, and Uganda, laying the structural blueprint for modern East African regional integration.

Unlike previous years that focused on sweeping, singular landscape paintings, this cover features a repeating pattern of graphic vignettes depicting every major economic pillar of post-war development: Transport & Logistics: Dhows along the coast, heavy steam locomotives, and port cranes loaded with cargo. Agriculture & Livestock: Dairy farming, grain shocks, coffee plantations, and mounted estate managers.

Industry & Wildlife: Heavy earth-moving machinery alongside giraffes and elephants. Post-War Infrastructure & Modernization: The vignettes on the cover reflect the massive post-war capital injection by the British Colonial Development Corporation into East Africa. The 1947–1948 period saw major expansions at the deep-water port of Kilindini in Mombasa, the expansion of East African Airways, and large-scale mechanization across high-country agriculture.

A Distinct Graphic Design Experiment: This edition stands out in the long run of East African Annuals for breaking away from the traditional framed full-color scenic artwork. Printed in Nairobi by the East African Standard, the graphic, patterned cover design was a modern aesthetic nod to the energetic, multi-faceted economic push defining the late 1940s.