257mm x 355mm

Minor wear to the edges.

R800

(Rhodesian Box 1, no3)

The Rhodesian Annual 1946 represents a milestone volume published in Bulawayo, capturing Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) at the precise moment it pivoted from World War II military mobilization to a massive post-war boom.

Key Historical & Visual Aspects

• Post-War Pioneer Idealism: The front cover features a peaceful landscape painting of a rider on horseback accompanied by a dog across open, sunlit veld. This artwork deliberately evoked the ideal of the rural agrarian lifestyle to attract returning European servicemen and new settlers under post-war immigration schemes.

• The Post-WWII Settler & Industrial Surge: The year 1946 marked the beginning of Southern Rhodesia’s largest economic and demographic expansion. Thousands of British veterans, technicians, and agriculturalists emigrated to the territory, driving unprecedented investment in tobacco farming, asbestos and chrome mining, and manufacturing.

• Air Training Scheme Legacy: During WWII, Southern Rhodesia hosted the Rhodesian Air Training Group (RATG), training over 10,000 Allied pilots and aircrew. The 1946 edition reflected the civilian conversion of these airfields into commercial aviation hubs (such as Central African Airways), which opened up rapid transport links across Southern and Central Africa.

• Precursor to the Central African Federation: Published by the Rhodesian Printing & Publishing Company in Bulawayo, the 1946 edition documented early regional discussions regarding closer political and economic ties between Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), and Nyasaland (Malawi)—a movement that ultimately led to the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953.